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BUYING
Adrian Peterson RB MIN
Minnesota’s recent usage of Peterson has been frustrating to say the least; for some unknown reason, their best offensive player has not eclipsed 13 carries in any of the past three games. Even with the loaded boxes that Peterson must run through, he’s still averaging a very respectable 4.46 yards-per-carry that many other players would love to maintain and the Vikings have to get back to feeding him the ball very soon.
Le’Veon Bell RB PIT
Although Bell managed to find the end zone, he grinded out only 24 yards on his 13 carries this past week. The Steelers did involve him in the passing game however with Ben Roethlisberger sending six targets his way - Bell caught five of those passes for 27 yards. Going forward, he will remain a heavily utilized running back whose touches plant him firmly in RB2 territory. Don’t be scared off by his low yards-per-carry.
Darren Sproles RB NO
Zero; that is the number of total yards that Sproles recorded this past Sunday. In PPR leagues, thankfully he did notch four receptions to go along with those zero yards, but that didn't make his production much more tolerable for his fantasy owners. Even with that dud, his current totals project to 82 receptions and 837 receiving yards over a full season. He’s just too dynamic of a weapon for the Saints not to keep him involved and will likely begin his ascent up the running back list that currently plants him at 26 in standard leagues.
Keenan Allen WR SD
Although Allen is still riding a hot streak (his last four games would project to a 92-1476-8 over a full season), perhaps the bye week has cooled off his buzz or his current owners aren't yet sold on him. Just last season we saw Danario Alexander become rise to #1 on the San Diego depth chart and then produce as a WR2 for the rest of the season. With an improved Philip Rivers, Allen should be able to maintain that WR2 production just the same as Alexender was able to do.
Mike Wallace WR MIA
After a turbulent beginning to the year, Wallace’s targets have begun to stabilize at a rather high level. Here’s a look at those week-to-week targets: 5-11-4-8-15-10-10. With consistent targets, the receptions will come and touchdown regression should also set in (Wallace has only one touchdown on 30 catches) resulting in a better second half for Miami's prized acquisition.
Danny Amendola WR NE
As hesitant as I am to place the injury-prone label on any player, Amendola is reaching McFadden levels. He is currently active however and the Welker-esque upside may be fleeting, but it’s still there. That major PPR-upside is why I’d be willing to bring in Amendola as a flier off of the “on-sale” rack and take my chances on him as a potential difference maker.
Rob Gronkowski TE NE
Gronkowski only played on 35 of New England's 68 snaps on Sunday as he continues to work his way back into form. In those snaps, he then only managed to reel in two of his five targets for just 27 yards - a stat line that could only disappoint all of his owners and was on the heels of a monster 17 target game versus the Jets. Gronkowski is simply a stud that has dominated the tight end position the past few seasons and should get back on track very soon.
Charles Clay TE MIA
Through Week 8, Clay has ranked as the 8th tight end in standard scoring and he’ll remain an unheralded low-end TE1 for the remainder of the season. In six of seven games, he has been targeted at least six times by Ryan Tannehill and with Miami’s slot receiver, Brandon Gibson, on the Injured Reserve, Clay’s role should only grow.
SELLING
Darren McFadden RB OAK
The threat of Terrelle Pryor’s running ability has been a slight boost to McFadden, but he’s still only averaging 3.7 yards-per-carry and he’s still the same running back that has never played more than 13 games in a season, averaging five missed games per season. Trading him after a two-touchdown afternoon and before he suffers another injury wouldn’t be too bad of an idea.
Stevan Ridley RB NE
In the past three games, Ridley has averaged 75 rushing yards and totaled four touchdowns. While many people may think he’s rounding into form, as Lee Corso would say: “not so fast.” Ridley has only been on the field for 37.5% of the Patriots snaps over that three-game span compared to 48.1% for Brandon Bolden. With Shane Vereen’s return fast approaching, Ridley's snaps will likely diminish even more and trading him should be a priority.
Steven Jackson RB ATL
If you remove Jackson's 50-yard run from the season’s opening game, he has averaged an astonishingly terrible 1.38 yards-per-carry on his other 24 rushes. He's lost a step and the Falcons offense is no longer capable of providing the goal-line carries that kept Michael Turner afloat. Try to sell Jackson while you still can.
Doug Martin RB TB
After receiving a timetable of two-ten weeks, there’s whispers that Martin will hopefully be able to play soon. This situation still screams of wishful thinking and if you’re still holding him on your roster, then I would attempt to use this optimism as means to sell him for any improvement that you can rely on.
Golden Tate WR SEA
With Percy Harvin’s return on the horizon, there’s not a better time to sell Tate after a two-touchdown with a season-high 93 receiving yards. Having that strong performance on national television should only help you unload him.
WAIVER PICKUPS
Jake Locker QB TEN
The Titans’ quarterback has ranked inside the top-ten at the position in each of his last three starts: #3 in Week 3 versus the Chargers, #10 in Week 4 versus the Jets, and #8 in Week 7 versus the 49ers. In those games he averaged 258.0 yards and 2.0 touchdowns in the air, while adding 38.0 yards and 0.3 touchdowns on the ground. He’s a dual threat passer that’s proven effective versus tough defenses, which is why he should be rostered and viewed as a borderline QB1.
Montee Ball RB DEN
Fumbles have sent Ronnie Hillman tumbling down Denver's depth chart and Ball was there to pick up the slack this past Sunday. He was given 11 carries, which he totaled 37 rushing yards on. According to Rotoworld.com, Ball also received three of the Broncos' four goal-line carries. Going forward, he's now the clear handcuff to own with RB1 upside as the lead back alongside Peyton Manning.
Marvin Jones WR CIN
While his targets have risen in each week since Week 5 to a season high of eight this past Sunday, his total snaps have decreased in every week since Week 4 to only 19 this past week, which was his second lowest total on the season. Something has got to give and I’m more inclined to bet on the targets regressing with a deafening thump. A.J. Green is the target hog on the Bengals and Andy Dalton is bound to fall back to Earth too. Scoop-and-sell.
Kenny Stills WR NO
The high-upside WR should be scooped up where possible, but the Saints offense is still overflowing with weapons and consistency will be hard to come by. He’s averaged just 3.14 targets per game this season and that rises only to 3.5 targets in the past two games. The 193 receiving yards and three touchdowns in those two games is a not sustainable, which makes him another scoop-and-sell player.
*All snap counts and targets in this article are courtesy of ProFootballFocus.com
You can find me on Twitter, @KyleWachtel, where I’d be happy to answer any of your questions.