Hunter Stonebraker
Fantasy Trade Candidates and Targets
In this week’s article we will be examining a couple guys that you might to trade away and another couple guys you might want to trade away.
We will start with Marlon Mack, after this week’s performance many people may be very reluctant to trade him, but there are definitely other people who would love to have a more well-known star as their starting tailback. Mack doesn’t have a great ranking as he ranks 30th among running backs in PPR setups. While that doesn’t sound great, Mack was injured for a four week stretch but since coming back has wreaked havoc. In his last two games he has seen an uptick in volume and he has taken full advantage of it. In each of the past 2 games he has topped 149 total yards and two total touchdowns on 20+ touches each game. Andrew Lucks return to relevance behind an O-line that is playing much better than before and Mack's explosive ability makes this Colts offense interesting. The improved O-line play has helped Mack just as much as Luck and it’s the balance between the two that I think will continue to fuel Mack’s fantasy relevancy.
Kerryon Johnson looks like Detroit’s lead back of the future, BUT he shouldn’t be yours. This year Johnson just hasn’t been a consistent fantasy contributor, and the inconsistency will continue. Johnson plays for one of the more confusing teams in the NFL. The Lions, as most people forget, actually beat the Patriots in week 3 behind a hundred-yard game for Johnson. One of only two for him this year. While Johnson has been great in limited opportunities, its not likely he will have more opportunities this year. There are many factors for that starting the Lions backfield makeup, the Lions have Legarrette Blount who is firmly entrenched as the goal line back and they also have Theo Riddick who is the pass catching back. This deprives Johnson from touchdowns and receptions that could help his PPR status. Throw in the fact that the Lions are usually losing and throwing the ball with Matthew Stafford frequently because of it and you realize Johnson is handicapped at best. After 2 straight performances with 15+ point in standard PPR formats Johnsons value has never been higher so now is the time to sell.
A big name that needs to go is Keenan Allen. By no means is Keenan Allen a bad fantasy starter, but he is currently only averaging just over 14 points a game in PPR leagues. If though you’re looking to change up your lineup in hopes of a playoff hot streak, shopping around Allen is a good bet. In an offense with 2 running backs who catch passes, 2 big bodied big play receivers and a slot receiver with speed Allen does not get great stats and is not in an environment to breakout. Allen has not had over 100 yards or a touchdown since week one against Kansas City, and with matchups against top corners Shaquill Griffen, Patrick Peterson and Chris Harris in 3 of the next 4 weeks I wouldn’t count on that changing. The good news is the 14 point average and the name brand quality of Allen make him a valuable trade candidate especially if you’re looking to swap him out for our next candidate.
Our next guy is a big risk but could potentially help fuel a playoff run for some people. T.Y. Hilton has fallen off fantasy radars because an injury that largely hampered him for the majority of 3 weeks. Now back and at full strength I expect him to again consume the mammoth of targets for a Colts team that doesn’t have many talented receivers for Andrew Luck to get the ball to. The Colts actually scored 42 this past week and Hilton only had one catch, but don’t let that worry you, Luck and Hilton have too much chemistry for Luck to not throw the ball his way more especially now that Luck has more time to throw the ball. Before the injury Hilton had 21 receptions for 294 yards and 2 touchdowns through the first 4 weeks when elements of rust were still visible in Lucks throwing motion. Now that Luck and Colts offense is clicking at all cylinders and healthy I wouldn’t be surprised if Hilton went on a tear.
Tyler Lockett is bound to depreciate as a fantasy option soon. He has not logged more than 5 receptions in a game or over a hundred yards. His production is truly touchdown dependent but he has scored a touchdown in all but one game so far this season. That is an unattainable pace, especially with Russell Wilson's favorite target Doug Baldwin finally back and fully healthy. The decline in recent games for Lockett has even been evident as last week he recorded only 2 catches for 34 yards but one of those 2 catches happened to be a touchdown. The week before was just as bad, 3 catches for 13 yards, but he salvaged the day by finding the endzone once again. With Baldwin back don’t expect Lockett’s touchdown rate to continue at the ridiculous rate it has.
Comentarios