Buy Low
Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Juju Smith-Schuster, WR, PIT - Roethlisberger’s advantage over defenses might have just gotten unfair with the sudden blossoming of Chase Claypool. No other team can match the Steelers’ variety and quality of talent 1-4 at wide receiver with Smith-Schuster a sleeping giant. It might be difficult to predict the hit week-to-week with Claypool’s demonstrated ceiling keeping him in lineups every week, but all of them converge in Roethlisberger, who would have had a much larger game last week if Cleveland had made it competitive in the second half. Smith-Schuster has demonstrated multiscore upside this year, and if defenses start to distort to guard against Claypool winning over the top, that will open up more of the middle of the field for Smith-Schuster. Smith-Schuster is also the most likely Steelers to hit on an extended play by Roethlisberger. There’s no guarantee Smith-Schuster will come out of the doldrums, but you could feel the mass consciousness reach a point of frustration last week, making him more available in dynasty leagues than he has ever been. The schedule creates a runway for the Steelers passing game, save for a tough draw against Baltimore next week and in Week 11. Dallas, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Washington, Buffalo, and Cincinnati are the next six non-Raven opponents.
Nick Chubb, RB, CLE, Austin Ekeler, RB, LAC - In redraft leagues, you should be looking up the record of the teams sitting on Chubb and Ekeler. If they are sinking and need wins to stay in the playoff picture, Chubb and Ekeler could be available for trade. Both are still weeks away from returning, but can provide the punch to put you over the top in December, especially because their already strong games will benefit from them being fresher than their competition.
Aaron Jones, RB, GB - Tampa is going to make most every running back look mortal this year. Jones was no exception, but the next four weeks run of Houston, Minnesota, San Francisco, and Jacksonville should yield one or two of his touchdown binges, and he gets Detroit, Carolina, and Tennessee in the all important Week 14-16 matchups. Jones has stayed more involved in the passing game and as long as this offense reverts to pre-Tampa form, they’ll be in the red zone a lot.
Jonathan Taylor, RB, IND - Taylor hasn’t exploded for the RB1 production that many envisioned after starting the season with a surprising performance as a receiver while Marlon Mack went down to open up the top of the depth chart. Going into the bye, Taylor again popped as a receiver, and Jordan Wilkins went into the bye on back-to-back one carry games after being an unexpected obstacle to Taylor dominating non-Hines touches in the backfield. A TEN-GB-TEN-HOU-LV-HOU stretch on the schedule from Week 10 to 15 should provide about as much resistance as the prop brick wall did for the Kool Aid Man. Taylor may deliver the goods yet. Do a price check on him while he’s on his bye.
Tom Brady, QB, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, WR, TB - Brady and the Bucs cruised home in the second half with the passing game deactivated against the Packers last week, and Week 5 he was predictably held down by the Bears defense when his his top four receivers were all out or limited by injuries. Before that he threw for five scores against the Chargers and three against the Broncos, which was also a blowout win that saw little passing in the fourth quarter. If your team lacks a quarterback that you want to rely on every week, consider dealing for Brady, who gets Minnesota, Atlanta, and Detroit in Weeks 14-16, with the last two coming indoors. The only fear here is the team is too good on both sides of the ball and continues to create ho-hum second halves that feed Ronald Jones II stats.
David Montgomery, RB, Allen Robinson, WR, CHI - Investing in the Bears offense doesn’t feel exciting right now, which is exactly why you should be considering it. Maybe next week will better for buy low offers if Nick Foles and company flop against the Rams on Monday night, but the schedule after that is a dream, with New Orleans, Tennessee, Minnesota, Green Bay, Detroit, Houston, Minnesota, and Jacksonville up through Week 16. Even Foles has some appeal in two quarterback leagues.
Jordan Akins, TE, HOU - It doesn’t look like Akins will be available this week, which extends his buy low window. Akins caught 14 of 15 targets from Deshaun Watson before his injuries, and Darren Fells has caught 10 of the 11 targets he has gotten from Watson in the last three games. The speed at wide receiver and game scripts created by Houston’s porous defense is opening up the middle of the field for the tight ends, and Akins has the speed to fill the vacancies with big plays. He’s a potential second half breakout player that might be free on your dynasty waiver wire.
Jamycal Hasty, RB, SF - Hasty popped off of the screen last week and that couldn’t have been lost on Kyle Shanahan, who played him over Jerick McKinnon at the end of the game. Hasty looked like a natural fit in Shanahan’s running game with his urgency, burst, and quickness. The window is short with Tevin Coleman coming back and then Raheem Mostert, but Hasty might lead the backfield in touches this week with Jerick McKinnon looking a little spent before Shanahan went away from him. Hasty might not go away easily in an offense that needs to rely on the run.
Tyler Higbee, TE, LAR - Higbee is gathering dust on the bench in dynasty leagues, which might make his team forget that Gerald Everett is a free agent next year. Higbee has still looked like that ultraproductive tight end from last year, he’s just not getting enough targets for it to manifest in fantasy relevance. Whether via an Everett injury this year or his depature next year, Higbee will be back. Take advantage of this temporary dip in his value.
Evan Engram, TE, NYG - Dynasty teams are even more fed up with Evan Engram, but this is a usage problem again, not a problem with Engram. Maybe he’ll demand a trade in the offseason or just have to wait until his rookie deal is up in 2022, but there’s a lot better outcome for him once he’s freed from a Jason Garrett offense. He’s as cheap as he’s ever been right now. Don’t expect a turnaround in redraft, but dynasty prospects still have a high top end range of outcomes if Engram can stay healthy.
Sell Low
James Robinson, RB, JAX - Gardner Minshew is showing cracks and the team isn’t doing anything to dispel the notion that we might see Jake Luton or gasp Mike Glennon quarterbacking this team soon. Minshew was not good after Nick Foles took over and failed last year and his play is deteriorating quickly despite the garbage time production keeping his fantasy stock afloat. Robinson might be facing some rough seas to sail for production.
Sell High
James Conner, RB, PIT - Conner is rolling and helping the Steelers secure wins. There’s a path for him to continue to rack up 100 yard game and scores in a robust Steelers offense, but we’ve seen this before. In each of the last two seasons there has been a highly productive four-game peak followed by injury in one case and a lighter workload followed by injury in the other case. Don’t sell Conner just because, but if you can use him as a stepping stone to a more established back, especially in dynasty with free agency up next year, see if you can get a deal done now while he’s healthy and productive.
Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, SF - Garoppolo made a nice throw to George Kittle on fourth down, but a good part of his production came on pattycake tosses to Deebo Samuel. I’m not convinced Garoppolo can thrive against defenses that force him to throw downfield, and I’m not convinced Garoppolo has a future as an entrenched starter. In 2QB/Superflex dynasty leagues, it’s time to get out off of his good fantasy result on national television against the Rams.
