Late Fantasy Football Trade Ideas: Sell Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Jared Goff | Buy Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy and Kyler Murray

The fantasy football playoffs are just about here, which means your league’s trade deadline is probably approaching quickly. 

Unless you have an absolutely stacked team, your fantasy playoff matchup will probably be determined by how your best players play over the last couple weeks of the regular season. A powerhouse during the regular season might have its star players facing some of the top defenses deep in the playoffs, and one poor showing is all it takes to end up with a loss and have your season terminated.

I want to start a series on some of the best fantasy players with the toughest and easiest matchups for the typical fantasy football postseason weeks. We will kick things off with the quarterback position. 

If you are one that loves to play matchups, then this is the perfect series for you.

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Trade Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Jared Goff

You might see that section title and immediately roll your eyes. Burrow was not great early on, but has been one of the best fantasy options over the past month. Tagovailoa has fizzled a bit after a fast start, but is still a top-10 quarterback this season. Goff has been fairly solid all season, with only a couple down games and a handful of strong weeks.

I still think it’d be in your best interests to trade these guys now though, because their schedules late in the fantasy playoffs are about as tough as they come.

We are going to go about these discussions with standard fantasy settings in mind - playoffs starting in week 15 and running through week 17. 

Burrow and the Bengals will be playing the Minnesota Vikings in week 15, Pittsburgh Steelers in week 16 and Kansas City Chiefs in week 17.

While the Vikings have been average in slowing opposing quarterbacks, the matchups only get tougher from there. The Steelers only allow 15 fantasy points per week. In the championship, Burrow is facing a Chiefs’ defense that surrenders just 13 fantasy points per game. 

You might be thinking that you’d possibly win if Burrow (or Tagovailoa or Goff after I give those numbers) puts up those totals those weeks, and you might be able to. That’s what makes fantasy football so agonizing at times. Do you put your faith in Burrow, Tagovailoa and Goff or try to find another quarterback with a far easier matchup?

Tagovailoa’s schedule is even tougher. He’s got the New York Jets in week 15, Dallas Cowboys in week 16 and Baltimore Ravens in week 17.

The Cowboys are currently the easiest matchup of the three, and they are still a top-10 defense in slowing opposing quarterbacks. The Jets are a top-five defense right now, while the Ravens are the best in the league.

Goff’s matchups don’t look as tough on paper, but they definitely aren’t cupcakes either. He’s got the Denver Broncos in week 15, Vikings in week 16 and Cowboys in week 17. 

Denver is currently a bottom-10 defense, but they have been trending in the right direction over the last month or so. Again, the Vikings are an average defense, before a tougher battle with the Cowboys rounds out the fantasy playoffs. 

If you own one of these quarterbacks and are worried about the playoff matchups they’ll be in, the positive thing is their trade values are all about as high as you could hope for right now. Check out our trade value charts and go from there. Unless you got another quarterback on your roster with a favorable three-game span to end the season, maybe your best trade option would be to take on an average fantasy quarterback with decent postseason matchups and add a depth piece at another position.

Buy Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy and Kyler Murray

Prescott and Purdy have enjoyed pretty strong seasons to this point, while Murray looked good in his debut game last week. They have favorable schedules down the stretch.

The Cowboys’ matchups on paper look tough, with the Buffalo Bills in week 15, Dolphins in week 16 and Lions in week 17, but the toughest matchup of the bunch is the Bills, and it gets much easier from there. 

I get that Prescott hasn’t been super reliable in the past, but he’s enjoying a good season and the team has really struggled to establish a running game, which leaves huge games for Prescott and the pass catchers.

Purdy and the Niners open the fantasy playoffs on the road against the Arizona Cardinals. They host the Baltimore Ravens next and then wrap up the fantasy postseason with a road clash against the Washington Commanders.

We already know the Ravens are the best of the bunch, but those other two matchups are extremely favorable. Check out what games your other fantasy starters have in week 16, and if they are favorable, let those players carry you those weeks. Purdy rarely has really poor fantasy showings, so if he can be close to average that week, he might then lead you to a title against the worst defense in the league for the championship week.

Murray is obviously a risk coming off his long layoff, but he looked great in his first game back. As long as the team doesn’t shut him down late in the season, he’s got the chance to be a top-five fantasy QB every week, especially seeing his matchups in weeks 15-17.

Murray has the Niners in week 15, Bears in week 16 and then the Philadelphia Eagles in week 17. San Fran is a tough matchup in week 15, so like in Purdy’s case, check your other matchups for the week. If you think you can get by without a big showing from Murray, then the Cardinals’ starter might be able to carry you the rest of the way. The Bears and the fourth-worst against quarterbacks, while the Eagles are the third worst.