Each week of the NFL season I will highlight risers and fallers in dynasty leagues — one player to trade for, one to trade away, one to add and one to drop.
Dynasty Risers
Trade for: JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Smith-Schuster was the fantasy WR4 through the first three weeks, which had people ready to give up on Antonio Brown.
Yes, seriously.
Brown was playing well, but falling short of his lofty standards as the WR11 through Week 3. But things have balanced out since then, with Smith-Schuster checking in as the WR32 over the past six weeks.
It’s obvious (and should have been all along) that Smith-Schuster was not ready to overtake Brown as the top option in Pittsburgh, but that doesn’t mean Smith-Schuster can’t be a valuable fantasy asset. With his recent slow streak, the second-year receiver is now attainable in dynasty leagues, which wasn’t the case to start the season.
I would gladly pay multiple first-rounders to acquire Smith-Schuster. He’ll be a long-lasting fantasy starter regardless of Brown’s status.
Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Elijah McGuire
Add: Elijah McGuire, RB, New York Jets
After missing the first two months of the season with a foot injury, the Jets activated McGuire. The timing was just right for the Jets, who lost pass-catching back Bilal Powell just a couple of weeks ago and had been relying on rookie Trenton Cannon.
Cannon showed promise, but the Jets clearly like McGuire, who surprisingly carved out a role as a rookie last season. In his first game back, McGuire earned nine touches and gained 60 yards in a slow-paced game.
Considering the Jets will often be trailing as they face the league third-toughest schedule for the remainder of the season, McGuire could see a growing number of targets in the passing game. McGuire caught only 17 passes for 177 yards in 2017, but he was also stuck behind two excellent receiving backs: Powell and Matt Forte.
With McGuire missing the first eight games, he’s available on many dynasty waiver wires. Now is the time to scoop him up.
Dynasty Fallers
Trade away: Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears
Howard had 14 carries for 47 yards and two touchdowns in the Bears’ rout of the Bills, finishing as the RB12 for the week. That was his first appearance as a top 15 fantasy back this season as his workload has been greatly diminished with the emergence of Tarik Cohen. It was also the first time Howard had outscored Cohen since Week 3.
Now is an excellent time to chase box score readers in your league who will notice Howard’s fantasy stat line but might not dig deeper. There’s even a chance you could still acquire a future first-round rookie pick in exchange for Howard, but I’d also settle for a solid WR3.
Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Charles Clay
Drop: Charles Clay, TE, Buffalo Bills
Clay suffered a hamstring injury in Week 9, forcing him from the game. And you probably didn’t even notice.
After five consecutive seasons finishing as the TE18 or better — aka as a serviceable fantasy backup — Clay has fallen apart along with the rest of the Bills’ offense. His best weekly finish this season is TE22, and once he left the game with the injury, the Bills turned to a pair of young athletic tight ends: Jason Croom and converted QB Logan Thomas.
We won’t give Croom and Thomas too much credit, but the Bills would be wise to find out what they have in both as Clay goes through the final weeks of his Bills’ tenure.
If Clay is still on your dynasty roster, it is long past the time you should have dropped him.
Pictured above: JuJu Smith-Schuster
Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
