By: Mitchell Weiss — Correspondent
RANKING RISERS AND FALLERS:
Risers:
QB: Jalen Hurts – Currently averaging the 3rd most points per game among QB’s, Jalen Hurts is a definite riser. He has proven that people should not have been worried about his passing abilities, and with his major rushing upside, Hurts looks like he could finish around the QB5 for the season.
RB: Chase Edmonds – Edmonds is averaging 14.88 points per game this season, and in a year where finding an RB who is a consistent producer Edmonds, the cardinals current receptions leader, is one of only a few RB’s to have all double digits weeks should make him a mid-high end RB2 rest of season.
RB: Austin Ekeler – Ekeler has been putting on a show this season. Since his disappointing week one performance, he has had 3 straight 20+ points performances, and as the only RB playing any role in this offense he should be considered a top 5 RB rest of the season.
WR: DJ Moore – Currently the 4th ranked wide receiver this year averaging 22.4 points per game, DJ Moore is the WR1 in the Carolina offense. With him getting 10+ targets in 3 straight weeks, DJ Moore is a Top 10 receiver.
WR: Laviska Shenault – Although Shenault started the season slow, with Trevor Lawrence having trouble adjusting to the NFL, Shenault had a great week in week 4. Now with DJ Chark out for the season with a broken ankle, Shenault’s workload should get a major increase making him a high-end WR3 who could push into WR2 territory.
TE: Dalton Schultz – Coming into the season it was known that the Cowboys would be a high-powered offense, but with two TE possibly splitting work, the value of both Jarwin and Schultz was unknown. After 4 weeks, Schultz is the TE4 in fantasy football and clearly, the alpha TE is Dallas, and although he probably won’t finish as a top 5 TE he is still a very solid option for a very weak position.
FLEX: Diontae Johnson – After coming back from injury Johnson had an incredible week and is Roethlisberger’s favorite target, and with the volume, he will receive he is a high-end WR2 ROS.
Fallers:
QB: Ryan Tannehill – Tannehill has only had one week above 20 points, and struggling against the horrendous Jets defense, Tannehill should no longer be considered a QB1 as players on the waivers like Darnold, Carr, and possibly Lance seem like better options.
RB: Chris Carson – Carson has limited receiving upside and is now banged up, and with Alex Collins looking solid and stealing Carson’s goal-line work, Carson is now a low-end RB2 at best.
RB: Mike Davis – Coming into the year we assumed Davis would get all of the RB work in this falcons office, and although he has gotten solid work, he has been very unproductive, especially compared to his team’s other RB, Cordarrelle Patterson. I would consider Davis a FLEX play at best, but if I could sit him, I would.
WR: Allen Robinson – Drafted as a top 15 WR this year, expectations for Robinson were high, and with him averaging only 8.5 points per game, owner’s should be concerned as his upside is now a mid WR2 at best, which is not what fantasy managers wanted from a 3rd round pick.
WR: Tyler Lockett – Through two weeks, Lockett’s value was sky-high, as many people overreacted, thinking he was the clear WR1 in Seattle, but these last two weeks have shown us that he is exactly what we originally thought, a boom or bust WR.
TE – Robert Tonyan – We thought Tonyan was TD dependent, but we didn’t know how much. Averaging only 5.4 points per game, Tonyan has caught only 8 passes through 4 weeks. Currently ranked TE29 on the year, you should be finding someone of the waivers if you are starting Tonyan.
FLEX: Myles Gaskin – DROP HIM! After only playing 12 snaps and getting 2 carries for 3 yds, Gaskin has been completely fazed out of Miami’s offense and provides 0 fantasy value.
SELL HIGH AND BUY LOW:
Sell high team:
QB: Sam Darnold – Somehow through 4 weeks Darnold is the league leader in rushing TDs with 5. By the end of the season, Darnold could finish as a low-end QB1, so with his current performances, you could trade him for a mid-high end QB.
RB: Cordarrelle Patterson – Cordarrelle Patterson is currently the RB3 in all of fantasy football, and with 5 TDs on the year his value is surely going to regress. At this point, he is probably a mid-RB2 ROS, but currently could be sold for more.
RB: James Conner – Conner has received almost no receiving work in this offense, and since he is only the goal line back he is certainly to regress from his 2 TD/week, meaning this is the perfect time to sell while people might think he could be an RB2.
WR: Tyler Boyd – With Tee Higgins coming back from injury and Chase seeming like the more prominent receiver, Boyd’s role will return to just the slot receiver, so you should try to trade him now after two solid performances.
WR: Adam Thielen – The majority of Thielen’s value so far has come from the fact that he is averaging 1 TD per game, which is guaranteed to regress, so I would sell him now since this will be his peak value all year.
FLEX: Kareem Hunt – After two straight strong weeks from Hunt, he seems like a viable RB2, but with him getting the TD’s over Chubb, his value will drop off, so if you could trade Hunt for a more consistent RB then do it.
TE: Dawson Knox – Like many other of these sell high candidates, Knox has been getting tons of TD’s over these past two weeks, I would sell him now if you can get a layer who is more proven.
Buy Low Team:
QB: Matthew Stafford – After a disappointing week vs Arizona, Stafford’s value might be down, and knowing how good the Rams offense is, if you are a team who doesn’t have a strong QB, Stafford is a perfect trade target.
RB: D’Andre Swift – Swift only put up 8.9 points last week, but still got targeted six times. With Swift’s receiving abilities, he should finish as an RB1 this year, and with this week’s performance, this might be the only time to buy him at a lower price.
RB: Aaron Jones – Jones had another disappointing week last week with only 10.9 fantasy work, but with him being an all-around back, Jones has proven he is a top 5 RB and should finish there at the end of the season.
WR: DeAndre Hopkins – Hopkins has seemed underwhelming on paper these past two weeks, but while fighting a rib injury he still put up a decent performance last week against the #1 CB in the league, so being as good as he is and him only ever missing 2 games in his 8-year career if you can get Hopkins for a cheaper price, do it.
Wr: Tee Higgins – The Bengals WR core seems like a 1a 1b system with Higgins and Chase, people ignore that Higgins was averaging 15.9 points per game before his injury, meaning you could get a solid WR for a cheaper price.
FLEX – Damien Harris – Harris has faced two of his hardest matchups of the entire season, so people are counting him out. Now with Whiteout and JJ Taylor not looking strong, Harris only handicap seems to be Brandon Bolden. That along with an easier upcoming schedule makes now a good time to buy Harris.
TE: George Kittle – Currently the TE10 on the season, some fantasy managers are panicking on Kittle, so take advantage. Just a few years ago Kittle was setting records for TE’s, and if you look deeper he is still top 5 in targets among TE’s meaning if you give him time, his production will increase, so buy Kittle now before that happens.
The Sharon Talon 