For all of us who play in leagues with three-round, two-week playoffs, we are in the final week of the fantasy regular season! While most leagues will finish their regular season in later weeks, at least some percentage of you will start your playoffs after this week. Injuries and role changes throughout the season have left even monster teams from the preseason in shambles by this stage. If you desperately need some replacements or some depth, you have come to the right place. Let’s dig in!
Quarterback:
Matthew Stafford (QB – LAR)
As we get closer to the end of the season, teams with uncertain situations going forward become some muddy waters to work your way through. Stafford has gotten older, and the championship window for the Rams appears to have temporarily closed. This could cause people to worry about Stafford’s future, decreasing his Dynasty value. His schedule down the stretch is favorable, especially in Weeks 15-17 (vs. WAS, vs. NO, @ NYG). His touchdown efficiency has struggled a bit, but with his passing volume, that could easily see an uptick.
Jameis Winston (QB – NO)
Derek Carr suffered an injury during the game against the Vikings this past Sunday, leading to a bit of playing time for Winston. While he turned the ball twice in classic Winston form, he also led a comeback for the Saints. There is no guarantee he even starts a single game since the Saints are heading into a bye week, but if Carr cannot go in Week 12 and Winston looks good, who is to stop them from keeping Winston in as the starter? The nice thing with Winston is even with the turnovers, he has always presented some fantasy upside thanks to his willingness to chuck it.
Running Back:
Austin Ekeler (RB – LAC)
The first of a few return guests to the Vet Values article. Austin Ekeler is starting to hit his groove at the right time in the season to win championships. Perhaps the Ekeler manager in your league picked up one too many losses from his absence early in the season, and they cannot make the playoffs. If that is not the case, it will be nearly impossible to pry Ekeler off the hands of another contending team in your league. Like most of the players here, this move won’t be possible or beneficial in all leagues for all teams, so pick your spots. Ekeler has been a top 6 RB each of the past three weeks and has a favorable schedule, both in the fantasy playoffs and the remainder of the regular season.
James Conner (RB – ARI)
Buying running backs at this stage of the season can be a little gross. There is a good chance that whoever rosters Conner will sell him for cheap because they are either out of the playoffs or haven’t needed him up to this point. The volume in his first game back was promising, even if the efficiency was not. The Cardinals’ offense should perform okay down the stretch with Kyler Murray back from injury, so there will be some decent touchdown upside for the veteran running back. The schedule isn’t great, but volume is king.
Dameon Pierce (RB – HOU)
I would simply throw lowball offers out for Pierce. Perhaps the current Pierce manager will be willing to move off him out of fear of Devin Singletary having a game in Pierce’s absence. Singletary had all of camp and preseason to take the job from Pierce. When Pierce returns, the job should be his. His quarterback play this season has been much better than predicted, and a rising tide raises all ships. His remaining schedule isn’t great, but it doesn’t scare me either.
Wide Receiver:
Cooper Kupp (WR – LAR)
Kupp has had a weird season. The IR stint cost him four games, followed by back-to-back solid performances, then three poor ones. This difficult stretch could have opened a small buying window on one of the highest-upside players in our game today. The targets have been there the last few weeks, so the numbers should regress to the mean over time. There could also be managers worried about Puka Nacua taking too large of a target share, lowering his price further. He also has that same juicy schedule I referenced when talking about Stafford (vs. WAS, vs. NO, @ NYG).
Deebo Samuel (WR – SF)
Deebo tends to have some swingy game logs that keep his ranking in check, but it is nice to have a guy who can crush a matchup during the postseason. His Dynasty value continues to take hits because of the success of his teammate Brandon Aiyuk, also a fine value in his own right. As we get deeper into the fantasy playoffs and the 49ers need to win games for seeding, I expect they will be more willing to use Deebo’s ability to run the football. Big play possibility always exists with Deebo, and their playoff schedule is quite nice (@ ARI, vs. BAL, @ WAS).
Chris Godwin (WR – TB)
Godwin has had a lukewarm season that may have managers out of the playoffs willing to sell, but there is still enough there for Godwin to be a good value. Baker Mayfield has been a lot better than many of us thought he would be this season, and even though Mike Evans has been his favorite target, Godwin is still getting a fair share of targets. His playoff schedule isn’t super exciting, but it’s not one I’m afraid of either (@ GB, vs. JAX, vs. NO).
Zay Jones (WR – JAX)
So, this one comes with a bit of baggage. For those unaware, there is a domestic violence situation involving Zay Jones that came to light this week. There is a very real chance he has off-the-field issues that keep him off the field. I know there are more serious things at play than football with this situation, but there is a fantasy football impact in all of this. These trials and suspensions sometimes take a while to take effect, and when he has been on the field for the Jags, he has been fine this season. The biggest thing here is that someone may move off of him for a 4th Round pick because of the uncertainty. The upside is enough to justify that price tag.
Tight End:
Dalton Schultz (TE – HOU)
Certainly, a guy you wish you bought in the offseason, but still worth a stab if you lack strength at the position. He might not be Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews, but he is doing a solid job of putting some fantasy points into your tight end spot every week and has even had some big game upside. The offense in Houston is clicking right now, so more touchdowns could be in the near future for Schultz.
This is a time of the year when the price of players scoring fantasy points is at a peak, so some of the values may not be available in every league. If other managers try to get too much out of you for a lot of these guys, be willing to walk away from the deal. I mentioned this last week, but I stand by it. I am looking for teams out of the playoffs to target for trades like this. Teams that just got eliminated will be trying to get what they can from what they have. Good luck and happy trading!
Thanks so much for reading. If you want to discuss more, reach out to me on Twitter. Find me @DougHarrelson on there. Also, don’t forget to sign up for our Dynasty Football Factory Membership to get all things Dynasty, DFS, Sports Betting, and Devy. Annual Subscribers also get access to our discord server, where you can access our entire staff!
