NHL Best Bets for Tuesday (11/19)
Kenneth Le
With the 2022 season behind us, the time is now to start looking at ways to improve our dynasty rosters heading into 2023.
There are only two ways to do so, one is the rookie draft and the other is via the trade market. I am here to discuss five players who you should be targeting this offseason in the trade market.
Kenneth Walker, RB, Seattle Seahawks
In a spectacular rookie season, Kenneth Walker emerged as a key piece of the Seahawks offense this year. In 13 games, he led all rookie running backs with 1,050 yards and 228 rushing attempts. He also added nine rushing touchdowns. Walker proved that he can be a productive receiver out of the backfield, as he caught 27 passes for 165 yards that earned him a top-20 finish in PPR scoring with 202.5 points (RB18).
Looking past these impressive stats, his resume gets even better when we dissect the advanced stats via FTN Fantasy’s Stats Hub. Walker finished 10th in the league with 48 forced missed tackles and 720 yards after contact (14th in the NFL). On top of the power game, he also flashed the explosiveness we grew to love when he was at Michigan State. He ranked fourth in the league in runs over 15 yards (17) and had 481 yards total on those carries (3rd in the NFL). He was also tied for second in the league with three touchdowns over 15 yards.
With two first-round picks in the upcoming draft, it’s likely the Seahawks improve this offseason. This is good news for Walker, as he will be a direct benefit if the team gets into more positive game scripts in 2023.
J.K. Dobbins, RB, Baltimore Ravens
I toted J.K. Dobbins as a potential league winner this offseason. He fell a bit short of that this year while playing in just eight games. This was due to complications with his ACL injury, but he did flash his immense upside once again. In Week 4, he posted a top-10 finish with 22.3 points on the back of two touchdowns. He didn’t finish inside the top 10 again until Week 14 (missed six games with injury) when he rushed for 120 yards and a score (18 PPR points). He followed this up with another strong performance, rushing for 125 yards, but sadly he did not find the end zone.
Dobbins produced 397 yards over the last four games he played, averaging an impressive 6.9 yards per carry. Unfortunately, he was only able to find the end zone once. However, this stretch helped him lead the league with 5.7 yards per carry. FTN Fantasy’s Stats Hub shows us that even though he was not 100 percent healthy, he was still explosive, producing 40% of his yards on nine runs that went over 15 yards (209 yards).
Next season, he will be two years removed from the ACL injury and will be that much closer to his old form. Historically, we have seen running backs produce quality seasons in their second season back, most recently Saqoun Barkley, who just finished as RB5. Buying into this Dobbins dip could prove to be beneficial next year and beyond.
Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers
After an up-and-down sophomore campaign, Brandon Aiyuk set career-highs in every receiving category except yards per reception. Aiyuk saw 114 targets and caught 78 of them for 1,015 yards – his first 1,000-yard season. Additionally, he found the end zone eight times and finished as WR15 in PPR scoring with 227.8 points. He finished as a top-36 weekly option nine times, two of which were top-5 finishes. This success is no surprise when we look past the surface-level stats via the FTN Fantasy Stats Hub, as Aiyuk led the 49ers in air yards (1,105), created catches (23), end-zone targets (24), contested targets (23) and contested catches (16). Most impressively, this was all done with three different starting quarterbacks.
Outside the numbers, it was clear that Aiyuk took another step forward as a route-runner and has become one of the better separators in the league. With Trey Lance returning for 2023, we can expect to see this offense stretch the field more often, and Aiyuk will be a benefactor of this. On the flip side, with inconsistency in his play over the past few years, it’s likely his value is still low enough that he can be acquired reasonably.
DJ Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers
DJ Moore continues to be one of the best fantasy wide receivers in the league even with a slight dip in production this year. This year, we saw the Panthers quarterback situation go downhill quickly, as Baker Mayfield was unable to improve the offense. As a result, Moore was affected drastically – he did not top 60 yards in the first five weeks or finish inside the top 30 fantasy wide receivers. It took a QB change to PJ Walker and then Sam Darnold for Moore to get going, as all five of his top-12 finishes came with those QBs at the helm. Even with this up-and-down season, Moore managed to finish as WR24 in PPR scoring with 199.1 points. However, a majority of these points came in his five top-12 finishes and accounted for 111.2 points. That means he averaged a mere 7.3 points in the other contests, which made him extremely boom or bust.
This was in large part due to poor quarterback play, not Moore’s play, and this should change in 2023. With a top-10 pick, the Panthers are in line to select one of the top-tier quarterbacks this year in the draft. With a new coaching staff coming in, he is likely going to be the focal point in the passing game going forward. At only 25 years old, he still has plenty of time left in his fantasy production window as well, so he is the perfect player to target no matter the state of your roster.
Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets
After landing with the New York Jets, many people began to fade Garrett Wilson. This was fair because he was joining a robust roster that contained Elijah Moore, Corey Davis and Braxton Berrios. He struggled early on and posted one top-20 finish in the first six weeks. However, from Week 9 on, he produced five top-20 finishes, including four top-12 finishes. He finished as WR15 over this span with 127 points and a WR21 finish on the season with 215.7 PPR points.
Outside of fantasy, we can see that he took over the lead role for the Jets. He led the team in targets (147), receptions (83), red-zone targets (31) and end-zone targets (13). Additionally, he almost doubled the next-closest Jets pass-catcher in yards with 1,103, while also leading the team in air yards with 1,533 yards. If that wasn’t enough, he also led the team in YAC with 377 and created catches (13) via FTN Fantasy’s Stats Hub.
With the quarterback position up in the air heading into 2023, there may be some managers who are still wary of Wilson’s outlook. If this is the case, I would take full advantage and acquire him, as it is unlikely Zach Wilson is under center going forward. It seems more likely we see a veteran brought in via trade or free agency. Either way, Wilson’s career arc looks like a consistent top-15 producer.
