The waiver wire isn't the only place to change the course of your team. The right trade can make or break your season.
The key is to buy low on cold players and sell overachieving players whose values have skyrocketed. While this is a well-known method, some owners still tend to overreact when a play over- or underachieves, so it's important to take advantage of those opportunities.
Fantasy Football Buy Low Candidates
Peyton Manning (QB, DEN)
Enough of the slander. This is a future hall-of-famer that has racked up at least 4,000 yards in each of his last eight seasons. After this week's bye, Manning and the Broncos head home for what is bound to be a shootout with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, whose defense was just carved up by Philip Rivers to the tune of 503 yards. That game is followed by meetings with the Colts and Chiefs, both of which have passing defenses that rank in the bottom eight in the league.
Manning isn't the player he was even just a year or two ago, but don't consider his career to be over just yet. I am willing to bet he has a few more Peyton-esque performances up his sleeve, so grab him while his current owner is down on him.
Jonathan Stewart (RB, CAR)
Stewart isn't the type of guy to break out for 150 yards and a couple of scores in a single week, but -- when healthy -- he has been a model of consistency. With DeAngelo Williams gone, Stewart was expected to do a little more than he has, but he is still producing. The eight-year veteran had his best game of the season in Week 6, rushing 20 times for 78 yards and two touchdowns. The number of carries is the most important stat, as it points to the surging Panthers utilizing the ground game a little more.
For an owner with a banged-up running back corps, Stewart can be an under-the-radar addition to help reassemble a winning team.
Allen Hurns (WR, JAX)
Hurns has caught a touchdown in four straight games, but he didn't do much else in a two-catch, 30-yard showing in Week 6 against the Texans. Despite producing at a high level throughout most of this season -- 60 yards or more in five of six games -- he is still being ignored and even dropped. Hurns has more receptions than Allen Robinson despite 19 fewer targets, and while he is just 17th in the league in receiving yards, Hurns ranks 11th in YAC with 189.
As long as Blake Bortles continues to play solid football, the production will be there for Hurns. The second-year wideout isn't an exciting, season-changing addition, but if you can get him in exchange for a couple of scrubs, you have to jump on that chance.
Fantasy Football Sell Candidates
Blake Bortles (QB, JAX)
Yes, I know it's a little strange to endorse a wide receiver and then bash the very quarterback feeding him the ball, but this isn't necessarily a bash of Blake Bortles. I was not a fan of the pick back in 2014 (I liked Bridgewater as the top QB), but he has proved me wrong thus far in 2015. That said, I can all but guarantee that he will not continue this torrid pace.
As I said with Andy Dalton last week, I am not suggesting you just dump Bortes for the sake of dumping him. If you have Bortles, you either drafted him as a backup or grabbed him off the wire, so you are likely to have another high-quality passer on your team. If not, then maybe hold on to Bortles. But if you have a Matt Ryan, Philip Rivers or Eli Manning, take this opportunity to sell Bortles for an upgrade at another position.
James Starks (RB, GB)
He's not the starter going forward-- he's just not. If Eddie Lacy is healthy, he will re-take the bulk of the touches. As a Packers fan, I have gotten the chance to watch Starks over the years, and he is a very nice third-down, complementary back, but little more. Outside of his 65-yard run last week, he has carried the ball 62 times for 221 yards-- less than four yards per carry. Week 6 produced just the second 100-yard regular season game of Starks' six-year career, so don't expect that to be a common occurrence.
Lacy remains the superior back, and Starks should soon return to his original role. Before this happens, see what kind of return you can get from Starks while he is a hot commodity.
Pierre Garcon (WR, WAS)
Garcon has failed to collect 100 yards in 19 consecutive games, and has done so just once since the start of the 2015 season. Over the last three weeks, rookie Jamison Crowder has stolen several of Garcon's targets, totaling 29 to Garcon's 24. With Jordan Reed and DeSean Jackson set to return from injuries over the next couple of weeks, Garcon's looks should continue to diminish, and with it, his production.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins seems to be playing worse with each passing week, so none of his weapons are entirely reliable on a weekly basis. If Garcon still holds any value, pawn him off on an owner willing to part with a decent flex player.
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