How to approach the fantasy trade deadline based on your spot in the standings

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Late-season trades can cement a playoff spot for a middling team or beef up a contender. Perhaps, a blockbuster might even save a long shot in the basement. Here are a number of roster approaches to strengthen your virtual club before the trade deadline.

Options for playoff long shots

When facing a steep uphill climb to the playoffs, the importance of winning every week is heightened. Weekly matchups carry more significance, and you need to lighten your attachment to the individual players on your roster. Consider these moves to improve your team for the immediate future.

• Cut any backup quarterbacks or tight ends. Load your roster with running backs and wide receivers. Carrying multiple players at the singular positions is ill-advised all year, but it is especially damaging down the stretch run with most bye weeks behind us.
  
• Deal your stashes. Doug Martin and Dion Lewis are unlikely to help you make the playoffs. Continuing to wait for Kenneth Dixon or Paul Perkins to emerge might also offer little hope.
  
• Trade away your players with upcoming byes. Even if you have to take a slight hit in value, having a serviceable option is better than a guaranteed zero in the fantasy point column.
  
• Focus on upside and take calculated risks. You're behind the eight ball already, so playing it safe will likely land you tied for eighth and outside the postseason. Remember, you don't need to win a trade to improve your team, especially within a shortened timeframe.

Moves for middling clubs

Like the NFL, most fantasy leagues feature a few standout clubs coasting into the playoffs, a few basement dwellers with little hope and a slew teams hovering around .500. Thankfully, getting your team over the hump and into the postseason is within reach with savvy roster management.

• Trade from your positions of strength. If you're rostering five startable receivers but searching for a weekly answer at another position look to secure a reliable fantasy contributor in exchange for a receiver.
  
• Keep an eye on targets and snap counts. Make sure the running backs and receivers who helped get your into the hunt are still significantly involved in the offense. Marvin Jones and Christine Michael serve as prime examples of players who might be overvalued based on their early-season production.
  
• Search for a two-for-one trade. Turning two fantasy assets into a weekly lineup lock can bolster your roster and lessen your weekly decisions. It's easier said then done, but perhaps there is a playoff long shot willing to cough up a star for two solid starters.
  
• Remain diligent on the waiver wire. Being complacent with your roster is a fantasy no-no. Plus, keeping hot commodities from the teams you need to beat out or leapfrog in the standings is important, especially with the ever-changing landscape of the NFL.

Turning your contender to a champion

While cruising through the regular season is difficult, a perfect storm of nailing middle-round picks, avoiding injuries and some being on the right side of matchup luck can leave a team all but locked into a semi-final berth already. Remember, though, titles aren't rewarded until Week 16. Also, the previous warning about becoming complacent with your roster applies, too.

• Consider handcuffing your star running back. Ezekiel Elliott has a clear backup in Alfred Morris; after that, it isn't as obvious in most backfields. So, while it would be ideal to own the No. 2 back behind David Johnson and Melvin Gordon, you might have to take a speculative flier. LeSean McCoy, DeMarco Murray and Jay Ajayi could all leave a murky situation behind them because of injuries and other factors.
  
• Handcuff opponent's top running backs. A speculative stash of Derrick Henry, Morris, DeAngelo Williams or Thomas Rawls could prove to be a league-winning move. Leaving your opponents searching for production at a thin position in the final weeks of the season can shatter a lineup. You're not only picking up a startable asset, you're keeping one from another contender in need.
  
• Trade away your excess depth for upgrades. Concentrating on putting together the best roster for the playoffs is encouraged, and since your bench can't score fantasy points, you should focus on assembling the best starting roster you can. Sure, an injury can leave you shorthanded, but another star not only mitigates that risk, it could put you over the top.
  
• Look ahead to the playoff schedule. San Diego, Atlanta and Oakland have cushy matchups in Weeks 15 and 16. On the flip side, Cincinnati, Kansas City, New England, Green Bay and Detroit project unfavourably. Just note, nothing is etched in stone in the NFL, so don't go overboard chasing matchups.