NFL Supercoach Week 16 | Buy, Hold, Sell

Back on deck this week, and I think I’ve been punished by the SuperCoach Gods for taking a week off.

My week 14 trades are both out with Mahomes’ injury season ending and Adams looking as though he won’t be able to suit up for a crucial divisional game on the short turnaround.

My team was tracking to score around 600 before a few injuries and poor play quickly saw that predated score plummet below 500.

475 was a down score once again, and with only one trade left for the season, I’m going to have to be smart about who I bring in and when to do that. 

My receivers were mostly a bright spot for me outside of Rice and Adams, who were affected by poor play and injuries, respectively.

St Brown is coming into his own down the stretch, and I don’t see this being the last week he puts up a score of 50 or more.

Chase is scoring well despite the Bengals playing badly, so we’ve got to be happy with that.

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Outside of Bijan, the RBs this week were quite poor.

All the top guys have struggled in recent weeks, which I’m hoping means we are one week closer to a pop-off game from all of them once again.

Taylor is struggling to carry a Colts team led by a 44-year-old Phil Rivers, so we can’t be too upset with him unless you’re like me and bought him way too late.

The decision to get rid of Henderson over Williams may come back to haunt me as well.

I’d struggle to decide which of my guns I’d bench for him, but it’s still eating me up nonetheless. 

With only 3 weeks left on the season, it truly is make-or-break time coaches, so let’s strap in and look at who you need and don’t need this week. 

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Buy

Jalen Hurts ($20.42m, Philly Eagles QB, 56 BE, 8% ownership)

The biggest make-or-break prospect on the list this week.

Hurts is Mr Hot and Cold, and of late he’s been more cold than hot; however, that has all the potential to change in the last 3 weeks.

Hurts is coming off a 45-point game against the woeful Raiders and has the luxury of facing the Commanders twice in the last 3 weeks, with a Bills game thrown in for good measure in between.

Hurts, as I said, is so hot and cold it’s not funny, but with the playoffs around the corne,r I wouldn’t be surprised if he pops off in these 2 games against the Commanders.

The Bills game scares me, however, their run defence has been woeful, and I feel he will score well as a rusher in that game.

When he’s played against bad teams this year, he’s scored well, and I’d be looking at him to be a high-risk risk high-reward replacement for someone like Mahomes.

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Matthew Stafford ($22.49m, LA Rams QB, 31 BE, 2% ownership) 

Love this bloke and love this pick.

Stafford is the MVP front-runner and is somehow only owned by 2% of coaches?!

He’s been one of the great slingers of the ball for many years and doesn’t look to be slowing down one bit.

Adams being out may hurt a little; however, he doesn’t necessarily play favourites.

Colby Parkinson has been a great red zone threat for him in recent weeks, and Tutu Atwell is serviceable as WR2 for the week if Adams is ruled out.

There is concern that the Seahawks will be too good, and this is a low-scoring game; however, Stafford has proven time and time again that he can rise to the occasion when needed.

Stafford is currently the 5th-ranked player in SC by points and the 3rd QB overall behind only Allen and an injured Mahomes.

Another concern is that he may not play week 18 if they win this game; however, Stafford also seems like the sort of guy who would want to finish out a season, especially if the MVP trophy is still on the line.

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Drake Maye ($21.1m, New England Patriots QB, 30 BE, 5% ownership)

Regrets, regrets, regrets!

Boy, hindsight is a beautiful thing, and it’s showing me that I should’ve held Maye for another 2 weeks at least.

Maye is playing at a high level and is rightly in the MVP conversation as it stands.

He showed his rushing capability this week with 2 first-half rushing TDs on the way to a 21-0 lead against the Bills.

The Pats did go on to lose that game, but Maye was serviceable and scored 42 points.

Here’s my issue.

You’re up 21-0 and have 2 rushing TDs, so at least 30 points at halftime and you end up scoring 42 points at the end of the game.

It’s a good score, but it’s another 2nd half fadeout.

Maye is consistently scoring in the first half but taking the foot off the gas in the 2nd.

Hopefully, this is a bit of a wakeup call loss, and he finishes out games, and if he does, he’ll be in for some big scores against the Ravens, Jets, and Dolphins if he isn’t rested. 

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Nico Collins ($16.91m, Houston Texans WR, 18 BE, 12% ownership)

One of the most in form guys in the league at the position.

Stroud has come back and been playing well and has been relying heavily on one of his favourite targets.

Since Stroud’s return, Collins has 311 yards and 3 TDs.

