Buy Low/Sell High: Week 6

Is Isaiah Crowell good? Has Jordy Nelson returned to his former self? Will Dalvin Cook ever live up to his preseason hype? These are just a few of the plethora of questions us fantasy football owners are trying to figure out. With these questions come decisions we need to make in regard to trading for or trading away players. Trading for players underperforming their expectations, or trading away players at their peak can save fantasy owners from an embarrassing last place finish, or help build a championship roster. Here are some players you should either buy low or sell high on this week in order to get great value for the rest of the season. FPPG = Fantasy Points Per Game.

BUY LOW:

QB: Andy Dalton

FPPG: 19.0

Rank: 13th

Last Week: 12.9 pts

Andy Dalton had a rough game against a surprisingly strong Miami Dolphins’ Defense, but he should be a popular trade target right now among QBs. Overall, Dalton has had a solid season so far, as he is on pace for over 4,600 yards and 38 TDs for the season. His upcoming games against the Steelers, Chiefs, and Buccaneers are all inviting matchups due to their bad defenses that Dalton should perform well in before his bye week. Picking up Dalton for cheap before these games could lead to a crucial mid-season surge you need to get into the playoffs.

RB: Dalvin Cook

FPPG: 6.2

Rank: 57th

Last Week: 0 pts (injured)

It’s likely that any owner who drafted Dalvin Cook not only has a losing record, but is also willing to give him up in order to save their season. Cook may be banged up now, but he should see the field soon, and the past Vikings games without him have shown that there is no one currently on the roster that will challenge him for carries when he is back healthy. The Vikings already have a high-powered offense with a QB that can move the ball down the field, which should put Cook in plenty of scoring opportunities once he is ready to play. He should be healthy for either this week or the next, so trading an RB2 for him now could prove worthwhile.

WR: T.Y. Hilton

FPPG: 10.4

Rank: 31st

Last Week: 0 pts (injured)

If one thing can be taken away from the Colts-Patriots game last week, it’s that Andrew Luck is back to his former self. With virtually no weapons in the receiving game, Luck still managed to put up 365 yards and 3 TDs while playing on the road. T.Y. Hilton should be back healthy this week, and when on the field he is Luck’s #1 target. This team is also being forced to pass the ball a lot thanks to an inexistent run game, which is also good news for Hilton. Now that Luck is back in the swing of things after missing so much time, it’s likely that Luck and Hilton click once they are back on the field together. Hilton could legitimately be a low end WR1 or high end WR2 for the remainder of the season, so trading for him now while he is coming off an injury would be a good move.

SELL HIGH:

QB: Deshaun Watson

FPPG: 22.2

Rank: 6th

Last Week: 21 pts

Deshaun Watson has been good so far in fantasy, scoring over 20 points in each of the last 4 games, but he has been banged up all season due to horrific offensive line play. He suffered a rib injury after Week 3 and is now reportedly day to day after sustaining a chest injury in the Sunday Night game vs the Cowboys. These injuries may be minor, but suggest that the likelihood of staying healthy the entire season behind a weak offensive line isn’t great. Even if he does stay healthy, his upcoming matchups are not quarterback friendly. Six of Watson’s seven next games are up against defenses who rank in the bottom 12 for worse for fantasy points allowed to a QB. Watson has been a great fantasy QB up to this point, but the likelihood of injury and tough matchups loom over the rest of the season, making the move to sell him a smart one.

RB: Isaiah Crowell

FPPG: 14.5

Rank: 8th

Last Week: 29.1 pts

Well no one saw this coming. Just as the intrigue of Isaiah Crowell was seemingly fading after a 20+ point Week 1 performance, Crowell puts up a staggering 29.1 points in Week 5. What’s even weirder though is that Crowell isn’t even the established starter. In all 5 games this year, Bilal Powell has either equaled or bettered Crowell in the number of snaps received, which brings into question how sustainable Crowell’s production is. Powell also even got more carries than Crowell last game, despite Crowell’s success. Crowell may be the #8 RB in fantasy right now, but outside of Week 1 and Week 5, he is averaging just 2.16 yards per carry and has two games under 4 points. Simply put, Crowell has a bunch of points right now, but isn’t reliable enough to confidently start in your lineup each week, so let someone else deal with the headache.

WR: Jordy Nelson

FPPG: 10.3

Rank: 24th

Last Week: 10.3 pts

Jordy Nelson burst onto the scene this year in Week 3 after putting up 173 yards and a touchdown, but his numbers have fallen each week since then. In Week 4 he had 48 yards and a touchdown while last week’s production was even lower with only 43 yards and a touchdown. With the current unpredictable nature of the Raiders’ offense, it seems highly unlikely that Nelson will keep putting up 10+ point games, especially considering that he has yet to get more than 6 catches this season. He’s produced like a top 5 WR over the past 3 weeks, but Nelson simply isn’t getting the target share to keep up such production. Trading him now for any WR3 caliber player would likely yield positive results.