EBF
Footballguy
Bored and haven't made a topic in a while. Thought I'd post some players that I'd be looking to buy or sell going into the season.
BUYING
QB Matt Schaub, Texans - IMO Schaub is the most underrated QB in the NFL. People don't look at him as an elite passer, when in fact his statistics from the past several years indicate that he's one of the best in the league. A low number of attempts will likely prevent him from becoming an elite FF option, but he's a good target as a backup or cheap starter.
QB Philip Rivers, Chargers - Seems like the cheapest of the elite FF QBs after slumping through a sub-par year. He's a solid starter and he's falling quite far in drafts. If you don't have a Brees/Newton/Rodgers type of player on your roster, you might want to see about trading for Rivers.
RB Shonn Greene, Jets - This one comes with a pretty big asterisk. Greene is not a special talent and will never be an elite player for your FF team. He's also not particularly young by RB standards. Having said that, I still like him as a short-term acquisition. Even though he is a mediocre starter by NFL standards, I still think he's pretty clearly the best RB on the roster and thus likely to give you at least one year of serviceable RB2 production. If you can talk someone into selling him for something really cheap, like a second round pick or a late first rounder, I would at least consider it.
RB Ben Tate, Texans
RB CJ Spiller, Bills
RB Jahvid Best, Lions
RB JacQuizz Rodgers, Falcons
RB Robert Turbin, Seahawks
RB Jonathan Dwyer, Steelers - A grab bag of cheap-ish RBs who all conceivably have starting potential in the NFL. Outlook and price drops as you move down this list, but I genuinely believe that any one of these guys could surprise with a top 15 season in the next few years. Given how hard it is to acquire an elite RB, your best bet might be picking one or two favorites from this group and trying to get them for low prices.
RB Jonathan Stewart, Carolina - It has to happen eventually, right?
WR Kendall Wright, Titans - It seems like every year there's a high quality first round WR who slips further in drafts than he should. Last year it was Jon Baldwin. This year it's Wright. I have some concerns about his poor combine numbers, but if I've learned anything from previous workout flops like LeSean McCoy and Frank Gore, it's that on-field performance is ultimately the most important variable. Wright might not be fast on a track, but he sure looks the part on the field. I think he's the next Santonio Holmes and I would look to snag him if he's available for the price of a late first round rookie pick.
WR TJ Graham, Bills
WR DeVier Posey, Texans - Two cheap rookie receivers who both have starting potential and are available for next to nothing. I particularly like Graham, simply because he has elite speed and his price tag is so low. I wouldn't get my hopes up too high for either of these guys, but in terms of cost-per-upside, they seem like good acquisitions.
WR Torrey Smith, Ravens - I wasn't really a fan of his game coming out of college, but he was a highly-regarded prospect with freakish workout numbers and he had a really good rookie year. I still wonder if he isn't a one-trick pony, but considering all the things working in his favor and the fact that he's still relatively cheap in some league, he's a guy I would consider targeting.
WR Eddie Royal, Chargers - As someone who's always had a soft spot for Royal and a lack of faith in Robert Meachem, I'm inclined to believe the hype coming out of San Diego about Royal looking like a steal. With Jackson out of town and Gates approaching his sell-on date, Royal should have one last chance to prove that his rookie year wasn't a fluke.
WR Jon Baldwin, Chiefs - I felt he was underrated as a rookie, considering that he was a first round pick with prototypical #1 size and athletic ability. His name got smeared a bit after he got into a training camp fight with Thomas Jones, but I felt people overreacted to that incident and this doesn't strike me as a guy who has severe character/work ethic issues. Baldwin showed enough flashes as a rookie to warrant optimism and is a prime breakout candidate this year or the next.
TE Martellus Bennett, Giants - I've been guilty of overrating Bennett's talent in the past. I'm not sure he really has the explosiveness to be an elite pro TE, but he could still be a solid starter and he should finally have that opportunity in New York.
SELLING
All Quarterbacks - I'm joking really. But last year saw a crazy number of QBs put up huge PPG stats. Sign of things to come, or one year fluke that's destined to regress to the mean? Might be a little bit of both. Having an elite QB is obviously a nice advantage, but I don't really expect guys like Brady/Brees/Newton/Stafford to consistently be this far ahead of the pack on a year-to-year basis.
