Fantasy Football Buy Low Sell High: Week 9
Halfway into the season and a lot has been showcased and many important factors to consider for your fantasy team. It’s been a dreadful and confusing past couple of weeks for a ton of players. On the one hand, some players rode the first four weeks to perhaps the peak of their fantasy point season. Yet on the other hand: SO MANY INJURIES. A lot of teams are barely holding on after injuries such as JJ Watt (The Cardinals can survive, I have faith), King Henry, Jameis Winston (sigh), James Robinson, and Robert Tonyan. Now, be sure to exercise caution. Don’t make knee-jerk reactions. Alright, it’s been 8 weeks, time to win. Although your team might have not started so great, your players might be primed for bounce-back weeks. The last thing you would want is to sell players who score a ton after you trade them. Additionally, you might have guys who scored a ton so far but don’t have the circumstances week-in and week-out to continue that high scoring (Cordarrelle). Whether your team has been beset by injuries or is the picture of health, you should always be trying to improve your team. It’s time to make the beginning push towards your championship.
Also, I just want to point out that if you have Calvin Ridley on your fantasy team, do not be upset with him for putting his real-life and mental health above football. After all, there’s so much more than football and don’t be a troll on social media and bully him for not getting your pretend team points. Let’s be supportive and cheer Ridley from afar as he battles a very real battle that affects far more than football.
This week only sees four teams on Bye: the Lions, Buccaneers, Seahawks, and the Washington Football Team. The combination of 4 teams on BYE and all the injuries have decimated so many teams. Let’s survive the Bye-tragedies together and make some trades to get a win this week, and throughout the rest of the season.
Now, it’s always helpful to have people give you some advice on players that should only rise in value or have hit their peak. As such, that’s why I’m here. I’m here to help guide you through the fantasy football season and decide who you should go try to trade for or trade away. So that way you can keep on winning and hopefully win a championship. Right now, you’re still assessing your team. Thus, you don’t want to react too quickly to veteran players who have had a rough start to the season. If they keep struggling past this week, it might be time to make some team-changing moves. That doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of other people who want to get rid of them. Just FYI, the scoring is for PPR unless otherwise noted. FYI, all the stats come from our very own FantasyData. Here’s my opinion on who you should Buy Low/Sell High:
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Buy Low
Taysom Hill, Quarterback, New Orleans Saints
So, with Jameis Winston sadly losing the rest of the season, and a chance to take the Saints’ starting QB job for good, due to a torn ACL, an opportunity arises. The opportunity that has arisen is going straight towards Coach Sean Payton’s favorite player, Taysom Hill. He’s been groomed by Payton for years to take over as QB of the Saints. He gave him multiple contract extensions and sings his praise nonstop. Taysom has missed the last few games due to a concussion but is returning this week fully healthy. That’s great for fantasy as Taysom is one the best QBs to have in fantasy football. We saw how talented he is and good for fantasy last year he started 4 games while Drew Brees was recovering from broken ribs. Over Weeks 11-14 last year, Taysom had at least 18 points in all 4 while having at least 40 rushing yards too. He displayed a great mix of rushing and passing as he threw for at least 230 yards passing in 3 of the 4 games while finishing with a total of 4 TDs through the air and 4 TDs through the ground. Now, he is going to rely even more on rushing as Michael Thomas is not coming back to save the Saints wide receiving room. Although if they get OBJ, then that’s a different story. But, we don’t play on what-ifs. Taysom’s a high-end QB2 with an amazing schedule to finish the year against. He plays the Falcons, Jets, Eagles, Titans, Dolphins, Panthers, Cowboys, and Bucs. I’d only truly be worried about the Bucs stopping Taysom. If you find yourself in need of a QB, go trade for Taysom.
