It's to the point now where some owners are giving Chris Johnson away. Our Dave Richard gives his take on Johnson's value going forward and shares his Trade Value Chart for Week 4.
By Dave Richard
• 6 min read
Our Trade Value Chart is designed to assist you in making fair trades in your standard-scoring league. The values assigned to the players below are strictly a measurement of their Fantasy value heading into the current week. By adding two players' values you could determine what one player you might be able to get in return. This list should also provide a glimpse into how we feel about a player for the remainder of the season.
The Chris Johnson we drafted with good intentions is still missing. A combination of his offense's play calling, poor run blocking and some deficiencies in his own game have made him the most disappointing first-round pick through three weeks.
To put it in perspective, Johnson has 33 carries for 45 yards through three games, good for a ripe 1.4 rushing average. Jamaal Charles had 233 yards on 33 carries in Week 3. And Johnson has as many touchdowns as you do.
Because he's not getting the reps most people came into the season expecting him to get, and because he's doing very little with the few reps he's been getting, plenty of Fantasy owners are ready to let him go for whatever they can get. Here are some actual trades from owners in CBSSports.com leagues.
Chris Johnson for the Bears DST: Talk about punting on a guy! Johnson moved for a good, not great, DST certainly is an indication that some owners are so fed up with Johnson they'll literally take anything from the first fellow owner who makes an offer.
Chris Johnson for DeAngelo Williams: This also seems like an owner jumping ship on Johnson, but at least he's getting a serviceable starter at a key position. And if you don't think Williams is a serviceable starter by comparison to Johnson, check to see how he's done compared to him.
Chris Johnson for Dez Bryant: Now we're talking. Perhaps in this trade the owner for Johnson was rich at running back and weak at receiver and simply wanted a receiver with upside to replace Johnson. And maybe the owner who dealt Bryant was needy for a running back with upside. This trade is fair and works on many levels for the owner who not only wants to dump Johnson but also needs a wideout and can move on without him because of good running back depth.
Chris Johnson for Cedric Benson and Jeremy Maclin: Back in August you would have never taken Benson and Maclin for Johnson, but in the world we live in now this is a pretty awesome swap. Sure, Maclin's injury prone and on a team with all sorts of offensive issues and Benson isn't promised a ton of Fantasy points per week, but so long as one of them can pop for some numbers from week to week, this is a bargain.
Of all the deals listed here, the one I would do as a Johnson owner would be the two-for-one. I'd also consider the Dez-for-Johnson move if I needed receiver help. Otherwise, I'd sit on Johnson in hopes of a turnaround.
There is some hope for a turnaround, after all. Don't look past the fact that in Week 3 he had three runs of 10-plus yards, showing some good explosion and the ability to not get stuck behind his O-line by hitting the outside edges on all three. He can also make an impact as a receiver if given the targets, last year was proof of that. The Titans' offense just needs to get going and Johnson's number needs to get called more. If both happen by, say, Week 7 when he plays at Buffalo, then he could be in a position to do well in the second half of the year when he'll have some very favorable matchups down the stretch, including two games each against the Colts and Jaguars.
Shoot, it might be a good idea to try and buy low on Johnson if you have the ammo to get him (you probably do) and if you have an owner annoyed with him (you probably do).
Player | Value | Player | Value | Player | Value |
Arian Foster, RB, HOU | 33 | Reggie Wayne, WR, IND | 13 | Brent Celek, TE, PHI | 6 |
Ray Rice, RB, BAL | 33 | Alfred Morris, RB, WAS | 12 | Ryan Williams, RB, ARI | 6 |
