Fantasy Football Predictions: Bold Midseason Trades and NFL Preseason Cut Candidates (2024)

Discussing potential trade candidates and cap casualties during NFL training camp and the preseason is always a fun and important exercise. Well, at least from a fantasy perspective. We’re not advocating for people to lose their jobs here, but it's important to be aware of who might be on their team's roster bubble heading into the 2024 season.

Could the Houston Texans explore midseason trade options for aging All-Pro wideout Stefon Diggs if they get off to a surprisingly slow start? Could the Cincinnati Bengals finally move star receiver Tee Higgins at the November 5 deadline if they come out of the gate slowly after his offseason was filled with trade rumors?

Let’s take a look at some veterans with expiring contracts on shaky rosters who could be victims of cost-cutting measures and how they could impact the fantasy football landscape this season! Who knows? If one of these players is wearing a different jersey by midseason, it could drastically change their outlook for fantasy football in 2024.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024 fantasy football drafts:

• Quarterback fantasy football rankings
• Running back fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiverfantasy football rankings
• Tight endfantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• Fantasy football rookie rankings
• Best ball fantasy football rankings
• Superflex fantasy football rankings
• Dynastyfantasy football rankings
• IDP fantasy football rankings

Potential Running Back Cap Casualties

Let’s start by acknowledging that most fantasy-relevant cap casualties will be found in the position with the highest rate of turnover: running backs. Just because these guys may get let go, however, it doesn’t mean we won’t witness them come to relevance at some stage of the season either with their current team or another. Think of former Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs. After reportedly being on the trade block and playing in the Hall of Fame game, Jacobs' fantasy football ADP sunk like a rock. Yet, he ended up seeing a bell cow type of workload and became a fantasy football league winner.

Samaje Perine - Denver Broncos (ADP: 298)

Between Javonte Williams (knee) unexpectedly missing zero games and Jaleel McLaughlin eventually surpassing him on the depth chart, 2023 was a complete disaster for Samaje Perine. Starting the year being drafted as Denver’s presumptive lead back while Williams was rehabbing, Perine faltered into overall RB40 status in PPR leagues ahead of the season.

The 28-year-old receiving back was quietly efficient, ranking first at his position (minimum 100 touches) with 2.04 yards per route run and second with 6.7 yards per touch on his 103 total touches. In a crowded Broncos backfield, Perine’s stock would only rise if he were jettisoned elsewhere.

Samaje Perine will be with the Bengals again pic.twitter.com/lssfDTtE39

— Chaston Scott (@CinCity808) June 1, 2024

See Also

Fantasy football 2024 rankings, draft prep: QB, RB, WR, TE picks, cheat sheets, tiers, ADP by top NFL modelFantasy Football Quarterback Rankings - PPR QB ScoringFantasy Trade Market: Top Players to Buy, Sell or Hold After NFL Preseason Week 2Fantasy Football Week 9 Lineup Cheat Sheet Rankings for PPR Leagues

Some in the NFL spaces are projecting that Perine lands back with his former team, the Cincinnati Bengals to compete with fellow veteran Zack Moss and sophom*ore Chase Brown for their lead-back role. Perine is worth a speculative pick as a sneaky choice at the end of fantasy drafts while we wait for rosters to be trimmed down.

AJ Dillon - Green Bay Packers (ADP: 246.5)

One of the offseason’s biggest losers, Dillon first watched the Packers add star workhorse back Josh Jacobs after subtracting Aaron Jones and then draft tailback MarShawn Lloyd in the third round of the NFL Draft. After posting just 3.4 yards per carry across 178 attempts (six starts) last year, Dillon’s rushing efficiency has dwindled in each of his first four seasons. He’s quickly becoming the odd man out in this talented backfield.

If Green Bay lets go of Dillon, the Buffalo Bills stand out as a potential top suitor for Dillon's services to complement the elusive James Cook’s lack of scoring prowess around the goal line. "The Quadfather" would be a nice short-yardage addition for the Bills.

Potential Wide Receiver Cap Casualties

Robert Woods - Houston Texans (ADP: 331)

It looks like the end of the road for "Bobby Trees." Woods, who averaged a career-low 30.4 yards covering 14 games last season, is a distant No. 4 option in the wideout pecking order in Houston with Stefon Diggs coming to town. Although it appears unlikely Woods can muster fantasy usability with the Texans, there are quite a few teams he could find his way back into the flex mix with.

Consider some of the clubs that could use a reliable slot receiver. The Chiefs may need someone to occupy Rashee Rice’s role if the second-year man gets suspended, the 49ers could need help if Brandon Aiyuk is traded, and the Bengals could use Woods to fill the vacated Tyler Boyd role. Another underrated scenario is a reunion with the Bills, who are starved for wideout talent at the moment.

