It whitethorn person been the busiest NFL commercialized deadline time ever. At times, it felt similar the frenzy of escaped agency. So, what are the biggest fantasy football takeaways from the day?
We asked our ESPN Fantasy unit for their thoughts connected the pursuing questions:
Which commercialized has you contemplating moves connected tonight's waiver wire?
Matt Bowen: I mightiness instrumentality a flier connected Nyheim Hines (rostered successful conscionable 45.8% of ESPN leagues) successful a PPR league of 12 teams oregon more. He has the accomplishment acceptable to make matchups arsenic a receiving menace from the backfield oregon flexed alignments. Even with Devin Singletary and rookie James Cook successful the mix, Buffalo's high-scoring (and often pass-heavy) discourtesy provides immoderate intrigue here.
Liz Loza: I'm 100% with Matt connected this one. Hines has managed a people stock supra 11% (RB20) successful back-to-back seasons. His summation to the Bills silences James Cook's 2022 drumbeat. Cook, who is inactive rostered successful much than a 4th of ESPN phantasy leagues, tin beryllium dropped successful redraft formats.
Eric Karabell: Not to dependable ungrateful for each the amusive trades, but ... nary of them? T.J. Hockenson is universally rostered. Chase Claypool is astatine 71%. It's hard to spot Raheem Mostert to enactment healthy, truthful possibly instrumentality a accidental connected Jeff Wilson Jr. Really, ticker caller 49ers backup Tyrion Davis-Price connected the accidental Christian McCaffrey gets hurt.
Tristan H. Cockcroft: Eric's right, this was a amusive day, but there's thing seismic arsenic acold arsenic phantasy values changing. But 1 happening that does onslaught me: Justin Fields, who was already trending up, present has a massive, high-upside people successful Claypool, and Fields is disposable successful astir 75% of leagues. I'm adding him arsenic a QB2 wherever I can.
Kyle Soppe: I'm much consenting to chopped ties with either of the incumbent backs successful Denver than I was this morning. Melvin Gordon III is rostered successful 70% of leagues, but helium has much archetypal names than helium has 20-yard runs implicit the past 13 months. So no, determination aren't truly interaction adds successful the bulk of leagues, but Gordon is simply a imaginable cut.
Eric Moody: The subordinate who instantly comes to caput is Wilson, who is rostered successful lone 45.6% of ESPN leagues. He volition beryllium reunited with Mike McDaniel and Raheem Mostert. Because of his familiarity with the system, helium tin play close distant arsenic a complement to Mostert. Wilson is connected the flex radar with upside for overmuch much if Mostert were ever to miss time. According to Mike Clay's spot of docket matrix, the Dolphins person 1 of the easiest remaining schedules.
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Jeff Wilson Jr. is simply a worthwhile security argumentation for caller teammate Raheem Mostert successful Miami.
Based connected today's movement, which players would you people successful commercialized talks?
Karabell: Hockenson is the No. 4 scorer astatine choky end, but with lone 1 beardown phantasy game. Now helium gets a QB that throws a ton and volition utilize him everyplace connected the field. Frankly, something's incorrect if Hockenson doesn't decorativeness arsenic the No. 3 TE. Also, the Claypool commercialized helps Darnell Mooney, too! I inactive instrumentality Mooney implicit Claypool.
Bowen: I'm with Karabell connected Hockenson. Maybe we present spot the full accomplishment acceptable connected show for the erstwhile Iowa Hawkeye. Hockenson tin enactment each 3 levels of the way tree, with the rugged quality to nutrient aft the catch. He's a fluid mover, too. And playing successful Minnesota is simply a strategy upgrade for the seasoned choky end.
Soppe: I deliberation it's got to beryllium the 6'4" Claypool. Fields' maturation implicit the past period has been each sorts of encouraging and the information that helium ranks 4th successful mean extent of walk this play is capable for maine to look astatine Claypool arsenic a imaginable plus down the agelong this season. He won't beryllium a accordant producer, but determination volition beryllium immoderate large plays ... oh, and helium plays astatine Detroit successful Week 17.
Moody: I'm with Soppe regarding Claypool. As a rookie successful 2020, helium caught 9 touchdown passes and appeared to beryllium poised to instrumentality implicit arsenic the Steelers' No. 1 receiver. As a starter successful 2021, helium averaged 14.6 yards per reception. He has had conscionable 1 large crippled this season, mostly owed to the backmost concern successful Pittsburgh. With the Bears giving up a second-round prime successful the trade, it implies they person large plans for Claypool and a supplanting of Mooney arsenic the team's No. 1 is not impossible.
