We are getting to a crossroads part of the fantasy football season, especially in dynasty formats. On the path to your left, you have the real possibility that this just isn’t your year and it is time to begin planning the exit. Are you a “sell the farm” guy, or are you simply catching bad breaks? Do you lack depth and need that bye-week filler that you haven’t had this year? The left path is not where managers want to be, but if you go down it with a plan, there is light at the other end. The path to your right? That’s where you want to be. The lineup decisions have a real impact on future earnings, plaques, traveling trophies, etc. Do you make a move that puts you over the top, or are you confident the late-season waiver wire is where you’ll do damage? By all means, make the move that improves your team, regardless of the path chosen. If you need help with identifying the player trends, we have just the article for you! The everchanging stock market is here, and boy do we have some names for you! RING THE BELL!
High Dollar Stocks Trending Up
LB Roquan Smith: There may not be a more consistent big-name player this year than Smith. He is on an absolute tear, seemingly motivated by the Bears’ lack of interest in extending the linebacker beyond this year. He has 78 total tackles, two picks, and 2.5 sacks in just seven games played. He sits atop all other IDPs and shows no signs of slowing down. We have had some movement at the top over the past four weeks, but Smith now has the edge by 20 total points, so expect more of the same in the following weeks. He’s stock number one currently, deservedly so.
LB Jordyn Brooks: A player not talked about as much as he should be, Brooks is putting together another great season this time even without his former counterpart, linebacker Bobby Wagner. He is currently LB3 and just had his 25th birthday four days ago. He is a very stable asset in dynasty fantasy and likely was a top 3 IDP pick in redraft leagues. Managers of both league types should feel very good heading into this part of the year with a guy like Brooks managing the load.
DE Myles Garrett: Managers should no longer be afraid of the residual effects of his scary car accident from a few weeks ago. Garrett has looked just as good as before since his return and now has six sacks and 20 tackles on the year in six games played. He is liable to go off each and every week and has a case for best pound-for-pound defensive player in this league currently. He has a matchup this week against a Bengals o-line that, while being better recently, still has a reputation for allowing sacks in bunches. Garrett could be feasting even before the Thanksgiving month of November.
LB Pete Werner: Another week, another seven tackles for Werner. Now, it’s important to point out that he has had a dip in point production, but as a 23-year-old linebacker, consistent tackle numbers are a great way to start your career. He has had seven or more tackles in all but one game this year. If that doesn’t mean that you’re a valuable dynasty asset, then nothing will. We will be talking about this stud for many years to come, and if you drafted him or somehow acquired him kudos to you. It’s paying off early and often.
LB Foye Oluokon: It’s not always easy to trust players who change teams. It can sometimes mean schemes that don’t fit, personalities that aren’t suitable for another etc. Foye is dispelling all of this. Even with a stud rookie on his heels, he is picking up right where he left off with Atlanta. He has 70 total tackles and is sitting at LB2 currently. If you rolled the dice and acquired Foye in the early season or preseason, you’re a wizard. If you’re trying to get him now… Good luck! He’s a high-dollar guy producing high-dollar stats. He was a late bloomer, but man has he turned into a heck of a player. Jacksonville has found yet another stud inside linebacker.
High Dollar Stocks Trending Down
LB Devin White: White started the season as strongly as anyone could. In his first two games, he combined for 19 total tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble. Since then, he hasn’t had a single sack and it took him the next three games to eclipse the 19-tackle mark. Right now, he’s the second-best Devin at linebacker… All jokes aside, the inconsistency is concerning, and the Buccaneers as a whole just don’t feel like a team of fantasy contributors like they once were. Is this a result of the Tom Brady drama of the season, or is this just a bad few weeks? No need to panic sell here, but definitely keep your eyes on White.
LB Micah Parsons: Parsons is a great NFL linebacker. Last year he was both a good NFL and fantasy linebacker. This year, he’s been decent at best IDP formats. Currently at LB21, in dynasty rankings, he was almost unanimously a top ten player to have. He isn’t even currently top 20 at his position. It’s too soon to panic sell Parsons, but it’s clear that coaches have watched the film and are trying to take him away from the action leaving him as a sack-dependent outside linebacker. He’s a great boom-or-bust option, and if he can maintain the sack production this trend could be wrong. But if you have more stable options at linebacker, you should begin to look at starting them.
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LB Devin Lloyd: Another guy who started the season on an absolute tear, Lloyd has come back down to Earth here lately. He has had four straight games where his production decreased and had his worst game of the season last week, finishing with only two solo tackles. He started so well that despite all this, he’s still LB5, but it’s worth noting he hasn’t produced a non-tackle stat since Week 3. He’s been a consistent tackle machine, but the pass coverage stats were really putting him over the edge, if these were anomalous, he may just be the tackle machine who finishes 12-15 and not the top-five guy he appeared to be early on.
DE Demarcus Lawrence: This is your last stock market warning on Lawrence. Get what you can out of him and move forward. He has produced enough this year to still be a viable option for win-now teams, but if you have depth here, he is worth a mid-round pick or even a player in dynasty. He’s DE2 currently, but this is due to a variety of factors, and depending on position classification, he could be further down. His value may never be higher than it is currently, but at age 30, eventually, this production will cease, and you want to be on the right side of this.
