Fantasy Football Buy and Sell Candidates For Week 7

October 17, 2014

Joe Gallina analyzes the top buy and sell candidates for Week 7 of the fantasy football season. These undervalued or overrated players should be targeted or avoided.

The fantasy football landscape continues to change at a frenetic pace. Last week, the Vikings announced that Jerick McKinnon would be their primary back and Matt Asiata would see fewer touches. This week, they’ve changed their tune, and Asiata will be seeing more playing time. Knowshon Moreno returned to the Miami backfield in Week 6, and we fantasy players were wondering how that would impact Lamar Miller’s playing time. Well, don’t worry about it, Lamar Miller is still the primary back in Miami and Knowshon will be a no-show for the rest of the season, as he tore his ACL last week.

Between bye weeks and injuries and new players emerging, it’s tough to sift through all the noise as you try to improve your fantasy football roster. That, my friend, is where I come in. I’ve found another four fantasy football players who can help your team. A couple of my picks here are from teams that are considered NFL laughingstocks, but you can still find fantasy gold within the rosters of some underperforming teams. As usual, I've also chosen two players that you should sell before they wreck your fantasy season. Good luck in Week 7!

Week 7 Fantasy Football Buys

Cecil Shorts III, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

Owned in 54% of Fleaflicker leagues

When healthy, Cecil Shorts III is one of the most productive fantasy football wide receivers around-- he's someone who plays at a level that would make all the Cecil Shorts who have come before him very proud. The Jaguars don’t have much of a running game, and even though inserting Blake Bortles as their starting QB may not have yielded any wins as yet, Bortles is doing a good job of working with his receivers.

In Week 6, Bortles targeted Shorts 16 times, and the wide receiver caught 10 of those targets for 103 yards. He has great hands, runs good routes and finds ways to get open, all of which should help Bortles as he develops in his inaugural season. The fact that the Jaguars are struggling in the won/loss department can make Shorts an even more valuable fantasy option, since the Jags will be passing the ball more often as they try to play catch-up football. As long as he can stay on the field, Shorts has high upside going forward.

James Jones, WR, Oakland, Raiders

Owned in 58% of Fleaflicker leagues

If I told you back in August that after six weeks of the NFL season, WR James Jones would have more total fantasy points than Calvin Johnson, would you have believed me? Probably not, but it is true. Raider WR Andre Holmes was one of the hottest names flying off of the waiver wire this week, and he definitely is a playmaker, but it is exactly his big play ability that makes me recommend adding James Jones to your roster over Holmes. Holmes can provide you with ncredible performances, like his two touchdowns in Week 6, and follow it up with a week in which his fantasy production is irrelevant. Jones is a more reliable receiver.

He won’t give you huge weeks, but five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown is not out of the question. I am not advocating using him as a WR1, but with an average of 15 fantasy points per week in PPR leagues, Jones is definitely worthy consideration as a good FLEX play or even a WR2 on a weekly basis. This guy is no slouch. He has spent his entire career in Green Bay catching passes from Aaron Rodgers, and in 2012 he scored 14 touchdowns. Consistency is the name of his game, and with at least two teams on a bye for the next several weeks, he should be owned in most leagues.

Brandin Cooks, WR, New Orleans Saints

Owned in 75% of Fleaflicker leagues

The Saints offense has been a bit disappointing thus far this year, but I’ve got a feeling that things are about to heat up, and with Jimmy Graham out for the next few weeks, wide receiver Brandin Cooks should see more activity coming his way. The Saints are a better team when they play at home, and four out of their next six games will be played at the Superdome.

On pace to catch over 100 balls this season, the highly touted rookie Cooks has already become one of Drew Brees’s favorite targets. Cooks has been on the receiving end of the type of short passes formerly reserved for Darren Sproles, and though the yardage totals you’d expect from a receiver with over 100 catches has not materialized yet this season, the absence of Graham’s downfield catching abilities may prompt Brees to start connecting with Cooks on some deeper balls. Rookie wide receivers often take some time before developing the skills necessary to become useful fantasy players, but Cooks has hit the ground running and is someone who can make great contributions in PPR formats.

Justin Forsett, RB, Baltimore Ravens

Owned in 79% of Fleaflicker leagues

Earlier this season, it appeared that the Ravens rushing attack was going to be manned by a three-headed monster. The depth chart was set with Bernard Pierce, Justin Forsett and Lorenzo Taliaferro. Several weeks later, 29-year-old journeyman Justin Forsett has supplanted 23-year-old Bernard Pierce and is now “the man” in the Ravens backfield. Now that Forsett has emerged victorious, too many fantasy players seem to have forgotten about him in the intervening weeks. Forsett is someone you should be targeting in a trade.

As we approach Week 7, only seven other backs have more fantasy points than Forsett this season. That's more than LeSean McCoy or Jamaal Charles, both of whom are first-round draft picks. Forsett is on pace to rush for over 1100 yards this season, and he averages 6.4 yards per carry. He also has good hands and has caught 23 passes for an additional 118 yards. The success that Forsett has enjoyed thus far this season doesn’t make sense but when you think about it, not much about this fantasy football season makes sense, so try making a deal for him and play the hot hand.

Week 7 Fantasy Football Sells

C.J. Spiller, RB, Buffalo Bills

Owned in 91% of Fleaflicker leagues

Ever since 2012, the fantasy football community has been waiting for C.J. Spiller to regain his old form and become a relevant fantasy running back again. Too many fantasy owners have let their high hopes get the best of them, as Spiller was drafted in the fourth or fifth rounds of countless leagues this season. We all, and I am talking about fantasy owners everywhere, should unite and stick a fork in Spiller, because he is done.

He is being severely outplayed by 31-year-old Fred Jackson, and has cost you enough lost fantasy points this season. Charger RB Branden Oliver made his season debut two weeks ago, and he already has more total fantasy points than Spiller. The Bills don’t know what to do with Spiller, as evidenced by his only 12 Week 6 snaps. It’s time to cut ties with this underperformer. Try to package him in a deal that gets him far away from your team. He is dragging you down and probably occupying a bench spot that you could fill with someone who can actually contribute.

Pierre Garcon, WR, Washington Redskins

Owned in 91% of Fleaflicker leagues

After being targeted 16 times in Week 3, Pierre Garcon hasn’t managed more than six targets in a game since. After recording 113 receptions on 187 targets for 1,346 receiving yards in 2013, Garcon is on pace to record 80 receptions on just 127 targets with 825 receiving yards this season. That is a drop-off of two catches per week, and since he was averaging 10.3 yards per catch last year in PPR leagues, Garcon is giving you four fewer points per week on average. Have you ever lost a fantasy match by a point, or two or three?

Those losses really sting, and you need every point that you can get. Kirk Cousins has shown flashes-- I even encouraged you to buy him based on the talented receivers he has at his disposal and the fact that his head coach believed his talents were better suited to the Redskin offensive scheme. As Week 7 approaches, though, it is apparent that Cousins remains a work in progress who will lose his starting job to RG III once Griffin is physically and mentally ready to return. That could be in one week or it could be in five weeks, and while Garcon is still the go-to guy in Washington, Cousins at the helm probably means diminished returns for all Redskin wide receivers.

Feel free to reach out to me on twitter @joegallina. Let me know what you think about my suggestions, and I'd be happy to answer any lineup questions you may have. Good luck in Week 7 RotoBallers.