Fantasy Football Trade Targets: Jeremiyah Love Leads Fantasy Trades To Make For Week 1

Yeah. Week 1 hasn’t even started yet.

So what?

Whether it’s Week 1 or Week 12, you should always be looking for ways to improve your fantasy rosters. So while pre-Week 1 trades seem silly, they can absolutely be beneficial.

Every Wednesday here at Fantasy Life, I’ll be highlighting some of the best fantasy football trade targets to consider. Buy low, sell high, you name it. And for a detailed breakdown of any trades you may make (with league sync available), be sure to check out the fantasy football trade analyzer, presented by Xfinity.

Football is here. Let’s talk some trades.

Trade Targets For Week 1 In Fantasy Football

Jeremiyah Love, RB, Arizona Cardinals

You know, we should be A LOT more excited about Love right now.

The player and the feeling.

And normally, we’d be salivating over the idea of a rookie running back selected third overall becoming a fantasy football superstar. But a preseason ankle injury has tempered that hype a bit, especially considering it still isn’t a guarantee he suits up for Week 1’s contest against the Chargers.

Now is the time to buy.

Sure. Love may not play this Sunday. And if he does, it’s very likely he splits a fair share of work with Tyler Allgeier. And if the latter happens, fine. The window to acquire Love in fantasy leagues only widens. If we remember back to Arizona’s second preseason game, we got a pretty good idea of what this backfield will look like when Love is healthy. During that game, Love played alongside Allgeier during the first two drives of the game, handling 71% of the snaps and 64% of the Cardinals’ rush attempts. He then dominated the snaps on his third and final drive with Gardner Minshew in the game. The usage was good.

The tape was even better.

Love carried the ball 11 times for 58 yards, showcasing power, elusiveness and an array of Madden-like skill moves. He avoided three tackles on 11 carries, while averaging well over four yards after contact per rush. There is a clear drop-off at the running back position this year, and Love is one of the last players who has true top-five potential. If there were ever a time to acquire him, it would be now.

Ladd McConkey, WR, Los Angeles Chargers & Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

We’ll double down on Chargers pass catchers, who get a stellar matchup to kick off the 2026 campaign.

There is plenty of hype around McConkey, despite a down sophomore season, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t attainable in trades at the moment. I fully expect the Mike McDaniel experience to get off to a great start on Sunday, as the Chargers host an inferior Cardinals defense that surrendered 2.59 points per drive a season ago, the fourth-worst mark in the league. The Cardinals also posted the second-worst defensive success rate on plays with motion (53.2%), which is notable considering McDaniel’s arrival will result in a massive boost in motion for the Chargers.

During the preseason, the Chargers utilized motion on 125 of 167 offensive plays (75%), up from their 50% motion rate from a year ago. It will be interesting to see just how both wideouts are used in this offense, as McDaniel has spoken very highly of both. We did see Johnston, not McConkey, on the field when the starters were in 13 personnel. It could be nothing, but it could also be a very positive sign regarding his routes and TPRR going forward.

Either way, the Chargers wideouts get the Cardinals in Week 1, followed by the Raiders in Week 2. It’ll probably be very difficult to trade for Los Angeles players heading into Week 3.

Luther Burden III, WR, Chicago Bears

This one is tricky.

Burden has been one of the more hyped players in fantasy this summer, but he also just recently returned to practice following a groin injury. Perhaps some are still worried about it. I don’t know. But I do know Burden is someone I’d love to add to my fantasy teams.

I acknowledge this one may be more difficult because apparently the only person who loves Burden more than the fantasy community is his head coach. Ben Johnson seemingly can’t stop talking about Burden, who is obviously set for an expanded role following his rookie year. From Week 11 on last year, Burden’s involvement increased following a slow start. During that span, Burden’s route share climbed to 61%, while drawing a target on 24% of routes. During that stretch, so many of the schemed looks went Burden’s way, as 11 of his targets came from motion, with another seven being wide receiver screens. Whether you put a ton of weight into his 2.71 yards per route run (3rd-best) is up to you, but there’s no doubt that Burden will be heavily involved as a sophomore, especially with DJ Moore now in Buffalo.

A lot of the discourse this offseason has been around who will emerge as the top target in Chicago’s passing attack. But what if there’s enough for everyone to eat? Last year, the Bears ranked 11th in neutral-script rush rate (46%), but an uptick in passing is likely on the horizon. Chicago’s defense on a per-play basis was bad, but the overall results weren’t awful due to turnovers. The Bears led the league with 33 turnovers, but were poor in other metrics.

7.6 YD/ATT (5th-worst)
66.6% CMP (8th-worst)
11.46 YD/CMP (6th-worst)
31.5% pressure rate (4th-worst)

Between natural regression and a much tougher schedule, I fully expect the Bears to throw the ball a lot more in 2026.

Juwan Johnson, TE, New Orleans Saints

First, make sure Johnson isn’t available in your league. He’s only rostered in 66% of Yahoo leagues at the moment. Secondly, this is only for those who fell asleep when drafting the tight end position.

If you are really struggling at tight end but can’t afford to acquire a top-tier option, Johnson should be on your radar. For starters, most people have him as a backup tight end, so the price will be cheap. But Johnson can easily post top-10 production during the first two months of the season with Jordyn Tyson sidelined. Between Tyson and Alvin Kamara’s absences, the Saints passing attack should be very concentrated. Last year, New Orleans had a massive hole at WR2, and Johnson filled that void, sporting a healthy 18% target share and 19% TPRR.

The current makeup of the Saints’ passing game is very similar, while the early-season schedule is favorable. Tight-end-desperate teams could move a bench piece for a borderline top-10 option, at least for the first few months.