Each week of the NFL season I will highlight risers and fallers in dynasty leagues — one player to trade for, one to trade away, one to add and one to drop.
Dynasty Risers
Trade For: Keke Coutee, WR, Houston Texans
I suggested adding Coutee last week. Now I’m doubling down.
If you missed out on the waiver-wire add, or if he was already rostered in your league, make the rookie receiver a priority trade target this week. Considering how impressive he's been through two weeks, acquiring him won't be easy. But it’s better to overpay now than to overpay later at a much higher price.
While Houston's game script was much different in Week 5, Coutee was still heavily involved. He drew seven targets, catching six passes for 51 yards and a touchdown.
While Coutee is still the clear third option behind DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller, I'm confident there's room for all three to be supported on a routine basis. The Texans rarely use their tight ends or running backs in the passing game, and they simply don’t have another relevant receiver beyond these three.
Coutee is looking like a bargain as WR60 in recent dynasty ADP data.
Add: Wendell Smallwood, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles placed Jay Ajayi on Injured Reserve with a torn ACL. Although Ajayi had been somewhat of a disappointment this season, ranking as the RB38 through five weeks, this was still a huge blow to Philadelphia and fantasy managers.
After planning to employ a committee backfield, most of the Eagles' running backs have already suffered injuries, including Corey Clement (quad) and Darren Sproles (hamstring). The one healthy back has been Smallwood, who has seen his opportunity grow each week. His per-game snap rate has risen from 1% in Week 1 to 30% in Week 2, 35% in Week 3, 46% in Week 4 and 49% in Week 5.
With a pair of 18-point fantasy games already under his belt and more usage coming, Smallwood is the player to focus on when searching the waiver wire this week.
Dynasty Fallers
Trade Away: Jordan Howard, RB, Chicago Bears
If Howard is on your roster, you might get lucky enough and have league-mates who forget how Chicago's Week 4 game went.
Yes, the Bears dominated the game and quarterback Mitchell Trubisky put on a show. But lost in that was the highly disappointing performance of Howard, who was outproduced by pass-catching running back Tarik Cohen.
After logging more than 70% of the snaps in the Bears' first two games, Howard was down to only 54% in Week 4. Head coach Mark Nagy’s vow to get Howard more involved in the passing game seems to be fading. After drawing five targets in the season opener, Howard saw just one by Week 4 while Cohen was tearing things up.
Howard still carries plenty of name value, and many dynasty players consider him a reliable bell-cow back. You can easily ship Howard off for a future first-round pick, but I’d aim for a player I trust long term and a pick.
Drop: Torrey Smith, WR, Carolina Panthers
Smith has not been heavily involved in the passing game this season; his highest marks came in Week 2 with three receptions for 33 yards. But he's still on rosters in most dynasty leagues thanks to his name value.
The Panthers coaching staff has vowed to get rookie D.J. Moore more involved in recent weeks, and his role is already growing. Carolina also got second-year receiver Curtis Samuel back in Week 5, who immediately produced a touchdown.
Smith's snap rates have dropped from a high point of 87% early in the season to only 65% last week. Expect those numbers to continue to fade as Moore and Samuel become even more involved in the offense.
Smith is what I call a roster-clogger: A player you'll never actually start, but nonetheless someone you can't drop to the waiver wire. It's time to unclog your roster.
