Week 7 has come and gone, it’s time to sit down, crack open that roster and start buying and selling, Wall-Street style. Here are my 5 buy-low and 5 sell-high candidates.
Sell High
Amari Cooper WR (Oakland Raiders) – Its funny what a little desperation from a 2-4 struggling team – once thought to be a top AFC contender — can do for an offense in a big Divisional home game. Cooper’s stat line of 11-210-2 is what fantasy owners have been waiting for all season long. But now, Amari Cooper owners, is the time to sell. Cooper finally broke out versus the 31st ranked Chiefs pass defense and looked good doing so. Cooper’s first touchdown was also on a controversial no-call, which could have been easily brought back on an offensive pass interference call. Cooper still must play against three of the top 10 pass defenses in Miami, Buffalo and Denver, including a bye week and a Week 11 matchup versus a New England Patriots defense that has struggled. Belichick has always found ways to shut down opposing teams’ best offensive weapons. In the next five weeks, Cooper has a tough schedule and is still struggling with dropping passes, which I don’t believe will be fixed overnight. Now is the time to sell him while you can and get a nice package of a flex and RB2 and or even upgrade for a low-tier RB1. There are people who will give up this much for Cooper; be the seller not the buyer.
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Kareem Hunt RB (Kansas City Chiefs) – I know this seems crazy, selling the number one fantasy running back. Hunt is probably the most tradeable asset in fantasy right now and all signs point to Hunt’s production dropping. Hunt has averaged over 100 combined yards in all 7 games this season but he has also failed to reach the end zone since Week 4 and hasn’t topped 100 rushing yards since Week 5. Andy Reid trusts Alex Smith to get the ball to Kelce and his WR options more than running it in during goal line situations. Hunt has scored 13, 10 and 11 respectively the past three weeks in standard leagues, and is an obvious must start RB1 every week. Hunt also has one of the 10 worst strength of schedules to finish the season. Now don’t go selling Hunt for a one for one deal, rather sell Hunt now while you can get a lower tier RB1 and WR2 package or vice versa. You can also target guys like Gronkowski or Kelce to package with an RB1 such has Jordan Howard to get back in a trade for Hunt.
LeSean McCoy RB (Buffalo Bills) – Shady McCoy was most likely a first-round pick for many of you, and you’ve been waiting for that top 5 RB performance. Well, McCoy didn’t disappoint Week 7 while finding the end zone for the first time all year. So, McCoy is back to being top tier RB1 with 15-20 Standard League Scoring fantasy point per game, right? Not so fast. McCoy has yet to rush over 100 yards since Week 1 and finding the end zone for the first time since last year doesn’t scream RB1 to me. The Bills are of course going to be a run-oriented team with McCoy receiving 18-20 touches a game, which will keep McCoy in RB1 territory. Unfortunately, I do not think this offensive line is strong enough to support the run game, nor do I think Taylor has the weapons at WR to stop defenses from stacking the box versus Shady. Sell McCoy now while he can get you a strong return after his best week of the season.
Aaron Jones RB (Green Bay Packers) – Jones has brought great value the past three weeks for anyone who got him using the waiver wire. Now is the time to cash in on your phenomenal addition. With Hundley taking over as the starter, I expect Green Bay to run a lot more. Sadly, Green Bay faces four top ten defenses coming off their Week 8 bye. With Montgomery getting healthier each week, look for Green Bay to split carries. Mike McCarthy loves his veteran players and tends to heavily rely on them. Jones will still get 12-15 touches a game, but game flow will also dictate how much work he’ll get moving forward. Sell high on Jones’s performances from Weeks 5-7 before he disappears into fantasy outer space, like George Clooney at the end of the movie Gravity. Sorry for the spoiler.
Marcus Mariota QB (Tennessee Titans) – If you’re like me, you had high hopes for Mariota. If you’re also like me, you had to find a way to fill Mariota’s production in Week 5 and now again for Week 8 while on a bye. I was lucky enough to nab a guy like Deshaun Watson, who I feel comfortably rolling out weekly. Hopefully most Mariota owners picked up a valuable QB free agent when he went down in Week 4. If so, now is the time to sell on that move. With injuries to Rodgers and Palmer and two more rookie QBs getting the starting role (Beathard and Hundley) Mariota value has sky rocketed. I know his Week 7 performance was nothing short of disastrous, but with another week to heal up and Murray on the decline, look for Mariota to be a weekly top 10 QB. His three matchups versus Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh will be difficult, but I expect Mariota to have to throw a lot versus the Steelers and Bengals. Find those Palmer and Rodgers owners — maybe even a Matt Ryan owner — to trade with. I personally traded Mariota and Engram for a combination of Shepard and Kelce. Look for a player on the rise to trade Mariota for now while the QB position is in shambles.
