Buy cheap:
1. Rachel White
Rachaad White continues to climb in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers backfield and continues to eat up Leonard Fournette’s snap count. He has yet to have the blowup play that will have everyone sticking to the running back, meaning this is the perfect opportunity to buy.
Fournette has carried the ball for just 62 yards just 26 times in his last three games. His transient volume is the only thing keeping his fantasy managers from a painful headache every Sunday. However, I think White eats into that passing volume over time and is talented on each side of the ball. I bragged about this guy before the season, not because I didn’t think Fournette was good, but I saw the talent that White possessed and knew that his talent would eventually prevail. Buy Rachaad White before he gets the most snaps in the Buccaneers backfield.
2) Justin Herbert
Justin Herbert was nowhere near his top-three draft position last season for quarterbacks. In fact, the last time he was in the top five was in the first week. Now there is much to be done in this drop in performance. First, he had the rib injury earlier in the season around the same time his entire receiving core fell off with injuries. Jalen Guyton, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams all missed time and injured their yards per pass, which is among the bottom five in the league. For reference, last season he was 11th in that statistic.
Especially when you’re at or near the top of your league and a quarterback is the last piece you need, he looks amazing. I wouldn’t do it if you need to make a playoff push because quarterbacks aren’t that useful in a quarterback league for that. Break free of your depth, prepare for the playoffs and complete your team to win a championship.
3) Amon-Ra St. Braun
Amon-Ra St. Brown has been quiet in his fantasy performances since his injury, and he was on my buy low list a few weeks ago. However, there is still a huge window with his target stock for the past two weeks. He averaged over 30% target percentage and completed 19 total targets in those weeks. He’s been struggling with his scoring, which has hurt his production, and his big plays have declined. However, these statistics will come with time. As long as he’s getting between nine and 12 goals per game, he’s bound to score, and he’s bound to hit those plays.
The Lions have had a prolific offense this season, but their defense is far worse. Utilization corresponds directly to production, and the Lions will continue to move the chains and be forced to throw the ball continuously. Everything is lined up for Amon-Ra St. Brown to get back to his early season self and that will happen in the coming weeks.
Sell high:
1. Jeff Wilson Jr. and Raheem Mostert
I understand Jeff Wilson Jr. was the more efficient defender in this backfield last week. As it was his first week with the team, some managers might be too giddy about his future prospects. However, this backfield is as divided as it gets, and will remain as divided as it gets. Raheem Mostert had nine carries and two targets with a 47% snap percentage, while Wilson had nine carries, three targets with a 49% snap percentage.
Obviously, this team isn’t driving the hot hand and instead is pocketing those running backs to change the tempo. They’ll obviously have an easier time trading Wilson than Mostert, but as long as Wilson’s around I don’t put him in any of my lineups. This backfield works for the Miami Dolphins, but it’s a fantasy football nightmare.
2) Joe Mixon
These next few guys could get some eye rolls after the monstrous game they both come from, and their elite name recognition to make fantasy execs think these are performances that need to be continued. Joe Mixon comes off a game with five touchdowns and 200+ yards from scrimmage for 50+ fantasy points in Points Per Reception (PPR) leagues.
While Mixon was the primary beneficiary of the Cincinnati Bengals’ rushing offense last week, the Carolina Panthers’ rushing defense was abysmal for any Bengals ball carrier. All of the Bengals running backs had over six yards per carry, meaning Mixon’s seven yards per carry was impressive, but on a smaller scale. It was nice to see how efficient he was which was a big fight given his performances so far this season. However, his performance last week doesn’t tell me anything about his efficiency improving the rest of the season. This was a once in a lifetime achievement and I would sell it for an elite top 10 value if you can get it which is better than my prospects for Mixon’s future.
3) Curtis Samuel
Curtis Samuel has been losing ground which comes at the worst possible time as Jahan Dotson is out with a hamstring injury. He and quarterback Taylor Heinicke didn’t have the chemistry he did with Carson Wentz at center. In the last two weeks, Samuel has only been tackled five times per game. With Wentz, he was targeted an average of 8.33 times per game. I have no idea what that receiving core will look like when Dotson returns, but it doesn’t look like Samuel will return to the target percentage we saw him achieve with Wentz.
He gave blessings to fantasy managers to score points so he could sell for a decent price and I would look elsewhere with him. Maybe you can enlist Chris Olave or Christian Kirk, or if you’re high on your league leaderboards you can pair Samuel with someone else for Ja’Marr Chase.
#players #buy #sell #Fantasy #Football #week