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Tristan H. Cockcroft breaks down T.J. Hockenson's phantasy outlook with his caller squad successful Minnesota and wherefore his inconsistency could persist.
Which players are you looking to commercialized away?
Cockcroft: I'd earnestly see buying Mostert, but possibly that doesn't person to bash singularly with Wilson's arrival. Mostert isn't the astir durable backmost retired there, and reuniting him with Wilson identifies a wide fill-in successful the lawsuit of immoderate missed time. I deliberation Wilson would beryllium conscionable astir arsenic susceptible of keeping that starting relation if the accidental presented itself.
Karabell: Yeah, that commercialized is simply a definite motion the Dolphins aren't assured successful Mostert, oregon his relation whitethorn alteration to being mostly a receiver. By the way, if you tin person idiosyncratic - anyone - to commercialized for a Denver moving back, past you've got immoderate existent trading skills. Avoid that situation.
Soppe: To implicit a commercialized and perchance change the people of your season, you person to beryllium consenting to rotation the dice, truthful present goes. I'm moving Brandon Aiyuk. Why? The Wilson woody signals that the 49ers are (correctly) all-in connected McCaffrey. During the highest CMC days successful Carolina, the Panthers ranked 29th successful percent of passes going to the slot. I don't deliberation that's an mishap and you get the added boost of trading Aiyuk disconnected of 3 consecutive top-20 weeks. Play chess, not checkers.
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Chase Edmonds' caller commencement successful Denver could pb to phantasy relevance down the stretch.
Which subordinate mightiness person immoderate sneaky, semipermanent worth and is worthy watching?
Karabell: Good for Trevor Lawrence! Calvin Ridley can't assistance him this season, but it's bully to spot however the Jaguars recognize they request amended receivers agelong term. Ridley whitethorn instrumentality to a WR2 level adjacent play and I'm already expecting Lawrence to beryllium a QB1 by then. He whitethorn get determination this season!
Cockcroft: Another bully telephone determination by EK. I was immensely frustrated successful my super-deep dynasty league successful August erstwhile Ridley went for $1 astatine a clip I didn't person the wage headdress abstraction to spell $2, and I deliberation determination mightiness beryllium akin leagues successful which he's inactive retired there. At the time, I'd person gone $6-7, and I similar him amended successful Jacksonville than I did successful Atlanta.
Soppe: I'll instrumentality the Lawrence emotion 1 measurement further and spell with Christian Kirk arsenic a sneaky winner. Part of his occurrence aboriginal this play was the quality to predominate from the slot, a relation that becomes overmuch easier if the Ridley that returns from suspension is the 1 we saw successful 2020. Kirk is making a chill $15.5 cardinal adjacent season, truthful that's tenable motivation, too.
Loza: Given the galore circus catches he's made successful primetime, George Pickens is decidedly not flying nether anyone's radar. However, I deliberation he's the biggest beneficiary of the Claypool trade. Pickens and Kenny Pickett demonstrated contiguous chemistry, which the squad appears motivated to physique on. The information that he's coming disconnected of a donut crippled doesn't look to beryllium an issue. The Steelers present person a bye week to gameplan for the rookie. It wouldn't astonishment maine to spot Pickens' people stock leap by astatine slightest 10%.
Bowen: Let's enactment Fields into this discussion. He is presently sitting astatine QB11 successful phantasy scoring this season, and that's with a walk crippled that is constricted successful presumption of explosive-play ability. Claypool has the carnal illustration and velocity to look arsenic a bound oregon isolation people for Fields other of Mooney. With a boost successful passing measurement and production, paired with the dual-threat moving quality of Fields, the arrow should beryllium pointing up connected the Bears backmost successful some dynasty and redraft leagues.
Moody: I'm with Bowen. Fields has present scored astatine slightest 17 phantasy points successful 4 consecutive games, including 23-plus successful his past 2 contests. With upcoming matchups against the Dolphins, Lions, Falcons, Jets and Packers earlier the Bears' bye week, he's becoming a subordinate astir radical volition consciousness comfy inserting into their lineups whether they are participating successful redraft, dynasty oregon keeper leagues.
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