Darius Slayton - New York Giants (ADP: 271)

It was a lackluster year for Darius Slayton a season ago, but he did come on late as a solid fantasy starter by averaging four catches for 80.3 yards with three total touchdowns during the final four weeks of the season. It just looks like he’s become more expendable after the Giants secured probable target hog Malik Nabers in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Darius Slayton 80 yard TD 💣

pic.twitter.com/kSPnD5j54Q

— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) December 31, 2023

Slayton, one of the last remnants of former general manager Dave Gettleman's regime, has developed into a serviceable deep threat in the NFL. Nevertheless, it makes sense for New York to think about getting his salary off the books to clear the way for 2023 third-round pick Jalin Hyatt to take over as the preferred vertical receiver.

All of the teams listed above for Woods would be great fits for Slayton as well.

Fantasy Football Running Back Trade Candidates

This is where the fun begins. Most of these guys belong to clubs that don’t project as legitimate contenders and could see themselves be sellers ahead of the Week 9 NFL trade deadline. It may not seem that way at the moment, but these are the most likely stars to be moved by the time we get to the fall.

These guys also identify as some of fantasy football’s biggest potential landmines for 2024. We’ve seen a change of scenery spring a running back into league-winning status (Kenyan Drake in 2019) and plummet another’s value into waiver fodder like what happened to Carlos Hyde in 2018 after Nick Chubb came on strong.

James Conner - Arizona Cardinals (ADP: 66)

2025 Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent, FanDuel Projected Team Win Total: 7.5

After the Cardinals spent the 66th overall pick in the draft on the explosive Trey Benson, who profiles as a pre-injury, rookie J.K. Dobbins, Conner stands out as the most obvious name who eventually could be on the move. Conner has looked surprisingly explosive and has dominated touches in Arizona when healthy, posting a career-high 5.0 yards per carry through 208 attempts in 2023. Conner now enters his age-29 campaign, and if the Cardinals are out of it, there's always a chance that Conner could be moved or lose reps to Benson, whom the Cardinals will eventually want to get a good look at.

Trey Benson will steal some serious touches from James Conner as a Rookie in 2024 imo pic.twitter.com/GoBrxlz1MY

— Clay Fink (@clay_fink) July 26, 2024

So far, ADP values don't have Benson ranked anywhere ahead of Conner this summer, but there’s a real chance the former will have the backfield all to himself down the stretch in the desert, while Conner might be more of a timeshare elsewhere.

Aaron Jones - Minnesota Vikings (ADP: 56)

2025 Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent, FanDuel Projected Team Win Total: 7.5

Despite dealing with hamstring and knee issues, Jones remained effective as a pass-catcher when healthy in 2023 by placing second among eligible RBs with 1.85 yards per route run. There’s plenty of concern about a player who has dealt with numerous soft-tissue injuries, but Jones also roared to the finish line by eclipsing 115 total yards in each of his final five outings, including the playoffs.

Aaron Jones looked pretty, pretty, pretty good in his last five games of last season pic.twitter.com/MwS8SO5d7D

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) July 24, 2024

With either Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy quarterbacking the Vikings in 2024, there’s a good chance this team will be out of the playoff picture at the Week 9 deadline. Jones is staring at a featured role in Minnesota with a majority snap share, so a trade would likely be bad news for his fantasy value.

Nick Chubb - Cleveland Browns (ADP: 88.5)

2025 Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent, FanDuel Projected Team Win Total:8.5

This one might sound a bit silly on the surface, considering Nick Chubb has put up at least 5.0 yards per carry in each of his six NFL seasons, but there’s plenty of concern surrounding the veteran at this stage of his career. The four-time Pro Bowler is preparing for his age-29 season, having undergone two serious reconstructive surgeries in the same knee. Jerome Ford’s emergence in 2023 might make Chubb more dispensable than it seems.

The Browns added veterans Nyheim Hines and D'Onta Foreman to function as their change-of-pace runners behind Ford in any games Chubb may be inactive for. That’s plenty of positional depth to survive 2024. Even if Cleveland is contending, it could explore the market to see what Chubb would fetch it.

𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧: #Browns star RB Nick Chubb (knee) is not expected to be ready for the start of the regular season, per @JFowlerESPN

“He has begun working on change-of-direction stuff in addition to full-speed sprinting, and the team is being very cautious not to pressure him by… pic.twitter.com/fZ9I3GSHdb

— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) July 29, 2024

Additionally, it's becoming increasingly more likely that he's not ready for the outset of the regular season altogether and could begin the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, which would mean he would miss at least the team's first four games.

Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Trade Candidates

The NFL trade deadline may not offer the same chaos as the NBA or MLB’s deadlines, but we’ve seen some player's stocks skyrocket and fall at the deadline in recent years. In 2018, we saw Amari Cooper catapult into a league-winner after joining the Dallas Cowboys while Golden Tate floundered into drop territory after heading to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Keenan Allen - Chicago Bears (ADP: 64)

2025 Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent, FanDuel Projected Team Win Total: 8.5

The Bears look like they can go either way in terms of contending in 2024. Allen moves from last season's fastest-paced, pass-happiest offense with the Los Angeles Chargers to a team with a rookie quarterback in Caleb Williams and a new offensive coordinator in Shane Waldron.

eternally grateful to the Bears for acquiring Keenan Allen and pushing Rome Odunze’s ADP down 🙏🏻pic.twitter.com/CTwuwELypM

— kev mahserejian (@RotoSurgeon) July 30, 2024

After the six-time Pro Bowler turned back the clock for career-high totals in catches (108) and yards per game (95.6) in 13 outings, there’s a lot that can go wrong during Allen’s age-32 year as a regression candidate who could get lost in the shuffle in Chicago's loaded offense that features the likes of DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and tight end Cole Kmet.

Chris Godwin - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (ADP: 73.5)

2025 Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent, FanDuel Projected Team Win Total: 7.5

Godwin is getting up there in age, and quarterback Baker Mayfield's league-high 79 deep-ball attempts helped him form more of a rapport with vertical threat Mike Evans last year. Godwin has been a fantasy stalwart in PPR for the past five years, but the 28-year-old veteran slot man has registered descending catch rates and yards per game in each of the past three seasons.

Chris Godwin's fantasy football finishes | slot WR snap% by year:

WR38 (2023) | 38% slot
WR20 (2022) | 73%
WR9 (2021) | 70%
WR15 (2020) | 57%
WR2 (2019) | 55%
WR36 (2018) | 30%

Four straight seasons as top-20 WR in points per game when a full-time slot WR. He's back this year.

— Graham Barfield (@GrahamBarfield) July 25, 2024

The Bucs chose Washington wideout Jalen McMillan in the third round of the draft to serve as Godwin’s heir apparent in the slot, and it wouldn't be shocking to see this club regress on offense in 2024 after losing offensive coordinator Dave Canales while being a surprise playoff team a year ago.

Diontae Johnson - Carolina Panthers (ADP: 94)

2025 Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent, FanDuel Projected Team Win Total: 5.5

Annual underachiever Diontae Johnson was brought on to provide young quarterback Bryce Young with another veteran presence alongside wideout Adam Thielen, but it's fair to envision that contending teams will be calling the rebuilding Panthers for Johnson's services at the deadline.

Here are 9 undervalued WRs in fantasy football leagues expected to see 115+ targets in 2024:

-DeAndre Hopkins
-Courtland Sutton
-Diontae Johnson 👀
-Terry McLaurin
-Amari Cooper
-Keenan Allen
-Malik Nabers
-Chris Godwin
-Cooper Kupppic.twitter.com/uEeM8U3vYq

— Moody (@EricNMoody) July 25, 2024

Johnson failed to transcend the 90-yard mark in any of his 14 appearances last season (postseason included), and he’s unlikely to be a part of the organization's long-term plans out wide. Carolina drafted Xavier Legette in the first round, so any WR-needy clubs would be great fits for Johnson. If things don't work out here, the 28-year-old former Pro Bowler could find himself working with a more experienced signal-caller later, which would be a boon for his fantasy stock.

DeAndre Hopkins - Tennessee Titans (ADP: 88)

2025 Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent, FanFuel Projected Team Win Total: 6.5

Hopkins is another veteran wideout on a rebuilding team who could be moved at the deadline. With big-armed rookie Will Levis under center in 2023, Hopkins had a sky-high ceiling for a player of his age, but his floor was troublingly low. The 32-year-old, five-time Pro Bowler erupted for 128 yards and three scores in Week 7, but he caught a lone pass for 20 scoreless yards in the week prior.

DeAndre Hopkins pic.twitter.com/1hLJIunNaB

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) June 19, 2024

Although Hopkins dominated targets in Tennessee’s receiving corps a year ago (42% of the receiving production), Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd are going to eat into some of his looks. D-Hop should still be viewed as a solid weekly play on the WR2/3 borderline with the Titans, but he could benefit from a swap to a roster with a more seasoned quarterback. 2022 first-rounder Treylon Burks is a bigger aspect of this rebuilding club’s prospects at wideout as well.

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