Breakdowns
10/20/21
5 min read
Dynasty Stock Watch Week 6: Fired Up About Freiermuth
With Week 6 of the 2021 NFL season in the books, dynasty league managers now have a clear idea if their team is a contender for the playoffs or an early rookie first-round pick in 2022. With a brutal slate of teams on a bye this weekend (the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, and Pittsburgh Steelers), trades are sure to abound in your leagues. Last week, I advocated for acquiring Khalil Herbert in your dynasty leagues and the price has risen even more as his performance on Sunday saw a dominant 89% snap share with 19 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown along with two receptions for 15 yards. Let’s take a look at a couple of intriguing players that could be on the move in your dynasty leagues this week.
Stock Up
TE Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
It’s no secret that the shallowest position for fantasy purposes (and possibly in real life) is the tight end one as it typically takes multiple years for draftees to break out. When a player of Kyle Pitts’ caliber comes along, it’s easy to get excited and salivate over his potential. This also causes the rest of the draft class to receive less attention and Pat Freiermuth has fallen victim to that. Drafted in the second round in 2021, the first-team All-Big Ten selection had an expectedly slow start to the season with just 11 catches for 100 yards and one touchdown through Pittsburgh’s first five games.
On Monday Night Football against Seattle, he had his best game yet as he played 60% of the snaps and caught all seven targets for 58 yards. There is a decent chance this is the start of increased production for him this season, especially with wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster out the rest of the year. Fellow tight end Eric Ebron will remain a thorn in his side this season, having registered at least 38% of snaps and two targets in every game this season. However, Ebron’s contract expires after 2021 and he is almost certainly on his way out.
Freiermuth is a player I am aggressively looking to acquire, as a potential difference-maker at tight end is one of the most significant advantages a team can have. In PPR leagues with normal settings, he is an easy buy for any rookie second-round pick and I would be willing to pay up to a rookie second plus an additional back-end piece (think Robert Tonyan or Russell Gage). In dynasty leagues with a TE premium (1.5 or 2 PPR for tight ends), I would be willing to pay multiple rookie second-round picks for Freiermuth and try to acquire either a rookie third-round pick or player of Parris Campbell’s caliber in addition.
Stock Down
RB Myles Gaskin, Miami Dolphins
One of the biggest questions of Miami’s 2021 offseason was whether they would make any significant additions to the University of Washington tandem in their backfield, Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed. When the only addition they made was former Los Angeles Ram Malcolm Brown, it appeared to be full steam ahead for Gaskin in 2021.
However, the SS Gaskin has run aground this season as he has registered more than eight carries in just two of the first six weeks, topped 25 rushing yards just twice, and finished with more than nine fantasy points just three times. It’s clear that Miami wants to rotate all three running backs in, and though Gaskin has salvaged some value with 24 receptions on the year, the writing is on the wall. Owners who didn’t move him after his RB2 overall performance in Week 5 are likely wondering what to do with him, and I’m here to tell you to sell.
While selling Gaskin after a 2.4-point PPR performance may seem like selling low, the true sell high window closed once the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicked off the season. If you want to wait for Gaskin to have another big game before moving him that strategy may be viable, but you run the risk of back-to-back dud weeks which would tank his value even further. If able to, I would move Gaskin for any of the mid to low-end rookie running backs.
Elijah Mitchell or Michael Carter would be ideal but I would consider moving Gaskin for Chuba Hubbard, Kenneth Gainwell, and even potentially Khalil Herbert if I have a younger dynasty team. It is unlikely Gaskin retains even low-end RB3 potential in 2022, and his floor in 2021 is non-existent. Another option is to try and move him for a high-end handcuff: Tony Pollard, Alexander Mattison, and Jamaal Williams are all viable targets though you may have a hard time acquiring them. In terms of picks, I would look to package Gaskin with a rookie third-round pick for a rookie second, but a rookie third-round pick alone is too little for him.
