Buy Low Sell High: Week 6

Buy Low Sell High Week 6

We’re getting into prime fantasy football trade season. Struggling teams are looking to shake things up in hopes of making the playoffs and bye weeks are helping deals to get done with owners in need of short term replacements.

The following are my Buy Low and Sell High recommendations for week 6.

Buy Low

The Elite Wide Receivers

First up on this week’s list of buy low candidates is not just one player, but a group of players. Heading into Week 6 of the NFL season, there is literally no one in the world that could’ve predicted who the top-12 wide receivers in fantasy football are. DJ Chark, Will Fuller, Chris Godwin, and Tyler Boyd are all producing good numbers and are top-12 wide receivers. We’ve got guys like DeAndre Hopkins, Julio Jones, and Odell Beckham as major disappointments. Not to mention guys like Davante Adams and JuJu Smith-Schuster who have also been disappointing. It is tough to say exactly who the best buy-low candidate is right now, so I’m just going with the elite wide receivers in general.

Of all these previously mentioned wide receivers, the main ones I’m targeting are Hopkins, Jones, Adams, and Mike Evans are the players I’m still buying low on. A few of these elite wide receivers that I’m not as crazy about targeting are Beckham and Smith-Schuster. This has been a fairly crazy year so far for wide receivers, but that’s what makes fantasy football fun. The elite wide receivers tend to end up finishing as such at the end of the day, and now is a great time to make some offers for the elite wide receivers in fantasy football. 

• Jones has 573 air yards and is second in the league for wide receivers in that category, but hasn’t found the end zone.
• Evans leads the league in air yards through five weeks despite starting off slow with his illness and posting a zero-point game last week.
• Hopkins is seeing the targets and is tied to Watson, but has been unable to find the end zone.

Le’Veon Bell RB New York Jets

The first running back that I’m looking to buy low on heading into Week 6 is Le’Veon Bell. While the Jets have already had their bye week, Bell is currently the RB17 in PPR scoring. The main reason he’s been a bit of a disappointment is that he’s only found the end zone once, in Week 1 against the Bills. With 2.9 YPC, Bell hasn’t been very efficient this year either,  but with Sam Darnold looking to return in Week 6, that entire offense will see a bit of a bump. Bell is still a very talented running back who will get plenty of work in the rushing game and in the receiving game, making him a borderline RB1 on a weekly basis. If that offense gets him more involved and helps him find the end zone, Bell will have a lot of upside moving forward and it’s a great time to try and make an offer for him.

Joe Mixon RB Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals offense has been tough to watch at times this year, but the biggest issue has been the offensive line. Joe Mixon is an extremely talented running back who unfortunately has been stuck behind a poor offensive line and Andy Dalton has struggled this year as well. Mixon is currently the RB29 in PPR scoring leagues and has just one touchdown this year. If you look at Mixon’s stats on the season, he’s seen a steady increase in offensive snaps, rushing attempts, rushing yards, and YPC every single week. Last week in Arizona he saw 19 carries and ran for 93 yards and 4.9 YPC. While this offense has been rough and the offensive line may be the worst in the league, Mixon is still extremely talented and has nice upside. As someone who has been pretty disappointing and has underperformed, with the way things have been trending, I’ll happily buy him where I can.

David Montgomery RB Chicago Bears

Last week I was buying in on David Montgomery finally having his breakout game, and unfortunately, it didn’t happen. The trend of seeing an increase in snaps and usage stopped despite a good matchup against the Raiders. While he did find the end zone once, he only put up 25 yards on 11 carries, good for 2.3 YPC. The game script wasn’t ideal after the Bears were down 17-0 at halftime, and started throwing the ball more after they were behind. I still am buying into the usage and the increased workload that we’ve seen since Week 1 with the Bears and their bye week this week, he could be someone that owners are frustrated with and willing to move. 

Other players to buy low on: Brandin Cooks, Travis Kelce, and Kerryon Johnson

Sell High

Adam Thielen WR Minnesota Vikings

After voicing his frustration with the Vikings and the number of times they’ve been throwing the ball, we saw a nice bounce-back game out of Adam Thielen. With a stat line of 7-130-2, Thielen just put up his best week of the season with 32 PPR points last week against the Giants. While this was nice to see, I’m still not convinced that the Vikings are moving back to their pass-heavy approach. It’s clear that the Vikings want to feed Dalvin Cook the ball and establish the run. Kirk Cousins has not looked great at all and looks hesitant to throw the ball at times. If there’s an owner in your league that expects Thielen to be back to his borderline elite status, this could be a good time to sell. Don’t sell him just for the sake of selling him, but if you can capitalize on his Week 5 performance, sell high on him if you can. 

Devonta Freeman RB Atlanta Falcons

After having a decent game in Houston, now is the time I’d be looking to sell high on Devonta Freeman. Freeman has a career-worst YPC with 3.22 on the season. The only promising aspect of his game so far this year has been in the receiving game. Freeman has caught 22 of 26 for 173 yards and one receiving touchdown. In PPR scoring, he is currently the RB20 on the season and should have another decent game in Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals. His usage in the receiving game will keep him relevant in fantasy and I like him as an RB2/Flex option moving forward. The main reason I’m looking to sell him is due to his inefficiency and the way that offense appears to simply not be featuring him anymore. Ito Smith has been great and very efficient with his touches. I expect this backfield to be split similar to how Tevin Coleman was the complimentary back when he was in Atlanta. Don’t sell yourself short, but if there’s an owner who values Freeman as an RB1, I’d be looking to sell him. 

Chris Godwin WR Tampa Bay Buccaneers

One of my favorite breakout candidates and players to target in fantasy drafts this year was the third-year wide receiver in Tampa Bay, Chris Godwin. With Mike Evans on the opposite side of the field taking away coverage, Godwin has been able to thrive out of the slot this year. He is currently the WR1 in PPR scoring and standard-scoring leagues. He’s already put up 511 receiving yards and six touchdowns this year, and many owners are buying in on the idea of Godwin being the new WR1 in Tampa Bay over Evans. While I do like Godwin a lot and expect him to continue producing, he’s absolutely worth shopping as the number one wide receiver in fantasy. 

Greg Olsen TE Carolina Panthers

One name that may be a little tougher to sell high on is the veteran tight end, Greg Olsen. As the TE9 in PPR scoring on the season, Olsen has been a solid bounce-back candidate after just playing in nine and seven games in his past two seasons, respectively. While he does look like he still has it, I don’t know if we can even bank on him playing all 16 games this year. He’s put up 12.6 YPR on the season, which is one of the highest he’s seen in his career. I don’t mind Olsen as a streaming option for the rest of the season, but to expect much more than that is a bit bold. As stated previously, it may be tough to sell high on someone like Olsen, but it’s worth throwing some offers out there to an owner who is also streaming tight ends and might see Olsen as a reliable week in and week out option.

Other players to sell high on: DJ Chark, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Jones