We have officially passed Week 12 in the NFL and Week 13 in College Football season. With all of this new information flooding in, let’s take a look at some buy-low candidates for the fantasy season, on top of looking into a couple of sell-high players, trade targets, and waiver wire additions you should make!
Buy Low Candidates
NFL:
Bryce Young – Quarterback
There might not be heavy fantasy implications for this move yet, though it can be nice to get ahead of this idea before it’s too late. Bryce Young won back-to-back games, then took the reigning champs (the Kansas City Chiefs) to the final seconds before losing on a last-second field goal. Young is directing upwards right now, and his development could be huge due to that.
Brian Robinson – Running Back
Brian Robinson has been playing great football lately, but injuries have slowed him down. He exited the game twice with an ankle injury this past week, and it limited his performance, dropping his value in the process. If you’re looking to add a good running back, then Robinson can be available. It might be a risk in terms of injury woes, though we’ve seen what he can do healthy.
Mike Evans – Wide Receiver
Mike Evans just returned to the field after missing a few weeks and he showed everyone that he’s still capable of producing nice fantasy numbers. His price tag might be in the middle of the pack due to his age and recent injury, but he’s a boom wide receiver who can help you win a championship. Especially since Chris Godwin is out for the year.
Brock Bowers – Tight End
Brock Bowers only had four receptions for 38 yards in an underwhelming performance. However, he’s been one of the best and most reliable tight ends in the league. This small speedbump won’t change how many managers view him, though he could be more of a buy-low candidate now than he was before. If you can get Bowers in any way, I would.
College:
Kaidon Salter – Quarterback
Kaidon Salter hasn’t been able to crack 30 fantasy points in five straight games, and he’s been under 22 points in three of them. However, much of that is due to the team just not letting him throw the ball, as he’s had less than 20 passing attempts in each of his last three games. Luckily, he’s a great runner, andeventually, his team will need him to air it out if they fall behind. I would take a swing at him in a trade.
Darius Taylor – Running Back
Darius Taylor has been a great running back to have in fantasy this season, averaging 17 fantasy points per game. He’s a nice buy-low candidate at the moment because he’s failed to surpass nine fantasy points in each of his last two showings. Although he’s recorded 32 total touches in that span, he is still absolutely involved in the offense. This just might be your only opportunity to swoop in.
Eric Singleton – Wide Receiver
Eric Singleton passed 10 fantasy points for the first time in his last five games this week. He’s still a buylow candidate because this has been far from the norm this year. Luckily, he’s consistently seen a ton of targets head in his direction and appears to be the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets top receiver. I would try to add him to your team.
Mason Taylor – Tight End
We’re going to stick with Mason Taylor for just one more week. Taylor is getting a ton of targets each week, he just hasn’t scored much or broken any big plays. You’d have to imagine that changes sooner rather than later, but we’re running out of time. He’s worth looking into, maybe he can break his threegame streak of not scoring a touchdown.
Sell High Candidates
NFL:
Cooper Rush – Quarterback
If for whatever reason, you had Cooper Rush rostered, you’d be in luck. He was in the top 10 for fantasy scoring at the quarterback position this week, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Rush is not the longterm answer at quarterback and won’t be putting up many performances like this. If you do have him rostered, this could be the best chance to cut ties with him to somebody who needs a backup on their roster.
Justice Hill – Running Back
Justice Hill somehow had more points than Derrick Henry this week, rushing four times for 55 yards and a touchdown while catching two passes for seven yards. I wouldn’t bank on this performance weekly. Hill is good for one of these big games every once in a while, but he’s not a consistent running back to start. Plus, his impact comes on tight games when the Ravens need to throw the ball more. If they’re in the lead, Henry usually takes the bulk of the work away from him.
Jakobi Meyers – Wide Receiver
Jakobi Meyers has been sneaky good all season long, and he had an excellent game this weekend. He had 10 receptions for 121 yards, which was a huge afternoon for him. Unfortunately, the Las Vegas Raiders lost their quarterback, with Gardner Minshew out for the season. This leaves a hole atquarterback again, and Meyers will have to start at step one to develop this type of chemistry.
