NHL Best Bets for Tuesday (11/19)
Kenneth Le
Every week from now till the end of the season I will break down a few moves to help you build the ultimate dynasty and rule your leagues.
As we head into Week 12 of the fantasy season and some of us may be in a win-or-go-home situation this week. This can make this week a critical week for many, if your league still allows trading it may be time to make that move to push your team over the edge or set it up for the future.
Below, I have broken down a few moves to improve a contending or rebuilding roster.
Rebuilding Moves
If you are rebuilding, the rest of the rest may become less exciting, especially if your trade deadline has passed. If so, keep your eye open for some deep stash players to add to the end of your roster. On the flip side, if your league doesn’t have a trade deadline, now is the time to make a few trades to set you up for the offseason and long-term success. Little has changed in the landscape this week when it comes to dynasty, so remember it’s always a good idea to acquire young assets and draft picks.
Cash Out on Aaron Rodgers
This has been a roller coaster of a season for the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers started the season with a horrid 3.7 fantasy points in Week 1. It got better, but even then, he didn’t top 17 fantasy points until Week 10 this year. As a result, he only squeaked into the top 12 quarterbacks twice through Week 10, and he still hasn’t topped 300 yards in a game. It may be due to a lack of playmakers on the perimeter, but these are signs of decline in the star quarterback, making it clear the end is drawing near.
On the flip side, over the past two weeks, we have seen Rodgers post two 19-point fantasy weeks and finish as a top-12 quarterback each week. In this span, he has thrown for 451 yards and 5 touchdowns while not throwing a single interception. As a result, it appears he may have turned a small corner this season, making him more relevant to a fantasy manager. Now, it’s unlikely this small increase in production will allow you to get top dollar for Rodgers, but in a superflex league, he could be appealing to a contender. As a rebuilding team, Rodgers has little value especially when it is likely he hangs them up in the next year or two – so getting a young asset or a pick or two can help you this offseason.
Cash Out on David Montgomery
David Montgomery has been thrust into a significant role once again down the stretch due to an injury to backfieldmate Khalil Herbert. This has opened up another sell window if you currently roster the veteran Montgomery and are in need of a rebuild. In the first 10 weeks of the season, Montgomery only surpassed 10 PPR points three times en route to 83.4 points. This has resulted in him only being the RB33, making him mostly a flex player at best. However, this past weekend with the whole workload and a plus matchup, we saw Montgomery produce an RB6 finish with 21.2 PPR points. This was achieved through his 67 yards and a scored on the ground and added 54 yards on 3 catches. In other words, volume makes Montgomery a weekly must-start.
On the flip side, it has been clear that the Bears’ coaching staff wants to shift to a committee backfield, and Montgomery is likely not in their future plans, especially with how explosive Khalil Herbert has looked this year. So now is the best time to move Montgomery to a contending roster and get some draft capital to get a piece of this year’s strong rookie class.
Contending Rosters
As a contender, we know by now that the name of the game is – What can you do for me now? This is the mindset you should have as we head into Week 12, especially, if your roster can handle a deep run. The waiver wire can be your best friend, but with the state of most dynasty leagues, the waiver wire is likely barren. With this in mind, remember that a rebuilding roster could be a great way to acquire winnow assets.
Demarcus Robinson May Not Be Fool’s Gold
Demarcus Robinson had little fantasy impact this season outside his Week 8 performance where he posted 12.4 PPR points. But this week, after the Ravens’ bye, he exploded for 21.8 PPR points and a top-12 finish. He caught all of his team-leading 9 targets for 128 yards. It appears that he is more the immediate fill-in for the injured Rashod Bateman than Devin Duvernay, who only saw 1 target this week. This impressive performance came on a day that Lamar Jackson only threw for 209 yards and the Ravens only scored 13 points. In other words, imagine what Robinson could do when the Ravens offense is really clicking.
For a contender, Robinson is low-risk, high-reward player down the stretch if he continues this trend. Especially, when we look at his playoff schedule, he only faces one defense in the top 10 in points allowed (Denver WK13), so he’ll have multiple plus matchups.
