After looking at the NFC West, we hit up the AFC East and look at the division’s best players to buy, sell or hold in dynasty fantasy football leagues.
Is there any team more fun to watch right now than the Miami Dolphins? Wow – so much speed, so many fantasy points! Let’s hope that Tua Tagovailoa can stay healthy this year and keep this offense rolling! Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills don’t want you to forget about them, either! They continue to be one of the best offenses in the league and have a new toy that hasn’t even been fully unleashed yet in rookie TE Dalton Kincaid. The two teams clash in a huge matchup in Week 4.
The New York Jets are a sad mess yet again. The Aaron Rodgers injury was devastating and is going to set back the entire team for fantasy football this season if they don’t bring in another quarterback. Zach Wilson is not the answer.
The New England Patriots have been tossing the ball around like crazy trying to play catch up. I expect things will settle for them and will get back to their old ways of ground and pound football. Let’s take a look at my buy, sell and hold from this division.
Buy – James Cook RB, Buffalo Bills
It’s not often I suggest buying a running back in dynasty fantasy football leagues, but James Cook has been getting the job done. This spot would have been filled by De’Von Achane, but after a 50+ point week his price will shoot up. If you are looking for a steady RB2 James Cook is your guy.
Cook has seen around 20 touches in each of the first three weeks. He ranks second in rushing yards behind Christian McCaffrey, with 267. The crazy thing right now is he is averaging 14.5 fantasy points per game, yet he hasn’t scored a TD.
It is annoying that Latavius Murray and Damien Harris have combined for 12 red zone opportunities compared to Cook’s five. However, Cook matched Murray in Week 3 with three red zone opportunities. Maybe this is a sign of good things to come!
Cook just turned 24 and is tied to a high flying offense until after the 2025 season. His dynasty trade value is around a late 1st. As a contending team, you should be willing to pay that to get quality RB depth. He also isn’t a bad downgrade from players like Saquon Barkley, Austin Ekeler, and Josh Jacobs.
Honorable Mention – Garrett Wilson WR, New York Jets
It is not often a wide receiver of Garrett Wilson‘s talent takes such a hit, but the QB situation for the Jets has opened a buying window. Wilson was the WR3 on September 13th, now he’s the WR10 on KTC. If the Jets don’t address the QB situation, Wilson’s dynasty price could continue to drop. Check in with the Wilson manager in your fantasy league and see what it would take to get a deal done. This year might be rough, but you won’t regret it moving forward.
Sell – Stefon Diggs WR, Buffalo Bills
Stefon Diggs is averaging 15.5 fantasy points per game, which is right on par with his last few years. His best year was 2020 when he averaged 16.6 and was the WR3 on the year. He continues to be Josh Allen’s favorite target and has nearly 34% of the Bill’s targets this year.
There were rumors that Diggs wanted out of Buffalo; he wasn’t happy with the way the year ended. Whatever it was, it seems to have been dealt with. It would have been impossible to move Diggs with his dead cap hit at $45 million. He is locked in as a Bill until at least the 2025 season.
We have seen many superstar WR production drop off at the age of 30. Julio Jones, A.J. Green – and dare I say DeAndre Hopkins. Diggs is currently 29.8 years old. He’s built differently than the previously mentioned players, earning his yardage through separation rather than physicality. However, we just don’t know when the cliff is going to come for these players – and it can come fast.
Diggs has had a slight rise in his value since the season started. He moved back into the top 12 in dynasty fantasy football rankings on KTC. Capitalize on this jump and get good value before he hits 30. 30 scares people!
Look at Davante Adams (30.8) and Keenan Allen (31.4), for example. Both ranked lower than Diggs. Allen is averaging nearly 10 more points per game than Diggs, yet is ranked as the WR27. Adams is averaging 5 points more and hasn’t passed Diggs yet. I recommend attempting to trade to get younger player while downgrading slightly. This will give you valuable years and not hurt your contention chances. If you are out of contention, cash out now and get top dollar while you can.
Honorable Mention – Raheem Mostert RB, Miami Dolphins
What a great story Raheem Mostert has been this year! He’s been electric in the Dolphins offense. With that said, you need to sell out now. At 31 years old, Mostert has no dynasty value. Besides his age, he has an injury history; and Jeff Wilson, another favorite of Mike McDaniel’s, is due back Week 5. Wilson will cut further into Mostert’s production as will rookie De’Von Achane. Contenders are looking for RBs right, try to get a 1st by giving a 2nd and Mostert.
Hold – Mac Jones QB, New England Patriots
You are looking at the QB12 on the year. Yep, you saw that correctly, Mac Jones is a top 12 QB right now! He is averaging 17.7 points per game. This is an increase from his previous two years of 12.9 (2022) and 14 (2021).
Jones has averaged 41 pass attempts per game through the first three weeks. However, two of those games have been against the league’s best offenses – the Philadelphia Eagles and Dolphins. I expect things will slow down a bit like Week 3 against the Jets when he only had 29 attempts. Jones has a 6.3% completion percentage on deep ball attempts which is ranked 33rd – yikes!
Despite being QB12 on the year, Jones has only seen a slight increase in his value. He was the QB28 before the year and he is now just inside the top 24 at QB23 on KTC. Dynasty fantasy football players don’t seem to be getting excited about Jones. If the Patriots keep losing, could they turn things over to Bailey Zappe? I doubt it. Jones is the guy for now and it will be interesting to see if the Patriots pick up his fifth year option when the season ends.
I don’t want to buy in dynasty fantasy football leagues because I don’t see the upside. I think this is his peak. However, I don’t want to sell because he’s producing and should be ‘the guy’ in New England for a few more years. You aren’t going to get good value. Jones is a steady QB3 in Superflex leagues. He’s nothing special, but someone you can throw in when desperate.
Dynasty Stash – Kayshon Boutte WR, New England Patriots
I wrote about Kayshon Boutte in my dynasty stash article before the season started. Boutte saw four targets Week 1, but has been inactive the last two weeks. Boutte had an impressive preseason. He is the next guy up if JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker or Kendrick Bourne go down with an injury. His inactivity is because Demario Douglas and Matthew Slater both have roles on special teams.
The AFC East will be a two-horse race to the finish line. I am looking forward to watching the Bills and Dolphins game this weekend – it should be a shootout! Every Dolphins player has seen their dynasty value raise, and for good reason. The Dolphins looks like the real deal.
The Patriots need to do a reality check; maybe it is time for Old Bill to move into a front office job. Hunter Henry is the only bright spot on that offense right now.
The Jets need to try something new at QB. Could we see a trade with the 0-3 Minnesota Vikings for Kirk Cousins? That would certainly make things interesting and help raise the excitement around Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson again.
Good luck with your Week 4 matches. I’ll see you next week for the NFC East.
Sheldon Hand
Sheldon Hand is an elementary school teacher. He started writing in 2019, and started working with The League Winners in 2021. He has been playing fantasy football for fifteen years, got into dynasty seven years ago and have become a bit obsessed.