Welcome back to another week of 2021 buy and sell dynasty edition, here we are looking at Week 8 targets. We are well into the middle of the fantasy season, and the hits keep coming. Breakouts, Injuries, and bye weeks continue to plague our teams. We also get to decline terrible trades from our fellow league mates to help them through a bye week. That is why I am here. Let us look at some players to target or get rid of during this hectic time in your dynasty seasons. I hope we can help you turn your season around or help it going forward weekly.
Dynasty Buys
Brandin Cooks (WR, HOU)
Cooks is angry and coming off one of the worst games of this season. He expressed his disappointment in the trade or Ingram recently on Twitter. The fact that Cooks is angry may be a detriment to his future production, but I highly doubt it. The 28-year-old receiver once again, what seems like the 25th season in a row surpassed his draft capital in 2021 already. Cooks is currently WR 18 in PPR scoring. Brandin Cooks over the years has been an absolute asset He finished as WR17 in 2020, WR 13 in 2018, WR 15 in 2017, WR 10 in 2016, and WR 13 in 2015 (PPR scoring). His one outlier was the 2019 season, injuries were a problem all year long.
Brandin Cooks in 2021 has seen an insane target share currently 4th at 31.4%. He also is 6th in completed air yards and 16th in fantasy points per route. The current QB situation is not helping the situation, however, Tyrod Taylor is said to be back soon and the Texans could revert to Taylor once healthy. In the two games with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback Brandin Cooks had 14 receptions for 210 yards and his only touchdown on the season. Some weeks are not going to be pretty but going forward Cooks will still be a viable WR 2-3 all year long and beyond. Cooks doesn’t need the lion’s share of work to succeed so even a real-life NFL trade doesn’t hurt Cooks in the short or long term. Go get Cooks now send a 2022 2nd to see if you can nab him away.
Donald Parham (TE, LAC)
Adding this one as the Chargers are coming off a bye talking about how they can win more on 1st and 2nd downs. I will admit this is a bit of a projection and I understand that going in. Donald Parham probably not gonna cost you the farm. He is currently playing 49.76% of snaps. Jared Cook who has played well this season is currently playing 61.32% of snaps. The thing is Jared Cook is a one-year rental and Parham who was always going to be a developmental prospect is starting to blossom this season with his increased workload. He is already 4 catches short of his career-high… I’ll save you the google search it is only 10 receptions. However, let’s give Parham a chance at 6’8 he is a foot taller than some of the defensive backs he plays against on Sundays. Parham gets to catch passes from Justin Herbert one of the premier quarterbacks in the league and Parham is the second-best red-zone threat on this team.
I could see Parham taking an even bigger leap in the 2nd half and if he ends up with 6-8 touchdowns you will have to pay more for him than you would right now. Go to the Parham owner and try to steal him away as a stash. Parham is an Exclusive Rights Free Agent (ERFA) this offseason and I can’t see the Chargers letting him slip away.
Dynasty Sells
Calvin Ridley (WR, ATL)
It may be time to see what you can get for Calvin Ridley perennially a sweetheart of the dynasty community this season hasn’t exactly gone to plan. It hasn’t bottomed out but there is still meat left on the bone for you to still get value for Ridley today. The narrative was Julio left and Ridley would take over as the Alpha in this offense the problem is Ridley was never a one-for-one swap for Julio. Add in the rise of Kyle Pitts in this offense and Matt Ryan getting older. Ridley has yet to go over 80 yards and he has reached that once. He still gets huge volume ranking 9th in the league in target share.
You can use that when you are moving Ridley for a stud RB/WR/TE or a draft pick. I worry that Ridley will always be the Beta in this offense as he was with Julio. Which is fine when you have MVP Matt Ryan throwing the ball. Now we have aging Matt Ryan and no sign of what the plan is for the succession plan is. Projecting forward I am very concerned about how this offense grows. Pitts will continue to get better and see more and more work as well. Take advantage of those Ridley truthers that are out there and get something to help you next year and beyond. I am not selling for anything looking for a late 1st or an established running back like Mixon or a wide receiver like Diontae Johnson for example. Currently, Ridley is still ranked 26th overall on Fantasy Pros.
Amari Cooper (WR, DAL)
I have not been a big Amari fan and while some of my disdain for Cooper is probably a little unfair it is not unwarranted. Amari over the years has produced some monster weeks. He even had one of them this year in Week 1 where he had 17 targets 13 receptions 139 yards and 2 touchdowns. That is impressive what is not so impressive is the fact that Amari since then is a ghost of himself. Since week 1 his wide receiver finishes have been 75,80,15,23,45.
Not exactly what you are looking for from your WR2 in dynasty. Gallup is coming off IR this week Ceedee Lamb is getting better and better every week and the Cowboy running game is looking good so far in 2021. Despite that Amari Cooper is still 21st in fantasy points per game buoyed by that week 1 performance. Cooper is on a very good offense and he definitely will have some big games but I hate waiting for them with the 5 point games in between.
The Cowboys will also have a decision to make on Cooper in the off-season as they do have an out in 2022 according to Sportrac that would only cost them 6 million in dead money. Having no Prescott would be a detriment to Cooper going forward. There are Cooper believers out there and those are the guys you need to target. Sell them on this amazing offense the potential MVP candidate in Dak and that 21st in fantasy points per game right now coming off a bye. It will get better from here for Cooper right? I don’t think so.
Thank You for taking the time to read my Dynasty Buy and Sells. Let me know the players you are targeting and or selling this week on Twitter my handle is @cmoney52. DM’s are always open to help and discuss all things Fantasy and Gambling. Have a good week.
So that’s it for the 2021 season week 8 edition of dynasty buy and sell. Remember, you can find all of our dynasty articles here, and all of our work is posted across our social media channels. We are on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
Image Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel – USA TODAY Sports
