It is arguably the most exciting time of the year for dynasty fantasy football leagues. The NFL Draft is just a couple weeks away, and now is when most leagues really start to heat up again. Here are some players to buy and sell in your dynasty leagues:
Players To Buy:
Joe Mixon (RB – CIN)
Mixon managers may be running out of patience with him and looking to trade him for somewhat cheap. He missed most of last season with injury and left a bad taste in many of his believers’ mouths. However, he was a top 13 RB in both of the 2 years prior to last season, and is going to continue to see a huge workload. He averaged 24 opportunities per game in the 6 games he played last year, which is something don’t get out of many guys. The efficiency has always been a problem behind a bad offensive line, but the Bengals are going to continue to improve that line the next few years. They signed Riley Reiff this offseason and are in line to take an elite offensive line prospect with the 5th overall pick. On top of all this, Mixon is still only 24 years old and signed a 4-year, $48M contract extension before last season. Go trade for him before he breaks out soon.
Chris Carson (RB – SEA)
Carson re-signed with the Seahawks on a 2-year deal, and he is an extremely safe RB2. The last 3 seasons he finished as the overall RB15, RB11, and RB17, and has averaged 19 opportunities per game. The Seahawks also went back to running the ball a lot more later in the year, which should be a good sign for Carson moving forward. He is somewhat boring and doesn’t have the upside of some other younger players, so people might be willing to trade him easily. If you need RB depth, Carson would be a great value who can provide you with steady production and a high floor for the next couple years.
Daniel Jones (QB – NYG)
It is likely that Daniel Jones is a backup for whoever has him in your league. If that is the case and you are trying to make a splash at QB, trade for him. He is probably available for cheap and could become a good fantasy QB with the weapons he has. The Giants signed Kenny Golladay to a 4-year, $72M contract this offseason. With Golladay, Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton, John Ross, and Evan Engram, and Kyle Rudolph, this is all of a sudden a somewhat loaded offense that Jones has to work with. If you are looking to take a swing on someone, he is a good player to do it with.
Courtland Sutton (WR – DEN)
Many people seem to be forgetting about Sutton because of the injury that kept him out all of last year. However, he still is just 25 years old and was the overall WR19 in 2019-20. If someone in your league doesn’t value him very high, he could be a sneaky good addition to your roster as a WR2. The quarterback situation needs to get worked out, but Denver could easily draft one in the first round, and as previously mentioned, Sutton is still young and has time.
Players To Sell:
Derrick Henry (RB – TEN)
This is very dependent on the status of your team. If you are a win-now team who is in contention for a championship, I have no problem keeping Henry. However, if you are middle of the pack or looking to rebuild, I would sell him. His heavy workload (nearly 700 carries the last 2 seasons) should catch up to him soon, and his decline will likely be faster than the average running back’s. He still has 1 or 2 elite years left, which is why now is the best time to sell him if in a rebuild. You can still get a ton for him, so flipping him for a younger centerpiece makes a lot of sense if your team isn’t in contention right now.
James Robinson (RB – JAX)
Robinson burst onto the scene last year as an undrafted rookie, finishing as the overall RB7. However, there are reasons to be cautious moving forward. It seems pretty likely that Jacksonville brings in another running back in the offseason, and Robinson might not see the same workhorse role again that he saw in year 1. It seems very risky to move forward expecting him to be an RB1 or even a high-end RB2. The Jags invested no draft capital in him, so he easily could fall back down to earth immediately. If there are people in your league who value him as a top 15 RB, look to sell him for a safer option.
James Robinson joined Phillip Lindsay, Dominic Rhodes & LeGarrette Blount as the only 4 undrafted rookies to rush for 1,000+ yards.
Lindsay, Rhodes & Blount have combined for just 2 more 1K seasons among 17 tries.
Blount is the only 1 who reached even 225 carries after year 1.
— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) January 20, 2021
Tyler Lockett (WR – SEA)
The overall numbers for Lockett were good last year. Excluding week 17 (which usually doesn’t count for fantasy leagues), he finished as the overall WR13 with 88 receptions, 964 yards, and 8 TD. However, anyone who had him on their team knows that he did not come close to providing WR1 production. Lockett finished outside the top 45 receivers in 9 out of 15 weeks, but he had 2 MONSTER games that accounted for 300 yards, 6 TD, and 78 fantasy points (41% of his season points). In the other 13 games, he averaged just 8.5 fantasy points per game. Seattle also went more run-first later in the year as Russell Wilson started to struggle. As a result, Lockett averaged just 6 targets, 4 receptions, and 43 yards per game over the last 5 games of the fantasy season (weeks 12-16). People might look at his total numbers and value Lockett as a WR2, and if that’s the case, sell him. He did not provide consistent WR2 production, and it doesn’t look like he will moving forward.
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