After months of preparation and patience, the NFL season finally returned, bringing with it a mountain of new information, changes, and no shortage of various fantasy football values to consider heading into Week 2. Here are a handful of players entering Week 2 of the fantasy football season that present an optimal opportunity to buy low or sell high on.
Who are some fantasy football buy-low Week 2 trade targets?
Since expectations vary across fantasy managers, there could be a window for you to acquire some of these players at a value. All of these candidates are in a position to exceed expectations this season.
DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
There were countless narratives people were tracking heading into Week 1, one of which being what the Eagles’ offense would look like in 2022. Would they lead the NFL in rushing as they did in the second half (68%) or return to the scheme that had Jalen Hurts on pace for 588 attempts in the first seven weeks?
What we saw was a bit of an in-between. The Eagles had a pass/rush split of 48/52. While Hurts — and especially A.J. Brown — shined, DeVonta Smith never got it together, going catchless on four targets.
Better days are ahead for Smith. While Brown won the week from a production standpoint, it was Smith who played on more snaps (72 to 66 of 75 offensive plays), but he also ran more routes (40 to 39).
As a rookie, Smith was targeted on 19.5% of his routes. On Sunday, that was just 7.5%. Things will balance out in the end for Smith. He’s a legitimate talent who should be a weekly WR3/4 for fantasy. I’d use his down game as a buy-low opportunity ahead of a Week 2 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.
Isaiah McKenzie, WR, Buffalo Bills
One thing I learned this weekend is that the Buffalo Bills are light-years ahead of everyone else. I honestly believe they could have walked onto any field and done the same thing.
What’s scary is they can get better. One positional battle that we thought was sewn up re-opened on Thursday as Jamison Crowder split time with Isaiah McKenzie. It was enough that some felt Week 1 was a step back. Crowder led McKenzie in targets (4 to 3), receptions (3 to 2), and yards (28 to 19), but it was McKenzie who found the end zone.
Where McKenzie did lead the duo is in participation, playing on 25 of 58 snaps compared to 18 and led in routes ran (21 to 12). Not only that, but when McKenzie was on the field, the Bills were actually passing. When Crowder was on the field, Buffalo was far more balanced. Additionally, McKenzie was the only receiver outside of Stefon Diggs to record a target in the red zone. Crowder, meanwhile, spent most of his time between the 30s.
Of the two, McKenzie is the more desirable fantasy asset with far more upside. I’m not sure he’s a starter quite yet, but the separation of opportunities should only widen in the coming weeks. I’d buy low on McKenzie for fantasy now for a potential cash-in down the road.
Dameon Pierce, RB, Houston Texans
This is one of those games which is way too easy to overanalyze. Week 1 is prime for jumping to conclusions and writing guys off. I’m afraid that is going to happen to Dameon Pierce.
To some extent, I understand. Pierce is a rookie with no track record. Against the Indianapolis Colts, Pierce played just 28% of the snaps and saw 11 carries and one target in a game that played a complete overtime.
Meanwhile, Rex Burkhead played on 72% of the snaps and had 14 carries and eight targets. He was also out there for around 65% of the dropbacks and all of the two-minute warning.
With a positive game flow, leading 20-3 as late as 10:45 to go in the fourth, this should have been Pierce’s game. I tend to give rookies a bit of a pass in Week 1 as even some of the best have been slowly worked onto the field. Maybe Lovie Smith felt safer in a Week 1 game they didn’t expect to win trusting a veteran over a rookie.
On some level, this should give us pause and be somewhat fearful of a dreaded split that is dominated by Burkhead. But I’m willing to let another fantasy manager who bought into the hype pre-draft also overreact and want to move off as quickly as possible.
By no means is this a certainty, but Pierce’s talent will shine through for fantasy eventually. Add, but don’t start Pierce for fantasy football in Week 2, even if you manage to buy low after his disappointing debut.
Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons
Look, I didn’t say all of these would be cheap. Most of us look at Kyle Pitts as in a defacto 1A/1B with Drake London. While he did earn seven targets, Pitts walked away from Week 1 with a paltry two for 19-yard stat line with 3.9 PPR points.
Take a deep breath and trust me, it will be okay. Pitts was out there for 84% of the snaps (team-high) and had a 24% target rate/route, which is actually higher than his 21% of last year.
If you believe Pitts will be the dominant factor most of us do, see what it will take. His value still has room to climb.
Who are some fantasy football sell-high Week 2 candidates?
Actual value vs. perceived value is also something fantasy managers need to have the pulse on. It cannot only tell you when to buy low but also when to sell high before the floor crashes out. Here are three players that could be worth selling before their value drops.
Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
HE DID IT! He actually did it. After 163 scoreless touches last year, it took less than 25 minutes for Miles Sanders to score a touchdown. Sanders led the backfield with 13 rushes for an impressive 94 yards with the score. He also caught both targets for nine years. All in all, Sanders walked away with 18.5 PPR points, the most he has scored since Week 14 of 2020.
While this feels great, there is more to it. Both Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell were active too. Scott played on 14 snaps and recorded four carries for 10 yards while also vulturing a touchdown. Additionally, Gainwell had five carries of his own for 20 yards and a touchdown while adding 12 more yards on two receptions. He also led Sanders in targets four to two. To top it all off, Jalen Hurts rushed 17 times for 90 yards with a TD.
So that means we have three different ball carriers (just RBs), four different touchdown scorers, and two guys splitting reps in the passing game. I get he did well, but we have to remember Detroit was 29th in points allowed and tied for third in rushing TDs allowed last year.
Sanders was someone I was never targeted, but eventually, if he fell far enough, I bit the bullet and drafted him despite him literally telling us not to do it. I would use this as a sell-high opportunity and get as far away from the Eagles’ backfield for fantasy football as possible. The only ball carrier I care about moving forward is Hurts.
Antonio Gibson, RB, Washington Commanders
After the loss of Brian Robinson for the foreseeable future, Antonio Gibson had a chance to all of a sudden prove he could hold onto the starting job. He did just that. Leading the team with 14 carries, Gibson rushed for 68 yards and also saw a 19.5% target share (8), hauling in seven receptions for 72 yards, including a long of 26.
I don’t like making bold claims after 60 minutes of football, but this is the highest Gibson’s value might be for the rest of the year. The only other thing that he could have done was find the end zone.
It wasn’t all sunshine and roses for Gibson if you dig a bit deeper. He didn’t play on third-and-long, something Washington will be in when not playing someone like the Jaguars. Gibson also wasn’t in during the two-minute drill, and he lost snaps to J.D. McKissic on both goal-line plays as well as short-yardage situations. When Robinson returns, those will be sliced quicker than a Black Friday price cut.
Gibson should be a locked-in RB2 anytime Robinson is out. I am not arguing that at all, but pointing out that if you felt you were “stuck” with him on your roster, now is the time to sell high on Gibson for fantasy ahead of Week 2 against the Detroit Lions.
Kyle Philips, WR, Tennessee Titans
One of my favorite under-the-radar prospects in this year’s draft class was Kyle Philips, who, to me, was just a longer Hunter Renfrow on film. On Sunday, he saw a workload Renfrow would be proud of, racking up nine targets in his debut and coming down with six receptions for 66 yards.
It won’t be like this for long. Even yesterday, Philips was out-snapped by Robert Woods 46 to 31 and ran five more routes (26 to 21). I don’t see too many instances coming where Philips has a 42.8% target over route run rate while Woods sits at 7.5%. Treylon Burks, meanwhile, did have three receptions on five targets.
Both Woods and Burks will only increase in volume, whereas Philips is likely to lose it, moving to the potential No. 4 in the pecking order behind Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. In deeper leagues where Philips was drafted, he would be a sell-high candidate in Week 2 based on the previous week’s unsustainable volume.
