Week 9 Buy Low, Sell High: Trading is one of the best parts of the fantasy football season as it can make or break your success in a given year. Every league is different with roster makeup and which players fantasy managers value more than others, so the trade market may be different from league to league. With that being said, here are some players that should be bought low and others that should be sold high heading into this week.
Fantasy Football Buy Low Candidates
Antonio Brown (WR, TB)
Prior to his ankle injury, Antonio Brown was showing the NFL why he is still a force to be reckoned with. Despite only playing 5 games this season, Brown still ranks in the top-30 wide receivers in half-ppr scoring. He is also 6th in average points per game for wide receivers with 16.2. That puts him behind only Cooper Kupp, Tyreek Hill, Deebo Samuel, Ja’Maar Chase, and Davante Adams.
Brown has been inactive for the past couple of games with an ankle injury and is now heading into a bye in Week 9. If you can afford it, send the AB owner an offer for this underappreciated receiver while his dominance isn’t fresh in minds.
Jaylen Waddle (WR, MIA)
There is no way of hiding the fact that the Dolphins stink this season. However, one of the bright spots among the mess has been their first-round draft pick, Jalen Waddle. He seems to have a great rapport with Tua and he is being fed the ball like a number one already. The Dolphins are coming off of an ugly game against the Bills where Waddle was shut down, as expected. This is a great time to buy Waddle coming off of a bad game heading into a favorable matchup against the Texans.
Javonte Williams (RB, DEN)
Javonte Williams had a disappointing game against Washington where he had 9 carries for 35 yards along with 2 receptions for 13 yards. That kind of stat line isn’t getting the job done for where Javonte was drafted and the eventual breakout is looking somewhat bleak with Melvin Gordon continuing to take most of the touchdowns in this Broncos backfield. That touchdown total is why Williams should be bought low now.
Judging by how even their backfield splits are, you’d expect Williams to start having higher touchdown equity as the season rolls on. Add in the fact that the Broncos have by far the easiest running back strength of schedule for the rest of the season and we could be seeing a rookie breakout by the time Week 12 rolls around.
D’Andre Swift (RB, DET)
This might be a stretch but if you’re in the market for a running back and you can afford to pay up for an asset like Swift, now is the time to do it. He’s coming off a disappointing game where there were very high expectations while Jamaal Williams was held inactive. With Swift having pretty much the entire backfield to himself, he only managed to gather 51 total yards with 12 carries and 5 receptions. Managers of Swift may be disappointed with what they saw in Week 8 and are now having to deal with him being on a bye in Week 9. This could be the lowest his value goes for the rest of the season so if you can afford to make an offer, do it now.
Fantasy Football Sell High Candidates
Alvin Kamara (RB, NO)
A player widely ranked among the top-3 running backs in fantasy football would seem a little farfetched to sell right now. But when you take a look at the Saints’ quarterback situation and the likelihood that Taysom Hill will be taking over the lead job, that is where things start to get shaky for Kamara. In 2020, Taysom Hill started in Weeks 11-14 while Drew Brees was out. During that stretch, Hill took a decent chunk of the rushing numbers that were normally allotted to Alvin Kamara. Kamara’s numbers fell drastically from where they were all season while his receiving opportunities weren’t nearly as high either.
Don’t sell Kamara for pennies because the running back situation is already murky in fantasy football. Rather, try and sell him to someone for another top-tier running back if you can, maybe like D’Andre Swift who was mentioned as a buy low.
Chris Godwin (WR, TB)
Chris Godwin has had two awesome weeks in a row by putting up 20+ half-ppr points against Chicago and New Orleans. After a few disappointing performances in Weeks 4-6, Godwin has really stepped up in the absence of Antonio Brown. Once Brown returns to this offense though, expect there to be a drop-off from where he’s at right now.
Selling him now could save managers the headache of wondering whether or not Godwin will be the lead receiver for this offense in a given week. Looking at where he is valued, you could ship him off for a receiver that has a more guaranteed workload week to week.
James Conner (RB, ARI)
James Conner sure is making the most of his opportunities in Arizona. Against Green Bay, Conner only received 5 touches and 2 of them were for touchdowns. That kind of stat line where 12 of your 14 total fantasy points come from touchdowns screams sell high.
Maybe Conner is Arizona’s head goal-line back but you’d like to think that Chase Edmonds will start to receive more of those opportunities after he scored his first of the season last Thursday. Relying on touchdowns is a risky game and that reasoning is why you should try to sell high on Conner heading into Week 9.
Melvin Gordon (RB, DEN)
Similar to James Conner, Melvin Gordon had a large portion of his points come from 2 touchdowns in Week 8. Gordon is a much more steady contributor than Conner because he is part of a 50-50 split committee with Javonte Williams but owners shouldn’t be expecting 17.7 half-ppr points week to week.
If the Broncos had a more even distribution in touchdowns between Javonte Williams and Gordon, there could be a different discussion being had as to where Gordon’s value sits for the rest of the season. Sell Gordon now while his value is the highest it’s been since Week 1 and expect Javonte Williams to receive more of an opportunity around the goal line later in the season.
