Fantasy managers have been hit by serious injuries while a new round of bye weeks makes things more complicated. Last week has been a good week for this series. I recommended Luther’s Burden And Bhayshul Tuten as players to buy, while listing Jaylen Waddle, Woody marksAnd Jacory Croskey-Merritt as players for sale. This week I have a whole new group of players that you should consider in trades.
▶ PLAYERS TO BUY
Saquon Barkley, RB, PHI
Everything is going wrong for the Philadelphia Eagles right now, and sometimes that means it’s a great time to buy cheap. Jalen hurts is out for the season, leaving Tanner McKee as a starter. Traditionally, moving from a mobile quarterback to a traditional pocket passer means more checks for the running back. The receiving game was a major issue for Barkley before he got injured. This season, with Hurts as the starter, Barkley had seen just seven targets in four games, a pace that would have put him at the lowest point of his career. The other factor in Barkley’s value going forward is that the Eagles’ running back room will have the easiest remaining strength on the schedule — a nice change of pace from their opponents thus far, who have been the 10th toughest. Clearly, Barkley still has juice. Before his injury, he was ninth in missed forced tackles and 15th in EPA per rush attempt. The game against Dallas this week should get Barkley and the Eagles’ offense back on track, at least somewhat.
Parker Washington, WR, JAX
Washington is a true buy-low scenario. He’s been outside the top 24 Fantasy receivers in three of his last four games. The good news is that the peripheral numbers still look good. Washington is 15th in target share and 18th in targets per run, while the Jaguars’ receivers have the seventh-easiest remaining strength of schedule and sixth-easiest fantasy playoff schedule. Meanwhile, his quarterback, Trevor Lawrenceis tied for the NFL lead in passing touchdowns. Things are looking good for Washington moving forward, even if the fantastic results over the last few weeks haven’t been ideal. There’s a buying window right now because it’s his bye week. It’s possible that the Washington manager in your league is a little worried about the last few games and needs to fill a starting spot this week.
Tee Higgins, WR, CIN
It always helps to trade players after their bye week because you get their total value throughout the season. Higgins’ last game was a disappointment, and then the Bengals had their bye week. It’s been a while since Higgins posted WR6 numbers in Week 4. Maybe the shine has worn off a bit? Maybe his fantasy manager forgot how good he could be? Anything is possible, so I would go all out in a sales discussion. Over the next seven weeks, Higgins will have the seventh-easiest fantasy schedule for a wide receiver. This is a really nice track to get you to the fantasy playoffs. It’s not like Higgins is a match-dependent player, either. This season, he has been the WR19 in fantasy points per game while maintaining the ninth-highest share of air yards. Higgins is also seventh in first downs per route run, which is generally an indicator of a productive fantasy receiver. If you’re looking for a WR2 you plug into every week, no matter the game, Higgins is your guy.
What Jacobs’ return could mean for the Packers
Mike Florio and Chris Simms discuss Josh Jacobs’ return to practice with the Green Bay Packers with a pending legal situation, discussing the factors at play in the running back’s return.
▶ PLAYERS FOR SALE
Bryce Young, QB, CAR
Congratulations to Bryce Young for playing as well as he has this season. It’s like last season we were all wondering if he was the long-term answer in Carolina. Well, that’s the thing: it was just last season. So while he is one of the best quarterbacks through the first six weeks of the season, some uncertainty remains. How is this possible? He’s the QB4 in fantasy points per game, and he’s on pace to set career highs in almost every statistical category. The caveat is that Young has had the second-easiest strength of schedule for a fantasy quarterback thus far. This changes radically in the future. Over the remainder of the season, Young will have the toughest strength of schedule for a fantasy quarterback, including a Week 17 matchup against a scary Seattle Seahawks defense. Normally I wouldn’t let the strength of the schedule bother me this much, but Young has a history of being dependent on games. Since the start of last season, Young has averaged 19.7 Fantasy points per game against a team in the top half of the league in fantasy points allowed. However, when facing an opponent in the bottom half of fantasy points allowed, Young has averaged just 10.8 fantasy points. This split is quite alarming. My guess for you, the fantasy manager, is that you didn’t draft Young but picked him up on the waiver wire, so you probably have another startable quarterback on your roster. My advice would be to start commercial negotiations with the Jalen hurts manager and see what you can get for Young.
Josh Jacobs, RB, GB
Let’s start with the most glaring risk Jacobs carries. It deals with a court case in which CCTV evidence was sealed by a judge. This doesn’t mean the video will never be released, nor does it mean the NFL won’t suspend Jacobs at some point. I’m sure the idea of selling Jacobs after hiding him for so long isn’t ideal, but this is actually the moment you’ve been waiting for. Jacobs finally has fantasy value again. The problem is that we don’t know exactly what this value is. For starters, Jacobs hasn’t practiced since June 2, and even though he’s scheduled to return to practice this week, there’s no guarantee he’ll be in good shape when he returns to the field. It’s also possible that Jacobs won’t have the ideal workload upon his return. But let’s say Jacobs returns to form and gets the majority of the touches in the Packers backfield; he will still face the toughest schedule for fantasy running backs over the next five weeks. If you need wins now, I would sell Jacobs to a contender in your league who wants him as icing on the cake.
Jaylen Warren, RB, PIT
This isn’t really a high or low sell recommendation; it’s more like this: just sell uncertainty. Mike McCarthy said that Jaylen Warren deserves more touches, but he also said: “It’s simple. We really like both running backs, and they need to touch the ball.” That’s enough uncertainty that I’m trying to sell Warren now. Maybe someone in your league thinks last week was a fluke. Honestly, maybe it is. The drop in shots and touches wasn’t enough to freak me out. However, in the future, snaps and touches might be distributed a little more evenly as the schedule gets a little tougher. Starting in Week 7, the Steelers will have the fifth-toughest schedule for fantasy running backs, which is nothing new for Warren, as Steelers running backs have had the eighth-toughest schedule thus far. Now that we have uncertainty about Warren’s role on top of a busy schedule, it may be time to sell.
▶ HIDE PLAYER
Jauan Jennings, WR, MIN
Jennings hasn’t exactly lit up the scoreboard this season, but there’s a good chance he finds himself in a bigger role soon. After collecting just five targets this season, Jennings has been the center of trade rumors. It’s no secret that the San Francisco 49ers have had their share of injuries at the wide receiver position this season, but the latest injury to Mike Evans it may be the one that forces the team to act. The Niners are 6-0, making them buyers heading into the trade deadline. Last season in San Francisco, starting in Week 9, Jennings was the WR16 in fantasy points per game. That has to count for something when trying to project what his fantasy value could be if he were traded.
Gn sports
