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
Tom Brady (QB – NE)
Judging by the trade questions I’ve seen on the Twitter, quarterbacks can be had extremely cheap right now. Brady is an attractive trade target, as he’s now got Julian Edelman healthy, Josh Gordon playing a full complement of snaps, and maybe most importantly, he’s got no run-game with Sony Michel slated to miss some time. Similar to Drew Brees before Mark Ingram came back and Andrew Luck before Marlon Mack came back, Brady will be throwing the ball a whole lot.
Matt Ryan (QB – ATL)
As long as fantasy owners will continue to give Ryan away for minimal price, you should be willing to pay it. Some tie draft equity into prices until at least the halfway point of the season, and believe that Ryan is simply “playing over his head” to this point. The fact of the matter is, Ryan would’ve been drafted much higher if we’d known Devonta Freeman wasn’t going to play and that his defense would be one of the worst in the NFL. Ryan is a top-five quarterback for the rest of the season and you may be able to get him for pennies on the dollar going into his bye week.
Jameis Winston (QB – TB)
This could be your chance to buy Winston on the cheap, as he’s coming off a mediocre game against a perceived-as-weak Browns defense, though their pass-rush was always going to get to him. You want to attach yourself to quarterbacks who have elite options to throw to (he does), a below-average run game (he does), and while having a lackluster defense that puts them in a lot of shootouts (he does). Think about what a bad defense did for Matt Ryan, who was perceived to be a streaming quarterback coming into the season.
Aaron Jones (RB – GB)
There are many out there who believe Jones can become a league-winner, and I’m one of them. The Packers have a 12-to-2 passing touchdown to rushing touchdown ratio and that’ll even out over time. Jones has out-carried Jamaal Williams 15 to 12 over their last two games, and the Packers could’ve used their bye week to ensure he gets more work moving forward. When Aaron Rodgers goes to bat for a player (like he has for Jones), they’re going to get opportunity.
Ronald Jones (RB – TB)
Some will shrug off Jones’ 13-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Bucs as nothing, but it was noteworthy that he got the goal-line carry and scored the first rushing touchdown of the Bucs season. Similar to Marlon Mack in Indianapolis, Jones isn’t someone who’s going to consistently get 3 or 4 yards. Instead, he’s someone who’s willing to bounce a run outside if it gives him a chance to break one. He’s the better-suited running back for this offense.
Jalen Richard (RB – OAK)
Here’s a fun fact that most wouldn’t know: Richard has now scored at least 11.7 PPR points in 4-of-6 games this year. Keep in mind that was with Marshawn Lynch in the lineup, who is now out for at least a month and a candidate for injured reserve. The Raiders defense has seemingly gotten worse as the year’s gone on, so they aren’t going to stop throwing the ball 38.8 times per game, which ranks 10th in the NFL. Richard is kind of like a Christian McCaffrey-lite who’s available in most leagues.
Keenan Allen (WR – LAC)
There’s probably a lot of Allen owners out there who are growing frustrated with their second-round pick’s performance to this point, making this your opportunity to buy-low. After 10 weeks of the season last year, Allen sat there as the No. 29 wide receiver in fantasy football. We all know what happened in the second-half of the season. With Rivers throwing the ball so well and now Melvin Gordon dealing with a soft tissue injury, this could be Allen’s opportunity to shine. Did you know he has one more catch and 28 more yards than Antonio Brown this year? The touchdowns will come soon.
Kenny Golladay (WR – DET)
Coming off a season-low 37 receiving yards, this may be your opportunity to buy the Lions No. 1 receiver. It was a tough matchup against Xavien Howard last week, but you should know that he did score a touchdown that was overturned due to penalty, which could’ve completely changed the perception on him from this week. He’s already had his bye week, which is another plus.
Josh Gordon (WR – NE)
Over the last two games, Gordon has played 124 snaps, which ranks second to only Julian Edelman who has played 134 snaps. In that time, Gordon has seen 14 targets to Edelman’s 15 targets, while Edelman has scored two touchdowns and Gordon has scored none. Do you see where I’m going with this? The opportunity is there for him and he’ll start finding the end zone very soon, especially knowing that their run-game is hurting.
Corey Davis (WR – TEN)
It’s difficult to trade for someone who’s failed to crack 55 yards in 4-of-7 games, but hear me out. Davis has faced a gauntlet of cornerbacks over the first seven games. Here’s a list of them: Xavien Howard, Jalen Ramsey, Tre’Davious White, Brandon Carr, and Casey Hayward. There’s five cornerbacks who’ve played lights out this year and have held many top-tier wide receivers in check. On top of that, he’s had Marcus Mariota dealing with elbow issues, and Blaine Gabbert throwing him some of those passes. But here’s the silver lining… he’s got matchups with the Cowboys, Patriots, Colts, Texans, and Jets on deck. The only worrisome matchup is the Patriots, but he should have plenty of opportunity against Stephon Gilmore. He’s someone who might be considered a drop by his owners, but they’d miss the best part of his schedule.