Buy Low
Austin Seferian-Jenkins TE (New York Jets) – The tight end position is one of the more frustrating positions to plug into your line up each week. Unless you have guys like Gronk, Kelce, or Ertz, you’re in a weird spot of who to sit and who to start. Many people value TEs about as much as they do defenses and kickers these days, and will sell them for almost nothing. ASJ is the best the receiving option McCown has in this Jets offense. Nobody expected the Jets to play as well as they have with a combination of good defense and red zone production. The Jets have a top 10 red zone offense right now, and that is mainly due to Seferian-Jenkins these past three weeks. ASJ is never going to wow anyone on the score chart with big 100-yard games, but he will consistently score 7-10 points on a weekly basis and garner multiple red zone targets per game. With the TE position being thinner than my bank account, ASJ is a nice prize to cash in on at a cheap price.
Michael Crabtree WR (Oakland Raiders) – On the flip side of selling Cooper high, I recommend buying Crabtree low. His owners were saved last week with a last-second, game-winning TD. With the breakout game from Cooper, I expect many Crabtree owners to be looking to sell him with the thought that it will be the Amari Cooper show moving forward. The truth is, Crabtree is the WR to own in Oakland. While Cooper has a higher upside with his big play ability, his boom or bust attribute is still intact. Crabtree has 6 TDs on the year, scoring in each of his last three. He is clearly Carr’s go-to WR, not only in the red zone but in crunch time as well. Three of Carr’s four final passes went to Crabtree in or near the end zone to close out the Raiders’ game-winning drive this past week. Take advantage of Cooper’s big game to buy Crabtree for cheaper than his actual worth.
C.J. Anderson RB (Denver Broncos) – How frustrating has Anderson been to watch? The Broncos are 3-0 in games when Anderson touches the ball 20+ times a game, while 0-3 when he touches the ball 10 times or less. Coincidence? I think not. This Denver offense runs through Anderson. It’s simple, the more he touches the ball the better he gets. He is one of those guys who starts slow but gradually gets better during the game. Anderson did most of his damage in the fourth quarter of last game, picking up 30 yards on four carries. Anderson is still in the RB2 conversation, but can be bought for a mere package of flex players and RB3s. Anderson has a great upcoming schedule and I expect the Broncos to go to the ground a lot more. Anderson can be nabbed at a bargain price right now. Get to those flea market sellers and offer them a nice package of flex players and RB3s to grab an RB2 like Anderson.
Stefon Diggs WR (Minnesota Vikings) – Diggs has been injured the past two weeks and it has put a real damper on his production and value. Diggs’s obvious chemistry with Bradford in Week 1 made for a serious threat to opposing teams. With Bradford likely out for the near future and the uncertainty of Bridgewater’s return, it will be Case Keenum throwing the ball to Diggs. Diggs and Keenum hooked up for 173 yards and two TDs in Week 3 and another 98 in Week 4. I expect Diggs to be Keenum’s go-to moving forward. With owners getting frustrated while he’s hampered with a groin injury, now is the chance to nab Diggs for cheap. Considering Minnesota is playing Cleveland this week and then on a bye in Week 9, the Vikings may choose to sit Diggs a little while longer. Get Diggs at a discount and confidently plug him into your line up Weeks 10 and beyond as a high-end WR2.
Marlon Mack RB (Indianapolis Colts) – It appears the rookie running back may be taking over the reins of the Colts backfield sooner rather than later. Mack caught four passes for 40 yards while rushing for another 26 on five carries. Mack has carried 32 times this season for a total of 156 yards. That is almost 5 YPC. With the Colts most likely to fall behind in most games, expect Mack to out-snap Gore going forward, especially on passing downs. Mack is only owned in a little more than 26 percent of fantasy leagues and is a must-add. If he is on a roster, look to add him into a package trade as a sweet add-on. A little sweetener never hurt anyone.
