RADIO
Scott Engel identifies fantasy football buy-low candidates, and also players to sell now. Read his buy/sell advice heading into Week 8 of the 2019 NFL season.
As we get deeper and deeper into the 2019 fantasy football schedule, the level of urgency to make trades and improve teams for the playoff run begins to rise. If you’re on top of the standings, you’d like to build even a more formidable lineup to take into the playoff push. For many owners, though, its about plugging holes, especially with heavy bye week impacts approaching and injuries to key stars creating a lot of anxiety.
Of course, every fantasy player wants to acquire a superstar to fix a glaring lineup issue or improve their overall outlook. But as we have also indicated previously, the issue we see with many trade offers is that a lot of owners are unwilling to part with their better guys to acquire an elite fantasy producer. They’ll stack quantity for high quality in their offers and will back off when they cannot complete a one-sided deal.
But what many owners fail to grasp is that they don’t have to land a big-name superstar to improve their team or fill a need. If you want to better your WR outlook you do not have to acquire Chris Godwin or Cooper Kupp to get the desired upgrade. Shooting a bit lower for a quality WR2 type, such as a Kenny Golladay or the underrated Courtland Sutton will likely demand less from your side in the deal while still helping your outlook. As we outlined earlier this week, if you lost Patrick Mahomes, you do not have to target Russell Wilson or Tom Brady as your replacement. Not every deal that helps your team has to be a blockbuster. You don’t have to shake up things from the top to ultimately reach the top.
Editor's Note: Identify fantasy football draft busts, overvalued ADPs, and key players to avoid so you can draft with confidence this season.
Buy ‘Em
James Conner, RB, PIT: He has been getting banged up and the Pittsburgh offense has obviously become a poor facsimile of what it used to be. Some of his current owners are still concerned about his health even though he had a bye week to rest up. Conner has taken the brunt of the offense on himself and had 119 yards and two TDs from scrimmage in his most recent outing. He is scoring often and you may be able to wrest him away from an owner who has been disappointed with his overall production. Conner can be a good fantasy RB2 even if he is not the RB1 many of us hoped he would be.
Marlon Mack, RB, IND: Consistency has been an issue recently, and Mack has also played through some injuries. But he has a terrific offensive line, two 100-yard games to his credit, and better times may be ahead as the main RB in an improving and overlooked offense. He should start to finish off more drives with TD runs.
Phillip Lindsay, RB, DEN: He is coming off his worst game of the season and is perceived to be a time share back in an awful offense. The reality is he had rushed for four TDs in four games and totaled 222 yards from scrimmage in two games prior to last week.
A.J. Brown, WR, TEN: It won’t take much to acquire him in many leagues, and you should deal for this exciting rookie before he faces Tampa Bay’s league-worst pass defense in Week 8. Get your fantasy mitts on Brown now before his possible breakout performance. He may even be a free agent in your league. Brown led the team with eight targets as Ryan Tannehill took over as the starter last week, and he already has two 50-plus yard receptions this season. Brown has big-play ability and can also make high percentage catches.
Kenny Golladay, WR, DET: Yes, that same Golladay we mentioned above. He is coming off his worst game of the season and is set for a big rebound week against the Giants’ 23-ranked pass defense. Golladay had a 121-yard outing before last week and had four TDs in four games to open the season. You’ll see that guy again this week as Matthew Stafford now goes to his other prime target after Marvin Jones’ four TD explosion against Minnesota. Very often in the NFL, when a WR has a big game, if he has a quality complement, that receiving partner will get opportunities to flourish in the following matchup. The QB wants to keep both guys involved and the defense may also focus more on the wideout who played well in the previous game.
D.J. Chark, WR, JAC: He has cooled off recently, with 96 receiving yards in the past two games. But Jacksonville faces the Jets (24th ranked pass defense) and Texans (29th) next. Chark remains a key target for Gardner Minshew and the Jags QB will continue to look for him to make splashy plays.
Matthew Stafford, QB, DET: Many of his current owners will look to sell him after his best game of the season, and you should buy. He still has a reputation with some as just an adequate fantasy backup, when he is really QB12 on the season so far and is coming on strong. Check out more QB targets to trade for and add here.
Mark Andrews, TE, Ravens: He is coming off one of his worst performances of the season, as he was plagued by drops and only caught two of eight targets for 39 yards at Seattle. You should always see if you can get a guy who had a down week, and is on a bye. Reactionary owners may part with him while thinking in the present, when better times are surely ahead.
Sell ‘Em
Sony Michel, RB, NE: He scored three times against the Jets and has six rushing TDs as an offensive finisher for the league’s best team. That is your sales pitch to the types who may buy into it. Pick the right guy or Patriots fan to use those narratives. Add in that he has rushed for over 80 yards in two of his past three games and you may be able to unload the unreliable and TD-dependent Michel.
Todd Gurley, RB, LAR: He had a season-high 18 carries in Week 7 and faces the league’s worst rush defense (Cincinnati) this week. Those are two great sales items to get rid of him now before you have to inevitably replace Gurley in your lineup again.
Marvin Jones, WR, DET: You simply have to see what you can get for Jones after his unforgettable Week 7 outing. Jones had one TD reception prior to last week and his value will never be this high again. Golladay is Detroit’s regular fantasy WR1 despite what we saw last week.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, GB: He had his best game of the season last week, with 133 yards and a 74-yard TD against Oakland. MVS is a big play target for the reawakened Aaron Rodgers, but he only had one TD reception and one 90-yard game prior to last week. MVS will continue to be boom or bust even if the Packers have truly rediscovered the passing game.
Drew Brees, QB, NO: There are some QB hungry fantasy owners looking for a big name, and odds are if you drafted Brees and had to replace him earlier this season, you now have two quality starters and can afford to deal one with the Saints passer on the path to returning soon.
Jimmy Graham, TE, GB: If you have a situation where you own another quality TE, see if he still has some name value to another owner who has a tight end hole. Graham has scored in two of his past four games and Rodgers looks for him frequently in scoring situations. That is your positive spin to use while trying to shop Graham.
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