Nick Chubb, Running Back, Cleveland Browns
Antonio Brown, Wide Receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This is another case of “what have you done for me lately”, but it’s mixed with a case of urgency. AB is probably your league mate’s WR2/3 that he needs to put up points every week in order to win. The only issue is that after his blazing Week 5 and 6 games, he’s been on ice since. He missed both Weeks 7 and 8 due to injury and is now on his bye. He should return next week, however, your league mate might not be able to wait that long. If they find themselves battling for a playoff spot right this very second, then it’s quite likely they would trade AB. Now, that’s when you pounce. AB’s 6th in ppg in PPR with 19.1 and Tom Brady has proven that he can support 3 WR1/2s every single week. Plus, AB is a favorite of Brady. I’m sure you have followed their soap opera. Additionally, Brown’s schedule is cake coming up. He faces the Football Team, Giants, Colts, Falcons, the Saints, and the Jets. Only the Saints would I truly be worried about. If you can sell Woods, Sutton, Waddle, or players like these three for AB, I’d do it. Get some AB in your life and on your team.
DeAndre Hopkins, Wide Receiver, Arizona Cardinals
People, people, people, Hopkins is still Hopkins, since when was he not? People are acting as if Hopkins has become AJ Green and doesn’t know what route to run or whether he should catch a ball. He’s dealt with a multitude of injuries but is still active every week and putting up points. You take the good with the bad. Hopkins has very likely won some teams their matchups a couple of times. Yet, people are acting as if he should be banished to the waiver wire. I get that he’s not getting 10 targets a game like when he is 100% healthy. But Nuk is still Nuk. He’s the WR14 in PPR on a ppg status with 15.7. Nuk is the Cardinals’ #1 WR in a powerful offense. Kyler targets Nuk often. Even better, Nuk has caught all SEVEN of his red-zone targets for touchdowns. He’s averaging near a touchdown per game, my goodness. His target share of 20% is plenty for a high-volume passing offense. In the red zone, per game, he averages 7 points. Now that’s exactly what you want from your star WR. He’s getting healthier and has a great schedule where he faces the Panthers, Seahawks, Lions, Colts, and others. Finally, he’s on pace for yet another big season with 75 receptions, 105 targets, 14 TDs, and over 1,030 yards. I bet he beats all of those marks, except maybe the TDs. I wouldn’t put it past him though on beating that mark. Get some Nuk in your life!
Other Buy-Low Targets: DJ Moore (CMC back to take attention), Justin Jefferson (1 bad game), Zach Ertz (getting targets), and Kadarius Toney (last “healthy” WR for NYG)
Sell High
Michael Carter, Running Back, New York Jets
Alex, I’ll take outcomes I didn’t expect to happen in Week 8 for 1,000, please. I am fairly certain that no one predicted the Jets to beat the previous AFC #1 seed Bengals. That was just as weird to type out just now too. What year is this where the Jets beat the top 2 AFC seeds and the Bengals are one of those teams??? Anyways, Michael Carter was a big factor in the win and in Mike White’s record-making QB debut. Yet, I wouldn’t be expecting Carter to get 9 catches for 95 yards every week. Nor would I expect him to lead the team in rushing attempts, rushing yards, targets, and receiving yards every week. That’s just outlandish and he isn’t CMC-good. The Jets were without their WR1 in Corey Davis, a beat-up O-line, and a QB making his debut due to Zach Wilson being hurt. Carter’s proven to be the running back to own on the Jets if you want to own one. Despite his great game, he is averaging only 3.8 ypr, not good, and has only 279 rushing yards on the season. That’s not even a third of Derrick Henry’s. What’s even more alarming is that he has only 3 touchdowns on a meager 12 red zone rushing attempts. I want running backs like James Conner who get force-fed rushing attempts in the red zone. Give me those TDs. Now Carter has to face the Saints, Bucs, Bills, and Dolphins, 4 of the best rushing defenses. If you can sell Carter for Conner, MG3, or another RB like them, do it now!
