The season never really ends in dynasty, but your league championship was probably decided in Week 17. Hope you did well. I thought we’d take a look at my calls this season and see where we stand with them and rate them. Evaluating and rating myself sounds like a rigged game, but I’ll try to do it honestly. I’m going to break these assessments into weekly chunks: weeks 6-9, 10-13, and 14-17. (Note that I didn’t start writing this series of articles until week 6).
Let’s ring the opening bell for Dynasty Stock Watch:
Week 6
- QB Jalen hurts (Win-Now: KEEP, Rebuild: SELL)
- WR Allen Robinson (Win-Now: BUY, Rebuild: SELL)
- WR Quez Watkins (Win-Now: BUY, Rebuild: BUY)
- TE Dawson Knox (Win-Now: KEEP, Rebuild: SELL)
Knox, to me, is still a brake if you have a good team, but I think his rebuild value has leveled off so he’s a brake there too. I just wanted to sell it because I felt like it was a bit overpriced at the time. With the late-season waves of guys like Pat Freiermuth or even Dalton Schultz, Knox probably fits right into that third tier of TEs and probably below guys like TJ Hockenson and maybe even Noah Fant.
Robinson was supposed to be a winning purchase because he expected a miraculous change that never came. How the mighty have fallen.
Watkins continues to be very supportive of the squad for me. I love his bang, but he still trusts Hurts. This is the catch-22 with the Eagles’ QB. DeVonta Smith hasn’t surprised me, but he certainly had a very good rookie year. Dallas Goedert had a decent year, but I suppose it could have been better. Hurts is doing it individually, but he’s not really raising anyone’s game on this offense. I can appreciate what he’s doing, but I don’t think he has the skills to play well and efficiently as a quarterback at a high level.
My 2022 assessment:
- It hurts: SELL / SELL (B)
- Robinson: SELL / SELL (D)
- Watkins: BUY / BUY (C +)
- Knox: KEEP / KEEP (B)
Week 7
- QB Tua Tagovailoa (Win-Now: KEEP, Rebuild: BUY, Superflex: BUY)
- RB Christian McCaffrey (Win-Now: KEEP, Rebuild: SELL)
- WR Tee Higgins (Win-Now: KEEP, Rebuild: BUY)
- WR Brandon Aiyuk (Win Now: KEEP, Rebuild: BUY)
Your boy killed this surrender.
Higgins and Aiyuk were two sides of the same coin. Ja’Marr Chase was red hot and people were arguing between Higgins and Tyler Boyd. Deebo Samuel was also red hot and Aiyuk basically disappeared. Both Aiyuk and Higgins proved last year that they are legitimate; they are going to get theirs. Perhaps some felt Aiyuk was going to be No. 1 over Samuel, but there is enough offense for everyone, and the same can be said for the Bengals’ offense. Both players were crater in value at this point and have seen dramatic increases in their ratings.
Tagovailoa is still a nuanced quarterback and while he will probably never dominate, I am still very confident that he will have a long career. Its value is more inflated in superflex, but I’d be happy to have it as a reliable QB2 on any list. I think most of the fantasy community is still underestimating him, but I can’t pretend he has a higher ceiling than, say, the aforementioned Wounded.
McCaffrey is the reason I get paid so much. Not really! At this point McCaffrey got hit again and it was probably a couple of games. His value was already on the decline, but leveled off once it was clear that he would return for Week 9. Then he hurt again and his value plummeted again. You might understand if you were to consider CMC as a buy right now, but in this price range, you have a lot more to lose than gain if its value plummets after another injury. He’s still the caliber player he’s going to command first in early 2022 and something extra to close a deal. I can’t justify that price tag.
