RADIO
There is plenty to be thankful for this week, especially if your fantasy football league still allows you to make trades this late into the NFL season.
If your fantasy league’s deadline has not come yet or does not have any deadline at all, by all means take advantage and make a trade or two that can put your fantasy squad into playoff contention or transform it into a favorite for the championship. Buying low and selling high is the best way to turn your roster over and streamline your fantasy team for your title run.
Without further ado, here are the buy-low and sell-high candidates for Week 12 of the 2017 NFL season.
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Fantasy Football Buy-Low Candidates
Kareem Hunt (RB, KC)
Hunt’s star has lost its shine quicker than a kitchen floor that just had a pot of spaghetti dumped on it. After being fantasy football’s early-season MVP with 609 rushing yards, 166 receiving yards and six touchdowns over his first five games, Hunt has either been figured out by the league or has slammed shoulder-first into the dreaded rookie wall. He has failed to score a touchdown or rush for 100 yards in any of his past five contests. Even though his fantasy value has dropped, he is worth trading for since he is still getting the bulk of the backfield work in K.C., and because none of the next five defenses he is scheduled to face (Buffalo, New York Jets, Oakland, Miami and Los Angeles Chargers) are ranked higher than 14th against the run.
C.J. Anderson (RB, DEN)
Anderson would be among the leading contenders for “Top Turkey” at running back this season if this was a Thanksgiving-themed column. Averaging 57 rushing yards per game and scoring only three touchdowns in 10 games is far less than what fantasy owners expected from him. The good news is Paxton Lynch is taking over at quarterback and could open up running room for Anderson if he passes better than Brock Osweiler and Trevor Siemian did (which is not hard). Denver also does not face a top-12 rushing defense the rest of the season, so Anderson could very well end the year on a high note if Lynch energizes the offense.
Mike Evans (WR, TB)
You know when the last time Evans had a 100-yard receiving game? Try 2016. Did you know he has five 20-yard catches this year while Washington’s Vernon Davis and Carolina’s Ed Dickson, two veteran backup tight ends who will never be confused with Carl Lewis in terms of their speed, have more? The Evans owner in your league might be ready to kick him to the curb, especially since Ryan Fitzpatrick is not a downfield thrower that can connect with Evans on 70-yard plays. If you can grab Evans for a pound of mashed potatoes and a turkey leg to be named later, get your grubby hands on him! Tampa’s top target will be aimed at a lot over the final six games, especially since the Bucs are on a modest two-game win streak that has given them some slight hope that their season is not a total washout yet. Evans will face some archrivals (Atlanta and Carolina) that he has had success against in the past, along with two below-average pass defenses (Detroit and Green Bay) that will have trouble covering him. His price tag will never be cheaper.
Fantasy Football Sell-High Candidates
Kirk Cousins (QB, WAS)
Cousins is second only to legend Tom Brady in the NFL in passing yards this season, owns a sparkling 17-to-5 touchdown-to-interceptions ratio and has added three rushing touchdowns. His fantasy owners have been happier than Bill Belichick probably is after a press conference is over. Cousins has some things going against him, though. With Terrelle Pryor and Jordan Reed out with injuries, his receiving corps is down to Josh Doctson and Jamison Crowder, neither of whom are bastions of health themselves. His banged-up backfield has left him with rookie Samaje Perine as the starting tailback and a player they just signed off Philadelphia’s practice squad as the third-down back now that team MVP Chris Thompson is out for the season. Besides being short on weapons, Cousins will have to face tough Denver, Dallas and Los Angeles Chargers pass defenses down the stretch. Cousins will be hard-pressed to keep rolling strikes fantasy-wise the rest of the way.
Davante Adams (WR, GB)
Green Bay quarterback Brett Hundley has killed the fantasy values of Jordy Nelson and Reggie Cobb since replacing the injured Aaron Rodgers under the center. There is no way around it. But the one receiver who has not missed a beat with Hundley being his passer is Adams. Adams has 20 receptions for 269 yards and a touchdown over his past three games, despite having to be like Ozzie Smith to catch Hundley’s off-target passes. Hundley could very well derail Adams’ fantasy value in the end, and if he doesn’t then Pittsburgh and Carolina’s pass defenses (third and fourth-ranked, respectively) likely will at some point. Trade Adams before he becomes as worthless as Nelson and Cobb have been to fantasy owners thanks to Hundley’s ineffectiveness.
Latavius Murray (RB, MIN)
Murray is finally showing some explosiveness after running like a 280-pound fullback for the first half of the season. Looking like he is 100 percent after working with a bum ankle and rushing for just 97 yards in his first six games, Murray has rushed for 315 yards and four touchdowns over his last four outings. Murray is a feast-or-famine fantasy option, though. He can run for 20 yards on six carries as easily as he can run for 75 yards and a TD on 15 carries. Murray also does not provide what split-starter Jerick McKinnon does on passing downs, and four of Minnesota’s next five games are on the road. Murray a risky player to pin your fantasy playoff hopes on. Trading him now while he is having his best stretch of the season to bring back other players is logical.