Boston Scott, Running Back, Philadelphia Eagles
Please don’t tell me that Boston Scott is now a “thing” for fantasy all of a sudden. If anyone says that he is, laugh. Scott demolished the porous run defense of the Detroit Lions for a rather weak 60 yards. The only thing that saved him was his two short-yardage touchdowns. I mean, if he didn’t do at least decent against the Lions, then that’s sad. He did enough. Let’s look at his Weeks 1-7 before Miles Sanders got hurt and went on IR. Oh, look at all those zeroes. He had 3 receptions on 4 targets for 10 yards and 24 rushing yards for a touchdown in all 7 of those weeks. That’s waiver-worthy. That’s why he was on the waivers. I don’t trust the Eagles coach one bit, but Jalen Hurts is the RB1 on that team. Plus, the team is consistently behind when they play actual teams that aren’t tanking, and that means they are passing the ball a ton. That’s why Miles Sanders had 3 rushes in one game at one point this season. Now they face the tough Broncos, Football Team, Saints, and Giants who are all great at preventing the run. Not to mention the fact that Scott has been a change of pace back throughout his career. If you can get literally anything for Scott right now, take it. Don’t be stuck with a player that’s just going to waste a bench spot on your team.
Randall Cobb, Wide Receiver, Green Bay Packers
He is another player that had a great game with bad peripheral stats and a not-great season so far. Playing against the Cardinals last Thursday, he scored two TDs (GREAT!) only 3 targets (BOOO). That’s not a recipe for success or even one that you can rely on. He scored those two TDs while being the only actual WR that Aaron Rodgers had any experience with while Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, and MVS were all out. Not to mention the fact that Robert Tonyan tore his ACL mid-game too. So, yes Cobb did score twice. However, Cobb’s only had 23 targets all year. He’s caught 17 of them for 194 yards. That’s an average of 2.12 receptions for 24.25 yards per game. Yea, sell high on him right now. Quick note, Rodgers is now out with Covid which means that we have no clue what’s going to happen with Jordan Love. Plus, all three of the aforementioned WRs are coming back this week. If you can sell Cobb for AJ Green, Tyler Boyd, Evan Engram, or even Michael Carter, do it now!!
Alvin Kamara, Running Back, New Orleans Saints
It’s not often that you see someone promoting fantasy players to trade their top-5 running back in PPR leagues. Yet, that’s exactly what I’m proposing you do if the price is right. I am not saying to go out and trade Kamara for anything. No, no, no. I’m saying if you can get Chubb, Ekeler, Swift, Jonathan Taylor, or another top-10 healthy back for him, or even multiple players or a wide receiver like Adams, then I might do it. Why? Well, it’s because of Winston’s ACL tear and who’s replacing him. Taysom Hill is the new QB1 of the Saints which spells doom for AK’s fantasy value. Obviously, it’s not DOOM, but it spells worries that AK isn’t going to keep doing what he is doing. See, with Hill at QB, AK’s rushing attempts go down. This is because Hill vultures them for himself. He’s able to run the ball really well and well, why risk fumbling when you can carry it yourself. In fact, over their 4 games together last year, Kamara had less than 100 rushing yards in each game. Plus, Hill doesn’t check the ball down to Alvin nearly as much since he can just escape a collapsing pocket. Alvin had 3 or fewer receptions in 3 of their 4 games last year. Plus, in the crucial red zone where running backs score a majority of their points, Alvin wasn’t given the ball. Over those 4 games, Hill rushed 11 times to Alvin’s 7. Additionally, Hill had 4 touchdowns to Kamara’s 3. Now that Michael Thomas is out for the year, teams can just stack the box against both Hill and AK. However, this doesn’t mean that Hill will throw the ball to Alvin since he can throw it to what little WRs they have downfield with easy coverages. The Saints offense is dramatically shifting mid-season and I don’t like change that negatively affects my players. If you can get a great package for Kamara, then I’d take it. He’s still going to be a top-10 RB, just not a top-5 like you were banking on him to be.
Other Sell-High Targets: Tyler Lockett (ultimate Boom/Bust), Tyler Boyd (blow-up game), Evan Engram (still healthy surprisingly), and Adrian Peterson (this isn’t 2012).
As always, I’m more than happy to talk on Twitter and Discord. Let me know your thoughts on these players if you managed to trade for/away from them. If you need thoughts on any trade, my DMs are open 18/7. I respond to everyone. Hope you win your week this week. Let’s have a successful fantasy football season this year. We are about to be two weeks into our Championship winning season! Let’s go win Week 5!
Of course,
May the Force be with You…
