For most fantasy football teams we are halfway through the NFL season. For those of us who play we are a little bit deeper depending on your league. In this column we are going to do an edition of Buy/Sell with key players going down the stretch who could help you win or lose your league. Smart moves now can make all the difference.
BUY
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew:
MJD has been quietly effective through the first half of the season with 740 yards rushing and averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Pretty impressive considering he is playing with a rookie quarterback and no real threats on the outside. The best part is he has already faced the toughest part of his schedule with games against the Jets, Bengals, Steelers, Ravens, and Texans out of the way. MJD has games against the Browns, Chargers, and Buccaneers left on his schedule who all give up 4.4 yards per carry or more.
New York Jets running back Shonn Greene:
Greene's numbers don't jump off the page, he actually has a very pedestrian 502 yards on 3.8 yards per carry. The key is the Jets have rededicated themselves to the run and he has received over 20 carries three of the last four weeks compared to none in the first four weeks of the season. The Jets have games left against the Patriots, Bills, Redskins, Giants and Eagles who have all struggled to stop the run.
St. Louis Rams Quarterback Sam Bradford:
If you are desperate for a quarterback and need someone who is currently undervalued, I would take a shot with Sam Bradford. The Rams have already played the toughest part of their schedule, they two games left against the woeful Seahawks pass defense and another game against the Cardinals. The last two games Bradford has played he has completed over 60% of his passes and threw for over 300 yards against thePackers. As he starts to get more comfortable with Brandon Lloyd that could really help the offense. I'm not saying Bradford will be a top flight quarterback and he still has tough games left on the schedule with two against San Francisco and a game verses the Bengals and Steelers, but if you are looking for a waiver wire pick up he is worth a shot.
SELL
Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick:
The Harvard graduate was a great story the first half of the season. The Bills have some nice weapons and in certain circumstances can still put up good numbers. Saying that, if you have the opportunity to move Fitz for a quality player I would do it for three reasons. First, after starting off hot last year Fitzpatrick struggled over the last two months of the season. Second, playing in Buffalo he is going to have to deal with some bad weather down the stretch of the season. Third, last week the Jets gave a blueprint on how to defend the Bills. Not every team can do it, but you have to crowd the middle of the field and force Fitzpatrick to throw to the outside.
Denver Broncos Running Back Willis McGahee:
Willis McGahee has put together a tremendous year running for over 100 yards four times and averaging 5.1 yards per carry. I just can't see him keeping this pace up. The Broncos offense with Tim Tebow at the helm is completely one dimensional. I think his huge performance last week was more about the Raiders being bad on defense than the Broncos run game being good. Teams will start to key in on McGahee and figure out the Broncos gimmick office.
Tennessee Titans Wide Receiver Nate Washington:
After an impressive first five games of the season Nate Washington has come back down to earth. He hasn't broken 35 yards receiving or five catches in the last three games. Teams are able to zone in on him withoutKenny Britt or any other real threat on the outside. Plus, with the struggles of Chris Johnson opposing defenses don't have to be worried about the Titans running game.