Fantasy Football Buy Low, Sell High for Week 11

With Week 11 of the NFL season on the horizon, we are now just four weeks away from the start of the Fantasy Football Playoffs. Yes, time does fly when you’re having fun! In several leagues, trade deadlines are also rapidly approaching. While many managers will have the opportunity to make moves right down to the end, for others, there are just two weeks left to make trades. No matter what position your team currently is in, there are always improvements that can be made. The Week 11 fantasy football buy low, sell high column is here to help you do just that!

Read on for this week’s fantasy football buy low, sell high candidates, including Elijah Mitchell, Aaron Jones, CeeDee Lamb and James Conner. The following breakdowns and analyses can be used to help guide your trade discussions and weigh fantasy football player values heading into Week 11.

Fantasy Football Buy Low Players | Week 11

Elijah Mitchell | RB, San Francisco 49ers

As we enter the deeper waters of the season so to speak, one great way to acquire fantasy football players on the cheap is to use injuries to your advantage. Implementing this trading strategy admittedly does take some guts. That said, it can be very rewarding in the long run. With that said, rookie 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell is one such trade target worth pursuing this week. The former Lousiana standout already had to miss two games earlier in the year due to an injury. After garnering a season-high 27 carries last Monday night, Mitchell actually had to have surgery on a broken finger this week. His status for Sunday’s game in Jacksonville officially remains up in the air. However, most reports are optimistic that he will play at the time of writing.

Kyle Shanahan thinks Elijah Mitchell, who had finger surgery on Tuesday, will play for the 49ers at Jacksonville. But Mitchell won’t practice today

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) November 17, 2021

For fantasy football owners who are in win-now mode with playoff spots on the line, waiting around to see if Mitchell is cleared to play on Sunday might not be an appealing move. Along with the return of veteran Jeff Wilson Jr., savvy managers have plenty of ammo to use to their benefit in buy-low trade discussions. When healthy, Mitchell has clearly been the trusted RB for Kyle Shanahan. No matter who is healthy for the 49ers in the passing game, they will remain a run-first offense. Mitchell has a stable RB2 floor on a weekly basis. He just might be a player you can acquire at value following his minor finger procedure.

Aaron Jones | RB, Green Bay Packers

In a similar vein to the argument for Elijah Mitchell above, we now consider star Packers running back, Aaron Jones. He left last week’s game and was officially diagnosed with a sprained MCL. The timetable for his return is set at 1-2 weeks. His fantasy football owners caught a big break in that the knee injury was not more serious. That said, his absence comes at a bad time for owners who are locked in a heated playoff push over the next few weeks. If Jones does wind up sitting out the Packers’ next two contests, his absence will automatically be stretched to three full weeks as Green Bay is on bye in Week 13. There are bound to be some desperate managers out there who cannot afford to sit on Jones during his absence.

For those managers who are already in a good position as far as qualifying for the fantasy playoffs, it is worth inquiring on what it would take to land Jones in a deal. Although his production has fluctuated somewhat on a week-to-week basis this season, Jones remains a high-end fantasy football RB. A lack of pass-catchers in Green Bay ensures that the Packers will feed both him and A.J. Dillon down the stretch. Jones also gets a favorable matchup against a porous Minnesota Vikings run defense in Week 17. Of course, that week corresponds with fantasy football championship matchups in the newly expanded season. If your team can withstand up to three weeks of no production from Jones, he is a great buy-low candidate.

Terry McLaurin | WR, Washington Football Team

Rounding out this week’s buy-low list is another highly-regarded fantasy football name in Washington wideout Terry McLaurin. Despite seeing no fewer than seven targets in every game since the season-opener, McLaurin has failed to provide the same consistent numbers this season that most fantasy managers had grown accustomed to. He had three catches for 23 yards in Washington’s upset of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday. That marked the third time in the last four games that “Scary Terry” failed to notch double-digit PPR points. As a result, now might be a great time to swoop in and buy him cheap from a disgruntled owner. 

TERRY TOUGHER THAN A TWO-DOLLAR STEAK

📺 » FOX | #TBvsWAS pic.twitter.com/YIFbRLlC3z

— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) November 14, 2021

When it comes down to it, McLaurin remains one of the best wideouts in the NFL. Despite the recent struggles, he is still the WR18 in PPR on the season. For owners already setting their sights on the fantasy playoffs, McLaurin figures to produce in two matchups against the weak Philadelphia Eagles secondary. Thanks to the NFL’s nonsensical scheduling, Washington will face the Eagles in both Weeks 15 and 17.

Fantasy Football Sell High Players | Week 11

CeeDee Lamb | WR, Dallas Cowboys

We kick off this week’s sell-high candidates with another NFC East wide receiver. After a two-touchdown effort last week saw CeeDee Lamb record 28.6 fantasy points, he is now the WR8 on the season to date. On the surface, that seems like a player worth holding down the stretch of the fantasy football season. Unfortunately, there are some underlying concerns regarding Lamb’s long-term outlook. In reality, he has been a bit inconsistent with production on a week-to-week basis. 

Only two of Lamb’s six double-digit PPR games this season have come without the help of a touchdown reception. Furthermore, his five lowest fantasy scores this season mark the five games in which he did not catch a TD pass. The Cowboys are loaded offensively. Dak Prescott has no shortage of pass-catchers beyond Lamb to target. Overall, Lamb is simply overvalued in the fantasy football world. Throwing the numbers out the window, owners could likely net a grand return with a more comfortable rate of consistency just by putting him on the trade block.

James Conner | RB, Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals’ offense has already reached its peak this season. Even with Kyler Murray potentially returning to the lineup this week, expecting this team to replicate their early-season success on a regular basis down the stretch is foolish. James Conner’s fantasy football production has been propped up by touchdowns all season long. While an injury to Chase Edmonds allowed him to go off for 40 fantasy points two weeks ago, we were back to the typical TD-dependent line last week. Conner should continue to see more work in Edmonds’ absence. However, second-year pro, Eno Benjamin, is fully capable of mixing into Arizona’s backfield rotation. Oh, and the Cardinals have a bye next week. Not even James Conner can score touchdowns during a bye week.

DeVonta Smith | WR, Philadelphia Eagles

While back-to-back games with over 22 PPR fantasy points look great on paper, it’s still difficult to trust the rookie’s role in the Eagles’ offense. In actuality, it’s somewhat hard to trust any Philadelphia players at all from a fantasy football standpoint outside of dual-threat quarterback, Jalen Hurts. Smith’s last two games were buoyed by three total touchdowns scored. That kind of scoring efficiency is almost certain to wane as soon as this Sunday in a tough test against the New Orleans Saints. Smith posted those impressive fantasy box scores despite only receiving six targets in both games. 

While Hurts may be a solid fantasy contributor, he is far from a sure thing as a passer. There is simply too much working against Smith to trust that he can maintain this recent fantasy football production. Owners should aim to sell him high coming off of what could be his two best games of the season.