O.J. Howard (TE – TB)
He hasn’t missed a beat with Jameis Winston under center, totaling 129 yards and a touchdown over the last two weeks on 13 targets. He’s playing nearly double the snaps of Cameron Brate, who is essentially a touchdown-or-bust option at this point. If you can land Howard for someone like Evan Engram, Eric Ebron, or Greg Olsen, you should pound that accept button.
Jared Cook (TE – OAK)
We’ve all heard that Amari Cooper has been traded, right? Well, the Raiders have to throw to someone. Knowing that Cook has totaled just 30 yards over the last two weeks, he’s as cheap as he’ll get. Here’s the thing – we know who Cook is at this point in his career, but we also know there aren’t many tight ends who average seven targets per game, which has led to him being the No. 5 tight end through seven weeks.
Players to Sell
Mitch Trubisky (QB – CHI)
He’ll be listed as a sell because not everyone watches games. If you have watched Trubisky play at times this year, believe me, you wouldn’t want him on your fantasy team. The Bears defense has allowed 69 points over the last two weeks, something that’s led Trubisky to throw the ball 81 times for 649 yards and five touchdowns through the air, with another 128 yards and a touchdown on the ground. You always want to sell while stock is at its high-point, and at this point, Trubisky’s fantasy stock is much higher than it should be. The defense will round into shape and Trubisky’s fantasy numbers will come back down to earth.
Christian McCaffrey (RB – CAR)
Remember Week 3 when McCaffrey totaled 184 yards on 28 carries and everyone thought he was a new workhorse who was guaranteed 20-plus touches per game? Yeah, that seems like so long ago. He’s totaled just 15 carries over the last two weeks combined and has still yet to score a rushing touchdown this year. With D.J. Moore becoming more involved in the offense and Greg Olsen returning, he’s not going to have as much receiving upside either. There’s many out there who view him as an every-week RB1, but sans that game against the Bengals where they were down to practically zero defensive linemen, he’s been consistently mediocre. At this point, I’d rather have James White.
Dalvin Cook (RB – MIN)
Not only has he been out since Week 4, but he’s seemingly made no progress on his injured hamstring. Remember when they called it a “slight” pull? There’s no such thing. Not just that, but Latavius Murray has now racked up 224 rushing yards and three touchdowns over the last two weeks. In the end, he’s not going away and this will be more of a timeshare than ever before, meaning Cook will return to a 10-15 touch role behind a sub-par offensive line. He’s barely on the RB2 radar moving forward.
Carlos Hyde (RB – JAC)
Going to the Browns offensive line to the Jaguars offensive line is something like a punishment for Hyde, as the Browns tackles may not be good, but the interior of their line was. The Jaguars line has been struggling to gain much push up front and he’s no longer going to be a workhorse who sees 15-plus touches a game. In fact, it’d be a shock to see him reach double-digits very often. He’s just a handcuff who’ll be playing behind Fournette after their bye week.
T.J. Yeldon (RB – JAC)
I was someone who suggested you draft Yeldon prior to the season, knowing that he was their most reliable pass-catching running back and Fournette’s injury history. Well, it worked out for a while… The issue is that the Jaguars decided Yeldon was not competent enough to be Fournette’s direct backup, so they went out and traded for Carlos Hyde. This is not going to help Yeldon’s value at all, despite Hyde being a completely different running back. If you can move him for someone like Duke Johnson, you probably should.
Emmanuel Sanders (WR – DEN)
If you’ve watched the Broncos, you know that it’s unlikely that two wide receivers are weekly plays. Sure, there’ll be certain matchups that allow it, but Sanders is going to be a volatile option in this offense. Not only is Demaryius Thomas going to be hanging around, but Courtland Sutton has been seeing more targets, including the most valuable ones in the red zone. You don’t want to rely on Case Keenum throwing passes to your wide receiver in the fantasy playoffs.
Demaryius Thomas (WR – DEN)
When buying and selling players, and particularly wide receivers, you want to take a look at the offense they play in, as well as who is throwing them the football. Case Keenum was literally a few snaps away from being benched, which would leave you with an inexperienced Chad Kelly at quarterback. It’s a whole lot of volatility, which just wont work during the fantasy playoffs, which is what you play for, right? On top of all this, he’s starting to lose targets to upcoming rookie Courtland Sutton.
Eric Ebron (TE – IND)
Some will think they’re being clever by trading for Ebron off a 31-yard performance, but it’s one of those times where you should consider selling somewhat low. It seems that Jack Doyle will be returning soon, which would send Ebron back into his part-time role. The Colts seem to now have a run-game as well, which will limit Andrew Luck‘s attempts going forward. I’d rather have someone like David Njoku or O.J. Howard going forward.
Greg Olsen (TE – CAR)
In his last 11 games, here’s Olsen’s stat line: 56 targets, 28 receptions, 299 yards, and two touchdowns. Does that look like must-start material? That’s just 2.5 receptions for 27.2 yards per game. With Funchess, McCaffrey, Moore, Curtis Samuel, and everyone else involved, it’s going to be hard to see Olsen recapture the magic he had from 2012-2016. He’s also said he’ll need foot surgery in the offseason, so there’s clearly an underlying problem.
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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.
