Hopefully, you are just getting started with late-season football! By now, you’re likely over the food coma and family quota of the year and are now fully focused on taking your team to the promised land. Now, the market is more volatile than ever! There’s no room for error when you’re this close to a playoff spot or trying to hold off someone from taking yours! These are the money weeks, folks. The ones that pay next year’s entry fee or leave you eating ice sandwiches for dinner! So who do we love, and who do we hate? This week has lots of new names and the same format you’ve come to love (or loathe!). Let’s ring the bell, please.
High Dollar Stocks Trending Up
LB Nick Bolton: Bolton is having a run here to end the year that is a fantasy footballer’s dream. He has had back-to-back double-digit tackle weeks and is also contributing in other ways on the stat sheet. He has a forced fumble and two interceptions on top of the tackle performances these past two weeks, leaving managers to believe that he could help contribute to championship football. It will be important to monitor KC’s success to end this year because when teams clinch, they begin sitting studs. But right now, you need to ride the hot hand that is Bolton to ultimate fantasy football glory. He’s contributed over 50 points in two weeks in standard-scoring leagues.
LB Jack Sanborn: Gone are the days of calling Sanborn anything other than a stud. The meteoric rise continued this past week to the tune of 15 tackles. What we are seeing doesn’t happen often, and to the managers that were savvy enough to get him off waivers when the Roquan Smith news broke, you may have found a league winner. In just four weeks of relevant playing time, Sanborn has 45 total tackles and two sacks. He’s an absolute beast out there and is a must-start in any and all formats.
LB Foye Oluokun: Let’s not overlook the great season the Oluokun is having. 113 tackles so far with six games left to be played, he sits at LB4, but one of the top three has yet to have their bye week. He has more than beaten the stigma of players moved to a second team and has not really garnered the love other players in his position have. He does one thing, make tackles. Not much else to show, but he’s arguably the best at a particular skill set. If you have him, you love him, and if you face him, you fear him. Oluokun is pacing over 150 total tackles, a feat we don’t often see.
S Derwin James: If you’re a James manager, you’re probably a bit disappointed in the season as a whole from James, but let me add some optimism to your outlook. What made James such a dominant player was his ability to score bulk points in multiple ways. One week was a tackle and sack-heavy performance; in another, he was a monster in the secondary with interceptions and deflections. This year he has been above average, but in the previous three weeks, he has been elite. 28 tackles, two forced fumbles, and one interception over these last three games is a snapshot of how dominant he still is. He will be a great asset for a stretch run of must-win games for managers. Keep in mind his “down season” still has him as S1 in standard-scoring formats!
DE Brian Burns: One of the few bright spots of the Carolina Panthers has been Burns this season. While he was rumored to be in trade talks as the team seemingly was spiraling prior to the firing of coach Rhule, they elected not to move the stud pass rusher, and his stats are showing us why. The 24-year-old currently has his career high in tackles and sacks with five more games to be played! As far as young defensive ends go, Burns is on the short list of players not named Maxx Crosby whom you want in dynasty fantasy football. He’s absolutely one of the best at his position and a great age for an ascending asset. He’s a stud, nothing more to say!
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High Dollar Stocks Trending Down
S Jessie Bates: The fall of Jessie Bates may have been predictable, but even the savviest of vets couldn’t have seen how quickly it would go from great to barely rosterable. Just two years ago, he contributed to 110 tackles with 14 defended passes. This year, he has 46 tackles and four defended passes with six games left to be played. If there are better plays on your team, play them. If there aren’t any on your team, look to waivers. Bates isn’t more than an anchor for your team at this point, and unless he changes teams, he’s likely no longer a dynasty hold in the future.
LB Zaven Collins: The second-year man came into the season with high expectations, which is partially why he is listed in this tier. The former top-16 pick has shown flashes of why he was drafted high by both the Cardinals and IDP degenerates everywhere, but more often than not has left everyone questioning the consistency. In his last three games, he’s only combined 13 tackles and one defended pass. That’s not going to get it done in the fantasy playoffs, and unless he can get it fixed quickly, he’s more likely bench depth through your playoff run.
LB Khalil Mack: Mack burst onto the scene with his new team in a big way with six tackles and three sacks. He has had only four sacks since and has just over 30 total tackles in the entire season. Look, there’s no questioning the talent that Mack possesses on the football field, but in fantasy, the Boom doesn’t outweigh the bust, and that’s not stability that can be trusted to get you to or to win in the playoffs. Long are we from the days of multi-position all-pro that we once associated with Khalil Mack. For now, he’s a sack-dependent spot starter.
LB Matt Judon: The NFL’s sack leader has had a great season collectively, but when you look at it through the fantasy football lenses, he’s been ok with a touch of good. His fantasy performance is truly dependent on his sack performance. He has three games where he hasn’t recorded a sack, and in those games averages just three tackles. NFL and fantasy football are different, so the “threat” of Judon doesn’t affect your matchup, and unless you like rolling the dice for a much-needed sack-dependent game, then by all means. If you’re like me, he’s way too risky right now.
