Cashing Out – Players to Sell
In dynasty and RSO leagues, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of staying active year round in trade talks. Player values fluctuate more than ever during this time of year. If you’re willing to stomach some risk, there’s an opportunity for profit. When discussing trades, I often hear that owners are afraid making a move and having it backfire in the long term. My strategy is a bit different as I’m unafraid to make an aggressive move if I believe I’m getting more value at the time of the trade. If you accept that you will lose in some trades but believe you will win out more than 50% of the time, be as aggressive as possible. Right or wrong, I do not just consider deals made to be potential wins or losses. I also think this way about trade talks that were close, but never materialized for whatever reason. For example, trades I’ve declined have potential to be wins or losses as well though my roster has remained intact.
In this off-season edition of Cashing Out, I’ll explain which players I’m actively looking to sell before the 2016 season.
Jordan Matthews WR PHI – One of the most polarizing players in dynasty leagues, Jordan Matthews has an ADP of 26 in Dynasty League Football’s April 2016 mock drafts. Personally, I wouldn’t draft him within the first four rounds. Philadelphia figures to run a more conservative offense under Doug Pederson as Kansas City ranked 24th in passing yards in 2015. Jeremy Maclin managed to have a very strong first season with the Chiefs, but I see him as a far superior talent to Matthews. When exploring trades for Matthews, I’d attempt to package a 2016 pick with him to land Sammy Watkins, Dez Bryant, Keenan Allen, Alshon Jeffery, Brandin Cooks, Jarvis Landry, or Kevin White.
Marvin Jones WR DET – After signing a 5 year, $40 million dollar deal with the Detroit Lions, Jones is now viewed as the 1a or 1b option in a Lions offense that will have to find ways to replace Calvin Johnson’s production. Jones’ inclusion on this list has more to do with a lack of confidence in Matthew Stafford than anything. Fantasy owners have spent the past few years chasing Stafford’s 2011 season in which he threw for 5,038 yards and 41 TDs to be largely disappointed with Stafford’s fantasy scoring. According to Pro Football Focus’ end of 2015 quarterback rankings, Stafford ranked as the 23rd best quarterback. While there’s an opportunity for Jones to absorb many of Johnson’s 150 targets in 2015, I don’t have confidence that he’ll be a top 25 WR on a weekly basis. I’m looking to sell as I believe there will be quite a few owners in my leagues who like him more than I do.
Jay Ajayi RB MIA – While Miami has not be quiet in their attempts to land a running back this off-season, April may be the perfect time to sell Ajayi. If I owned Ajayi, I’d email every owner and attempt to sell the fact that he’s currently in line to be the lead back. After the trade with Philadelphia, Miami may have moved back too far to land Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott at pick 13 in the upcoming NFL Draft. I’d certainly bring this up in trade talks and sell the fact that at worst he will likely split carries with the drafted running back. I’m also very worried about his ability to hold up and have a long career as his knees caused him to fall to the 5th round of the NFL Draft. Even with the uncertainty of the NFL Draft a few weeks away, his value is likely higher today than it may ever be.
Alfred Morris RB DAL – We’ve all heard the popular narrative that anyone can succeed running behind the Dallas offensive line. Left for dead, Darren McFadden may have proved this to be correct in 2015 by revitalizing his fantasy value with 1,089 rushing yards on 4.6 yards per carry. My concern with Alfred Morris is due to his lack of versatility. Never an option in the passing game, Morris may only see the field on obvious running downs. I don’t see him getting more than 10 rushes per game and don’t view his as a top 25 RB option to open the 2016 season. Lance Dunbar, Darren McFadden, and potentially a RB acquired in the draft make the Dallas backfield crowded enough for me to avoid at this point.
Martavis Bryant WR PIT – Bryant’s inclusion strictly has to do with the structure of RSO leagues. I’m cautiously buying Bryant in standard dynasty leagues where you keep your entire roster from year to year, but I cannot justify rostering Bryant long-term in RSO. If his contract is for anything more than league minimum, he’s hurting your roster with his cap hit. As a fan of his immense talent, I own Martavis Bryant in my RSO league. In that league, he’s entering the 2nd year of a 3 year deal worth approximately $6 million per season. Not too long ago I considered him to be a huge asset at that price. Now, I’d be willing to do anything possible to move him since there’s no guarantee he’s reinstated for the 2017 season. If the history of Josh Gordon and others suspended players teaches us anything, it’s not to assume reinstatement is automatic. Not only will I be actively looking to move Bryant for nearly anything, I might be willing to move back a few spots in the draft just to unload that contract. If I can find a buyer, the increased cap space is worth enough to move back a few spots and run the risk Bryant returns and is successful in 2017. This strategy may prove to be difficult for me after writing this article, which I’m hoping my leaguemates don’t see.
Stay tuned later this month as I’ll explore players that I’m actively trying to acquire in the off-season addition of Open the Wallet – Players to Buy.
Bio: An avid fan of all things NFL, Dave has been playing fantasy football since 1999. Though Dave participates in all types of fantasy football including redraft and daily, he prefers keeper and dynasty leagues as talent evaluation and scouting are integral components of each.