Week 10 Buy Low Candidates: Trade Deadline Edition

Buy Low Candidates for Week 10:

Last week, I suggested Evan Engram, BTJ, Tank Dell, Nico Collins, DeAndre Hopkins and Travis Etienne Jr. as possible buy low/at cost candidates. I will explain how these options fared and an updated Buy, Hold, Sell or TBD rating depending on how last week looked under this week’s list.

  1. Drake London (ATL): London only played 19% of snaps before being ruled out with a hip pointer on Sunday, following a poor performance against Tampa in Week 8. His status for week 10 is up in the air, but his schedule for the fantasy playoffs is absolutely beautiful and this is not expected to be a long-term injury. 

OFFER: Would absolutely throw an offer of someone like JSN, Terry McLaurin, or possibly Chase Brown if somebody is really high on him following his dominant performance, plus a WR3 or WR4. 

  1. Marvin Harrison Jr (ARI): Marvin Harrison Jr is one of the more frustrating players of anyone drafted in the first two rounds without including injury. I would not be comfortable trading for him at a WR1 or even WR2 price tag. However, after he puts up 3.4 I would absolutely trade for him from an owner who is fed up with probably starting him when he’s been bad and benching him when he’s been excellent. Beyond the expectation of rookies improving as the season goes on, we also have amazing matchups against NE, CAR and LAR on the schedule in the fantasy playoffs. Not a start every week but when it’s time to win your league, this could easily change. 

OFFER: Try to send a higher floor, lower upside piece like Tony Pollard who has looked nice all year but will probably see Tyjae take some work when he returns.

  1. Tyreek Hill (MIA): Tyreek has underwhelmed all year, but surprisingly he has also been uninspiring in the games Tua has played since returning from his concussion. The offense has still looked good, scoring 27 in both contests and Tyreek is a proven talent where we can expect positive regression. Get him now before his inevitable blowup against the Rams. Could easily finish Top 3 in PPG ROS at WR.

OFFER: I’m offering low-end WR1s or two WR2s for Hill. 

  1. Brian Thomas Jr (again, JAX): Last week I said to buy Brian Thomas Jr. at a high-end WR2 price tag, which I felt was lower than his ceiling and worth it. Now I would advise to buy even more aggressively after he sees 91% of snaps and still only puts up 2 receptions for 22 yards. This was a bit of an odd contest where Jax only possessed the ball for 21:48, last in the entire NFL by over a minute, and Thomas didn’t practice fully all week with his injury. 

OFFER: I would bid aggressively now. Offer a middle-tier WR2, or an RB2 and a WR3-4. However, be willing to seemingly “overpay,” and you will likely come out ahead by season’s end.

  1. Breece Hall (NYJ): Similar to London and Hill with having back-to-back disappointing weeks, Breece Hall has now had 4 contests under 10.6 PPR points. Some people may also be concerned about Braelon Allen’s usage, which I think is overblown given Breece still gets 19 opportunities to Allen’s 5 and still a 76% snap share. Also, he has been efficient this season in his usage against good matchups and I expect the Jets offense to improve to around average as Adams continues to get comfortable, raising his touchdown upside. Finally, Breece also has possibly the best RB playoff schedule of JAX, LAR, and BUF. Buy. 

OFFER: If someone really likes David Montgomery or Chase Brown I would send them with some depth options for Breece. Or possibly trade a player like Amon-Ra for Breece and another piece on this list if your team is struggling with injuries/depth. 

  1. Ceedee Lamb (DAL): There is a wave of anxiety around Ceedee Lamb that is entirely understandable. Not bad enough that he has a sprained AC joint - although reports are optimistic that he will play - his pro bowl quarterback is likely to be placed on IR with a hamstring. Additionally, the Cowboys offense has looked dysfunctional pretty much all year and won’t look to have a sudden jolt with Cooper Rush at the helm. People are trying to get off of Ceedee now before he plays again just in case he stinks it up with Rush. I would absolutely be buying. In the 3 4th quarter drives that featured Rush, Ceedee was targeted 7 times including the 2-point conversion attempt. Ceedee has also seen some rushing usage in key situations, they clearly plan to lean on him especially with a backup QB. While he might not be a top 3 options every week with Rush, I still expect him to be a PPR hog like we’ve seen with Nabers in NY despite another awful QB in Jones. Additionally, Dak will possibly be back for the fantasy playoffs when the Cowboys will have an amazing schedule of CAR, TB, and PHI. Buy now. 

OFFER: Sending my low-end RB1s or WR1s for him. 

Honorable Mentions: Kenneth Walker III, Mike Evans, Pacheco and Amari Cooper

LAST WEEK’S RECAP:

  1. Engram (JAX): BUY/HOLD Evan Engram gets you 10 targets and 11.5 PPR points, which you will absolutely take given how gross the tight end market, albeit improving, has looked this year. Would still try to acquire if able.
  2. Brian Thomas Jr (JAX): BUY IN HUGE BLINKING MASSIVE RED LETTERS Even a BETTER buy low this week, given he played 91% of snaps and put up one of his worst performances of the year. Expect positive regression going forward as he gets to 100% health.
  3. Tank Dell (HOU): HOLD Puts up a good, albeit not unbelievable PPR performance as the WR1 this week. Encouraging 9 targets though and 126 yards, matching and surpassing his season high respectively. Probably will not be able to get him for any significant discount as his value rest of season is a high-upside WR2 instead of the possible high-end WR3 he was valued at last week.
  4. Nico Collins (HOU): HOLD/TBD I’d expect positive news about Collins’ potential return this week so the window to acquire him is likely shut. However, there’s a small chance the Collins owner may be concerned about how CJ Stroud has looked this season, and may want to part for an asset like Nabers in which case I would still pull the trigger. 
  5. DeAndre Hopkins (KC): HOLD/SELL Absolutely smashes on MNF, the window to buy low is slammed close. 
  6. Travis Etienne Jr. (JAX): BUY Etienne was a longer-term buy low, I would still throw out a feeler after his lackluster performance. De’Ernest Johnson still had a 24% snap share which I’d expect Etienne to fully replace once he’s healthy. He will also have the more valuable 3rd down and redzone role.