Noah Gray – Tight End
We don’t often see tight ends flourish in the Chiefs’ offense when they aren’t named Travis Kelce, at least not consistently. Noah Gray had four receptions for 66 yards and two touchdowns over the weekend. He was the third-highest fantasy-scoring tight end. Though, I would sell him high given what he’s done up to this point in the season. The Chiefs just spread the ball out too much to feel confident that Gray will do this again.
College:
Cedrick Bailey – Quarterback
Cedrick Bailey might look enticing with his 34 fantasy points, but he didn’t have a great quarterback game. He threw for only 147 yards and three interceptions without a touchdown, doing all of his fantasy damage on the ground to the tune of three scores. I wouldn’t trust that moving forward. He’s thrown four interceptions and only one touchdown pass in the last two games.
Nate Frazier – Running Back
This is going to be an interesting one. Nate Frazier had a fantastic three-score game last weekend, but Trevor Etienne was out. If Etienne returns, Frazier will lose a good chunk of work, though he’ll still be involved in the offense. I’ll leave this up to you here, as you could get some nice return from Frazier now before he reverts to a committee, or you can hold strong onto him.
Noah Thomas – Wide Receiver
Noah Thomas had five receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns this week. In the four weeks prior, he failed to exceed 55 receiving yards, seven targets, and two receptions in any of those games. That stat is all you really need to know.
Jermaine Terry – Tight End
Jermaine Terry had a great game, taking in five receptions for 92 yards and a score through the air. The problem is that he’s had less than six fantasy points in each of his last four games. In two of those matchups, he was held to just two receptions in total. He’s heavily dependent on scoring, as opposed to volume, and that hasn’t come often.
Strategic Insights
The best way that you can identify buy-low opportunities is to look for players that other managers seem to be bullish on. Players that might be on a cold stretch, or have gotten injured recently, look at their potential down the line. As for sell-high opportunities, if you foresee a player potentially dropping in production soon, then take advantage of their current value and ship them off for a great return rather than waiting and getting nothing when they drop off.
An example of a buy-low strategy would have been last season. Let’s say you see Puka Nacua get drafted and you had high hopes for him in the NFL, but the manager that owned him didn’t feel that way. You could aggressively try and trade for him because you see past his draft position and look at his potential. Then, Nacua has his breakout season, and you got him for almost nothing. The same goes the other way, if you have Tyreek Hill who says that he’s going to retire around 31, and you know he’s getting up there despite being a top player at his position, you can trade him away at peak value before he retires and get a great return.
Trade Targets
NFL:
Caleb Williams – Quarterback
Slowly but surely, Caleeb Williams is starting to put things together in his rookie season. This week, he threw 340 yards and two touchdowns, putting up one of his best fantasy showings of the season. Have faith in his development and try to get him now before he turns the corner.
Nick Chubb – Running Back
Nick Chubb hadn’t done a whole lot since returning from that gruesome injury he suffered over a year ago. He was still working off the rust. This week, he took 20 carries and turned them into 59 yards and two touchdowns. He finally had some fantasy life injected into him, and hopefully, he can keep working his way back into form the more he plays.
Ladd McConkey – Wide Receiver
It is official, Ladd McConkey is developing into a true number-one threat in Los Angeles. The rookie keeps getting better and just dropped another strong performance of six receptions for 83 yards. He’s been more and more involved as the season progresses, and his chemistry with Justin Herbert is playing a large factor in why that team is 8-3 right now.
Zach Ertz – Tight End
The veteran is a safety valve for rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Ertz consistently came through when Daniels needed him, especially late in games. He didn’t get involved much at all in the first three quarters this week, yet still ended with six receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown. I like what he brings to this offense which could be explosive at times.
College:
College:
Jaxson Dart – Quarterback
Jaxson Dart just threw multiple interceptions for the first time all season in a single game. Thankfully, he still scored 28 fantasy points and surpassed the 300-yard mark for the seventh time this season. He’s rostered in a ton of leagues but has had three of his last five games go under 20 points. Some might bewilling to negotiate, and I like what he brings to the table.
Jarquez Hunter – Running Back
Jarquez Hunter just dropped 33 points thanks to his three-touchdown performance over the weekend. He hasn’t been consistent, with three of his last five games watching him score less than 10.5 points. However, the good news is that he consistently sees over 10 touches a game, and that is enough to make him an intriguing trade target.
