Dynasty Stock Market: Buy and Sell Candidates

Ryan McDowell

newton6The weekly Dynasty Stock Market features not only price checks, but provides player features, draft projections, trade values or a variety of other relevant topics each week to make sure we’re covering everything our premium content followers are demanding.

This week, we’re featuring some buy and sell candidates.

Making the right trade at the right time can instantly turn your fantasy season around and pay dividends for fantasy seasons to come. As part of the weekly Dynasty Stock Market, I’ll take a look at some players you could see traded soon in your dynasty league. Some of these players are coming off a career best game, while others are being cursed as they, once again, cost dynasty owners an important week of play.

Buy Low

Cam Newton, QB CAR

Not all buy low opportunities are cheap or easy. Some, like Panthers superstar signal caller Cam Newton, will still be very costly, but could really pay off later this year and for years to come. Newton is by no means struggling, he is just getting pushed to the back burner while rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III and breakout star Matt Ryan receive much of the adulation of fantasy owners. If this is, in fact, true in your league, it’s time to use this opportunity to buy Newton. Again, he will still be very costly, but everything I see says he will be worth the price. Through four games, he is slightly off his scoring pace of 2011, but still ranks as QB4 as well as the fourth overall scorer in many PPR leagues.

Doug Martin, RB TB

I told myself I would not include any rookies in this installment. After all, we need more than four weeks to fully evaluate the incoming class and there are busts and breakouts every year. Possibly due to a lack of every down reliable running backs, Martin has already been ranked in or near the top ten dynasty running backs by many experts, including many staff writers here at DLF. His performance this year has yet to live up to those rankings. Martin is currently the RB23, or barely a starting level RB2.

Another factor that could help your attempted buy low is the fact that Martin’s carries, rushing yards and fantasy points have decreased each week this season. Martin began the year with a 24 carry effort resulting in nearly 16 PPR points. By week four, he was down to only eight carries and scored just over six fantasy points. While Martin may be tough to rely on as a fantasy starter this year, he still offers a lot of upside and has a clear path for starter’s carries.

Kenny Britt, WR TEN

Titans wide receiver Kenny Britt is one of the most polarizing players in our game. Many fantasy owners look at the history of injuries and his off the field concerns and make the decision to stay away altogether. Others like me recall the terrific ball skills Britt often displays and the unlimited potential he possesses. Pairing that with the hope he can make good decisions off the field, he is a wide receiver I want on every dynasty team I have. Britt was suspended for the Titans week one tilt, a game he likely would have missed anyway as he recovered from his ACL injury of a year ago. He played sparingly in week two, had a very solid game in week three and then hit the shelf again and missed week five due to an ankle injury.

We all know the concerns surrounding Britt, but there are reasons to be excited as a Britt owner too. Even though he is already in his fourth season of professional action, he is still only 24 years old – that’s the same age as many of this season’s rookies. His talent speaks for itself, but that has never been more evident than the beginning of the 2011 season. In just two full games, Britt was targeted 23 times, made fourteen catches for 271 yards and three touchdowns. His dynasty value had never been higher before he tore his ACL in week three. With a slow start this year, now is the time to buy one of the most talented wideouts in the game.

Coby Fleener, TE IND

I had to do it again and add another rookie to buy low. Not my plan, but the value is there and I believe the Colts rookie will turn into an every week fantasy starter and top ten tight end. Currently, Fleener is way down the ranks at the TE33. Similar to Martin, Fleener’s targets, catches, receiving yards and fantasy points have decreased each week this year. In fact, he did not make a catch at all in week three, resulting in zero fantasy points for his owners. Many fantasy owners want to make the choice between Fleener and fellow Colts rookie tight end Dwayne Allen, but just like the Colts, I see value in owning both. Fleener is the better pass catcher and has the much discussed history with quarterback Andrew Luck. Both of those factors should help him regain dynasty value over the upcoming weeks.

Sell High

Tom Brady, QB NE

Despite the injury to tight end Aaron Hernandez and the odd benching of wide receiver Wes Welker, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady remains at the top of his game. He is currently the QB5 coming off a huge week four performance, where he accounted for four touchdowns. My primary concern and reason I would trade Brady in dynasty leagues is the number 35, his age. We have seen quarterbacks succeed into their late thirties, but it is rare. Even if Brady does post top numbers for the next two seasons, now is the time to capitalize on Brady’s value. The emergence of many young quarterbacks including Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Matt Ryan among others, provides plenty of targets for owners considering moving Brady.

Ahmad Bradshaw, RB NYG

In the same way that Cam Newton was not really “low,” Giants running back Bradshaw is not a “high” currently, but this might be your last chance to get solid value for him in your dynasty league. Bradshaw had a respectable debut in week one with nearly 100 yards and a touchdown, but was injured week two and missed the majority of the next two games. Even with surprisingly strong play of running back Andre Brown, Bradshaw returned as the starter in week four. Although he is not old at 26 years of age, Bradshaw has dealt with nagging injuries much of his career and now has two young running backs behind him with different strengths that will be a part of the offense. If you can identify a team in need of running back help, now is the time to flip Bradshaw for a younger or more reliable backfield option.

Roddy White, WR ATL

Falcons wide receiver Roddy White is coming off one of the best games of his career in week four which saw him collect eight catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns. You can not deny White’s talent or his role in the explosive Atlanta offense, but he will turn 31 years old in less than a month. White’s value could fall off in a huge way very quickly. There is no reason to expect that to happen this year, but I would begin looking for potential trade partners. Acquiring a younger wide receiver like Jeremy Maclin, Torrey Smith, or Antonio Brown, along with additional pieces would be a savvy and timely move.

Dennis Pitta, TE BAL

Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta is off to a fantastic and surprise start to his third season. Even with a disappointing catchless performance in week four, Pitta still ranks as the TE12 in PPR leagues. While I would not be anxious to sell Pitta, if I had depth at the position, I would use his breakout performance to help at other positions. While Pitta has surprised this season, he is not one of the great young tight ends in the game. At 27 years old already, he is not a player that has six or seven years ahead of him as a top fantasy tight end.

Check back next week as we cover more issues in our weekly Dynasty Stock Market.

Follow Ryan on Twitter @RyanMc23

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