Moves to Make Before Week 9 Fantasy Football: Buy Chase Brown, sell Garrett Wilson

Last week, Ashton Jeanty headlined this article as a player to sell before his uneven performances could lead to a fantasy disaster, and that’s exactly what we got. This week, I’ve got a new batch of players to consider buying or selling before Week 9.

▶ PLAYERS TO BUY

Chase Brown, RB, CIN

The vibes around Chase Brown are pretty bad right now. Everyone is noticing the lack of touchdowns, but not everyone is paying attention to the workload. Since the bye week, Brown has a 73 percent snap share; he leads all running backs in targets, and he’s 13th in expected fantasy points per game. Not all of those numbers will blow you away, but they show Brown is getting the right kind of work, even if we’re not seeing the results yet. Backup Samaje Perine has seen a few notable red-zone snaps, but he’s still averaging just 29 percent of the backfield snaps. Mind you, Brown would have been a top-five fantasy running back last week if his 20-yard touchdown reception hadn’t been called back due to a holding penalty. That means the buy-low window is still here, and it’s time to seize the opportunity.

Carnell Tate, WR, TEN

Cam Ward is finally starting to play like a quarterback who was selected with the top pick in the draft. This could mean that we’ve only scratched the surface with how productive Carnell Tate could be for fantasy. Tate was already putting up some great numbers during Ward’s bad stretch of football. On the season, Tate is fourth in air yards share, eighth in team yards share, 11th in first-read target share, and 15th in overall target share. The quantity was always there; we just haven’t had the quality with Ward under center. I’ve been a bit of a Cam Ward apologist, but in Week 8, he actually looked like a legit NFL quarterback.

Ward had the best game of his career and consistently beat the Bengals’ secondary in man coverage. Now imagine what that could look like once Tate is back in the lineup? The Titans have a bye in Week 9, which means Tate should be a little bit more affordable in a trade. However, from Weeks 10–14, leading up to the fantasy playoffs, the Titans receivers will have the easiest fantasy football schedule for the position.

▶ PLAYERS TO SELL

Garrett Wilson, WR, NYJ

We’ve reached a point with the Jets’ offense where they might be too talented as individuals, yet not high-powered enough to sustain fantasy production across the board. This is the right time to sell high on Garrett Wilson. He finished Week 8 as the WR18 after drawing 12 targets. So why would you want to sell him now? Even in this big game, Wilson was outproduced by Adonai Mitchell, who finished as the WR3 overall last week. If we look back over the previous two weeks of football, Omar Cooper looked like he was taking over as the lead receiver in the bunch. It’s been pretty volatile for Wilson over the last five weeks. He’s been a top-20 fantasy receiver in two of those matchups while falling outside the top 40 in the remaining three. There’s a lot more variance than we’d like to see for a player with his talent. To make matters worse, Jets’ receivers have the fifth-hardest remaining fantasy schedule, including a Week 17 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

Tetairoa McMillan, WR, CAR

Two weeks ago, I labeled Bryce Young as a sell-high candidate. Since then, he’s been the QB30 in fantasy points per game, and his receivers have seen their fantasy value take a major hit. Over that same two-week span, Tetairoa McMillan has been the WR43 in fantasy points per game. Even before Young’s struggles, McMillan had just one performance as a top-12 fantasy receiver. Outside of a 45-point explosion in Week 4, McMillan has been a bit disappointing. In Week 8, McMillan was able to manage double-digit fantasy points on eleven targets. That might be enough to sell him off before his schedule gets rough. McMillan and the Panthers’ receivers have the third-hardest remaining strength of schedule, including a fantasy championship week matchup against the Seahawks.

Ladd McConkey, WR, LAC

Similar to McMillan, Ladd McConkey just had enough of a flash that he should be sellable this week. In fact, McConkey just had his second-best performance of the season. At this point, fantasy managers are having to navigate McConkey’s health, Justin Herbert’s performance, and the Chargers’ tough upcoming schedule. Herbert’s QB rating ranks 31st out of 32 starting quarterbacks. There’s an argument to be made that he’s been the worst quarterback in football this season. Between his league-leading interceptions and his league-low EPA per dropback, Herbert has been highly unreliable in both fantasy and real-life football. Believe it or not, the schedule gets a bit more challenging for McConkey and the Chargers’ receivers. The Chargers face off against the Texans defense, which, while inconsistent, could be an absolute buzzsaw to the Chargers. After that, the Chargers’ receivers will face the second-toughest remaining fantasy schedule. I use this expression in fantasy football all the time: “I’d rather get off this ride now than wait to see what the experience is like.”

▶ PLAYER TO STASH

Reggie Virgil, WR, ARI

This is a really deep cut for those of you dealing with a lot of injuries or playing in deeper leagues with a big starting lineup to fill. The Cardinals’ offense might be rejuvenated with Gardner Minshew under center for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, the Cardinals’ pass-catchers could see a production bump. Unfortunately, Kendrick Bourne is set to miss the rest of the season with a fractured right tibia. The next man up on the depth chart is rookie Reggie Virgil. He played 47 percent of the snaps last week but had to leave after colliding with the field goal post on a deep ball that was overthrown in the back of the end zone. Virgil has the length and ability to win downfield and create chunk plays. If Virgil sees comparable volume to what Bourne was seeing, he could have WR4/flex value.