Buy Sell Hold. Fantasy Lessons Heading into the Offseason

Fantasy football season is officially over, but Cooterdoodle is here to walk us through some post-championship week buys and sells as we head into the offseason.

Just because the fantasy season is over doesn’t mean that we’re ready to log off and completely unplug from fantasy football just yet. This is a great time to relax a bit but also to reflect on this past season, adjust, and plan for the future. As the cool kids say, “The grind never stops!” So let’s get into some buys, sells, and holds for the fantasy postseason.

Buy

NFL players are just like us

If you rewind to just a few weeks ago, many fantasy managers were staring at their league standings and calculating which teams had clinched the playoffs and which ones had been eliminated.

We were doing the math to see what it would take for us to make it to the big game. Maybe you needed your best friend to lose and were secretly rooting against them. Or perhaps you were fighting for a first-round bye, which had you calculating how many points each team needed to assist you on your journey.

In many ways, NFL players aren't so different from you or me.

The players, coaches, and fans are doing the same mental gymnastics when it comes to their team’s playoff chances. They root for teams that can help them advance and against the ones who could theoretically ruin everything. I’ve been there, too…

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson looks on before a regular season NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. Photo Credit: Corey Perrine / Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

As of now, 18 teams are done for the season. And while that might make you a little sad, I find it refreshing. As a fan of an NFL team that missed the playoffs, I can finally rest. Sure, it would've been nice to see my Saints go a little further, but now we don’t have to do the dance of waiting for the outcome of three different games to determine the results.

And while it would be nice to still play fantasy football, we can finally rest a little bit, too. We can turn on the TV, watch the guys make some plays, and root for the sport and fun plays in general. You don’t even have to pick any sides.

There's still plenty to look forward to

Just because your fantasy league is over doesn’t mean the fun has to be. There’s always something to look forward to, whether it’s NFL rivalries, rooting for underdogs, Super Bowl parties, or the 2024 NFL Draft.

But if we learned anything from Week 18, it’s that the NFL keeps on giving. So don’t stop tuning in now just because you’re not setting a lineup. We had three impactful moments last week that could happen again at any given time:

Players spilling tea

Even after the whistle, there’s plenty to watch. Post-game press conferences just might shed some light on where teams’ and players’ heads are. Watch here as Justin Fields alludes to 2023 possibly having been his last rodeo with the Bears.

Or what about Jameis Winston’s viral post-game interview where he defended their decision to give Jamaal Williams his first TD of the year against their head coach's wishes. This has led to a lot of speculation on whether Dennis Allen has lost the locker room in New Orleans.

We can look forward to more player interviews and tweets with piping hot tea as the NFL playoffs progress.

High Hopes & Speculation

If there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that speculation SZN is upon us. It doesn’t take much for fans and enthusiasts to read into anything as a clue.

Sometimes, speculation can turn out to be right. Other times, we wait months for Aaron Rodgers to announce that he’s going to the Jets like we did last year. But speaking of the Jets, there’s a new clue floating around!

So, what do you think? Is there any shot at an Aaron Rodgers-Davante Adams reunion in 2024? Either way, speculation is fun!

Awkward Shots

With all of the camera angles in any given game, we sometimes get a front and center view of some truly uncomfortable moments. Whether it’s crying fans in the stands or actual plays on the field, these are the moments that I live for.

Fantasy football may be over for now, but there's plenty of NFL action over the next month. And that means that we'll have more opportunities for butt fumbles, butt recoveries, and even Mike McDaniel getting the Zoomies.

Sell

Too early to mock draft

Too early? TOO EARLY?

Mock drafts exist as a litmus test on how the fantasy world at large is feeling about certain players? How is everyone valuing certain positions heading into next season? What's the consensus on what's going to happen with Justin Fields this offseason?

Mock drafts can give us a sense of where the fantasy consensus currently lands on some players and situations as well as how those opinions might be baked into ADP come August.

While it is early, it’s not too early. Any data is good data. Fantasy Life has kicked off our very own Week 19 mock draft that we can’t wait to share (soon). But it’s not just us.

You can even find “Way, Way Too Early” 2024 fantasy rankings already. Will Christian McCaffrey remain the consensus 1.01 come August? We'll see…

Dec 25, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) stiff arms Baltimore Ravens safety Marcus Williams (32) in the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

And no one is saying that these rankings won't change drastically between now and August. But by at least pondering some situations for next year now, we can better prepare for the reactionary ADP shifts in the coming months due to free agent signings, rookie landing spots, and other potential seismic shifts in the NFL landscape.

ADP is and should be constantly shifting, but time and time again, we've seen that recency bias or a huge trade during a lull in NFL news can lead to overreactions and huge jumps or falls in ADP.

By mocking now (and throughout the offseason), you can get a better baseline for where player ADPs should be and be able to make more informed decisions about how much that ADP should actually change when offseason news comes out.

Remember: Act. Don’t react.