With the Super Bowl in the rearview mirror and the scouting combine coming up next, this is a great time for speculative dynasty fantasy football moves in anticipation of what the future holds. The idea, much like cryptocurrency, real estate or the stock market, is to buy low and sell high.
This week, let’s look at a couple of fantasy football RBs that fit these criteria to get you a jump on your 2022 dynasty fantasy football league championship run.
Dynasty Fantasy Football: Buy Low, Sell High RBs
Buy Low: Michael Carter, Jets
Playing for a Jets team that only mustered up an average of 18.2 points per game, Michael Carter finished as the RB29 in PPR last season, with 945 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns. He did this despite sharing the workload as part of a three-headed committee to start the year and three missed games due to injury. From Weeks 4-10, prior to his injury in Week 11, he was the RB16, averaging 16.9 fantasy points per game (fppg). He flashed his PPR potential, with games of eight and nine receptions. After he returned from injury, he was relatively quiet, aside from a 118-yard rushing performance against the Jaguars. With a couple of tough matchups last in the season, it opened a window to buy low on the “electric” rookie, in the words of his coach.
With Tevin Coleman likely on his way out as a free agent and Ty Johnson being clearly behind Carter in the pecking order, it looks like a great opportunity to get an RB2 with potential for your dynasty fantasy football team on a discount. With even a slight improvement in the offense, Carter has the potential to become a solid mid-range RB2 or low-end RB1 next season.
See if you can trade for him now, with the public perception being that he hit “the rookie wall.”
Sell High: Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys
The fantasy football RB7 last year in PPR, Ezekiel Elliott didn’t even look like the best back on his team for most of the season. It has also come out after the season that he played since Week 4 with a torn PCL that was not reported during the season. You can use his end-of-the-year ranking and injury status to make a case to another owner in your league to give you RB1 value in exchange for the 27-year-old Zeke.
NFL RBs have a short shelf life, and it certainly looks like Elliott’s best days are behind him. Tony Pollard was far more efficient and explosive with his touches last season. He certainly has earned more work going forward.
Coming off his second season averaging less than 4.2 yards per carry and only getting 6.0 yards per reception this past season, a new career-low, now is the time to shop Ezekiel Elliott in dynasty fantasy football and see if you can get RB1 value for him. Perhaps you can trade him for a younger RB with more tread on the tires, like an Elijah Mitchell or J.K. Dobbins, or WR/TE help.