He’s currently the 7th best receiver in SC based on total points and looks to be getting better as we approach the playoffs.

With a run home of the Raiders, Chargers, and Colts, Collins could easily find himself inside the top 6 receivers on the year by season’s end, starting with a huge upside matchup against the Raiders this weekend. 

Chris Olave ($13.37m, New Orleans Saints WR, 27 BE, 5% ownership)

This guy has been on my watch list all season, and I’m slightly annoyed I didn’t jump on him mid-season.

Playing on one of the worst teams with a disastrous QB situation, you might be surprised to find that Olave is currently the 8th best receiver in Supercoach based on total points.

He’s scored points every week, which has seen his average drop slightly; however, he’s been mostly consistent all season, scoring over 20 points in more than half his games.

He is averaging more than pretty much every player around his price point, including Tet McMillan, Wandale Robinson, Marvin Harrison Jr, and Courtland Sutton.

If you have a few trades left and you’re looking for a consistent scorer, Olave could be a great POD for the last 3 weeks of the year. 

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Trey McBride ($19.15m, Arizona Cardinals TE, 24 BE, 24% ownership)

This guy has been a true difference maker this year, and with a BE this low and a price this high at a position where no one is in a similar class to him, this is truly the last week to get on McBride.

He’s playing that well that he’d be the number 4 WR if he played the position.

The next closest at the position is Travis Kelce, who’d be ranked 22nd.

McBride has 150 more points than the 2nd placed TE Kelce.

When all is said and done, I’d find it highly unlikely that people in the top 1000 wouldn’t have McBride this season.

With matchups against the Falcons, Bengals, and Rams, McBride still has plenty of points to score this season.

The last game will be a tough matchup; however, the Rams may rest players, and McBride may have a few receiving lines he needs to hit for some incentive-based pay. 

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Hold

JJ McCarthy ($12.7m, Minnesota Vikings QB, -21 BE, 25% ownership)

Nine is balling! Or is it nine?

Don’t know, don’t care.

2 weeks ago, I had a choice of starting McCarthy for a week or moving on to someone else.

I chose the latter, and from there, JJ has put up scores of 40 and 49.

JJ has a favourable matchup against the Dart led Giants whom many of us swapped JJ out for, and I think he’ll know that and will want to show why he was the guy we chose at the start of the season.

The last 2 games against the Packers and Lions are going to be rough and could be anything; however, I think this may be the time to just leave him and keep him in the squad for the rest of the season.

Can’t wait to be proven otherwise. 

Jonathon Taylor ($20.7m, Indy Colts RB, 66 BE, 32% ownership)

The Colts are in a bad place, and everyone on this offense is suffering.

I still don’t think it’s time to get rid of Taylor.

He’s a hold for the rest of the year for me because he has that potential to score 70 points out of nothing.

At this point, he’s probably the only guy I want to have from the Colts on my team.

He has the equal 2nd most rushing attempts of the season with 25 for 87 yards.

The carries are there, but we need TD’s!

This week sees a tough matchup with San Fran; however, the carries are there, and I have a sneaky suspicion that this will be at least a 1 TD game for the bell cow in Indy.

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Rashee Rice ($17.22m, Kansas City Chiefs WR, 65 BE, 21% ownership)

The Mahomes injury is no doubt going to make a lot of people worried about Rice’s production going forward.

At first I thought I’m a reluctant hold because of trades, but as I thought about it more, I’m happy to keep him for the rest of the year.

The Chiefs’ new QB1 Gardner Minshew, is no slouch.

He’s not a long-term starter in the NFL, but he is a serviceable backup.

The streets remember his 2023 Colts season.

Minshew should ball out against a woeful Titans team that has all but given top on the season.

The Chiefs can’t make the playoffs, but I don’t see that being the sort of team that rolls over easily.

Minshew is playing for a starting opportunity somewhere next year, maybe even at the Chiefs for the start of the season, so expect to see him throw to his main targets, Rice and Kelce.

Hold strong, Chiefs Kingdom 

Davante Adams ($15.95m, LA Rams WR, 58 BE, 6% ownership)

Only on the list because of an injury concern.

He’s needed in the last few weeks for the Rams to get that no.1 seed.

It’s frustrating that he may be out on a short week, but if you’re an owner, you’re going to want him for the last 2 weeks.

If you have trades left, you probably don’t have many, so don’t waste them on trading this stud out. 

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Sell

Before I get into the sells, most of these will be luxury sells.

