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: Tyler Boyd, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
When we learned that the Bengals would be without A.J. Green for the next couple of games (and probably more), all attention turned to Boyd. But instead of being the go-to option for Andy Dalton last week, Boyd tied season-lows with four targets and three receptions, totaling 65 scoreless-yards.
The good news for dynasty players is you might be able to take advantage of this bust in a big spot by making trade offers for the promising young receiver.
Boyd’s dynasty ADP has moved from WR108 last spring to WR29 this month. Looking at some recent dynasty trades, Boyd can still be had for a single first-round rookie pick in many cases. I would be aggressively making those types of offers no matter what state my team is in.
Boyd can be a short-term flex option and has long-term appeal.
Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Zay Jones
Add: Zay Jones, WR, Buffalo Bills
It’s hard to deny that the Bills’ offense has been a total disaster for much of the season, and even typically-reliable players like LeSean McCoy have been impossible to use in fantasy leagues.
It’s often in those ugly situations that long-term dynasty value can be mined when others give up on players. That’s what is happening with this team, and Jones is looking like one of those players.
A Day 2 pick with excellent measurables — including an 88th-percentile SPARQ score — the second-year receiver struggled as a rookie then dealt with some off-field issues that caused many fantasy players to give up on him before the season even began.
Jones played his best game as a pro this past Sunday, setting new career-highs with eight receptions for 93 yards. He also led the team with 124 yards. After struggling with efficiency last season, Jones has upped his catch rate from 37% to 62%.
This late in the season, if Jones is sitting on your waiver wire, he is worth a large portion or maybe even all of your remaining FAAB money.
Dynasty Fallers
Trade away: Eric Ebron, TE, Indianapolis Colts
Ebron had another huge game this past Sunday, scoring a trio of touchdowns to give him 10 total on the season. Things are looking great for him in basically every area. He’s already set a new career high in touchdowns, is the TE3 for the season, his dynasty ADP is the highest it’s been in longer than a year and he’s playing with the best quarterback of his career. (Sorry, Matthew Stafford.)
But I can’t shake the feeling that now is the time to sell Ebron.
All of those aforementioned aspects have created an inflated trade value for Ebron and now he’s likely worth a future first-round rookie pick. We’ve also seen his playing time and target volume greatly impacted by the availability of Jack Doyle. When Doyle was out with a hip injury, Ebron was money, averaging 10 targets per game. But that number has dipped to fewer than four per game when Doyle is in the lineup.
With so many young tight ends in the league, there are plenty of players to target if sticking at the same position, but I would also gladly take a first-rounder in an upcoming rookie draft.
Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Drop: Kelvin Benjamin, WR, BUF
I’ve already mentioned making a move to acquire one Bills receiver, but the time has come to end ties with another.
Maybe the struggles of Benjamin are simply related to the poor play of the team, but the veteran has only one fantasy finish inside the top 40 receivers this season. In fact, in seven of his 10 games, he’s been the WR65 or worse on a weekly basis.
There’s little hope for improvement since this is not a new trend for Benjamin. After his strong rookie season in 2014 when he finished as the WR16, Benjamin has produced WR27 and WR47 seasons and ranks as the WR80.
Pictured above: Tyler Boyd
Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