Dante Wright – Wide Receiver
Dante Wright turned into a new player since he returned from his injury. In the last two games, he’s seen 30 targets and caught 19 of them for 275 yards and two touchdowns. That is just an absurd stat line, and this momentum can absolutely be carried over into next week. Try and get him if you can.
Dorian Fleming – Tight End
Not only was he the top fantasy-scoring tight end this week, but he’s seen at least five targets head in his direction in each of the last five games. In that same span, he’s hauled in at least three receptions each time. He’s consistently involved, and that is enough to warrant trade interest for the tight-end position.
Strategic Insights:
The best advice that I can give regarding trades is to be respectful to the other managers. Don’t horrendously lowball somebody for a player, and don’t insult them to make trades. Be nice and respectful and understand the value that you’re going for. Your first offer should be just thrown out there to see what happens, but both you and the other manager should just slowly throw offers out to see what works for each of you.
Waiver Wire Watch
NFL:
Desmond Ridder – Quarterback
If you are in absolute dire need at quarterback, then picking up Desmond Ridder might work out for you. The Raiders don’t have a healthy starter right now, which could mean Ridder may start the rest of the season. It’s also been confirmed that free agent Daniel Jones doesn’t want to play for the Raiders, so Ridder, as of right now, doesn’t have much competition for the job. He’s a good fill-in potentially, but not a league-changing pick-up.
Jaylen Warren – Running Back
Jaylen Warren is moving up the rankings every single week. The Pittsburgh Steelers running back has been more involved in each game now that he’s fully healthy. This weekend, he had 11 rushes for 45yards and a touchdown along with three receptions for 19 more yards. He’s involved in both the ground attack and the air attack, making him a wonderful dual threat just up for grabs on the waiver wire.
Devaughn Vele – Wide Receiver
I’ve liked Devaughn Vele all season, but early in this season, he would have a nice game, then become a healthy scratch the following week. Now, it appears that he’s found a place in the Denver Broncos offense. This week, he had six receptions for 80 yards, and it’s just another game where he was heavily involved in the passing offense. A passing offense that has gotten better each week also.
Austin Hooper – Tight End
Austin Hooper had four receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown this week for the New England Patriots. He might be a nice waiver wire add because nobody knows what to expect from this Patriots offense. It seems like a new face is having a nice fantasy showing each week, though never the same guy in back-to-back weeks. Hooper is a nice flyer for a position that struggles with depth.
College:
Bryson Barnes – Quarterback
Spencer Petras went down in the first half, allowing Bryson Barnes to step in and finish the game. And he did an excellent job, ending with a whopping 42 fantasy points. Barnes instantly becomes a hot commodity on the waiver wire to end the season, especially if Petras remains sidelined for the rest of the way.
Freddie Brock – Running Back
Freddie Brock just had his best game of the season, taking in a season-high 18 carries and turning them into 133 yards and three touchdowns for 31 fantasy points. If you’re looking around on the waiver wire for a possible standout at running back, perhaps you can ride Brock’s hot hand down the stretch of the season.
O’Mega Blake – Wide Receiver
O’Mega Blake had his best game of the season this weekend, hauling in five receptions on eight targets for 205 yards and three touchdowns. This was the fourth straight game that he’s seen over six targets, but none resulted in this type of performance. He’s worth a waiver wire add down the stretch.
Michael Trigg – Tight End
Michael Trigg is rostered in only 18 percent of leagues yet he’s on pace for a career year with Baylor. He’s yet to have many huge breakout games, but he’s getting a lot of targets under Sawyer Robertson and even scored this weekend
Strategic Insights
The easiest way to prioritize waiver wire claims is to simply rank the players you want before going after them. Take them one at a time and understand that you’re not going to get all of them. Waiver wire claims usually go based on the order you place them in, so target your top guys first.
At the end of the day, it is very important to keep up with things every week, otherwise, key players can slip through your fingers. Be sure to consistently search for buy-low, and sell-high opportunities, relentlessly look through the waiver wire markets, and don’t be afraid to shoot out a couple of trade offers if you’re interested. Use all of the above information to keep yourself at the top of the standings.