While the fantasy regular season is 14 weeks long and we’ve now completed just two weeks, we all know how quickly opinions change regardless of track record. That’s right, the world is ending, Le’Veon Bell isn’t the same after missing preseason, and Trevor Siemian and Alex Smith will be the best QBs this season, just watch.
All kidding aside, the truth is, two weeks of football is enough to start getting the trade wheels rolling. Whether you’re buying or selling, here’s a list of players to consider making a move on before it’s too late.
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Players to Buy
Le’Veon Bell (RB – PIT)
There are some serious buying opportunities this week, but maybe none better than Bell. After shaking off the rust in Week 1, he faced a stiff Vikings defense that held him to 91 scoreless yards on 31 touches. The important part here is the 31 touches, as that is ridiculous volume. The Steelers said they were going to try and limit his work a bit more this season, but that doesn’t appear to be true.
Ezekiel Elliott (RB – DAL)
With the suspension looming in the background and his lackluster performance against DEN in Week 2, maybe you can go out and get Elliott for cheaper than he’s worth. What is he worth? He would be the No. 3 pick in the draft if we were to re-do it right now, behind only Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. He has caught nine passes in the first two weeks, raising the floor of the guy who dominated fantasy leagues in 2016. BUY.
Doug Baldwin (WR – SEA)
When a player has the track record of Baldwin (top-12 wide receiver in each of the last two seasons), you buy him after two bad performances to start the year. The only way Baldwin falls off is if Wilson becomes a below-average passer, which is something nobody expects. He’s always been a slow starter to begin the season and 2017 appears to be no different.
Davante Adams (WR – GB)
With the injuries to both Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, Adams is automatically the No. 1 target in the offense. Some may look to ‘sell-high’ after his game against the Falcons, but you should be willing to pay high-end WR2 pricing. Over his last 21 games with Rodgers (playoffs included), Adams has racked up 1,360 yards and 15 touchdowns. If Nelson were to miss time, Adams would be a must-start WR1 every week.
Mike Gillislee (RB – NE)
There are some people who still doubt Gillislee just because he’s a Patriots running back, but take advantage of that in your league. Don’t forget that LeGarrette Blount finished as the No. 7 running back last year in a similar situation. He’s going to be a strong RB2 at the very least.
Jeremy Maclin (WR – BAL)
The Ravens said Maclin would play the Steve Smith role, and they’ve made good on that as Maclin has been playing over 60 percent of his snaps out of the slot. With Danny Woodhead down and no other real pass-catchers in the offense, Maclin should continue to produce.
Russell Wilson (QB – SEA)
It seems as if Wilson always starts the year slow, and this season is no different. Over his five years in the league, Wilson has averaged just 211 yards and 1.3 touchdowns per game from Weeks 1-4. Once Week 5 hits, he’s been much better, averaging 233 yards and 1.7 touchdowns per game. Looking at the quarterback landscape, there aren’t five quarterbacks I’d rather have on my fantasy team.
DeVante Parker (WR – MIA)
Some may look at the stat sheet and think, “eh, just four catches for 85 yards?” You shouldn’t be one of those people, as it was an impressive performance in a tough matchup against Casey Hayward, who shut down some really good wide receivers in 2016. There are going to be some big weeks for the third-year wide receiver.
Joe Mixon (RB – CIN)
With the Bengals firing their offensive coordinator, this may be the change that Mixon needs. If you watched the game on primetime television last week, you clearly saw that he was the best talent in the backfield. Jeremy Hill may find his way to the bench and Giovani Bernard may be the third-down back, but Mixon’s arrow is pointing up and he can be had for cheap right now.
Dak Prescott (QB – DAL)
He’s now gotten two of his toughest matchups of the year out of the way, so you should be more apt to buying Prescott. Last year, there were just three games that he failed to hit at least 17.5 fantasy points and two of them came against the Giants. The Broncos had only allowed four quarterbacks more than 15 points in the last two years, so seeing Prescott finish with 15.9 against them is actually an accomplishment. He’s going to be one of the most consistent options from here on out.
Jameis Winston (QB – TB)
It may look like a weak stat line against the Bears, but Winston wasn’t asked to do much in that game as the Bucs were in control by the second quarter. There were two bombs to DeSean Jackson that they just missed connecting on, something that will come as they play together. Winston has a great schedule and has elite pass-catchers at his disposal. He’s a QB1.
Derrick Henry (RB – TEN)
Instead of holding out hope for a player like Frank Gore, who has no upside, trade him away for a player like Henry, who can win you a fantasy league. We have seen glimpses of what Henry can do if given the opportunity and DeMarco Murray is on the downside of his career. Should something happen to Murray, Henry becomes an every-week RB1. He out-touched Murray 14 to 10 in their latest game. Before everyone catches on, get Henry on the cheap.
Andrew Luck (QB – IND)
If you’re sitting pretty in the standing at 2-0, you may want to reach out to the Luck owner to see what it would take to get him. In case you haven’t noticed, the league doesn’t have the upper echelon of elite quarterbacks that it used to. Outside of Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, it’s a cluster. Luck is going to be in that territory when he comes back, so if you can afford to stash him, that’s exactly what you should do.
