Buy Low Opportunities Heading into Week 10 (Fantasy Football)
All bets are off as Week 10 approaches, and handcuff season officially begins. The teams that are out of contention are likely out of contention for good, and the remaining teams are fighting for the last playoff spots. Chaos is all but guaranteed to ensue, and those that take advantage of it with trades and waiver additions are going to stay alive.
Last week I featured a lot of big-name players, and some readers didn’t think they were buy low targets. As always, I appreciate the feedback and comments. The concept of buying low, in my mind – is buying at a price significantly lower than the future cost. For example, I mentioned AJ Brown. Brown was coming off of two mediocre weeks and a bye week. He’s still AJ Brown, but he was also putting up less-than-ideal scores for his managers for three weeks in a row. The concept was to target him before he took on Pittsburgh and Houston. The result over the next two weeks was 10 catches for 215 yards and four touchdowns. Even if you traded low-end WR1 value for him when I suggested it, you came out on top big time. Buying low doesn’t always mean diving in the dumpster, folks. Winning championships involves lots of different types of moves.
Given the fact that we are approaching the trade deadline in most leagues, this will be the last week that I cover trade targets in any way. Going forward I will hone in on DFS targets, start recommendations, and waiver additions.
Amon-Ra St. Brown – WR, Detroit Lions
The Sun God has had a turbulent season, and he’s also been featured in this column already, but the buy window is still open. The Lions’ slot receiver has now logged five straight games outside of the top 25, with four of those games landing outside the top 40. He’s been tough to keep in a lineup. Some of that was due to injury though, and that should be behind him. He was finally healthy in Week 9 and all signs pointed to a big game, but he finished as the WR28 in an average performance by any measure. The main reason for this was that the Lions surprisingly controlled the clock against the Packers, which meant that Goff was not dropping back nearly as much as we expected. St. Brown still saw nine targets in a run-first game plan and will continue to be the top option the rest of the way in Detroit. He may not be the back-end WR1 we thought he was early on in the year, but he still has plenty of juice left for the fantasy playoff run. He’s an obvious buy low.
Mike Williams – WR, Los Angeles Chargers
The forgotten man down the field for Justin Herbert is still going to be out for at least another week, which is why he should be targeted right before your league trade deadline. Prior to his ankle injury, Williams finished as a top 15 receiver in four of seven weeks, including a couple of monster games that landed him inside the top 10. The Chargers face off with the Chiefs, Cardinals, Raiders, Dolphins, Titans, and Colts starting in Week 11 – which could mean big things for the Chargers’ offense. Williams is going to feast, and right now he’s an afterthought. Strike while the iron is freezing cold.
Rachaad White – RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rachaad White has been stashed on every one of my teams for most of the season now because he’s an elite backup asset with standalone value. That value is slowly increasing, as he just logged his second-highest snap count of the season last week against the Rams. Leonard Fournette continues to be unimpressive in his role, and the Bucs are one or two losses away from trying drastic measures. White is clearly more explosive than Lenny in almost every way, and it’s not going to be long before the coaching staff forces Brady’s hand with the rookie running back. Fournette is reliable, but he’s also an aging running back who appears to be long past his prime. White could be a league winner in waiting, so it would be a good idea not to wait to get him on your roster.
Jerick McKinnon – RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Don’t look now, but Mr. McKinnon just played the most snaps of the year and played the highest percentage of snaps by a Chiefs’ running back all season. Most of this was due to Kansas City trailing early in the game, but it’s notable that he’s far and away the top choice for passing downs in a Patrick Mahomes lead offense. McKinnon had some huge games in the back half of the 2021 season, and neither CEH nor Isaiah Pacheco has earned anything worth caring about. McKinnon is still explosive and the most trusted pass catcher in the running backs room, so he could be deployed more frequently going forward, and in any game that projects to be a shootout. The Chiefs still have the Chargers, Rams, Bengals, and Seahawks on their schedule before the fantasy season ends, so there could be plenty of games where Mckinnon is used frequently. He’s a sneaky add at a position that gets really thin, really fast. Grab him now and keep him on your bench through the chaos.
David Njoku – TE, Cleveland Browns
The tight end position has been a mess this year, and I have been burned a few times by trying to predict usage here. One player that hasn’t required much thought is David Njoku, the steady pass-catching stud in Cleveland. Most people don’t think much of him in terms of every-week usage, but he’s been a bonafide reliable tight end inside and out. He’s logged 70 or more receiving yards in four of his last five healthy games and 50 or more yards in five of his last seven healthy games. After a mild injury, he’s now set to return in Week 10 against Miami, who ranks in the bottom three against the position. Njoku is set to have a monster comeback game, and then will be catching passes from Deshaun Watson for the fantasy playoffs. He’s a genuine league winner at a position that lacks league winners this late in the year. If you can get him for a decent cost, he’s more than worth the investment.