The NFC East has plenty of assets in dynasty fantasy football leagues. There’s two teams that are serious contenders, and two who still have a lot of question marks. The Dallas Cowboys had a hiccup against the Cardinals, but their defense looks dominant, scoring three TDs this year. The offense on the other hand has been quiet, averaging 2 TDs per game.
The Philadelphia Eagles are fantasy gold, except Dallas Goedert. What is going on there?
The Washington Commanders are 2-3. Sam Howell and Brian Robinson have surprised fantasy managers so far this season. Also, anyone with Curtis Samuel in best ball has been happy.
The New York Giants, at 1-3, have to do some soul-searching. No one is thriving in this offense. It is tough to know what to do with these pieces.
Let’s take a look at some dynasty fantasy football buys, sells, and holds from this division.
Buys
Jake Ferguson TE, Dallas Cowboys
I expect Jake Ferguson to start climbing the dynasty fantasy football rankings. We watched Dalton Schultz put up three seasons in a row as a top-15 TE while playing alongside Dak Prescott. His peak came in 2021 when he finished as the TE3, averaging 10 points per game.
Ferguson is averaging 7.3 points per game, good for 8th best. He is second on the Cowboys in targets (25), only five behind CeeDee Lamb. With 11 red zone opportunities, he is only trailing Tony Pollard (31), while the next closest WR/TE is KaVontae Turpin with 6.
Ferguson is locked in for at least this year at his current fantasy production. He has two more years on his contract, so the potential is there. But with second-round pick Luke Schoonmaker on the depth chart, it could make things a little murky.
I am still willing to buy Ferguson at his current price. You can trade a late 2nd, or a 3rd and 4th for him and get yourself a consistent option at TE in your dynasty fantasy football league. Schoonmaker is a good pass catcher, but I think it’s Ferguson’s job to lose at the moment.
Jahan Dotson WR, Washington Commanders
The former first-round pick has struggled to start the year. Through four games Jahan Dotson is only averaging 6 fantasy points per game. He was able to find the endzone in Week 4 for his first of the year. Dotson scored 4 TDs in the first four weeks last year before going down with an injury from Weeks 5-9. Dotson has scored 8 TDs through his first 16 games.
He peaked at WR18 on KeepTradeCut on September 9th, but has now dropped to a low-end WR3. Another game with a TD and his value will start to climb again; get him now! I’d be happy to send a late 1st to acquire him.
Wan’Dale Robinson WR, New York Giants
The Giants are a complete disaster right now. The team has yet to score a first-half TD this year. This has given dynasty fantasy football managers an opportunity to buy low on a young receiver with potential PPR upside.
Wan’Dale Robinson dealt with two different knee injuries last season. He scored 4.1 and 7.2 fantasy points in his first two games back from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 11 last year. Last year he averaged 6.7 fantasy points in six games, while only scoring one TD. He is tied with Parris Campbell for the team’s lead in targets in the last two games.
Look for Brian Daboll to get him more involved as he gets healthier. We are seeing smaller slot WRs find success this year (looking at you Tutu)! Robinson could be the next guy up. At his current value of WR66, he has a chance to shoot up the rankings if the Giants can turn things around. Send a 3rd to see if that gets it done, if not add a future 4th.
Sells
Dallas Goedert TE, Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Goedert has been disappointing this year. He is averaging only 3.8 points per game. Not only that, but he has only seen three red zone targets so far this year. Goedert is third on the team in targets. AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith are dominating the target share, leaving very little for the rest.
Goedert has name value in dynasty fantasy football and he plays on a high-scoring offense. Wait till he has a solid game and ship him off. He is nearly 29 years old and will continue to be the third option – maybe even fourth behind D’Andre Swift.
Look to move Goedert for players like Cole Kmet, the aforementioned Ferguson, Evan Engram, or Hunter Henry – and see what you can get added on top. It might not be much, but I think you will get more consistent production and hopefully a little something on the side.
Saquon Barkley RB, New York Giants
As mentioned earlier, the Giants are a mess. Saquon Barkley is coming off his first healthy season since his rookie year. He averaged 16 points per game, helping fantasy managers. This was up until championship week, where he failed to put up double-digit points for only the third time that year.
This year started off poorly, but he bounced back in Week 2 for 24.2 points. However, he picked up a high ankle injury that has kept him sidelined since. Ankle injuries tend to linger even after they are ‘healed’. Barkley will want to be careful since he is a free agent at the end of the year and will be looking to get paid.
