BUYING
Matthew Stafford QB DET
Currently on pace for just 4,245 yards and 18.7 passing touchdowns on 352 of 565 passing, all four of those totals would be Stafford's lowest since the 2010 season that was ended after just three games due to a torn labrum. His owners can thank two early season rushing touchdowns for keeping his production afloat as the 11th quarterback in total fantasy points, but he's only finished as a top-16 quarterback in two of six weeks with an average ranking of 17.7 at the position. Although Calvin Johnson remains sidelined, two great matchups are on deck with New Orleans and then Atlanta. The matchups alone keep Stafford as a low-end QB1 and with a bye week to follow, he should have Johnson back at full-strength for the stretch run, when he'll return to being a mid-tier QB1.
Chris Ivory RB NYJ
Held without a touchdown since Week 2 and with less than 10 carries in each of the past two games, Ivory bottomed out with only seven yards on eight carries versus Denver this past weekend. The Broncos boast a top run defense though and with the quality of teams (and offenses) that New York has recently competed against, it's not surprising that his touches have been low while the team played from behind. Although the opposing run defenses won't get substantially easier, with Rex Ryan's future on the line, you can expect the team to begin leaning on the run game and Ivory is the best back they've got. He should maintain RB3/Flex value within this struggling offense.
Jerick McKinnon RB MIN
From Week 2 through Week 5, Matt Asiata averaged 44 snaps and 18 touches, while McKinnon played second fiddle with 26 and 9 respectively. This past weekend, Minnesota handed over the starting role to McKinnon without the slightest hint during the week leading up to the game. He played on 48 snaps and saw 17 touches, compared to just 15 snaps and three touches for Asiata. That trend is not expected to reverse and in his first start versus a stout Detroit defense, the rookie picked up a hard earned 82 total yards on those 17 touches. He can be immediately inserted in lineups as a low-end RB2 / Flex.
Rashad Jennings RB NYG
Through the first five weeks of the season, Jennings ranked seventh among running backs in fantasy points and was well on his way to a career year. He then suffered a sprain MCL in Week 5 that forced him to miss last week's game versus Philadelphia and is in doubt for another divisional matchup versus Dallas this upcoming week. Andre Williams struggled again on the ground with only 58 yards on 16 carries in his first career start and now stands at just 3.26 yards-per-carry on the season with 70 carries to date. For comparison, Jennings is averaging 4.35 yards-per-carry on his 91 carries and is an adept receiver, while Williams offers little help in that regard. It's safe to assume that Jennings, who played on 64% of the New York's snaps in the first four weeks, will return to being the teams all-purpose back and produce as a high-end RB2 after the Week 9 bye.
Eric Decker WR NYJ
The hamstring injury looks to be a thing of the past as Decker played a full complement of snaps (57 of 63) this past Sunday and did not look inhibited at all. He was targeted 10 times, catching six of them for 54 yards and his third touchdown on the season. His per game averages in the four games that he's played more than half the snaps translate to 76-956-12 over a full, 16-game season. With the injury to the team's No. 1 CB Dee Milliner, their already porous secondary suffers another blow and Geno Smith will be tasked with keeping up with the opposing offenses. Decker is far and away New York's best receiver and a great option in the red zone. He's a strong WR3 with WR2 potential.
Marques Colston WR NO
It has been quite a disappointing season for Colston, who is on pace for just 48 receptions, 794 receiving yards, and 3.2 touchdowns through the season's first five games. He does claim to be the healthiest he has been in a couple years after being dogged by foot injuries, but fell behind rookie Brandin Cooks in the pecking order. With Jimmy Graham now sidelined for another two-to-three weeks, expect Colston to be the main beneficiary. Much of Graham's damage is done from the slot as he works the middle of the field, which is also Colston's specialty. The veteran wide receiver should be treated as a strong WR2 during Graham's absence.