LeSean McCoy, RB, PHI | 29 | Dwayne Bowe, WR, KC | 12 | DeAngelo Williams, RB, CAR | 6 |
Calvin Johnson, WR, DET | 28 | Ben Roethlisberger, QB, PIT | 12 | Jermichael Finley, TE, GB | 6 |
Drew Brees, QB, NO | 27 | Wes Welker, WR, NE | 11 | Rashard Mendenhall, RB, PIT | 6 |
Matt Ryan, QB, ATL | 27 | Miles Austin, WR, DAL | 11 | Mark Ingram, RB, NO | 6 |
Darren McFadden, RB, OAK | 26 | Brandon Lloyd, WR, NE | 11 | Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, BUF | 5 |
Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, JAC | 25 | Philip Rivers, QB, SD | 11 | Jake Locker, QB, TEN | 5 |
Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB | 24 | Vincent Jackson, WR, TB | 11 | Brandon LaFell, WR, CAR | 5 |
Tom Brady, QB, NE | 23 | Vernon Davis, TE, SF | 10 | Denarius Moore, WR, OAK | 5 |
Julio Jones, WR, ATL | 22 | DeSean Jackson, WR, PHI | 10 | Jacob Tamme, TE, DEN | 5 |
Jimmy Graham, TE, NO | 22 | Antonio Brown, WR, PIT | 10 | Shonn Greene, RB, NYJ | 5 |
Marshawn Lynch, RB, SEA | 21 | Mikel Leshoure, RB, DET | 10 | Jason Witten, TE, DAL | 5 |
Robert Griffin III, QB, WAS | 21 | Darren Sproles, RB, NO | 10 | Christian Ponder, QB, MIN | 4 |
Rob Gronkowski, TE, NE | 21 | Willis McGahee, RB, DEN | 10 | Lance Moore, WR, NO | 4 |
Eli Manning, QB, NYG | 21 | Pierre Garcon, WR, WAS | 10 | Santonio Holmes, WR, NYJ | 4 |
A.J. Green, WR, CIN | 20 | Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NYG | 10 | Andrew Hawkins, WR, CIN | 4 |
Matthew Stafford, QB, DET | 20 | Matt Forte, RB, CHI | 9 | Peyton Hillis, RB, KC | 4 |
Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN | 19 | Eric Decker, WR, DEN | 9 | Donnie Avery, WR, IND | 4 |
DeMarco Murray, RB, DAL | 19 | Martellus Bennett, TE, NYG | 9 | Ben Tate, RB, HOU | 4 |
Trent Richardson, RB, CLE | 19 | Aaron Hernandez, TE, NE | 9 | Owen Daniels, TE, HOU | 4 |
Andre Johnson, WR, HOU | 18 | Jordy Nelson, WR, GB | 9 | Beanie Wells, RB, ARI | 4 |
Cam Newton, QB, CAR | 18 | Joe Flacco, QB, BAL | 8 | Kevin Smith, RB, DET | 4 |
Percy Harvin, WR, MIN | 17 | Fred Jackson, RB, BUF | 8 | Jay Cutler, QB, CHI | 3 |
C.J. Spiller, RB, BUF | 17 | Tony Gonzalez, TE, ATL | 8 | Carson Palmer, QB, OAK | 3 |
Victor Cruz, WR, NYG | 16 | Torrey Smith, WR, BAL | 8 | Isaac Redman, RB, PIT | 3 |
Demaryius Thomas, WR, DEN | 16 | Dez Bryant, WR, DAL | 8 | Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, ATL | 3 |
Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI | 16 | Jeremy Maclin, WR, PHI | 8 | Pierre Thomas, RB, NO | 3 |
Frank Gore, RB, SF | 15 | Chris Johnson, RB, TEN | 8 | Fred Davis, TE, WAS | 3 |
Doug Martin, RB, TB | 15 | Michael Turner, RB, ATL | 8 | Jared Cook, TE, TEN | 3 |
Roddy White, WR, ATL | 15 | Antonio Gates, TE, SD | 8 | Justin Blackmon, WR, JAC | 3 |
Steve Johnson, WR, BUF | 15 | Danny Amendola, WR, STL | 8 | Anquan Boldin, WR, BAL | 3 |
Mike Wallace, WR, PIT | 15 | Marques Colston, WR, NO | 8 | Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, OAK | 3 |
Jamaal Charles, RB, KC | 15 | Cedric Benson, RB, GB | 7 | Titus Young, WR, DET | 3 |
Brandon Marshall, WR, CHI | 15 | Andrew Luck, QB, IND | 7 | Kendall Wright, WR, TEN | 3 |
Ryan Mathews, RB, SD | 15 | Brandon Pettigrew, TE, DET | 7 | Michael Crabtree, WR, SF | 3 |
Hakeem Nicks, WR, NYG | 15 | Kyle Rudolph, TE, MIN | 7 | Alex Smith, QB, SF | 2 |
Stevan Ridley, RB, NE | 14 | Kenny Britt, WR, TEN | 7 | Daniel Thomas, RB, MIA | 2 |
Reggie Bush, RB, MIA | 14 | Malcom Floyd, WR, SD | 7 | Daryl Richardson, RB, STL | 2 |
Peyton Manning, QB, DEN | 14 | Andre Brown, RB, NYG | 7 | Kendall Hunter, RB, SF | 2 |
Steven Jackson, RB, STL | 14 | Donald Brown, RB, IND | 7 | Scott Chandler, TE, BUF | 2 |
Greg Jennings, WR, GB | 14 | Michael Bush, RB, CHI | 7 | Mike Williams, WR, TB | 2 |
Tony Romo, QB, DAL | 14 | Dennis Pitta, TE, BAL | 6 | Randall Cobb, WR, GB | 2 |
Michael Vick, QB, PHI | 14 | Matt Schaub, QB, HOU | 6 | Sidney Rice, WR, SEA | 2 |
BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB, CIN | 13 | Nate Washington, WR, TEN | 6 | T.Y. Hilton, WR, IND | 2 |
Steve Smith, WR, CAR | 13 | Jonathan Stewart, RB, CAR | 6 | Bilal Powell, RB, NYJ | 2 |
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