Welcome to NFL Week 7 Buy or Sell? Week 7 was absolutely wild for fantasy football. It had injuries, high output performances from guys that needed it, split backfields, and more. I am going to break down who you should buy and sell ahead of week 8 in the NFL. We are getting down to decision time before the trade deadline in roughly a month (depending on your league), let’s win some leagues.
Week 8 Buys
Ashton Jeanty
Last week on ‘NFL Week 7 Buy or Sell’, I told you to sell Ashton Jeanty coming off of 3 back-to-back-to-back big performances. Well, this week I am going to have you buy the rookie running back. The Las Vegas Raiders got smoked by the Kansas City Chiefs. It looks like after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus, the Chiefs offense is back with Rashee Rice and Company. The Raiders failed to score a single point against the Chiefs, which meant a bad day for Jeanty. Jeanty was unable to put up 5 fantasy points and only had one reception on one target. This is a situation where Jeanty was game-scripted out of the game; he will most likely not be in a game like this, this bad, again.
Now, I am not going to lie; there are many reasons why Jeanty is still considered a sell for me. My article last week was no lie, but if the Jeanty manager in your league is selling him for 50 cents on the dollar, then grab him! When he has a great week in Jacksonville in 2 weeks, you will have a real shot at getting more than what you sold him for. If you are a team that is 5-2 or better, grab him, as it is the process of adding assets when you are rich, it is always good. The goal doesn’t have to be for your starting lineup; it can also be to trade later on in the season, but you have a real shot here to improve. Buy him for players like Davante Adams, Nico Collins, and Drake London.
Confidence: 7/10
Jaylen Waddle
Jaylen Waddle has been a buy for me multiple times this season, and the reason why is, he is good! The Miami Dolphins are a horrendous NFL team to this point, and I ultimately think that he COULD get traded. The star WR will be their only player at the position next season, with Tyreek Hill suffering a major knee injury in his 30s. Waddle has been very good, besides his dulcit week 7 performance.
The Head Coach of the Miami Dolphins, Mike McDaniel, said that he is going to consider benching Tua Tagovailoa after his 3 INT performance against the Cleveland Browns, which would be something to consider, since rookie Quinn Ewers is next in line to man the ship. While this could be concerning for Waddle’s ultimate success this season, Mike McDaniel could also get fired at any minute. Jaylen Waddle could also get traded. The situation is volatile in Miami, but I like Jaylen Waddle as a buy ROS. Buy him for players like George Pickens (You probably could get Waddle +), Garrett Wilson, and Zay Flowers.
Confidence: 7/10
Brock Bowers
Brock Bowers is the MVP of the Las Vegas Raiders’ offense. That is showing more and more each week that he misses. Last season, he set the rookie record for receptions for a tight end. His talent is undeniable, and he opens up that Raiders offense to a place that goes from sad to a place that we could actually consider watching on television. The Raiders are going into the bye week in week 8, and after that, have a relatively soft schedule when it comes to tight end outputs. Grab Brock Bowers after a 3-week absence, so that you can have the tight end one in fantasy down the stretch and into the playoffs. Buy him for players like Deebo Samuel, David Montgomery, and Travis Etienne.
Confidence: 10/10
Week 8 Sells
Quinshon Judkins
Quinshon Judkins showed out on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. He had three touchdowns on 25 opportunities for 84 yards. This is extremely inefficient, but insane usage. This has been the story of Judkins’s season. He has no player over 60% of the snaps this season, but gets the ball on the majority of the snaps that he plays. The Cleveland Browns are not a great team, nor will they be the rest of the season. Dillon Gabriel has not shown much, but he does not have much help besides Judkins. The defense is great, but not good enough to withstand minimal points from the offense. I would sell Judkins high and get a return that can net you a playoff runway profit. Sell him for players like A.J. Brown, Cam Skattebo, and Bucky Irving.
Confidence: 5/10
DeVonta Smith
What is the stat that everyone says about DeVonta Smith? Oh yeah, that’s right. DeVonta Smith finishes as a WR2 in every year that he plays all 17 games. Well, this year it looked like we would never get this game, but this week we did. He finished as the WR2 overall this week, only behind Ja’Marr Chase. Smith hauled in 9 receptions for 183 yards and a touchdown. I think that Smith is a very good player, but week to week, he struggles. I would only sell DeVonta Smith if you are getting better value than Smith. This only makes sense if you can definitely upgrade. Smith has had 46 targets this season and has hauled in a big percentage of them. He has looked great when gotten the ball, so his production should continue, but the ceiling is not guaranteed. Only sell DeVonta Smith if you can upgrade into this tier of player: Quinshon Judkins, Ladd McConkey, A.J. Brown. And Tetairoa McMillan.
Confidence: 9/10
Rico Dowdle/Chuba Hubbard
The Carolina Panthers backfield has been muddied up by none other than Rico Dowdle himself. Chuba Hubbard missed the last two weeks, which meant that Rico Dowdle became prime Ladainian Tomlinson for 8 quarters. He totaled nearly 500 yards in those two weeks that Hubbard missed, forcing the Panthers to put him out there this week against the New York Jets.
Rico Dowdle had 18 touches for 96 yards and no touchdowns, while Hubbard had 16 touches for 55 yards. This is a near-even split with Dowdle being the better performer. The difficult part to project, is that they gave Hubbard a big contract in the offseason. I am not sure how they will break up the snaps in the weeks moving forward. If they do it based on production, it’s Dowdle, but I find it hard to believe the Panthers will abandon Hubbard after two weeks of production from Dowdle.
As you can see, this is an extremely messy backfield and one that I would like to get out of. If you have both of the RBs, then you can try to ride the hot hand, but I would get rid of them for something more steady in a package deal. Try to get out of that tier and trade up if you can for players like: D’Andre Swift, Chase Brown, Jordan Mason, or the injured Omarion Hampton.Â
Confidence: 10/10
