Fantasy Football Panic Meter, Week 11: Who are we selling low at the trade deadline?
We need to hit you with a critical fantasy football PSA right here at the top: Yahoo's default trade deadline in football leagues is Nov. 18.
After Saturday, you'll lose an essential path to improving your roster, so we are urging you to explore various deals this week while they can still be made. Even if your squad is 8-2 (or better) and comfortably in playoff position, surely some aspect of your lineup can be enhanced — Sal Vetri has some tips for you on trade targets.
Occasionally, addition by subtraction might in fact be possible. If you find yourself in a terrible cycle of starting and benching a specific player at entirely the wrong times — or if you simply can't quit a chronic underperformer — perhaps a clean break is necessary.
For this week's Panic Meter, we asked for the players you're willing to sell-low ahead of the deadline, and you delivered a magnificent list of year-to-date disappointments. Let's begin with a breathtakingly beautiful my-problem-for-your-problem trade...
Aaron Jones for Pollard
— Dan (@celticsnation03) November 14, 2023
It's just perfect. A+ trade. We are awarding 5/5 melting face emojis, our highest rating:
🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠
Well done, truly. Both sides have already won.
It's also pretty likely that each side in this deal is a ghost team that doesn't yet know it's dead, but, hey, whatever. It must feel great to flip Jones, just as it must feel incredible to flip Pollard.
Personally, I happen to think there's still legitimate reason to be hopeful regarding both backs, which also means further disappointment and despair might lie ahead — and that is what makes this such an absolutely perfect exchange.
Jones is now healthier than he's been since the opening week, when he crossed the goal-line twice and functioned as the centerpiece of Green Bay's offense in an emphatic win at Chicago. In his last two games, he's seen his highest snap-shares and touch totals of the season. He's a proven playmaker on a roster with almost no one else who fits that description. If he's healthy, he can be great.
Of course, Jones might also be trapped in an unfair timeshare with A.J. Dillon, a predicament from which he may not escape. Jones has averaged just 13.3 touches per game this season and he's seen 20 or more chances only once. That sort of usage generally doesn't pay the fantasy bills.
Pollard has been the focus of extreme consternation in fantasy circles, turning to outright rage last Sunday when he failed to reach the end zone in another premium matchup. We've already spilled thousands of words on his situation, so let's just review the basics:
Pollard's carries have actually changed pretty significantly this season compared to 2022, resulting in fewer opportunities outside the tackles;
His first four NFL seasons were defined by breakaway runs punctuated by touchdowns, and those plays simply haven't been there in 2023 (which might be related to this next bullet);
The man entered the year less than eight months removed from a horrific leg injury, so perhaps our preseason expectations were never reasonable.
Unfortunately, at this point Pollard has played his way into a situation in which fantasy managers will simply give him zero credit for anything he does well. He had a terrific sequence Sunday, including one of his most impressive runs of the year, that brought Dallas to within inches of the goal line, setting up an easy TD for Jake Ferguson ...
... and the collective reaction from the fantasy community was basically, "Pollard stuffed again smh."
He's down bad right now in fantasy, no question. The schedule ahead for Pollard really couldn't be friendlier, but he has clearly underwhelmed in prime matchups throughout the season.
Again: We fully endorse an exchange of fantasy headaches such as Jones-for-Pollard. It is the Platonic ideal of a challenge trade.
I've been trying to move Saquan, but no takers. The volume is there, but the team is so damn bad that he is ceiling is severely limited
— Billy (@badbillypratt) November 14, 2023
Good job, good effort. Let's keep at it. Gold star awarded for the attempt. ⭐️
If the Giants don't eventually shut Barkley down, he probably needs to consider sidelining himself. Tough scene for Big Blue right now. New York is a two-win team at the bottom of the league in point differential (-148). The quarterback situation is a nightmare, as bleak as it gets. Barkley has been as productive as anyone could have expected given the horrendous circumstances.
So, yeah: Keep pursuing any vaguely reasonable deal. Go find the 5-5 manager who has Kamara or JT or Bijan on bye this week — that person might be your best (or only) hope to get a deal done.
Christian Watson
— Cindy 🐩 (@sdcindy) November 14, 2023
Um ... good luck. 😬🍀🧀
As of this writing, the most recent one-for-one deal involving Watson had Zach Wilson on the other side. Again:
Unless you happen to be in a fantasy league with the gentleman pictured here or another Packers fan of similar zeal, any deal for Watson is gonna be awfully tough to close. He enters almost every week with a medley of injuries and he has fewer catches and receiving yards this season than Dontayvion Wicks. He's only topped 40 yards in one of his six games. Watson is primarily used as a vertical threat (16.7 ADOT) and he's attached to a quarterback who's been notably poor on deep throws (16-for-46, 2 TD, 4 INT). So that's not great.
It's kinda hard to believe Watson doesn't have another big game out there somewhere, considering his rare athletic traits and the nature of his targets. Green Bay has plenty of beatable matchups ahead. But we should probably view him as a Rashid Shaheed-type for rest-of-season purposes.
Rhamondre for Dobbs
— v.h.f.m. (@vhfm21) November 14, 2023
Yup, that's definitely selling low. Perhaps unreasonably low. I kinda hate it. Here's hoping this is superflex. 😳🤢
Look, the Joshua Dobbs story has been a fantastic (and completely unforeseen) thread throughout the season. He clearly has some fantasy juice, thanks to the consistent rushing contributions — he's given us 40-plus yards on the ground in seven different games this year. It's also possible to tell yourself a story about his passing upside, whenever Justin Jefferson is back in the mix.
Still, in a one-QB league, this doesn't feel like the right return for Stevenson, a player who's been sneaky-impressive and efficient in recent weeks. He just handled 23 touches against the Colts and he's topped 100 scrimmage yards in back-to-back games.
Of course if you simply want out of the New England theater of pain before things get even worse ... well, yeah, OK. Understandable. But every fantasy league at the moment has like 3-4 teams in desperate need of running back help and Stevenson has an inviting matchup following his bye (NYG). This is not a toxic fantasy asset.
