Fantasy football is everything.
Sure, it’s a pretty broad statement. But not only is fantasy the only thing that matters in the history of the world, you can relate a handful of different things to playing the game. Many correlations have been made between fantasy and the game of poker, but in your attempts of playing the game successfully, one thing always seems to come to mind.
The stock market.
We invest in players, we sell players. But the key is determining who to invest in or who to sell, and the right time to do so. Players emerge each and every week, while others falter. Buying low and selling high can lead to huge turnarounds for fantasy owners, allowing them to get absolute studs for a major discount. So grab your coupons and get ready to buy.
We’re going shopping.
Buy
Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers– Through two weeks, the Packers stud running back has accumulated a total of … 10 fantasy points. Lacy, a top-five pick in most drafts, has gotten off to a sluggish start, but fantasy owners can potentially use this as the opportune time to buy low. First of all, the guy suffered a concussion in Week 1, so perhaps Lacy owners may be scared off by the fact that he does have an injury history. But also, he’s gone up against the Seahawks at home, who allowed just four rushing scores all of last year. Then he went up against the Jets, who arguably have the best run defense in football, and so far this year have surrendered almost 30 rushing attempts for just 72 yards and no touchdowns. Now he gets another tough run defense in Detroit. Buy him now, folks. You won’t get him any cheaper. And besides, it’s not like the guy is losing touches or anything. James Starks has only played 29 snaps this year, while Lacy ranks 11th in the NFL with 86. This is a great running back on one of the most premiere offenses in football and the touchdowns will come. Green Bay is averaging 3.5 red zone scoring attempts per game thus far.
Ahmad Bradshaw, Indianapolis Colts- Maybe it’s because Trent Richardson is so bad, but man, Bradshaw looks really, really good. On Monday night, the veteran back out-snapped Richardson 46 to 31. And now, through the first two weeks, Bradshaw has played a healthy 91 snaps, the 10th-most in football, while Richardson is sitting at 61, 30th among running backs. This offense clearly flows better with Bradshaw in the backfield, who now has 16 carries for 85 yards to go along with 10 catches for 92 yards and two scores. The Colts offense is looking like a short-passing one, as Andrew Luck is currently averaging just 7.0 yards per target. According to PFF, only three passers have a lower aDOT. It’s clear that not only is this a committee approach, but Bradshaw is playing more, especially on passing downs and in the red zone. He’s still out there in 43 percent of Yahoo! leagues, and I think this rejuvenation is legit.
Montee Ball, Denver Broncos- It hasn’t been the start Ball owners were expecting as the lead back in Denver, but the touchdowns are coming. This is an offense that just aids running backs into the end zone. In Indianapolis, Joseph Addai averaged almost nine touchdowns during his time alongside Peyton Manning. And if you look at Ball’s numbers to start the year, he hasn’t had the greatest volume because on Sunday, the Broncos only had the football for 23 minutes. Denver’s offense moves up and down the field easier than anyone, and Ball will reap the benefits.
Pierre Garcon, Washington Redskins- Garcon had a very, very quiet Week 2 outing, catching just one ball for 12 yards on Sunday. With Robert Griffin III sidelined and owners looking at this game, I would love to try to buy him low. This is still the number one wideout on an offense that may actually be more efficient with Kirk Cousins under center. I’m not worried about the change at quarterback because during the three games Cousins started last year, Garcon averaged a whopping 13 targets per game. This is a guy you’ll want on your team, especially down the stretch. He has an awesome schedule for the fantasy playoffs.
Justin Hunter, Tennessee Titans- Hunter is supposed to be the next great sophomore wide receiver, but through two weeks, he’s hauled in just five balls for 89 yards. However, there are a handful of signs that point towards the breakout still happening. For starters, his snaps have increased in each of the first two weeks, playing 63 percent of snaps in Week 1, while seeing that number rise to 83 percent in Week 2. He also still leads all Titans wideouts in targets with 14. You know he’s going to have that monster game and then no one will want to deal him. Take advantage now and get him on the cheap.
Sell
Chris Johnson, New York Jets- Two good matchups to start the season, but Johnson is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry. He’s never been a good back to start the season, as over the last three seasons, he’s posted just two top-12 finishes during the first six contests. Now he faces a very weak Chicago defense that allowed a league-leading 10 100-yard rushers last year, and to start this season, opposing backs are averaging 26.20 fantasy points per game, the 8th-most in football. They are also averaging five catches per game. If Johnson torches this poor run defense, I would immediately look to sell him high. He has a tough schedule after these first three games, and through two games, he’s only played four more snaps than Chris Ivory.
James Jones, Oakland Raiders- To the average fantasy player, Jones is off to a great start. And sure, his 12-catch, 146-yard, two-touchdown stat line through two games looks nice, but when you consider that both of his scores came with less than a minute left in non-competitive games, you begin to reconsider. And even if Rod Streater is sidelined with a hip injury, I still don’t see Jones sustaining these numbers.
Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers- Shame on you. Gates is one of the best tight ends of all time, and we all just threw in the towel on him during the offseason. Well, through two weeks, Gates is balling, catching 13 balls for 177 yards and, of course, those three touchdowns against the Seahawks on Sunday. Of course, it’s common sense to consider selling the 34-year-old tight end high, especially when you consider that the Chargers have to feature Ladarius Green more, right?
Adam Pfeifer is a fantasy sports writer for ProjectRoto and XN Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.
