Buy Low/ Sell High: The Upcoming Opponents Edition
Dorian “The Trashman” Colbert, Rosterwatch.com

If your league is anything like mine, your trade deadline is at the door, and the next few days may be your last chance to make the moves that will keep your team viable through the playoffs. Even if you don’t have trade deadlines, now is the time to plan for your fantasy future. The following is a shortlist of the star players with the best and worst schedules going forward. The buy low/sell high component only applies to the prospective schedules, not the players themselves. It might be difficult, but if you can acquire any of these plus matchup guys, your going will get a lot easier. Sell some of those with worse shcedules, and you might save yourself some grief come December.

Buy Low

Matt Forte RB, Chicago Bears: Forte had a rough outing versus Detroit last week, and he has another tough game with Baltimore this week, but things get easier starting in week 12.  Forte has one of the softest runs in the league for running backs with Stl, Min, Dal, Cle, and Phi from that point on.

Dez Bryant WR, Dallas Cowboys: Bryant makes for a nice buy low anyways with a couple of pedestrian efforts in the last two weeks, but his schedule in December only helps. In weeks 13-16, he has receiver friendly Oak, Chi, GB, and Washington on his plate. Tasty.

Andre Johnson WR, Houston Texans: If you think new QB Case Keenum has breathed life into Johnson’s season thus far, wait till you get a load of his upcoming slate of games: Jax, NE, Jax, Ind, and Den. Anyone who has Jacksonville twice in three weeks is worth reaching for.

Eddie Lacy RB, Green Bay Packers: With the way that Lacy has been running the past several weeks, schedule seems of little matter. That being said, he has the Giants this week, who can be stingy on the ground, but  Lacy faces Min, Det, Atl, Dal, and Pit the following five weeks. Detroit is a formidable run defense, but the risk there is worth the reward in the other teams’ porous lines.

Matt Stafford QB, Detroit Lions: Stafford has been putting up eyebrow-raising stats over the last four weeks with stupendous play from Megatron, and the soon return of Nate Burleson should bolster his productivity as well. Add on TB, GB, Phi, Bal, and the Giants to finish out the fantasy season, and his projected value goes through the roof. He’s a perfect target for teams that have someone like a Manning or Brees but are hurting elsewhere. You could trade either of those guys for Stafford and a decent skill player, and you wouldn’t be worse off.

Jordan Cameron TE, Cleveland Browns: Don’t be frightened by Cameron’s turn with the Bengals this week. He stacked up 91 yards and a TD against the Bengals earlier this season. It only gets easier for him after that with Pit, Jax, NE, Chi, and NYJ on the board. Some of those teams might sound scary, but they’ve been fairly weak against tight ends.

 

Sell High

Reggie Bush RB, Detroit Lions: With Bush’s ability to make moves in the open field, you might think his matchups are irrelevant. This just isn’t true. He’s had single digit outputs against GB, Ari, and Cin this season. He’s got a nice pairing with Pit this week, bu with TB, GB again, Phi, Bal, and NYG ahead, you might be better served to move him while his value is at a premium.

Marques Colston WR, New Orleans Saints: Colston has been known to make second=half resurgences, but his upcoming games might slow down his ascension a bit. The Saints have SF, Sea, Car (twice), and STL in the next several weeks. You might take this schedule into account in considering the playoffs prospects of any Saint not named Drew Brees.

Greg Olsen TE, Carolina Panthers: Olsen hasn’t had quite the year we thought he would going in, as he was primed for a breakout. Still he’s been serviceable. That could all change over the last few weeks of the fantasy season, with TB and two games with NO on the schedule.

Golden Tate WR, Seattle Seahawks: Tate has been stepping up over the last month, and that makes him a terrific sell high in terms of prospective play and upcoming opponents. The receiving corps is about to get a lot more crowded with the impending return of Percy Harvin this week. A bye in week 12 doesn’t help anyone, and Tate has NO, SF, NYG, and Ari consecutively. Seattle just doesn’t throw the ball enough to support multiples receivers against those teams. If he manages to have another good game this week versus Min, it’s time to send Tate off.