Fantasy managers in a rebuild or contending teams should look to move off Barkley while the price is still high. If his injury lingers, his value is only going to go down. He only has two fully healthy seasons – 2018 (rookie year) and last year. There is no denying he is a difference-maker when on the field; maybe he becomes CMC, but he just isn’t able to keep these injuries away.
He was moved in my main league this week for JSN and a 2024 2nd. Not a bad haul, but I do think dynasty fantasy football managers could do better, especially if you wait for one decent game.
Dak Prescott QB, Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott is around QB16 in most dynasty fantasy football rankings. If you look at the QBs above him right now, it doesn’t look promising for him to ever raise his stock again. When you factor in his age (30.2) and the way he has been performing (13.9 fantasy points this year and 17.8 last year), Prescott is trending down.
There is potential for Prescott to get back to 20+ fantasy points per game. The weapons are in place for it. However, the Cowboys don’t need him throwing the ball 40+ times to win games. He has 38 red zone attempts, but only 4 TDs.
Prescott plays two of the worst pass defenses over the next four games, the Chargers and Eagles. I’d wait to see if he can string together a few high-scoring games and take that opportunity to sell. Contenders looking for depth will be willing to pay for the potential.
The downgrading options aren’t great, it would be guys like Daniel Jones, Sam Howell or Kenny Pickett. None of them offer up much more upside than Prescott over the next few years. If you can somehow turn him into Deshaun Watson or Jared Goff, I would be happy to do that.
Holds
D’Andre Swift RB, Philadelphia Eagles
This is what you have all been waiting for! Why sell out now? D’Andre Swift is averaging 18.6 points per game since taking over in Week 2. Enjoy it and keep Swift in your lineup!
There were concerns over how the backfield would be split when Kenneth Gainwell returned. Swift has seen 54% and 63% of the snap counts the last two weeks with Gainwell back. In those two games Swift is averaging 15.1 fantasy points and was a top 13 RB both weeks. Gainwell on the other hand is averaging 5.2 points per game.
Swift will be a free agent at the end of the year. It will be interesting to see what the Eagles do because Gainwell is under contract for an extra year. Regardless, Swift has shown us what he is capable of when he is given a chance. The talent is there and he is finally getting his chance to shine.
If you want to sell out before the second contract begins, I don’t blame you. Swift managers are finally getting the production we expected many years ago.
Daniel Jones QB, New York Giants
You can’t sell at this point. How much worse can it get? Wait… should I ask that? Daniel Jones is the QB24 through the first four weeks. However, all of that production came in the second half of the game against the Cardinals when Jones and the Giants stormed back from a 20-0 deficit. Jones threw 2 TDs and ran in another. He hasn’t had a TD in any other game.
The offensive line is awful! Jones has been sacked 22 times this year. That is 5.5 sacks per game, insane! The last two games have also been without Saquon Barkley to give him run support. If Barkley gets healthy, that will take some pressure off of Jones. Teams don’t need to scheme to shut down Matt Breida.
Let’s remember that Jones finished as a top-10 QB last year (QB9). He averaged 18.2 points per game, while only throwing 15 TDs. His legs have always helped him and last year he was able to score seven TDs on the ground.
The Giants committed to him, giving him a four-year deal with $92 million guaranteed. If things don’t turn around quickly, Brian Daboll might be out the door before Daniel Jones.
I believe the Giants can turn things around. When Barkley is back teams will need to account for him, which should help open things up for Jones. They brought in Darren Waller, they need to start using him! Hold Jones for now, you won’t like your return at the moment. There is no reason to panic cause he’s not going anywhere for at least a couple of years.
Dynasty Stash
Luke Schoonmaker TE, Dallas Cowboys
Prescott loves the TE! Luke Schoonmaker is an athletic pass-catching TE, more so than Ferguson. However, TEs can take a while to develop, so I don’t expect him to take over this year. We could see a split approach next year, which would bring down both their value, but if you can trade for and stash Schoonmaker on your taxi, I would recommend it.
The list could go on and on, our League Winner Jeremy Shulman mentioned Terry McLaurin as a sell in his article earlier this week.
Howell is a tough call right now. He’s getting it done in fantasy, but not necessarily on the field.
What is the peak for the Eagles duo of Brown and Smith? They are both top 10 dynasty WRs right now, but for how long?
Can Daniel Jones help make Waller’s fantasy relevant again? The offseason hype was through the roof, but it has been very disappointing.
Anyway, check back in next week as I look into the AFC North. Good luck with your Week 5 matchup. Things get trickier now with the bye weeks in play!
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.