My 2022 assessment:
- Tagovailoa: KEEP / KEEP / KEEP (B)
- McCaffrey: SELL / SELL (A +)
- Higgins: KEEP / KEEP (A)
- Aiyuk: KEEP / KEEP (A)
Week 8
- QB Justin Fields (Win-Now: SELL, Rebuild: SELL, Superflex: SELL)
- QB Zach Wilson (Win-Now: SELL, Rebuild: SELL, Superflex: SELL)
- RB Khalil Herbert (Win-Now: KEEP, Rebuild: PRICE CHECK)
- WR Kalif Raymond (Win Now: KEEP, Rebuild: BUY)
- 2022 1.01 Rookie Selection (Win-Now: KEEP, Rebuild: BUY)
I took a lot of shit in Reddit for this one for my perspective on Fields and Wilson. Fields, I suppose you can defend him, but the Bears’ offense is still ugly and inefficient. I think there has been a period of growth from both the coaching staff and the plays and Fields as they learn to dance together. Wilson, I just don’t see it yet. The guy has a Justin Herbert arm, but he just doesn’t look like instincts or footwork. And by the way, the Jets aren’t doing him any favors. If you love any of these guys right now, you’ll overpay because the public still overvalues them.
Herbert looked something special in Week 7, but I was surprised to see David Montgomery so comfortably regain a large portion of offensive responsibilities. He felt an RB controversy was in order, but Herbert has only seen more than 20% of offensive snapshots twice since Week 8, the last time he replaced Montgomery. His value is still high, but I think we can see him with pink glasses because it’s clear the Bears are content to keep him on the sidelines. However, she is a great wife.
Raymond was coming off a great week and while I still don’t care that he’s a back-end running back on his bench, this offense will clearly be led by Amon-Ra St. Brown and, of course, D’Andre Swift. . At best, Raymond is still far behind TJ Hockenson, making the speedy catcher at best the fourth-best weapon on a disappointing team. Given its already low value, it is likely non-negotiable so I have to beat my cutoff grade.
1.01 of 2022 has risen a bit in value, but I was hoping that we could determine a clearer picture of who was the best fantasy pick. I still don’t believe that there is a clear choice, so the value of the selection remains stable. I don’t think we’ll see this waiting prospect pay off until the mix, when we expect someone to emerge.
My 2022 assessment:
- Fields: SELL / SELL / RETENER (B)
- Wilson: SELL / SELL / SELL (B)
- Herbert: KEEP / KEEP (C)
- Raymond: CUT / CUT (D-)
- 2022 1.01: KEEP / KEEP (B)
Week 9
- QB Mike White (Win-Now: KEEP, Rebuild: KEEP, Superflex: KEEP)
- RB Michael Carter (Win-Now: SELL, Rebuild: SELL, Superflex: SELL)
- WR Calvin Ridley (Win Now: KEEP, Rebuild: BUY)
Okay, sometimes you miss the trays. But my point with White is that if you have it, embrace it. If you don’t, don’t buy. Its value at this peak probably wouldn’t deserve much of anything in a trade, anyway. I suppose selling would have more clearly expressed my intention, but I will accept this one. I was just trying to say that he was better than nothing and that I was right for about 72 hours.
I’ll take the “L” again here because we were hot on the heels of Khalil Herbert’s alleged escape the week before and Carter followed suit. I think Carter is clearly the Jets guy now, while Herbert has been relegated. From the perspective of evaluating player talent, my evaluation was justified, but Carter’s status and place on the depth chart has swung wildly in Carter’s favor, representing so much more to many fantasy coaches. Swapping for runners is almost always a bad idea, in my opinion, given their short runs, high altitudes, and low valleys.
Brett Davis / USA TODAY Sports
I took the opportunity to talk about Ridley to offer a few words of comfort to those seeking self-care in the face of mental health issues. It wasn’t so much about the evaluation, although at the time I felt it was better to stick with it. Right now, based on nothing, it looks like Ridley is done with football. I don’t know where your instinct is, but I feel like we would have heard something by now. A check-in so to speak. There is no timeline for a comeback and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Falcons trade it. I hope he is doing well and I hope Atlanta can find a solution to what is best for him and his interests. Due to the great uncertainty that surrounds it, I think this is a buying opportunity. The fog of apprehension for many owners has to be very thick, which is why I think it’s worth signing up to kick the tires at a business opportunity.
My 2022 assessment:
- White: CUT / CUT / CUT (D-)
- Carter: KEEP / KEEP (B-)
- Ridley: BUY / BUY (B)
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.