Michael Floyd WR AZ
After being drafted as a WR2, his current totals, which project for a 51-972-3.2 line, have not met expectations. Through the first four weeks, he has had two games of at least five receptions and 114 yards and then two other games with only one reception and less than 20 yards. With Carson Palmer under center over the past two years, Floyd's per game averages would project to a 67-1084-5.3 line over 16 games. He got back on track this past weekend, catching four passes for 47 yards and his first touchdown of the season and should perform as a WR2 from here on out. Over the next few weeks, with matchups versus Oakland and Philadelphia on the horizon, he can even be considered high-end WR2.
Roddy White WR ATL
White, who was limited by a hamstring injury earlier in the season, was eyeing a breakout game versus a Charles Tillman-less Chicago secondary has been repeatedly attacked by opposing offenses to a great degree of success. The Bears' pass rush stepped up though, harassing Matt Ryan throughout the game and limiting the quarterback to what was arguably his worst outing of the year. White managed only three receptions for 40 yards on six targets. He also had two drops. The good news is that he played on 56 of the offense's 58 snaps and looks to be at full health. Better days are ahead for White, who signed a contract extension prior to the season and remains a WR2.
Rueben Randle WR NYG
A week ago, Randle found himself on under the "Selling" column as the growing depth of the New York receiving corps was setting up those receivers within it to be maddeningly inconsistent. With the unfortunate patellar tendon tear suffered by Victor Cruz, who was expected to lead the team in targets, a larger market share awaits Randle. Currently on pace for a 75-659-5 line, he should have no trouble staying on target for the reception total while his yards-per-reception should improve greatly from the current mark of 8.82 - his career yards-per-reception stands at 13.14. He can be considered a high-end WR3 with WR2 potential easily attainable.
SELLING
Colin Kaepernick QB SF
There's nothing like a stellar performance on Monday Night Football to inflate the value of a player and with 343 yards and three touchdowns on 22 of 36 passing, Kaepernick did just that. He also added another 37 yards on three carries. There's no doubt that the young quarterback has the talent to perform as an elite quarterback and his receiving corps runs deep with talented players as well. From now until Week 12, Kaepernick should be considered a strong QB1. What is troubling about Kaepernick is that the two matchups versus Seattle still loom in Week 13 and Week 15. If you're able to sew up a playoff berth early, it'd be wise to move the quarterback while he's hot and look to set your team up with better matchups for the playoffs.
Darren McFadden RB OAK
McFadden owners are stuck in the unenviable position of holding onto an RB3 that is not good enough to start, but is tough to cut loose. This past weekend, the mercurial running back ran for 80 yards on 14 carries. It was his best outing on the ground since Week 2 of last season, a stretch of 13 straight games. It was also the first time since that same 2013 game that McFadden had more than five carries and maintained a yards-per-carry above 3.7. There's no harm in dangling him on the trading block to see if this small glimmer of hope is enough to light the dormant DMC love that lies inside the heart of a fellow leaguemate.
Pierre Thomas RB NO
For those that held onto Thomas during New Orlean's bye week, the story remains the same. He's still on pace for his lowest number of carries in six years and has been held to three or less receptions in three of his four games played. Mark Ingram is one week closer to his return and Travaris Cadet will continue to find his way onto the field as a situational passing down back. Thomas is likely to be a headache even in PPR leagues going forward and with his best game of the season (4-35-1 on the ground and 8-77-1 through the air) still fresh in everyone's minds, it's a great time to sell.
Randall Cobb WR GB
Now with seven touchdowns, Cobb leads all wide receivers in that category and ranks fifth at the position in total fantasy points. His targets (6.7) and receptions (4.8) per game are more indicative of a WR2 though. With Davante Adams beginning to hit stride, don't expect those to numbers to rise by much, if at all. Alongside Aaron Rodgers, Cobb should remain ultra efficient and may even produce a a low-end WR1 without an uptick in targets, but he's not the elite wide receiver that his current ranking represents.
Terrance Williams WR DAL
In a game that was expected to begin Williams' regression, he kept his value afloat by catch both of his two targets for 70 yards. He now ranks 15th among wide receivers in STD scoring and 20th in PPR scoring with much of that owed to his five touchdowns. A better predictor of his future success are his target (28) and reception (18) totals, which rank only 57th and 52nd respectively at the position. Unless he begins to receive more targets, which is unlikely with the way the running game is working right now, he's bound to come crashing back down to Earth and be nothing more than a WR4.