At this point in the season, most of you will have your teams pretty much set and maybe looking for injury cover at best.

If you have a few of these players on your roster and you’re unsure who you should get rid of, I’ll be putting them in order in their position groups of who you should be getting rid of, with the first listed being the biggest priority. 

Rome Odunze ($10.09m, Chicago Bears WR, 38 BE, 21% ownership)

Another DNP performance from Odunze!

That is 3 on the year now as he’s about to face Green Bay, the 49ers, and the Lions.

It doesn’t bode well for owners, that’s for sure.

Odunze’s hot start to the year is now a distant memory, and there are many owners who are just straight fed up with him now.

The Bears are relying on their running game and defence to win games.

Having the 19th-ranked QB by QBR isn’t helping the passing offence either.

Odunze is the leading receiver in Chicago, and that’s despite having 3 games without recording a single reception!

This team is a run-first, pass-and-pray for the second operator, which of course will negatively affect any receiver.

If you can, get rid of him and find someone else who can at least contribute. 

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Tet McMillan ($13.38m, Carolina Panthers WR, 43 BE, 44% ownership)

Well, I’m writing about him again, as 44% of you still own him!

As mentioned in previous articles, Tet has been a serviceable cheapie this year, but he’s too inconsistent now if you want to be climbing up the ranks.

When you’ve got similarly priced players like Olave, the 8th overall WR this season, it’s almost a no-brainer move if you have trades.

With 2 games against division rivals, the Bucs, there’s every chance in the world that Tet gets covered out of the game and puts up more single-digit scores.

Whoever wins those games will win the NFC South, and if other rivalry games are anything to go by this season, it’s going to be a low-scoring affair.

Throw in a game against the Seahawks in the middle, and this screams low scoring, don’t start for the rest of the year. 

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Tyler Warren ($8.83m, Indy Colts TE, 36 BE, 48% ownership) 

Since Daniel Jones first had a lower leg injury that limited his movement, Warren has been struggling.

Now that Jones isn’t there and Warren is catching the ball off of a 44-year-old QB who’s just come out of retirement after 5 years, the panic button should be getting smashed like no tomorrow.

Warren isn’t playing badly, and he’s not a bad player; he’s suffering from unfortunate circumstances.

His 3-week average is down to 10 points, and 5 is at 14.2.

If the Colts are going to win games, it will be because of Taylor.

Warren appears to only have upside as a red one TD threat, and that’s too much of a risk for me.

Maybe see you next year. 

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Brock Bowers ($14.56m, Las Vegas Raiders TE, 41 BE, 35% ownership) 

At the end of the season, I’m probably going to look back and say this guy was my most disappointing pick of the season.

Harsh? Probably. But he’s been atrocious thanks to poor QB play.

His numbers are boosted by a 74-game and a 40-game; otherwise, he’s only scored 20 points or more another 3 times this season.

When you’ve got someone like McBride who was a similar price, and in the same category as him at the start of the season, you tend to kick yourself a bit that you went with the dud.

Bowers is in the same boat as Warren.

It’s not his fault that his team is playing bad.

If you can go from Bowers to McBride, this is the move to do. 

Trades and Captain 

This has been the toughest week for me in terms of whether or not to use my trade, and then who I should trade if I do.

Mahomes is gone for the season, so it seems obvious to swap someone out for him and get in Stafford or Hurts, but it’s not that simple.

JJ is playing well, and it’s my last trade.

Do I trust him these last 3 weeks?

Do I get another receiver or try and get McBride?

Do I wait another week for Stafford to have his easy games for the run home?

So many different options. I decided this week to do…

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TRADE IN: McBride

TRADE OUT: Bowers

I couldn’t resist.

I’m gambling on McCarthy being half decent and relying on Bowers continuing his trend of bad games.

The Raiders have such a tough run home and such a woeful team.

I feel I’ll get more big games out of McBride and more points overall running McBride and JJ over Bowers and Stafford.

I was very close to getting Stafford in, but ultimately I’d rather go for the combo that I think will get me more total points in the run home. 

Captaincy-wise I’ve VC’d Puka.

Initially, I had it on JSN; however, with Adams most likely out, it should mean more production for Puka.

Captaincy is on CMC against Indy, which I’m still iffy on.

I really should have it on Allen, but I’m wary of the Browns’ defence at home and a fired-up Myles Garrett bringing the heat all day.

There’s every chance in the world that I change this decision and backflip and run with Allen, but that’ll be on the WhatsApp if that happens.