Martellus Bennett (TE – GB)
He’s started off slow, but when you’re getting 8.5 targets per game from Aaron Rodgers, you’re bound to find your way into elite territory. Bennett ranks No. 3 among tight ends in targets, so it’s only a matter of time. If Jordy Nelson or Randall Cobb were to miss time, Bennett would see those targets out of necessity. He’s one of the better buy-lows in all of fantasy.
Players to Sell
Devonta Freeman (RB – ATL)
In Week 1, Freeman played 36/59 snaps and touched the ball 14 times, while teammate Tevin Coleman played 24/59 snaps and touched the ball 12 times. Things seemed to go back to normal in Week 2, where Freeman out-touched Coleman 21 to 8, but it’s clear they want Coleman involved, which lowers Freeman’s ceiling. This offense won’t score as much as they did last year, either. Freeman is a low-end RB1, yes, but you may be able to sell him for more. Maybe package a deal with him to acquire Le’Veon Bell or Ezekiel Elliott.
Todd Gurley (RB – LAR)
Starting the year with matchups against the Colts and Redskins defense was a gift for Gurley and he delivered, kind of. He totaled just 128 rushing yards in the two games combined, but what saved him is the 10 targets that he’s seen in the passing game. These two defenses were at the bottom of the league in terms of fantasy points allowed to running backs, which won’t be the case once the Rams get to Week 4. He will play the 49ers this week, another bottom-five defense, but after that, it’s matchups against the Cowboys, Seahawks, Jaguars, Cardinals, Giants, Texans, and Vikings. You can risk it by waiting one more week, but your window to sell is closing.
DeMarco Murray (RB – TEN)
I warned you prior to the season to avoid the 29-year-old running back, as he had someone on the roster who is arguably more talented than he is. The crazy part is that it already reared its ugly head in Week 2. Murray has now totaled 426 rushing yards on his last 123 carries (3.46 YPC) over his last eight games, with one rushing touchdown. It’s not time to say that he’s completely done, but if you can get anything close to his second-round value, I’d do so.
Michael Crabtree (WR – OAK)
Anytime a No. 2 wide receiver on a team scores three touchdowns, it’s time to sell. While his year-end numbers will likely look like a top-15 wide receiver, Crabtree will remain a touchdown-dependent WR2 in fantasy leagues. He’s one of the players that you don’t want to just give away, but there are some people out there who severely overreact to one week.
DeAndre Hopkins (WR – HOU)
While it’s nice to see him get 29 targets through two weeks, things will change when a wide receiver totals just 4.4 yards per target. Hopkins is a solid wide receiver in a bad situation. The best attribute his quarterback has is his legs, which is far from ideal. Some will value him as a high-volume must-play every week, so sell while the targets are still that high.
Lamar Miller (RB – HOU)
You can only be so mediocre for so long before you start losing snaps to someone else, and it already started in Week 2 with D’Onta Foreman. After playing just two snaps in Week 1, Foreman played 17 snaps in the game against the Bengals. Alfred Blue should be coming back soon, creating an ugly timeshare.
Jarvis Landry (WR – MIA)
While Landry will be involved in the offense going forward, he’s not going to see the 15 targets he did in Week 2 ever again. The fact that he turned those 15 targets into just 78 yards is less than ideal, especially when you consider he had the best matchup on the field. He’s a low-end WR2, but you can probably get more right now.
Emmanuel Sanders (WR – DEN)
Let’s get one thing straight – Trevor Siemian isn’t going to throw four touchdowns in a game again this year. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s make it a point to remember that Sanders finished with more than eight fantasy points in just four games last year. This may have been his best performance of the year, which is when you want to sell.
Sammy Watkins (WR – LAR)
After a solid outing in Week 1, Watkins saw Josh Norman in Week 2 and finished with just two catches for 30 yards. You can hold out to sell for one more week if you’d like, as the Rams will play the 49ers inept secondary in Week 3, but know that it’s probably your final chance to sell him. The Rams schedule gets brutal starting in Week 5 as they’ll play against the Seahawks, Jaguars, Cardinals, Giants, Texans, and Vikings. He’ll be borderline unplayable in those matchups.
Terrance West (RB – BAL)
Sell West after two of his best performances of the year. Not only did he just lose his best run-blocking offensive lineman, but he’s also losing the snap count battle to Javorius Allen to 76 to 43. He’s also been out-touched 40 to 29, making him a risky start as an RB3 going forward.
Larry Fitzgerald (WR – ARI)
Some will say that this is your chance to buy Fitzgerald after a disappointing performance, but I’m not one of them. This is your off-ramp for Fitzgerald and there may not be another one. The Cardinals offense without David Johnson produced 16 points against the Colts who had allowed the Rams 46 points the week before. He’s not chopped liver, but he’s nothing more than a WR3 the rest of the way.
Jordan Reed (TE – WAS)
At the start of the season, it was a foot injury that had everyone concerned. Now it’s a chest injury. Not to mention the fact that Reed may be one concussion away from being shut down for the year. He’s simply not worth the risk at this point.
Kirk Cousins (QB – WAS)
If you’ve watched Cousins at all this year, you’d know that he misses his wide receiver duo of DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon. Not only has Terrelle Pryor been inconsistent, but Jamison Crowder has been playing through a hip injury, and Jordan Reed has been a non-factor. Cousins’ stat line looks solid from this past week, but it’s going to be a bumpy ride throughout the season.
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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.
