Week 9 Rankings: Standard | PPR

We've seen eight weeks of Melvin Gordon -- we've seen enough. The guy's a Fantasy stud.

Now you might have read that and thought Of course he's a stud! . He's had 11-plus Fantasy points in seven of eight games and nine in the one he didn't hit 11. That's the kind of consistency you've come to expect from past Fantasy heroes like Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. You don't care how Gordon does it, you just like that he does it.

Melvin Gordon DEN • RB • 25 2016 stats ATT 161 YDS 572 TD 8 TAR 34 REC 24 REC YDS 219 REC TD 2 View Profile

But the argument against Gordon is two-fold. One sentiment suggests certain metrics are unsustainable, like his per-game averages of 1.25 touchdowns and 23.1 touches. The other suggests he's just not a good running back by virtue of his 3.6 yards per carry average or his three games out of eight with 100-plus total yards.

Is he touchdown dependent? Yeah, he is. But he's also finding his way to 71.5 rush yards and 27.4 receiving yards per game, and the lack of depth in the Chargers backfield suggests his workload isn't about to vanish.

It's a hard lesson for some to learn, and even the "experts" forget it: Fantasy studs aren't necessarily the best players. Sometimes -- often times -- it's the players who have the most opportunities. So the 23.1 touches per game Gordon's been getting? That's a great thing. And many of those touches are near the goal line, which means end-zone visits. That's also a great thing.

Here's the tipping point on Gordon: as long as he stays healthy, he'll play one of the very best schedules the rest of the way. The Chargers' last tough matchup against a top-10 team versus Fantasy running backs is this week at home against the Titans. The run defenses of the Dolphins and Panthers are also formidable, but not daunting.

Gordon should have a great shot at keeping up big numbers for the rest of the season. Here are some trade samples involving him in the Fantasy universe.

Melvin Gordon for Rob Gronkowski: A good deal is a good deal, right? Gordon's among the best rushers in Fantasy, but Gronk is theee top of the top among tight ends.

Melvin Gordon and Larry Fitzgerald for Julio Jones: The chart says this is an even deal. It really comes down to what your team needs. Even if Gordon and Fitzgerald play at modest levels the rest of the year, they should get you more cumulative points than Julio and a replacement-level running back off waivers.

Melvin Gordon for DeAndre Hopkins and Tyler Eifert: This is also a good deal for Gordon presuming the owner dealing him off has running back depth. Hopkins' value is the lowest it's been in nearly two years because of the low production he's returned from his quarterback. Eifert, on the other hand, could see his stock rise if he keeps getting pelted with targets as he did last week.

Melvin Gordon for Michael Crabtree and Matt Forte: It's sort of like the previous deal but worse. The downgrade from Gordon to Forte isn't worth Crabtree. Forte remains much more of a sell-high candidate than Gordon (and if you're shopping him then you better hope the person you're dealing with doesn't find this trade chart).

Melvin Gordon and Alshon Jeffery for Jordy Nelson and Tyrell Williams: This is embarrassing. You have to be dying to give Gordon away to make this deal. Either that or so desperate to deal off Jeffery that you discount Gordon. Either way, it's ridiculous.

What are the Trade Values? The chart is designed to help guide you in making fair trades in your standard-scoring or PPR leagues. The values assigned to the players below are a long-term measurement of their Fantasy value. By adding two players' values you could determine what one player you should be able to get in return. This list also works as a "Rest of Season" rankings. Also, any player not on the chart should be considered valued at no more than four points.

Note: Chart is updated based on Jamaal Charles going on IR. Christine Michael was also updated.

