Fantasy Football Buy/Sell & Trade Candidates For Week 12

November 21, 2014

Joe Gallina analyzes the top buy/sell and trade candidates for Week 12 of the fantasy football season. These undervalued sleepers or overrated potential busts should be targeted or avoided.

You made it to Week 12, and with this likely being your last opportunity to make a trade in your fantasy league, you need to make sure that your roster is ready for an extended fantasy playoff run. Now is the time to make sure that you handcuff all of your fantasy stars that are susceptible to injury.

Grab the backups for fragile backs like Ryan Mathews and Arian Foster. If you own shares in Jordy Nelson or Randall Cobb, try to get your hands on a Davante Adams. Do you own T.Y. Hilton or Reggie Wayne? If so, try to pick up Donte Moncrief. You should also be looking at NFL schedules and trying to claim players from teams with soft schedules during the crucial Week 14 through Week 16 fantasy playoff season. More than ever, you now need to make calculated trades and manage the waiver wire wisely.

In order to help you with your personnel decisions, I’ve found another four fantasy football players who can help your team. A couple of them play for teams with favorable schedules during fantasy playoff time. As usual, I’ve also chosen two players who should be jettisoned from your team before they wreck your fantasy season and any chance that you have at making your league’s playoffs.

Good luck in Week 12! Reach out to me on Twitter @joegallina. Let me know what you think about this article, or hit me up with any lineup questions you may have.

Week 12 Fantasy Football Buys

Kenny Stills, WR, New Orleans Saints

Owned in 43% of Fleaflicker leagues                                

With the loss of outstanding rookie wide receiver Brandin Cooks for the remainder of the season, Kenny Stills becomes a valuable play as a wideout for the Saints going forward. Although they have stumbled of late, losing two straight home games after not having lost in New Orleans since December 2012, the Saints have a favorable schedule during the fantasy football playoff season.

There are no automatic wins or easy games in the NFL this season, but the Saints face the Panthers and their disappointing defense at home in Week 14, they play at Soldier Field against the Bears porous defense in Week 15, and they're at home against the Falcons and their soft defense in Week 16. Stills has big-play ability and will definitely see more targets and red zone opportunities come his way with Cooks’s absence. I’m betting that with several home games and Drew Brees at the helm, the Saints offense will get better, and Kenny Stills will be a big part of that resurgence. Pick him up and he might be able to help your team surge through the playoffs.

Theo Riddick, RB, Detroit Lions

Owned in 14% of Fleaflicker leagues

The Detroit Lions are another team with a favorable schedule in the weeks that your fantasy team will be making a run at your league’s title. They play the Bucs and Vikings at home in Week 14 and 15, and are on the road in Chicago in Week 16. Playing in Soldier Field in December is never an easy task, but these are not Ditka’s Bears that the Lions will be facing, and this is a Detroit team that actually won a football game in Chicago last season.

Riddick is especially valuable in PPR leagues as a red zone threat with touchdowns in three of the last four weeks. With Reggie Bush’s lingering ankle injuries and the uncertainty surrounding his availability every week, picking up Theo Riddick provides you with insurance and depth, making for a smart move all around.

Chris Hogan, WR, Buffalo Bills

Owned in 3% of Fleaflicker leagues

If you are looking for a good flex play, or if you own Sammy Watkins and his groin injury last week reminded you that he is only human, consider adding Chris Hogan to your lineup. With defenses keying in on Watkins, Hogan has quietly racked up double-digit fantasy points in PPR leagues in four of the last five weeks. In Week 11’s defensive struggle against the Dolphins, he was Buffalo's leading receiver with seven catches for 74 yards.

Hogan was given the nickname “7-11” by Reggie Bush while both were with the Dolphins because he was always open, and he seems to have moved ahead of WR2 Robert Woods on the Bills depth chart. Playing mostly out of the slot, Bills quarterback Kyle Orton has come to rely on the sure-handed receiver who has caught 25 of the 31 passes thrown in his direction. Look for Hogan’s targets to continue to increase and for him to continue to become a bigger part of the Bills offense as the season progresses.

Roy Helu, RB, Washington Redskins

Owned in 35% of Fleaflicker leagues

After last week’s unfathomable home loss to the Tampa Bay Bucs and the bickering going on in the press between head coach Jay Gruden and QB RG3, the Redskins are a broken team. The good news is that you can find fantasy value within teams that in reality are not very good. If you own shares in Redskins RB Alfred Morris or play in a PPR league, look to add Roy Helu off of your league’s waiver wire.

Although he isn't much more than a FLEX play who in a good week can give you 10 points due to his pass-catching ability, Helu's true value is in the depth protection he affords. It's hard to believe, but Alfred Morris hasn’t had a game in which he has rushed for over 100 yards, but he is still a solid RB2 option, and if you lost him to injury, it would leave a gaping hole in your fantasy lineup. In keeping with the ongoing theme of handcuffing your running backs, do yourself a favor and pick up Helu off of your league’s waiver wire.

Week 11 Fantasy Football Sells

Andre Williams, RB, New York Giants

Owned in 48% of Fleaflicker leagues

I know, I’ve been talking about handcuffing your running backs and other players who might be susceptible to injury, and even though Andre Williams is Rashad Jennings’ backup in the Giants backfield, he has proven that at least for the short term, he is not a viable fantasy running back. With his anemic 2.9 yards per carry this season, Williams has proven that he is pretty good at running into piles of defenders and getting stuffed, and that’s about it. The knock on Williams coming into the season was his lack of pass-catching ability, and with just eight receptions thus far this season, it seems that his reputation is well deserved.

The one bright spot in Williams’s season has been the three touchdowns he scored in the five games he started in Jennings's place; he still may get the occasional goal line carry, which will give him a bit of fantasy relevance, but not enough to justify keeping him on your roster. He had a very good college career and he has the potential to develop into a good fantasy back, but at this time of the season, your roster should be populated by players who can contribute to your cause and help you win every week. Unfortunately, Williams can’t seem to help you in either category this season.

Riley Cooper, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Owned in 38% of Fleaflicker leagues

Mid-season quarterback changes have a way of affecting the value of a fantasy wide receiver. In the two full games that Mark Sanchez has started for the Eagles this season, WR Jordan Matthews has averaged just over eight targets per game, while Riley Cooper has averaged five. With three touchdown passes in the past two weeks, it's obvious that Matthews has moved ahead of Cooper on the Eagles depth chart. Matthews is a legitimate red zone threat and a solid WR2 in the Philadelphia offense.

Cooper, on the other hand, has just one TD thus far this season, after scoring eight as a replacement for the injured Jeremy Maclin in 2013. His average yards per catch is 10.4, down from 17.8 last year. His yards after the catch also decreased 35% this season. After reports surfaced that the Eagles had approached the Tampa Bay Bucs about a possible trade for WR Vincent Jackson, it's pretty clear that Philadelphia is not satisfied with Cooper’s production so far this season. You should not be satisfied with his output either. Remove him from your roster.