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Free Agent Auction Targets – Week 8

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By: Jay Pounds (@JayPoundsNFL)

Dynasty Owners! Welcome back to the bargain bin with Jay. I warned you earlier this season that the Free Agent Auction would dry up at some point. There are some good ones this week, but I see rough times in the near future.

What a year this has been! I know most NFL seasons have a lot of surprises, but I honestly cannot remember anything more surprising than the Giants starting 6-1 this season. I know coaching is more important in football than any other sport, but I don’t remember any team that looked as inept as the 2021 Giants to follow up the next season up with a dominating (almost) first half. I know they have not actually dominated opponents but no matter how you spin it they are 6-1 heading into Week 8 of the season and that’s pretty dominant if you ask me.

Another major surprise this season has been the disappointing play of Tom Brady ($15,000,000). I am not sure if age is finally catching up to Brady, or if his personal life is interfering with his play but either way it has been an odd sight to see. Luckily for Brady, he plays in a very weak division and has plenty of time to figure things out.

As I almost always do, let’s talk about the Cleveland Browns. The coaching and play calling for the Browns has been atrocious this season and the fact they are averaging just over 40 passing attempts per game is Ludacris, no I am not talking about the rapper. I wonder if coach Kevin Stefanski forgot Deshaun Watson ($46,000,000) is suspended. If the Browns would copy what the New York Jets have done this season they would easily have a winning record.

The last team I want to touch on are the Bengals, as it seems Joe Burrow ($9,047,534) has finally found his stride. Burrow started off cold, but over the past two weeks, he has been better than anyone on the Dynasty Owner platform.

Let’s dive into this week’s bargain bin on Dynasty Owner. The players listed below are in no order and are less than 85% rostered in Dynasty Owner with a salary of $9,000,000 or less.

  1. Sam Ehlinger – (QB – IND) – 3 years/$902,677 – 25.96% Rostered

In a surprising move on Monday, the Colts announced long time NFL starter Matt Ryan ($30,000,000) will be benched for the remainder of the season. Who will be the Colts new starter you ask?  Former sixth round pick Sam Ehlinger will take over that role and from everything I have read it will be for the remainder of the season. Ryan has struggled with turnovers this season (9 INTs and 1 lost fumble) and that combined with bad offensive line play and a lack of mobility are the reasons he was benched. Ehlinger steps in as an extremely raw prospect who excelled this past pre-season, Ehlinger threw for 289 yards, 4 touchdowns, zero interceptions and added 71 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Colts’ fans seem to be excited about this move and Dynasty Owners should be too. If Ehlinger becomes an average quarterback, he will become an insane value on the Dynasty Owner platform and could be for the next two and a half seasons if all goes well.

  • Evan Engram – (TE – JAX) – 1 year/$9,000,000 – 72.34% Rostered

I believe I said this the first time I put Evan Engram on this list, it feels gross. Engram has been a major disappointment during his career, outside of his rookie season way back in 2017 when he posted a stat line of 64 catches, 722 yards, and 6 touchdowns. After leaving the Giants for Jacksonville this season, Engram has had a resurgence of sorts, catching 28 passes for 275 yards, no touchdowns and a 2-pt. conversion (57.5 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). Engram is currently the 13th ranked tight end on Dynasty Owner and could easily vault up if he starts seeing work in the red zone. I know the name Evan Engram is scary in fantasy football, but he is worth a look in his new offense and his role only seems to be growing.

  • Philip Walker – (QB – CAR) – 1 year/$895,000 – 83.4% Rostered

Philip Walker went head-to-head with Tom Brady and beat him. I probably could have left the rest of this blank and you guys would get my point. Walker is by no means a superstar, or even a quarterback who will put up huge numbers, but he is cheap and a good option for your Bench quarterback during bye weeks. After the way Baker Mayfield ($18,858,000) played to begin the season, it will not surprise me to see Walker start the rest of the way if he continues to manage games. Who would have thought that Week 8 would provide us with two extremely cheap options at the quarterback position? Potentially season long options too. We may only see one or two more short stint signal callers the rest of the way, so grab these guys while you can.

  • DeAndre Carter – (WR – LAC) – 1 year/$1,135,000 – 60.00% Rostered

Up next, we have our third repeat player this week, DeAndre Carter. I believe Carter could step into a huge role this week with Keenan Allen ($20,025,000) being eased back into action and Mike Williams ($20,000,000) going down with an ankle sprain this past Sunday. The Chargers love Carter as a player and would not shock me one bit to see him have his biggest game of the season against the Falcons after the team’s Week 8 bye. Carter has played ok this season posting a stat line of 19 catches for 229 yards and 1 touchdown, all while playing behind a pair of $20,000,000 receivers, though Allen has missed time with injury. I would grab Carter as soon as possible with Williams being a question mark, even with his next game being two weeks out.

  • Sammy Watkins (WR – GB) – 1 year/$1,850,000 – 82.13% Rostered

In the final spot, we have long time NFL veteran Sammy Watkins who is paired with longtime NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers ($33,500,000) this season. Unfortunately for Watkins, he has been banged up for the majority of this season but now that he is back, he should be a productive player for Dynasty Owners. The Green Bay Packers are in desperate need of receiving help and once Watkins gets back into game shape, he will likely become the number 1 receiver for the Packers. I know Allen Lazard ($3,986,000) has been handling the role well as of late but if we are being honest, he is not as talented as Sammy Watkins and the Packers are losing games. The big concern for Watkins moving forward will be his health and the trust of Rodgers. At such a low salary, it’s well worth the risk.

Thank you all for reading and good luck with your Week 8 matchups! Don’t forget to check out the other articles from Steve, Matt, and Nate, as well as the Livestream, Champions podcast, and the podcast with Steve and myself. Stay safe out there and good luck on your 2022 Chase for the Ring!

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