Fantasy Football Trade Market November 11, 2016

Quarterback

Marcus Mariota, Titans

One of the most overlooked quarterbacks this season has been Marcus Mariota. He’s 10th in the league with 2,187 yards through the air and tied for fifth in touchdowns with 17. What makes Mariota even more lethal is his ability to run the ball. With 235 yards on the ground, he is second behind Tyrod Taylor. It’s easy to get comfortable with a quarterback like Eli Manning or Carson Palmer, but Mariota offers are much higher ceiling on a weekly basis. Without the name value and history, his price is actually reasonable. He has a solid schedule on the horizon and deserves a look if you need a quarterback.

Verdict: BUY. Mariota has a few clunker games on his resume this season, but overall his numbers are strong. He’s a great arm to own in the second half of the year.

Running Back

Ryan Mathews, Eagles

As a feature back this season, Ryan Mathews hasn’t really amounted to much at all. He’s average 3.8 yards per carry and has seen over 20 rushing attempts just one time this season and that was Week 1. Since then, he’s made double-digit rushing attempts just twice! In fact, Mathews has just nine touches over the last two weeks. The silver lining here is that he scores touchdowns. He has five on the year and that boosts his otherwise stagnant value. He could be a tough sell, but if an owner is desperate for a running back, they may bite the bullet.

Verdict: SELL. Mathews is a low-end RB2, but his ability to find the end zone gives him a small bump in value. He’d be a good player to package in a two-for-one deal.

Theo Riddick, Lions

The Lions’ running backs corps has been a mess since Barry Sanders retired in the 1990s. Injuries and flat-out ineffectiveness have plagued the team and that streak has basically continued this season. With Ameer Abdullah likely out for the season, Detroit has been forced to rely on Theo Riddick and Zach Zenner to a much lesser extent. Those of you playing in PPR leagues should give a long look to Riddick. He rarely carries the ball more than 10-12 times per game, but he’s a god in PPR formats. If Matthew Stafford is checking down, he’s looking for Riddick. The touchdowns are questionable, but with a steady dose of yards and receptions, Riddick has a relatively high floor.

Verdict: BUY. Riddick is an underrated option for the remainder of the year. With very little competition in the Lion’s backfield, he should hit value every week.

Wide Receiver

Allen Robinson, Jaguars

We finally got what we needed from Allen Robinson, but now is the hard part. After being the biggest first-round disappointment over the first half of the season, Robinson has gone over 70 yards in each of the last two games and has been targeted a combined 27 times. He even has a touchdown in that span. The biggest problem with Robinson is Blake Bortles. He’s been a problem all year and has dragged down Robinson’s value in a big way. With that said, the Jaguars are constantly playing from behind and are able to add up a lot of garbage time stats. Numbers don’t have to be pretty to count.

Robinson is a special case because of his draft position. If you drafted AR-15, it was likely somewhere between pick 10 and 15. Trying to move him will likely return less than his original value. If you need depth for a playoff run, moving Robinson for a Terrelle Pryor/Jonathan Stewart combo—for example—is something I’d consider. Knowing your bench depth is critical at this point in the season and it should guide you if you’re considering moving Robinson.

Verdict: HOLD or SELL. It’s been a miserable year for Robinson to date, but he’s finally showing signs of life. You can hold on to him and hope Blake Bortles improves or send him packing in a combo deal.

Tight End

Lance Kendricks, Rams

The Rams have employed Lance Kendricks for six straight seasons and, prior to the last three weeks, he’s never had a three game stretch with more than 11 receptions. Always a part-time player, Kendricks hasn’t really been on fantasy radars during his particularly average career. The Rams have seemingly made Kendricks a bigger part of their offense: Case Keenum has targeted him a total of 29 times (tallying 19 receptions) over the last three weeks.

It’s true that Case Keenum has difficulty throwing deep, but the entire Rams offense is a mess right now. Relying on Kendricks as a TE1 going forward would be the equivalent to holding a lit blowtorch while you’re pumping gas.

Verdict: SELL. Kendricks’ track record tells us that he’s not going to be able to keep up this kind of production. Double-digit targets are a stretch for any tight end and Kendricks has done it two weeks in a row. Sell before it’s too late!