RB Arian Foster, Texans - If all you care about is production, then Foster might be worth what people are paying, but if you are also concerned with roster flexibility and future trade value then I think you should look elsewhere in the top 10 of dynasty startups. My reasoning is pretty simple. Once RBs turn 28 years old, they become really hard to move for fair value. Age might be overvalued in FF, but in terms of trades perceived value is as important as actual value. And since so many dynasty owners are youth-obsessed, I think Foster's trade value will only drop from here on out. McCoy and Rice are younger, and offer similar short-term potential. Richardson is the superior talent (IMO) and significantly younger. If I could get one of those guys or an elite young WR for Foster (in a PPR), I would pull the trigger.
RB Matt Forte, Bears - Similar story to Foster. I don't doubt his ability to put up difference-maker ppg numbers in the short term, so if that's all you're looking for then he's a fine choice. However, I think the trade value drop is coming soon.
RB DeMarco Murray, Cowboys - Murray really surprised me last year with his impressive rookie season. I clearly underestimated his talent. However, I'd still be looking to cash in if I had him on any of my rosters. If you've had him since last year, there's a good chance that his value has already jumped way above whatever you paid to acquire him. Since I still don't have total faith in his talent and since his durability looks like a major red flag, I'd be looking to move him.
WR Wes Welker, Patriots - 31 years old coming off an absolutely monster season. There are still people who (undestandably) rank him as an elite dynasty WR, but perception will quickly change if he shows even the slightest signs of slowing down. As any Andre Johnson owner can tell you, it's really hard to get fair value for a 31 year old WR. It's even harder for one who's 32...33...etc. I just see his value dropping sharply over the next few years.
TE Rob Gronkowski, Patriots - This guy was one of the truly elite performers in the NFL last year and he's still extremely young, so I fully understand if people are sky high on his future. I just have a totally unsubstantiated feeling that his value has peaked and that he's unlikely to match these ridiculous numbers ever again. I'd say the same thing about Jimmy Graham, but I have a little more faith in his long term ability.
BUYING
QB Matt Schaub, Texans - IMO Schaub is the most underrated QB in the NFL. People don't look at him as an elite passer, when in fact his statistics from the past several years indicate that he's one of the best in the league. A low number of attempts will likely prevent him from becoming an elite FF option, but he's a good target as a backup or cheap starter.
QB Philip Rivers, Chargers - Seems like the cheapest of the elite FF QBs after slumping through a sub-par year. He's a solid starter and he's falling quite far in drafts. If you don't have a Brees/Newton/Rodgers type of player on your roster, you might want to see about trading for Rivers.
RB Shonn Greene, Jets - This one comes with a pretty big asterisk. Greene is not a special talent and will never be an elite player for your FF team. He's also not particularly young by RB standards. Having said that, I still like him as a short-term acquisition. Even though he is a mediocre starter by NFL standards, I still think he's pretty clearly the best RB on the roster and thus likely to give you at least one year of serviceable RB2 production. If you can talk someone into selling him for something really cheap, like a second round pick or a late first rounder, I would at least consider it.
RB Ben Tate, Texans
RB CJ Spiller, Bills
RB Jahvid Best, Lions
RB JacQuizz Rodgers, Falcons
RB Robert Turbin, Seahawks
RB Jonathan Dwyer, Steelers - A grab bag of cheap-ish RBs who all conceivably have starting potential in the NFL. Outlook and price drops as you move down this list, but I genuinely believe that any one of these guys could surprise with a top 15 season in the next few years. Given how hard it is to acquire an elite RB, your best bet might be picking one or two favorites from this group and trying to get them for low prices.
RB Jonathan Stewart, Carolina - It has to happen eventually, right?
WR Kendall Wright, Titans - It seems like every year there's a high quality first round WR who slips further in drafts than he should. Last year it was Jon Baldwin. This year it's Wright. I have some concerns about his poor combine numbers, but if I've learned anything from previous workout flops like LeSean McCoy and Frank Gore, it's that on-field performance is ultimately the most important variable. Wright might not be fast on a track, but he sure looks the part on the field. I think he's the next Santonio Holmes and I would look to snag him if he's available for the price of a late first round rookie pick.
