NFL Fantasy Football: Why Stephon Gilmore is a bargain for your roster

On Wednesday, the New England Patriots traded cornerback Stephon Gilmore to the Carolina Panthers. The Patriots were unable to agree to a contract extension with the former Defensive Player of the Year. He hasn't played in 2021 as he continues to recover from his quad surgery.

Stephon Gilmore is expected to be activated and ready to play in the Panthers' Week 7 clash against the New York Giants. If you happen to have Stephen Gilmore on your IR or are available to puck up and are waiting to see what his future holds, you should start seeing a payoff in fantasy football.

Stephon Gilmore should be a bargain in fantasy football

You start defensive players on your fantasy football lineup in IDF fantasy football, either at specific positions or with a full slate of 11+ players. Stephon Gilmore finished 2020 as the 79th-best defensive back in fantasy football after playing in just 11 games and recording 37 tackles, one forced fumble and one interception. He won Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 with a career-high six interceptions, 44 tackles and 20 tackles for loss.

It's listed that Stephon Gilmore is only rostered on 4% of fantasy football leagues. He hasn't been active all season and is coming off of surgery while being over 30. However, Stephon Gilmore is excellent when he's healthy.

If you happen to luck into adding him early in the season and stashing him away on IR, you are about to get quite a player in the coming weeks. The Carolina Panthers have assembled a great defense over the last few seasons and have had to plug some new pieces into the secondary throughout the 2021 season.

Gilmore will likely start seeing split action with CJ Henderson and Donte Jackson for the first few weeks, but he could be a full-time player around Week 9 when he'll face the New England Patriots. He won't be a top-5 DB in fantasy football but should put up decent numbers for your team heading into the playoffs.