LB Devin Lloyd: The rookie sensation who started the season on a tear has sort of disappeared down the stretch here. It’s sad really, but he has failed to score double-digit points since Week 5 and is averaging just over four tackles per game. What was ballooning these numbers was a nose for the football, and since his back-to-back weeks of interceptions, he has only one defended pass total. If you’re going to be a tackle-dependent player, you need to get tackles! He’s not been lately, and that lands him here as a low-performing player.
Middle of the Pack Trending Up
LB Quay Walker: Maybe it’s due to the injury-plagued season from DeVondre Campbell, or maybe he’s finally figuring the game out late into his rookie year, but either way, Walker has been a phenomenal contributor to fantasy football lately. 23 tackles in his last three games and back-to-back double-digit tackle games to boot! He’s been one of the few bright spots on an otherwise dull Packers season. Maybe the production slows when Campbell returns healthy, but it has been fun to see the future linebacker for the team get his first few weeks of healthy production. Especially stringing them together in three straight weeks.
LB Kaden Elliss: Another player on this list benefitting from an injury is Elliss, who had himself another great game with 14 tackles against the 49ers. Now, the dream may only be alive while stud Pete Werner is hurt, but until we have any sort of understanding of the timeline for Werner’s return, you absolutely must start Elliss. He has had four straight double-digit games and back-to-back double-digit tackle games. Linebackers are the running backs of IDP fantasy football, so finding one late in the year is surely considered a league winner. He could factor in as one if Werner remains sidelined.
DE Yannick Ngakoue: Ngakoue had all the opportunity in the world in the early season to establish a role in this defense, especially with the injury to Kwity Paye. He failed to do so and has been spotty at best, but over the last two games has seven tackles and 3.5 sacks. Now this may be a statistical anomaly, but he has six straight games with at least 0.5 sacks and does face a tough Cowboys offensive line, but he may be worth a late-season bench stash for your team. With the Colts getting closer and closer to elimination, he may find himself more playing time later in the season.
LB Josey Jewell: When he is healthy, you need to start him. he has suited up for seven total games this year and had double-digits in all but one. In the one game he didn’t in standard-scoring leagues, he had seven assists, a forced fumble, and half a sack. After missing most of last year due to injury and some of this year as well, it is hard to justify the roster spot, but when he plays, he splits as a top-10 linebacker. Don’t overthink this. He is absolutely worth playing when he scores as he has been. The seven-assist performance was also his low tackle total of the year…
S Jordan Poyer: We are seeing the twilight of his playing career, but we also are getting glimpses of what made him such a dominant player in the past. Buffalo appears to be a team in shootouts, so anyone in the secondary is valuable, but having a player of Poyer’s caliber? That’s a recipe for a lot of points! He has played in only six games but scored double-digits in three of them, including a ten-tackle performance last week. If you have a need and can swipe up Poyer, do it! Don’t be the guy who waited too long!
Penny Stocks with a Chance
DT Calais Campbell: Veterans are sneaky additions to any team late in the year. Often overlooked in dynasty due to their age or team situation. It’s easy to think they can’t help because they’re not “long-term”. Well, buck the trend! Go after guys who produce. May I interest you in a 36-year-old defensive tackle with sacks in back-to-back games? Down the stretch, you look for points. If you’re scrounging around this part of the article, why not get a guy we have seen erupt in the past? All it takes is one game, and he can give you just that.
S Kyle Dugger: At the beginning of the year, Dugger was a candidate for the high-dollar stocks but has failed to be consistent enough even to start for most teams. Now, his past two games have been exactly what was expected of him at the beginning of the season. 16 tackles and a sack show us that he can put together multiple week-winning performances. He has done this once before this season but failed to put together a third straight, so we could have a dud, but he’s definitely worth a stash, especially if he can return to form.
LB Ernest Jones: A relatively unknown commodity in fantasy is Ernest Jones. Jones is 23 years old but is playing alongside Bobby Wagner, who gets all the attention, and rightfully so. Jones has been no slouch this season, though. With 81 total tackles on the season with six games still to go, he is well on his way to a 100-tackle season. It’s too late likely to get him this season, but he should be on a list of assets to acquire in the offseason as a dynasty player. If he’s available on your waivers, get him!
LB A.J. Klein: The only reason you should ever roster A.J. Klein is when there is an injury above him. Tremaine Edmunds is hurt, and in the last game for the Bills, Klein had nine total tackles. Look, he isn’t rosterable unless there’s something like this happening, and we never wish that on anyone. But it has happened, and he’s benefitting. Pick up Klein until Edmunds returns, then drop him immediately.
DE Zach Sieler: Sieler has had a very good season as a whole, but over the past four games, he has had double-digit fantasy points. 21 tackles in these games put him at 41 on the season with six games to go. No one saw this coming, but we need to capitalize on this now and pick him up. Play him while he’s hot, especially at the defensive end position we know has limited point totals available. Who knows? You may have found yourself a starter down the stretch run here.
There ya have it, one of our last markets before we begin playing for the $$$, trophy, or whatever fun stipulations you have in place. We have some new faces that can make a difference for your team and some familiar ones you need to get rid of now before they cost you a game. Remember, if you’re not doing the research for your team, no one is! Follow me on Twitter @Steakspeare and follow FootballGuys for all your fantasy football takes and answers to those tough lineup questions!