WR TJ Graham, Bills
WR DeVier Posey, Texans - Two cheap rookie receivers who both have starting potential and are available for next to nothing. I particularly like Graham, simply because he has elite speed and his price tag is so low. I wouldn't get my hopes up too high for either of these guys, but in terms of cost-per-upside, they seem like good acquisitions.
WR Torrey Smith, Ravens - I wasn't really a fan of his game coming out of college, but he was a highly-regarded prospect with freakish workout numbers and he had a really good rookie year. I still wonder if he isn't a one-trick pony, but considering all the things working in his favor and the fact that he's still relatively cheap in some league, he's a guy I would consider targeting.
WR Eddie Royal, Chargers - As someone who's always had a soft spot for Royal and a lack of faith in Robert Meachem, I'm inclined to believe the hype coming out of San Diego about Royal looking like a steal. With Jackson out of town and Gates approaching his sell-on date, Royal should have one last chance to prove that his rookie year wasn't a fluke.
WR Jon Baldwin, Chiefs - I felt he was underrated as a rookie, considering that he was a first round pick with prototypical #1 size and athletic ability. His name got smeared a bit after he got into a training camp fight with Thomas Jones, but I felt people overreacted to that incident and this doesn't strike me as a guy who has severe character/work ethic issues. Baldwin showed enough flashes as a rookie to warrant optimism and is a prime breakout candidate this year or the next.
TE Martellus Bennett, Giants - I've been guilty of overrating Bennett's talent in the past. I'm not sure he really has the explosiveness to be an elite pro TE, but he could still be a solid starter and he should finally have that opportunity in New York.
SELLING
All Quarterbacks - I'm joking really. But last year saw a crazy number of QBs put up huge PPG stats. Sign of things to come, or one year fluke that's destined to regress to the mean? Might be a little bit of both. Having an elite QB is obviously a nice advantage, but I don't really expect guys like Brady/Brees/Newton/Stafford to consistently be this far ahead of the pack on a year-to-year basis.
RB Arian Foster, Texans - If all you care about is production, then Foster might be worth what people are paying, but if you are also concerned with roster flexibility and future trade value then I think you should look elsewhere in the top 10 of dynasty startups. My reasoning is pretty simple. Once RBs turn 28 years old, they become really hard to move for fair value. Age might be overvalued in FF, but in terms of trades perceived value is as important as actual value. And since so many dynasty owners are youth-obsessed, I think Foster's trade value will only drop from here on out. McCoy and Rice are younger, and offer similar short-term potential. Richardson is the superior talent (IMO) and significantly younger. If I could get one of those guys or an elite young WR for Foster (in a PPR), I would pull the trigger.
RB Matt Forte, Bears - Similar story to Foster. I don't doubt his ability to put up difference-maker ppg numbers in the short term, so if that's all you're looking for then he's a fine choice. However, I think the trade value drop is coming soon.
RB DeMarco Murray, Cowboys - Murray really surprised me last year with his impressive rookie season. I clearly underestimated his talent. However, I'd still be looking to cash in if I had him on any of my rosters. If you've had him since last year, there's a good chance that his value has already jumped way above whatever you paid to acquire him. Since I still don't have total faith in his talent and since his durability looks like a major red flag, I'd be looking to move him.
WR Wes Welker, Patriots - 31 years old coming off an absolutely monster season. There are still people who (undestandably) rank him as an elite dynasty WR, but perception will quickly change if he shows even the slightest signs of slowing down. As any Andre Johnson owner can tell you, it's really hard to get fair value for a 31 year old WR. It's even harder for one who's 32...33...etc. I just see his value dropping sharply over the next few years.
TE Rob Gronkowski, Patriots - This guy was one of the truly elite performers in the NFL last year and he's still extremely young, so I fully understand if people are sky high on his future. I just have a totally unsubstantiated feeling that his value has peaked and that he's unlikely to match these ridiculous numbers ever again. I'd say the same thing about Jimmy Graham, but I have a little more faith in his long term ability.