In last week's "Tuesday Trader" column, I urged readers to buy low on Brandin Cooks, Michael Thomas, and Russell Wilson. All three had been struggling this season, relative to expectations. And all three busted out Sunday. If you succeeded in buying low, congratulations. Same goes to those who sold high on the three guys I suggested handing off to opponents: Matt Forte, J.J. Nelson, and Coby Fleener. I won't usually hit on all six like this. But it's yet another reminder that so much of fantasy success is driven by timing. We can't get caught up in good-but-not-great players' unsustainable success, or in great players' unsustainable regress.
Joe Mixon kicks off today's batch of buy-low / sell-high players. An RB1 on my preseason draft boards, the rookie has been blocked by Jeremy Hill and Gio Bernard. This never fazed me, and hopefully it didn't faze you. I've written repeatedly that Mixon is Cincy's franchise RB of the future. The future is now. Mixon will lead the backfield going forward and, if he ramps up quickly, could push Hill into game-day "inactive" status by midseason.
Get ready to trade for Matthew Stafford. He's played better than his stats suggest, and after next weekend's contest in Minnesota, his stock won't get any lower. In deep leagues, he might be viewed as an expendable high-end QB2. In reality, he's a frequent QB1 who will return to form when his schedule softens starting Week 5.
Julio Jones hasn't scored yet and is dealing with a lower-back injury. So sell him, right? For who? Probably not enough. No, Julio is a buy-low candidate. A lot of managers out there are frustrated that their #1 overall pick has been merely decent. Toss in injury concerns, and some might want to bail before his value plummets further. Take a potential short-term hit (Julio might be questionable this weekend) and bank on a 1,200+ yard, 8+ TD season. That equates to top 8 WR numbers the rest of the way. And you shouldn't have to pay that much for him right now.
Speaking of the Falcons, as I mentioned yesterday, Matt Ryan certainly is better than his numbers suggest. He's a QB1 playing like a QB2. That's a signal it's time to buy.
Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine are day-to-day. One of them is an RB2. The other doesn't look NFL-ready. Invest in Kelley; you shouldn't have to pay much with the high-flying Chris Thompson soaking up the attention.
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In the FF4W Survivor Pool, only 42 of 140 competitors remain. And if not for the Patriots' and Packers' late-game comebacks, only five of us would be left. I was the only one who took the Colts this past weekend, so I escaped a valiant Browns comeback attempt. Remember: the winner gets a 30-minute fantasy consultation and social media shout-outs. So if the thought of talking with me repulses you, there's still time to bail.
Joe Mixon kicks off today's batch of buy-low / sell-high players. An RB1 on my preseason draft boards, the rookie has been blocked by Jeremy Hill and Gio Bernard. This never fazed me, and hopefully it didn't faze you. I've written repeatedly that Mixon is Cincy's franchise RB of the future. The future is now. Mixon will lead the backfield going forward and, if he ramps up quickly, could push Hill into game-day "inactive" status by midseason.
Get ready to trade for Matthew Stafford. He's played better than his stats suggest, and after next weekend's contest in Minnesota, his stock won't get any lower. In deep leagues, he might be viewed as an expendable high-end QB2. In reality, he's a frequent QB1 who will return to form when his schedule softens starting Week 5.
Julio Jones hasn't scored yet and is dealing with a lower-back injury. So sell him, right? For who? Probably not enough. No, Julio is a buy-low candidate. A lot of managers out there are frustrated that their #1 overall pick has been merely decent. Toss in injury concerns, and some might want to bail before his value plummets further. Take a potential short-term hit (Julio might be questionable this weekend) and bank on a 1,200+ yard, 8+ TD season. That equates to top 8 WR numbers the rest of the way. And you shouldn't have to pay that much for him right now.
Speaking of the Falcons, as I mentioned yesterday, Matt Ryan certainly is better than his numbers suggest. He's a QB1 playing like a QB2. That's a signal it's time to buy.
Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine are day-to-day. One of them is an RB2. The other doesn't look NFL-ready. Invest in Kelley; you shouldn't have to pay much with the high-flying Chris Thompson soaking up the attention.
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In the FF4W Survivor Pool, only 42 of 140 competitors remain. And if not for the Patriots' and Packers' late-game comebacks, only five of us would be left. I was the only one who took the Colts this past weekend, so I escaped a valiant Browns comeback attempt. Remember: the winner gets a 30-minute fantasy consultation and social media shout-outs. So if the thought of talking with me repulses you, there's still time to bail.