Welcome back to the final team for the “Fantasy Stock Up, Stock Down” series (offseason edition). We will be continuing this series through training camp and the preseason, but the individual team deep dives will be no longer. Instead, we will break down divisions and find key players to keep an eye on while we approach the regular season. Us dynasty managers must constantly research ways to bolster our rosters. Do you need advice on who to trade for? Maybe you’re looking for players to trade away. Do you have enough young talent to ensure your roster is set for years to come? Maybe you’re going all in and need a couple of pieces to sharpen your team. We will dive deep into one Minnesota player whose dynasty stock is increasing and one Minnesota player whose dynasty stock is decreasing.
STOCK UP – IRV SMITH JR.
| Year | Team | Games Played | Targets | Receptions | Yards | Yards/Catch | TDs |
| 2019 | MIN | 16 | 47 | 36 | 311 | 8.6 | 2 |
| 2020 | MIN | 13 | 43 | 30 | 365 | 12.2 | 5 |
He’s back to full health. Big Irv was on many dynasty managers’ radars going into last season. There was the hype surrounding the young tight end who had produced decent numbers as Kyle Rudolph’s backup for a couple of years. Many expected a HUGE leap forward once Minnesota decided to part ways with Rudolph after 10 years of services. There were exciting rumors from Minnesota beat writers explaining that Smith Jr. was excelling as the team’s TE1 during last year’s offseason and that he was primed for a huge season. That was music to fantasy managers’ ears until he went down with a season-ending meniscus injury before the season started.
Now the 23-year-old is back in shape, healthy, and running routes with the first team again. What makes him an even more intriguing fantasy tight end is the fact that Minnesota brought in a new head coach this offseason, one who believes in a pass-happy offense while game-planning strategic ways to heavily involve the tight end position. Kevin O’Connell had spent the past two seasons as Sean McVay’s right-hand man, coordinating one of the most electric offenses in football. Last season alone, the Rams finished fifth in total passing yards and second in passing touchdowns. Kirk Cousins should see an increase in production. And outside of Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, someone will need to step up in a big way. That may just be Big Irv here.
As mentioned above, O’Connell has helped tight ends produce decent receiving numbers during his time as an offensive coordinator. Last season, Tyler Higbee finished third for Los Angeles in receiving yards (560) and touchdowns (5), while also hauling in the second-most receptions for the team (61) as well. The year before that, Higbee and Gerald Everett combined for 85 receptions for 938 yards and six touchdowns. As for Minnesota, Smith Jr. is the clear TE1 for this team, and Tyler Conklin is no longer in town anymore (signed with the Jets). Although he only has one year left on his rookie deal, he’ll likely outplay Nick Muse, Johnny Mundt, and Ben Ellefson enough to earn a second contract. As long as he can stay healthy, Smith Jr. should be serviceable for fantasy managers for the next couple of years.
Other Notables: Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson
STOCK DOWN – ALEXANDER MATTISON
| Year | Team | Games Played | Carries | Yards | Yards/Carry | TDs | Receptions | Yards | Yards/Catch | TDs |
| 2019 | MIN | 13 | 100 | 462 | 4.6 | 1 | 10 | 82 | 8.2 | 0 |
| 2020 | MIN | 13 | 96 | 434 | 4.5 | 2 | 13 | 125 | 9.6 | 1 |
| 2021 | MIN | 16 | 134 | 491 | 3.7 | 3 | 32 | 228 | 7.1 | 1 |
One of the most strategic ways to polish your fantasy roster is to handcuff your starting RBs with their backups. That way if D’Andre Swift goes down with a lengthy injury, having Jamaal Williams on your bench and ready to start gives your team an advantage. You won’t have to worry about spending FAB or crossing your fingers that your waiver claim will go through. One of the most successful handcuffs during the last couple of seasons has been Alexander Mattison. Dalvin Cook has produced as a dependable RB1 for a while now, but during the past two seasons, he has missed six games. In those six games, Mattison has produced a combined 477 rushing yards, 24 receptions, 200 receiving yards, and five total touchdowns. His average RB finish during those six games was as the RB14, and he finished as the RB8 or better in four of those games.
Here’s the problem. Mattison is entering his final season under contract with Minnesota. More often than not, a team is reluctant to hand over a second contract to a backup running back that isn’t heavily involved in the passing game like a J.D. McKissic, James White, or Nyheim Hines. The team has also indicated that they are planning to move on from Mattison after the season based on recent drafts. Last year, they drafted Kene Nwangwu out of Iowa State in the fourth round. And just a couple of months ago, they drafted Ty Chandler out of North Carolina in the fifth. Both are contracted until at least 2025, which lines up with Cook’s contract length as well. So there’s no need to pay Mattison more to serve as the backup when one of those two is more than capable of filling that role in 2023. Sure, Mattison’s value may not be too high right now, but it’s smarter to move on now rather than later. But if you do have Cook on your current roster, there’s no pressing need to ship Mattison away yet. You just may have to pay attention to training camp and invest in finding ways to stash either Nwangwu or Chandler.
Other Notables: K.J. Osborn, Kellen Mond
Teams Broken Down Already: Teams Broken Down Already: Teams Broken Down Already: Bears, Bengals, Bills, Broncos, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, 49ers, Giants, Jaguars, Jets, Lions, Packers, Panthers, Patriots, Raiders, Rams, Ravens, Saints, Seahawks, Steelers, Texans, Titans
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