Running backs

Player Stnd PPR Ezekiel Elliott, DAL 41 43 David Johnson, ARI 41 43 Le'Veon Bell, PIT 38 41 DeMarco Murray, TEN 37 40 Melvin Gordon, SD 31 33 LeSean McCoy, BUF 29 32 Devonta Freeman, ATL 26 28 Lamar Miller, HOU 24 26 Carlos Hyde, SF 22 23 Devontae Booker, DEN 21 23 LeGarrette Blount, NE 20 20 Jay Ajayi, MIA 19 21 Todd Gurley, LAR 19 21 Frank Gore, IND 19 21 Spencer Ware, KC 17 19 Christine Michael, SEA 17 19 Jonathan Stewart, CAR 16 17 Isaiah Crowell, CLE 15 15 Doug Martin, TB 14 16 Latavius Murray, OAK 14 16 Jordan Howard, CHI 14 16 Matt Forte, NYJ 14 15 Mark Ingram, NO 13 15 Jeremy Hill, CIN 13 13 Tevin Coleman, ATL 12 14 Giovani Bernard, CIN 12 14 Terrance West, BAL 11 12 Theo Riddick, DET 10 14 Jerick McKinnon, MIN 9 11 Rob Kelley, WAS 9 9 James White, NE 8 11 Jacquizz Rodgers, TB 8 10 Darren Sproles, PHI 8 10 Charcandrick West, KC 8 10 Mike Gillislee, BUF 8 9 Tim Hightower, NO 7 8 T.J. Yeldon, JAC 7 8 Ryan Mathews, PHI 7 8 Matt Jones, WAS 6 7 Derrick Henry, TEN 6 6 Bilal Powell, NYJ 5 7 Chris Thompson, WAS 5 7 C.J. Prosise, SEA 5 7 Dwayne Washington, DET 5 6 DeAngelo Williams, PIT 5 6 Damien Williams, MIA 5 5

Wide receivers

Player Stnd PPR Julio Jones, ATL 43 47 A.J. Green, CIN 39 43 Antonio Brown, PIT 37 41 Mike Evans, TB 37 41 T.Y. Hilton, IND 24 27 Odell Beckham, NYG 23 26 Dez Bryant, DAL 22 24 Jordy Nelson, GB 21 23 Demaryius Thomas, DEN 19 22 Brandon Marshall, NYJ 18 21 Amari Cooper, OAK 18 21 Brandin Cooks, NO 18 20 Randall Cobb, GB 17 20 Michael Crabtree, OAK 17 20 Terrelle Pryor, CLE 16 19 DeAndre Hopkins, HOU 15 18 Kelvin Benjamin, CAR 15 18 Alshon Jeffery, CHI 15 18 Allen Robinson, JAC 15 17 Larry Fitzgerald, ARI 13 17 Davante Adams, GB 13 17 Emmanuel Sanders, DEN 13 16 Michael Thomas, NO 13 16 Donte Moncrief, IND 13 16 Doug Baldwin, SEA 13 15 Jarvis Landry, MIA 12 16 Julian Edelman, NE 12 16 Stefon Diggs, MIN 12 15 Marvin Jones, DET 11 13 Jamison Crowder, WAS 10 13 Ty Montgomery, GB 9 13 Willie Snead, NO 9 12 Mike Wallace, BAL 9 11 Golden Tate, DET 8 11 Jordan Matthews, PHI 8 11 Tyrell Williams, SD 8 10 John Brown, ARI 8 10 Will Fuller, HOU 7 9 Steve Smith, BAL 7 9 Kenny Britt, LA 7 9 Travis Benjamin, SD 7 9 Jeremy Maclin, KC 7 9 Chris Hogan, NE 7 9 Quincy Enunwa, NYJ 7 9 Cole Beasley, DAL 6 9 DeSean Jackson, WAS 6 8 Robert Woods, BUF 6 8 Michael Floyd, ARI 6 7 Tyler Lockett, SEA 5 7 J.J. Nelson, ARI 5 7 Mohamed Sanu, ATL 5 7 Russell Shepard, TB 5 6

Tight ends

Player Stnd PPR Rob Gronkowski, NE 35 38 Greg Olsen, CAR 17 19 Jordan Reed, WAS 16 19 Tyler Eifert, CIN 15 17 Jimmy Graham, SEA 14 16 Delanie Walker, TEN 12 14 Kyle Rudolph, MIN 11 13 Hunter Henry, SD 9 12 Travis Kelce, KC 7 9 Coby Fleener, NO 7 8 Zach Miller, CHI 6 8 Martellus Bennett, NE 6 8 Jack Doyle, IND 6 8 Gary Barnidge, CLE 5 7

Quarterbacks

Player Stnd PPR Tom Brady, NE 26 26 Matt Ryan, ATL 23 23 Drew Brees, NO 20 20 Aaron Rodgers, GB 20 20 Andrew Luck, IND 19 19 Cam Newton, CAR 18 18 Derek Carr, OAK 14 14 Marcus Mariota, TEN 11 11 Matthew Stafford, DET 11 11 Ben Roethlisberger, PIT 10 10 Philip Rivers, SD 10 10 Andy Dalton, CIN 10 10 Kirk Cousins, WAS 9 9 Dak Prescott, DAL 9 9

DSTs