I’m gonna take you back. Way, way back into the distant past…woah, too far! You’re wearing white flared pants and a white fitted imprinted jacket? And you’ve slicked your hair back…ok, ok, I get it. I’m quoting a disco song and you’re doing your best Travolta impersonation. Next time would you let me finish? You’ve made both of us look silly…well, mostly you but still, back to the point. What I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by your Saturday Night Fever was let’s go back into the distant past of August 2013. Can you picture it? Summer was still around but we knew football was right around the corner and you were planning for your drafts. Everyone knew Megatron was the belle of the wide receiver ball but who was gonna be the second best behind him? Would it be Brandon Marshall? Some said yes. AJ Green? Possibly. Well, many selected Dez Bryant as the #2 receiver according to rankings. And because you’re gonna ask, here. I had him as 4th best but in a tier of 3 other peers. How’s THAT for hedging. In either case, things haven’t been going so well for the highly touted Dez of late. Against a creampuff matchup with the Vikings, Dez totaled a measly 6 for 64 in week 9 and followed it up with an even worse 1/44 in week 10. And to top it all off? He’s gonna drop a goose egg this weekend on his owners. Mark. It. Down…yeah, he’s on bye. Notice how ‘bye week’ sounds a lot like ‘buy week’? Mmm-hmmm. Scuffling and on an offense that’s not been grooving of late and now on a bye, owners might forget why they spent that high of a price tag on him and let him slip for a bit less than he’s worth. VJax for Dez you say? Sure, I’ll sell. Jordy for Dez? Yeah, I’m in. All this to say, he’s had a few clunkers and hasn’t gone on a tear like he did last year to finish the season but who knows? Maybe he’s got a monster 6 week stretch ahead of him after the bye. At worst, he’s a top end product that’s produced bottom shelf results. If you can get him for less than he’s worth, it’s worth it. In other buy/sell news for 2013 Fantasy Football…
BUY
Ryan Mathews – Yes, we’ve reached that point in the year where I’m just recommending everyone and anyone. Clearly, you all know how hesitant I was with Ryan coming into the year. Not just the injuries, dude was not running well in 2012. He looked like he didn’t wanna be out there. Well, that’s no longer the case, apparently. Well, about not caring. He’s still as brittle as your grandma. The main difference is he can run a 40 under 5 seconds and plays football. Yup, not much difference. Either way, he’s a strong RB2 play from here on out with plenty of upside for more and the Chargers finally gave him a goal line shot and he succeeded. Good signs for him and for his owners. Dive in.
DeAndre Hopkins – The big game hasn’t happened yet but something’s bubbling down in Houston and no I’m not talking about the butts. After 10 targets last week, DeAndre has averaged 4.5 receptions and 61.5 yards a game. Not exciting, I know, but I hate to be the bearer of bad news for Andre Johnson owners, he can’t catch every single Keenum TD pass the rest of the way. DeAndre will have his day and his day should come soon. Get ahead of the curve of that bubble butt.
Zac Stacy – Now it’s not my job to say whether or not your league mates are smart or not. Only you can determine that. But Stacy has been at or near the top of the RB crop over the last few weeks and that trend is only slowed by a bye week. Is the owner 4-6 and really needs an RB this week? Check in and see what you can make off with here. I’m projecting a top 7 or 8 RB finish for Stacy ROS so if you can get it cheaper than that, you’re in a good place. Yes, I’ve advocated for him before. That was before he blew up. This is probably your last opportunity to get in on Zac the RB maniac.
Bobby Rainey – I stupidly said on the podcast this week ‘Chris Rainey’. I really hope no one picked up the 5th string Pittsburgh RB. I trust you all have more common sense than that. If you did, mea culpa. I was on my 5th beer and it was 12:30 am and I was listening to that intro girl on repeat. I kinda lost track of what I was doing. Either way, all the sites say ‘Leonard’ in Tampa and I’m definitely against the grain on that one. At worst, I think it’s a time share but I think Brian will eventually slide back into 3rd down COP status and Rainey will take the reinies.
SELL
Knowshon Moreno – I’ve been quietly advocating this via comments but I don’t know if I’ve fully waved the white flag on him in a buy/sell. Welp, there’s a first time for everything. This isn’t me saying to get rid of him but the wording is he’ll eventually lose touches to his RB counterparts to keep him fresh for the playoffs. I know it’s hard to even fathom giving up on a guy who’s worst output this year came in weeks 1 and 3 and outside of those, he’s been a 10+ scorer in standard every week. And he was your draft/FA darling. You feel smart and awesome for being the guy to get him and don’t wanna give that up. And maybe he’s your only piece of that Bronco pie – BTW, that’s disgusting – but you have to consider your playoffs at this point. Does Moreno stay healthy and effective and involved enough in the offense to count on him like this down the stretch? As silly as it sounds, losing Moreno in the playoffs last year after getting dinged up hurt this team more than you could imagine and they don’t want a repeat. His reps will be monitored and he could see a large decline in touches over the remaining weeks just when you need him most. I’m not saying to sell him like he’s worthless but I realize you’re gonna have a hard time moving him as the RB1 he has been. I’ve found the most successful way to swap him is in 2-2 trades. Upgrade their RB while downgrading another position you need help in. For me, I got Antonio Brown and Greene while chucking in Emmanuel Sanders. Fair trade with a possibility of a win for me when it counts the most but not unfair on any level. So start looking around with league mates and ask if they want ‘muh-muh-muh-my Moreno’ from you.