Julius Thomas TE DEN
A league leading nine touchdown receptions has helped Thomas to stand atop the tight end rankings with per game averages of 4.8 receptions, 55.4 receiving yards, and 1.8 touchdowns. He also ranks as a top-12 option among all Flex eligible positions in both scoring settings - this is even with his early season bye week. While he'll remain an elite option at his position, this isn't the first time that he's started off scorching hot before slowing down. Through the same number of games last season, he averaged 5.4 receptions, 71.8 receiving yards, and 1.2 touchdowns per game. After those first six games, regression began to settle in and he averaged 4.2 receptions, 47.7 receiving yards, and 0.7 touchdowns per game through the remainder of the season. A healthy Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham remain a notch above Thomas, who can likely return a king's ransom in a trade.
WAIVER PICKUPS
Carson Palmer QB AZ
Surprise! The team felt that Palmer progessed enough with his recovery from a nerve injury in his shoulder to make an unexpected start versus Washington. His presence was a boost to the offense and helped the team to a win as Palmer completed 28 of 44 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. His arm strength should continue to improve, he's surrounded by weapons, and has a favorable schedule ahead. The next two teams up are Oakland and Philadelphia, both matchups where Palmer can be played as a near QB1. Quarterback streamers should be climbing over each other to land Palmer.
Antone Smith RB ATL
It does not end; Smith added yet another long touchdown to his mantle with a 41-yard receiving score this past weekend. He now has 126 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 carries with another 220 yards and three touchdowns on 10 receptions - those numbers are good enough for him to rank ninth and 13th among running backs in STD and PPR scoring resepctively. The 12 snaps he saw this past weekend were the most since his 15 in Week 2 and the six touches were a season-high, but Atlanta continues to severely underutilize him. He's no more than a what-the-heck Flex play for now, but needs to be rostered in the event that HC Mike Smith realizes the potential he may be holding back.
Ronnie Hillman RB DEN
Montee Ball's injury, which was only expected to sideline him for up to two weeks, now seems to bring with it a three-to-four week timetable. Versus a tough New York Jets' run defense, Hillman grinded out 100 yards on 24 carries, while adding another 16 yards on three receptions. He played on 56 of the team's 74 snaps, a workload worthy of a featured back, but did have one fumble. Against a tough San Francisco defense this upcoming week, Hillman will only be a low-end RB2. If he avoids any costly mistakes, he'd then ascend to a strong RB2 until Ball is able to return.
Jarvis Landry WR MIA
With Brandon Gibson (hamstring) sidelined for Week 6, Landry got his first career start and made his presence felt with six receptions, 75 yards, and a touchdown on seven targets. He's now caught 18 passes for 186 yards in his past four games, which would translate to 72 receptions and 744 yards over a 16-game span. It's concievable that the rookie remains Ryan Tannehill's No. 2 receiver for the remainder of the season, resulting in WR4 production.
Odell Beckham Jr WR NYG
Although his hamstring injury placed him behind the eight ball in a crowded New York receiving corps, his path to fantasy relevance has opened wide with the season-ending injury suffered by Cruz. The rookie wide receiver can be expected to start in all two-wide receiver sets and there's even talk that he may see some snaps in the slot. Even with the set back versus Philadelphia, Eli Manning has been playing at a much higher level than in recent years and Beckham Jr. should see more than enough usage to merit starting him as a WR3.
Jace Amaro TE NYJ
After Eric Decker, the receiving hierarchy is far from cemented in New York and Amaro made his claim for the No. 2 role this past week when he caught 10 receptions for 68 yards and his first career touchdown. He was targeted a team-high 12 times, including on six of Geno Smith's first 10 pass attempts, and played on a season-high 35 snaps. There's potential for the first round pick to settle in as a volume dependent, low-end TE1.
*All snap counts and targets in this article are courtesy of ProFootballFocus.com