• IDP Stock Market Week 9

    Uncategorized Posted on  —by Darrell Winstead

    Who are the best stock market investments for fantasy managers? Here are the elite stocks that will help your fantasy portfolio this season!

    Every fantasy manager should look at their teams as the stock market. You want to buy rising stocks for cheap and sell at their peak to secure a premium return. And just like stockbrokers and investors, you want to diversify your portfolio. Not all stocks pan out and sometimes there are substantial losses. There are also those penny stocks that can make you rich! Diversify your fantasy portfolio with all types of stocks that you can help you maximize your returns. Hopefully, my weekly stock market can guide you to a championship and those big payouts and help avoid those major losses.

    With the NFL season now halfway complete and fantasy league teams are beginning to position themselves - gearing up for a championship run or selling off valuable pieces to rebuild. I am going to do something different with this week’s stock market article. In this piece, I am going to look at one player at each position who can provide a great return for both buyers and sellers. These are the more popular names that are game-changers for contenders and bring a high return for those looking to cash in.

     

    (Blue Chip Stocks of the Year)

     

    LB, Blake Martinez, New York Giants

    Season: 546 snaps (98%), 82 tackles, 51 solos, 6 TFLs, 5 QB Hits, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 1 PBU

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    Martinez’s biggest value comes in the high tackle totals he produces. He’s a tackling machine and one of the most underappreciated players in fantasy. He currently leads the NFL in tackles - averaging just over 10 per game. He has recorded nine or more tackles in six of the eight games played. In the other two games, he had seven and eight respectively. Over the last three seasons, Martinez has led or finished second in the NFL tackles. During that span, he has recorded at least 144 tackles in each season, averaging just over 147 per season, and set a career-best and league-leading 155 tackles last year. If your league’s scoring favors tackles, you won’t find a better or more consistent fantasy stock. Everything else he gives you is just gravy!

     

    If you are a contender and need an LB, there isn’t a better stock market investment. With that said he will be a costly investment but the return he provides is unmatched. In trade, He will most likely cost you a mid to late 2nd round pick. Which seems expensive, but you have to consider he’s just age 26 and already a top-three LB. With the return, he is providing right now, he’s worth the high investment to win a championship. On the flip side of this, if you are selling, you can’t take anything less than a 2nd round pick for him right now. If you do, the lower the pick you receive, the better the player you have to get in return for him in trades.

    SS, Budda Baker, Arizona Cardinals

    Season: 423 snaps (83%), 59 tackles, 48 solos, 4 TFLs, 3 QB Hits, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 INTs, 90 return yards, 3 PBUs

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    My next stock market option has been one of the best stocks at the safety position. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better tackle producing safety than Baker. He’s had 100+ tackles in each of the last two seasons. Baker had a career-best of 147 in 2019 - resulting in 4th best in the NFL. Baker also recorded 104 solo tackles which led the NFL. Over his last 22 games played, he’s averaging 9.3 total tackles and seven solo tackles per game, which ranks him up there with some of the league’s best linebackers. Baker is having the best season of his young career (age 24), as he’s on pace to set or has already set career highs in just about every statistical category.

     

    Just like with Martinez above, acquiring Baker will not come cheap. In fact, he could possibly cost you a little more. There aren’t many better options at the position if any that provide the return that you get from Baker. If you plan to acquire Baker in trade, be prepared to give away a high draft pick for his services. Entering just his fourth season, I don’t feel we’ve seen the best he has to offer yet. In trade negotiations, fantasy managers will likely ask for at least an early 2nd round pick and I wouldn’t be shocked to see them ask for a late 1st. The value is there for him and if you’re just a safety being the piece to win you a championship, then he’s worth it.

    DE, Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns

    Season: 446 snaps (79%), 25 tackles, 19 solos, 5 TFLs, 13 QB Hits, 9 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries

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    The next stock market option on this list may quite possibly be the best one. Unlike the first two players listed above, Garrett’s value comes in the form of sacks instead of tackles. Leagues that score sacks heavily make his value even higher. Garrett is an elite fantasy option that doesn’t produce a lot of elite scoring options. In 45 games played in his career so far, Garrett has recorded 39.5 sacks and counting. But when you look at his last 18 games, he has produced 19 sacks at an average of just over one per game. Garrett is currently tied for the NFL lead in sacks with nine. There are some red flags with Garrett, such as health and mental decisions, but there is no doubt that when he’s on the field, he’s an impact player.

     

    Just like with Martinez and Baker above, you better expect to pay a high price tag for Garrett in trade negotiations. It will take at least 1st round pick to begin any trade discussion for Garrett. I personally have him in a few leagues and won’t take anything less than a first and then I will have to think about it. He’s a franchise-changing player and will command that type of value. What’s funny is, that last season after the helmet swing incident, I couldn’t give him away and I tried. I was even willing to move him for a late 2nd and a player and couldn’t get any takers. You best believe when those same buyers came calling this year, that the price tag is costly. Garrett is one of the few IDPs that I would willingly pay a 1st for.

    DT, Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams

    Season: 439 snaps (86%), 26 tackles, 15 solos, 7 TFLs, 15 QB Hits, 9 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery

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    My next stock market option is one of the most coveted in the IDP fantasy world. Fantasy managers go out of their way to make sure that they get Donald on their fantasy teams. Besides being maybe the best all-around player in the NFL, he plays a premium position. Elite scoring DTs are difficult to find in the fantasy world. Like Garrett he is a sack master, that is always among the league leaders. Donald is a former 20 sack champ and has produced 42 sacks over his last 40 games played. He is currently tied with Garrett for the league lead this year at nine. In leagues that have DT premium scoring, he is as valuable as maybe IDP player there is.

     

    Just like all the others mentioned above, Donald will command a premium in trade discussions. The perennial sack leader is a player that can single-handedly win fantasy managers a championship. These types of players don’t come around very often. When they do, you have to explore what it would take to add them to your fantasy portfolio. Although the investment price is high, the return they provide is well worth it. At age 29, Donald is the elder of this group and I personally feel that we have seen his peak. With that said he’s still a championship piece. Donald will likely cost you 2nd round pick at minimum. In DT premium leagues he could command a 1st round pick.

    Thanks for reading my article and if you enjoyed it, you can read more of my articles on my author page at IDP Guys and Dynasty Football Digest. I am a member of the FSWA (Fantasy Sports Writers of America) and you can also follow me on social media, on Twitter at @HollywoodTitan, on Facebook on my IDPNation page, on Reddit in the fantasy football IDP sub I’m user KingTitan1 and you can tune in each week and listen to the podcasts, IDP Nation & Devy IDP Grind, that I co-host, on a number of different platforms. Feel free to hit me up with any questions that you have, as I’m always glad to help fellow IDPers. #IDPNation #IDP #IDPDevy

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