Trade Targets - Week 2

 

A cautionary note: I'm not recommending offering any and all of the sell-highs for any and all of the buy-lows. I'm simply identifying overvalued and undervalued guys all across the board.

Targets / Buy-Low:

QBs

Joe Flacco (BAL QB)
Flacco currently sits as the 24th best QB in fantasy points. He was picked off 4 times against Cincy on Sunday. I still think Flacco is a top 10 QB (the 10th actually). He has had 2 tough matchups, and the coaching staff has full confidence in him. Look for him to bounce back this week against Cleveland with all his talented weapons. Get him cheap while you can.

Tony Romo (DAL QB)
Romo has been disappointing through the first 2 weeks. He was drafted as the 5th or 6th QB off the board, but now stands as the 13th best QB. He only has 2 TDs and has thrown 2 interceptions. Romo's owner in your league may be panicking about the struggling Dallas offense, but I still think Romo deserves to be valued as the 6th best QB. He has an impressive completion percentage of 66% in both games, and has thrown for 282 and 374 yards. Also, if you watched Sunday's game, the 2 interceptions were on tipped balls and not Romo's fault.

WRs


Greg Jennings (GB WR)
Jennings had a poor game this week with just 3 catches for 36 yards. Buffalo's secondary is underrated. Green Bay's offensive line looks improved (Rodgers wasn't sacked once this weekend), and if Rodgers has more time to go deep, Jennings will be the beneficiary.


Johnny Knox (CHI WR)
Knox hasn't lit up the scoreboard with zero TDs. But with his 4 catches for 86 yards on Sunday and Aromashodu's zero target day, Knox has cemented his role in this offense. With the speed and look of a Mike Martz receiver, I'm ready to start Knox on Monday night and see what he can do.


Marques Colston (NO WR)
Colston's disappointing 64 yards per game is actually just 3 yards under his 2009 average yards per game. The 9 TDs made Colston so valuable last year. He's a huge redzone target (Brees looked his way in the endzone last night). Brees spreads the ball around too much for Colston to be a true superstar, but Colston is the most targeted receiver and will only improve this year, especially when the TDs come.


Mike Wallace and Hines Ward (PIT WRs)
Wallace and Ward have averaged about 5 points per game without Ben Roethlisberger. I anticipate a huge bump in their production when Big Ben returns in week 6. (You may feel dirty profiting from a guy like Roethlisberger, but remember, he doesn't profit from you starting him. So start the dirtbag, guilt-free!) The question is will Wallace and Ward's value go down in the next 2 weeks as they churn out a few more stinkers, in which case you should wait until then to get them. Or, does the owner know that their value only goes up as the return of Roethlisberger gets closer and closer, in which you case you should get them cheap now. I'm going to propose some deals now, and potentially try again in 2 weeks.


Santonio Holmes (NYJ WR)
Braylon Edwards had a decent fantasy day Sunday. But in the coach's mind, Edwards has 3 strikes: 1) An inexcusable taunting penalty, 2) A DUI, and 3) That ugly beard. When Santonio Holmes returns, it's clear that he'll be the starter opposite Jerricho Cotchery. I don't think Mark Sanchez is a great QB, but Holmes is the most talented receiver on the roster and should be productive.


RBs


Darren McFadden (OAK RB)
Normally, you should buy-low, not buy-high. But in this case, you may trick DMC's owner into thinking he's outsmarting you by selling-high before Michael Bush returns and takes the starting job. Owner Al Davis desperately wants McFadden to succeed. Senile or not, Davis calls the shots. McFadden likely just saw the most carries he'll get this season with 30, but I don't think these incredible first 2 weeks are such a fluke. He's the 7th most valuable RB at this point, and I think he'll be a serviceable RB2 even when Bush returns. Try offering Portis, Cadillac Williams, or a Felix Jones / Marion Barber combo.


Pierre Thomas (NO RB)
Again, you wouldn't be buying Thomas on the cheap. But Reggie Bush will be out 6 weeks, and maybe more. Backup Chris Ivory is still injured. I can't imagine Deshawn Wynne will take many carries away from Thomas. With 20+ carries and 6+ targets, Thomas is elevated from an RB2 to an RB1.


Maurice Jones-Drew (JAC RB)
MJD currently stands as the 29th best RB in fantasyland, just ahead of his backup Rashad Jennings. If MJD's owner thinks he is anything less than a top 5  RB, make him an offer he can't refuse. The Jags were playing from behind from early on in this game. Pocket Hercules will be fine.


Ryan Mathews (SD RB)
Mathews value has admittedly fallen since 2 poor fantasy showings, some fumbles, and an injury. But after all that, Coach Turner has reiterated that Mathews is the man, and Turner can't wait to see what Mathews will do with 30 carries. We'll get the word on Mathews injury tomorrow, but early indications look good. Mike Tolbert may have earned himself a few more carries per game, but Mathews is the feature back on this high octane offense.


TEs


Jason Witten (DAL TE)
Witten has just 7 points through 2 games. But Witten has the 2nd most targets (16) after Miles Austin. The Cowboys worked during the offseason on using Witten as a redzone target more often this season. Witten suffered a concussion on Sunday so you may get him for cheap. Early indications say he will play. (If he misses time, you can get him really cheap, and Martellus Bennet makes for a sneaky one week play.)


Unload / Sell-High


QBs


Eli Manning (NYG QB)
Eli has put up solid fantasy numbers thanks to 5 TDs. But 2 of them came in garbage time against big brother Peyton on Sunday night. Eli also has thrown 4 picks and not a ton of yards. If you can get QB1 value for this QB2, deal away this perpetual pouter.


WRs


Hakeem Nicks (NYG WR)
Nicks had a flukey 3 TD performance week 1, and then one long TD in garbage time this week. He currently has the 2nd most fantasy points of WRs. If you can deal him for any top 15 WR, go for it.


Devin Aromashodu (CHI WR)
If someone in your league thinks week 2 was a fluke and that Aromashodu still has value, you shodu the deal. (You see what I did there? "Shodu" like in Aromashodu?) He's droppable in 12 team leagues, but see if you can get anything for him before dropping him.


RBs

Clinton Portis (WAS RB)
Portis has been a solid fantasy RB so far. Tell Portis' owner that since the Redskins cut Larry Johnson, the coaches must have full confidence in Portis and he will only get more carries. However, L.J.'s release is more a statement of his suckiness than Portis' greatness. (Johnson is also a raging homophobe, so it's nice to see him cut.) Although Portis got lucky with 2 TDs, he only had 30 yards on Sunday, and is averaging 3.1 yards-per-carry. I've added Keiland Williams in every league as he's the only backup to an injury-prone Portis at this point. We called Keiland a sleeper back on August 17th: "I’m going to go out on a limb right now and say Keiland Williams will be a waiver wire stud that will win you some matchups... Shanahan has a history of creating solid RBs and from what I’ve seen, Williams is someone you might pickup and start at some point in the season. The rookie from LSU is currently listed as the FIFTH string RB, but mark my words on him."