We're now preparing ourselves for the home stretch of our fantasy regular seasons. I for one have a few trade deadlines this week, and I find myself scrambling in search of any last minute trades I can find, attempting to bolster my roster for the playoffs. This is the time where you have to take schedule, timeline, and surroundings into the utmost consideration. Today, I'll go through some names that can either help you win your championship this year in a huge way, or that you should sell away before their downside catches up to you.
Buys
Gabe Davis
Davis has been in an awkward spot all year where he is so second fiddle to Stefon Diggs that he barely musters up FLEX worthy numbers any given week. That being said, when he booms, he seriously booms. Davis has two 20+ PPR performances this season, and we know that these boom weeks are predicated on long touchdowns. If he can break off a big touchdown during a fantasy playoff game, that is pretty much a free advancement into the next round for whoever started him. Is this risky? Absolutely. But looking at his previous games, when Davis doesn't score a TD, he can still give you 6 or 7 points and not completely destroy your day. Davis' target share is strong, and offers at least a tiny bit of optimism for non-game breaking performances. If you find yourself in a spot where you don't have a clear FLEX starter heading into your playoffs, Gabe Davis is a high risk, but super high reward option to keep tabs on.
Allen Lazard
Everyone is aboard the Christian Watson hype train at the moment, and while I'm certainly not against this movement, I definitely think it's a good idea to hedge your bets. Watson was a raw prospect coming out of college, and we've seen that throughout the year (he even dropped yet another pass this week.) He has also been alarmingly injury prone this year, so just in case, I think Allen Lazard is a hidden gem that can take you places in the right situation. Let's say Watson doesn't continue this breakout: Lazard will return to the double digit target hoarder that he was in the first half of the year, and offer you an extremely solid floor in your playoff lineups. If Watson's breakout fully continues, then you bought low on Lazard, and didn't lose much for Watson's insurance policy if he were to get hurt. This is the type of sneaky move that brings good fantasy owners value, and is one that I'd definitely consider looking into right now, before the fantasy trade deadlines pass.
Chris Olave
After tearing up the NFL early in the season, Olave has slowed down ever so slightly in recent weeks. The good news? His target share is still extremely large, and once again I find myself analyzing another case of the worst case scenario. The Saints' offense has been terrible over the past few weeks, and Olave still has seen 14 targets in the last two games and averaged about 10 PPR points. If this is the absolute worst case, how much upside is here to tap into for the home stretch? A lot in my opinion. I do expect this offense to look at least a little bit better going forward, and even if not, it isn't like Olave is some fantasy pushover. Not to mention, he faces the terrible defenses of Atlanta and Cleveland in the fantasy playoffs as an added bonus.
Sells
Terry McLaurin
As a proud Terry McLaurin owner in multiple leagues - a product of me going against the grain preseason and saying Terry would produce another borderline WR1 season this year when most were down on him - this one hurts. However, this is quite the opposite of the Chris Olave situation. We've seen McLaurin recently in the absolute best case: Taylor Heinicke being an absolutely gunslinger and this offense looking absolutely explosive. He's the WR12 in PPR formats right now. That is a player with immense trade value. Since this is already the best case scenario, I would feel comfortable shipping him off now for a piece with less future downside. If this offense gets worse, or if Carson Wentz retakes the reins, things can get ugly quickly for Scary Terry.
Raheem Mostert
No, nobody's going to give you a king's ransom for Mostert, who is all of a sudden caught in the middle of a backfield mess with Jeff Wilson. The thing is, Mostert scored a touchdown this week at least, so you can likely get SOMETHING for him. It's clear that Mike McDaniel sees Wilson as the better back for this system, and has allowed him to completely take over this backfield. After seeing only 47% of the Dolphins' snaps during Wilson's first week in Miami, Mostert's snap share was dropped to 28% this past week. The TD and the fact that Mostert may be able to scrape his way back into a 50/50 timeshare may be able to accrue you some value for Mostert now, but the opportunity is fading fast.
Jamaal Williams
I believe D'Andre Swift owners are currently panicking at his lack of usage, and while I wrote about buying Swift low last week, I take the other approach this time. I believe the Lions are still easing Swift back in, and that he will see a higher usage rate in the near future. Where does this leave Jamaal Williams? As the second option, more of a weekly touchdown upside type of guy, but nothing more. I think there are definitely people out there who are intimidated by the slow process of getting Swift back from injury, and have completely put their faith in Williams. I'm firmly on the opposite side of that, and think investing in Swift now is a worthy investment to try and add some relatively cheap RB help before your playoff run.