Sep 21-
- Who’s performance in fantasy football isn’t sustainable?
- Who’s due to bounce back in NFL week 3?
- Read below for buy low and sell high targets in fantasy football
Perhaps two weeks isn’t enough of a sample size to start hitting the trade block? But it’s fantasy football, it’s suppose to be fun, and what’s more fun then surfing through your league trying to find a trade partner? So let’s take a look at some players that you can target to both sell high on or buy low.
If you have one of these players that I’m recommending to sell high on, I’ll have a few players that you can target as a result. Same goes for buy low, I’ll have a few players you should trade away to go get them.
SELL: Terry McLaurin (WR) – Washington Commanders
A few big plays have made McLaurin a serviceable fantasy player through two weeks. His 13 fantasy points per game are powered by just 6 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown. There are thirty-six wide receivers with more targets than the former Buckeye. But as the WR30 so far, your league mates may not notice the issue.
The Commanders offense is suddenly quite a bit more competitive with the newly drafted 1st round pick Jahan Dotson and a healthy Curtis Samuel. Suddenly McLaurin is third in receptions and second in targets. The back-to-back 130+ target seasons no longer seem to be a realistic outcome. Terry is still going to be a serviceable fantasy asset, his ADOT of 14.5 yards signals big plays are going to happen. But consistency could be an issue.
We aren’t necessarily selling high on McLaurin but I think his value is still that of a top-15 to 20 wide receiver. So I’d be looking to trade him for players like Diontae Johnson, Brandin Cooks or Christian Kirk.
BUY: Treylon Burks (WR) – Tennessee Titans
In the weeks leading up to the NFL season Burks fantasy outlook was looking bleak. It was Kyle Phillips getting the offseason hype and Robert Woods was able to take the field in week 1. Burks has turned his limited opportunity into a WR51 finish through two weeks, but the underlying numbers scream breakout.
In the Titans two losses the former Arkansas standout has run a grand total of 30 routes. That’s only 57% of Ryan Tannehill’s dropbacks. But he’s been targeted 11 times, that’s good for a 37% target rate. When Burks takes the field he’s putting himself in position to be thrown to. It’s only a matter of time until this team unleashes him and his route participation jumps to 85%+.
With two disappointing weeks for the Titans he’s likely off a lot of fantasy managers radar. I think you can turn players like Chase Claypool, DJ Chark or Jakobi Meyers into the 2022 first round pick.
SELL: Damien Harris (RB) – New England Patriots
The Patriots running back is fresh off an RB6 finish in week 2 and it’s time to sell. This Patriots offense is struggling to move the ball and Harris is going to be heavily reliant on finding the end zone to be able to return value. Not only that, his usage numbers are concerning.
Through two weeks of the season Harris has 49% of his teams rushing attempts and is running a route on just 28% dropbacks. He’s also yet to surpass 40% of his teams rushing attempts in a given week. Rhamondre Stevenson is significantly impacting his usage and is looking like the go to guy on third down and long down and distance situations.
Damien Harris got the TD in Week 2, but Rhamondre Stevenson paced Patriots RBs with a 62% snap share (Damien Harris 40%, Pierre Strong 4%)
Stevenson ran 23 routes (60.5%) to Damien Harris’ 9 (23.7%) while they each had a 6% target share
— Alex Johnson (@a_johnsonFF) September 21, 2022
I have no doubt that Harris will continue to work inside the 5 as the primary scoring back but that isn’t enough at this point. Take this big week and try to turn him into a player like Josh Jacobs, Dameon Pierce, Ezekiel Elliott or Elijah Moore.
BUY: Derrick Henry (RB) – Tennessee Titans
I’ve seen a number of people on the OwnersBox YouTube channel asking about our thoughts on Derrick Henry’s slow start. This puts us onto two Titans as buy low targets. I like how the schedule shakes out for them, other then their two divisional matchups with the Colts over the next month. I think the team and Henry can get things back on track offensively.
There are only five running backs with more attempts than Henry this season, despite the fact the Titans were blown out 41-7 on Monday night. Running the football has always been a priority for Mike Vrabel, only the Eagles ran it more last season and through two weeks the Titans rank 8th. Let’s not forget that Henry was on pace for 400+ carries in 2021.
Don’t be scared off by his RB36 start to the season, even with a lack of success we know this offensive identity isn’t changing. Look to move players like Aaron Jones, Javonte Williams or Leonard Fournette to make it happen.