S Antoine Winfield: The 24-year-old safety is flat-out not consistent enough for what he was supposed to be, and now he’s hurt and likely misses his first game this year. He had a wonderful year in 2021, and we all thought the third-year jump would be good. But he hasn’t had the weekly production necessary to consider him elite. After a great first two games, he’s failed to score double-digit points in three of his last five games, and in dynasty, he was viewed as a top-tier young asset. If things don’t begin to change, or this injury lingers, this could be a case of a down season.
Middle of the Pack Trending Up
LB David Long: If you’re a regular reader, then you’ll know last week, we stated that Long was a must-start if Cunningham missed time. He missed time, and Long didn’t disappoint. Eight tackles, two defended passes, and a pick. In standard leagues, this was just under 20 points. Long is a starting inside linebacker on a team with a defensive head coach. There’s not much better than being ahead of the curve, and Long has awarded us just that. Hopefully, you listened and acquired him. If not, it may now be too late.
LB Christian Kirksey: The Houston Texans have a variety of good options for IDP, but none are better than Kirksey is currently. The 30-year-old journeyman linebacker is putting together a quality year. The cost needed to acquire him likely wasn’t much so managers should feel happy. If you have him, you’re happy with what he’s done. If you don’t, you probably haven’t heard much about him. That’s the beauty in his value, he’s a relative unknown who is consistently overlooked but produces year in and year out. He would be a great depth addition to teams looking to win now or teams needing an LB2 or LB3 on their team.
LB Bobby Okereke: As sad as it is that stud linebacker Shaquille Leonard hasn’t really played this year, Colts fans and IDP fans alike have to be happy with what they’re getting from Okereke. He was almost assuredly the second of the Colts linebackers to be acquired in redraft and, in dynasty, was more of a depth add until this year. Now, he is a bonafide starter and a top-ten fantasy linebacker. Even when Leonard returns, the Colts have shown that two linebackers can produce great stats, the example being third-string linebacker Zaire Franklin, who, for a short stint, was leading the NFL in tackles. Okereke is here to stay!
DT Grover Stewart: From one Colts stud to another, in what has to be in contention for the surprise of the year is the fact that Stewart currently sits at DT2 and is even performing above his teammate, the great DeForest Buckner. By design, we’ve waited a while to talk about Stewart, but enough is enough. He is having a monster year for the position. Thirty-five total tackles to go along with two sacks, including 12 tackles just this past week! Could we be seeing a changing of the guard for Colts DT1? Keep your eyes on Stewart.
S Talanoa Hufanga: A favorite of the market, Hufanga went from penny stock to middle of the pack, and if he continues this trajectory, he will be high dollar by season’s end. He currently sits at S1, and rightfully so. He is a playmaker who contributes in a variety of ways, mainly in pass protection. He has six defended passes, three picks, a sack, and even a touchdown. He is 23 years old and was likely available on 95+% of waivers to start the year. Not anymore. This dude can flat-out play and needs to be your starting safety if you have him.
Penny Stocks with a chance
S Andrew Adams: He has only played in the last three games but has 18 total tackles and a pick-six. Tennessee has shown us the ability to produce good safety production. Last year, Kevin Byard was S1 to finish the year. He hasn’t produced these numbers, and Adams is beginning to pop. He’s definitely a watchlist candidate, if not a sneaky acquisition coming off the best game of his career. Is it too good to be true for the 29-year-old to be an IDP asset for the rest of the season?
CB Donte Jackson: A corner with back-to-back monster weeks and is likely available on your waiver wire. Last week was because he was fortunate enough to have a pick-six. This week though, he had ten solo tackles. These could very well be the outlier weeks of his season, but he is still young enough to earn playing time, and with the regime change happening in Carolina, he has suddenly begun to produce. You heard it here many times, corners are IDPs too!
LB Jaelen Phillips: A young linebacker coming off the best game of his career, Phillips had over 33% of his tackle production and 50% of his sack production on the year in his last game. Normally, numbers like this would have us looking at the rest of his body of work. He doesn’t have one yet, so he’s worth an immediate stash. Not many players have an 8-tackle, 1.5-sack game, and he did so last week. He’s the epitome of boom or bust, but depending on his matchup may be worth a spot start if you’re in deep leagues.
S Andre Cisco: If he is available on waivers in a dynasty league, pick him up. In seven games, he’s scored double-digits in four of them. He’s 22 years old, on a team with a coach developing chemistry and culture and a young nucleus. He’s averaging just under six tackles per game and has shown us he has boom potential with two interceptions on the year, including a pick-six in Week 4. Don’t overthink this. Young players aren’t always readily available in dynasty leagues. Would you rather pick up a 22-year-old and be wrong or not pick him up and be wrong? One has just a bit more upside.
LB Akeem Davis-Gaither: Right now, he’s not playing consistent enough snaps to start on an every-game basis, but in two spot-starts due to injuries ahead of him, Davis-Gaiter has 22 of his season total of 26 tackles. The best part? He’s 25 years old. The Bengals produce many tackles at the linebacker position, and if you’re looking for someone to stash due to potential upside, Davis-Gaither has proven when given the opportunity. The downside is, when does he get the opportunity?
Hopefully, this answers the question for your crossroads conundrum. There are various ways to look at the glass. Half-full, half-empty, or simply with water. It is up to you to decide which strategy best suits your personality. A lot like the actual stock market in these crazy times, the IDP market also has some serious volatility, but if you’re reading it daily/weekly, you’ll do just fine. Find out more next week as we continue to chronicle the highs and lows of IDP Dynasty.
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