Fantasy Football Buy Low, Sell High: Week 5 Trade Targets, Including Nick Chubb, Alvin Kamara & Trey Sermon
Getty Images. Pictured: Nick Chubb and Trey Sermon.
Another crowded injury report left many rosters very lean heading into Week 4. Christian McCaffrey, A.J. Brown, Julio Jones, Elijah Mitchell, Rob Gronkowski, Sterling Shepard and more were declared out before the games, which gave way to some surprising fantasy performances from Cordarrelle Patterson, Randall Cobb, Kalif Raymond, Van Jefferson, John Ross, C.J. Uzomah and Mo Alie-Cox.
The Cowboys, Chargers, Ravens and Rams are no longer undefeated, and the Cardinals remain the last perfect team in the NFL. Both New York teams picked up their first wins in overtime this week. Bears quarterback Justin Fields bounced back in a big way in his second NFL start, though the team lost running back David Montgomery for at least four to five weeks. 49ers signal-caller Trey Lance looked solid stepping in for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo. The Chiefs beat the Eagles, but are still in last place in the AFC West. And the Lions and Jaguars are the last two teams still looking for a win.
As we approach Week 5, here are the trade targets who saw their value shift.
Buy-Low Week 5 Trade Targets
Below are eight Week 4 underperformers, or players whose value may increase over the next few weeks whom you should target via trades.
Alvin Kamara, RB, Saints
Kamara has seen at least 20 rushing attempts in three of four games this year, but once a PPR mainstay, Kamara's usage as a pass-catcher has been head-scratching. He saw zero targets in Week 4 against the Giants and 14 targets all year. He is outside the top 12 running backs this season in half PPR, but I do think that changes, especially with Tony Jones Jr. being carted off the field last week. This is the nadir of Kamara's value and the Saints face Washington this week, which should be a good bounce-back spot for him.
Nick Chubb, RB, Browns
After posting a monster two-touchdown game in Week 1, Chubb has been fairly quiet since. He finished as RB33 and RB27 in the last two weeks and has been outscored by pass-catching counterpart Kareem Hunt in each of those games. That said, the Browns are an extremely run-heavy team and have tallied the most rushing yards per game all year. Chubb's touches have actually increased in that time; his workload alone gives him a safe floor rest-of-season as a low-end RB1.
Damien Harris, RB, Patriots
There's no skirting around how awful the Patriots' run game was on Sunday night. The team tallied -1 rushing yards, with wide receiver Nelson Agholor as their top rusher. All that said, it's clear the team completely abandoned the run against the Buccaneers' top run defense, which has allowed 190 rushing yards all year. I don't think that should be an indictment on Harris, who should benefit from the team's next matchup opposite Houston's JV defense.
Laviska Shenault Jr., WR, Jaguars
This may seem a bit counterintuitive given Shenault is coming off his best game of the season, but I think it's a good time to buy low on Jaguars players given all the extracurricular drama surrounding the team. Shenault reaped the benefits of D.J. Chark exiting early with a fractured ankle and caught six of seven targets for 99 yards. He also tacked on one rush for 11 yards and outperformed Marvin Jones, who saw just three targets for 24 yards. I wouldn't expect WR2 numbers every week, but Shenault should be a serviceable WR3/flex moving forward.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Steelers
Smith-Schuster is WR66 through four weeks and hasn't tallied more than 52 receiving yards (Week 1). That said, he has still seen a significant target share and with Ben Roethlisberger's struggles in the vertical passing game, the team will eventually revert to more short/screen passes to Smith-Schuster. You're probably not trading for him, but I think he'll be dropped in some leagues and worth an add.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Cardinals
Hopkins had a hot start to the year with three touchdowns in two games. He cooled off significantly while dealing with an injury, however and finished as WR80 and WR46 in half PPR. I believe he's trending upwards in the health department and should take back his role as the alpha in this offense. Buy low on him now while you can.
Tee Higgins, WR, Bengals
Higgins has missed the past two games while dealing with a shoulder injury, but is expected to return to practice this week. Prior to the injury, he was a solid WR24 in half PPR and seemed to be holding his own with rookie Ja'Marr Chase. He clearly has great chemistry with quarterback Joe Burrow and with his health trending in the right direction, he should take back his role as the No. 2 option in this offense as soon as this week.
T.J. Hockenson, TE, Lions
After starting the season strong, Hockenson has had a rough two weeks. He has just six catches for 62 yards and zero touchdowns in that span and has finished as TE35 and TE20 in half PPR. Tight end remains the absolute worst position to try to predict, but Hockenson is still the most reliable pass-catcher on the Lions and is a top-three play rest-of-season. If a manager is panicking about two bad games, now would be the time to capitalize.
Week 5 Trade Targets To Sell High On
Below are six Week 4 overperformers, or players whose values may decrease over the next few weeks whom you should try to offload via trades.
Tyler Boyd, WR, Bengals
Boyd has looked great over the past two weeks and has finished as WR28 and WR12. His uptick in production is heavily correlated with Higgins' absence from the field, however, and with Higgins trending toward returning to the field as early as this week, this may be your last chance to sell-high on the No. 3 option in this offense.
Marquise Brown, WR, Ravens
Brown's highlight reel catch will probably stay fresh in people's minds this week. He caught four of five passes for 91 yards and a touchdown, but I still see him as a sell-high right now with rookie Rashod Bateman being activated off injured reserve last week. Bateman didn't play in Week 4, but has a chance to play this week — which could eat into Brown's target share.
Leonard Fournette, RB, Buccaneers
Fournette did deliver in Week 4 and saw 20 carries for 91 yards and caught three of five passes for 47 yards. Ronald Jones was still mixed in, however, and did get the goal-line carry for a touchdown. Giovani Bernard is also expected to return to practice this week, which could hurt Fournette's work in the passing game. Good luck trying to play "rushing roulette" with Bruce Arians' backfield.
Trey Sermon, RB, 49ers
The best time to sell high on Sermon was last week. The next best time to sell high on Sermon is now. The rookie got the start in Weeks 3 and 4 with Elijah Mitchell sidelined and performed okay — not great — scoring 10 and 9 fantasy points in half PPR, respectively. It was his chance to take the job and run away with it, which he clearly didn't do given Kyle Juszczyk's usage. With Mitchell likely returning soon, it's the unfortunate reality that #SermonSeason may not happen this year.
James Conner, RB, Cardinals
Conner has been on fire of late and has scored four times in the last two weeks. He finished as RB12 and RB8 in half PPR in that time, which doesn't strike me as a sustainable pace, especially given he is still splitting work with Chase Edmonds. Sell high on him to a manager chasing touchdowns.
Jared Cook, TE, Chargers
Cook had a monster game in Week 4 against the Raiders and caught six of seven passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. It will probably be his best game all season, as he curiously appeared to completely take over Mike Williams' role in the game. Williams, who had been WR2 through three games, caught just one pass all night. He should bounce back, and with Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen seeing targets, I don't think Cook has top 12 appeal going forward. Much like the rest of the tight ends not named Travis Kelce or Darren Waller, Cook is a touchdown-dependent, boom-or-bust play — especially against the Browns defense this week. Sell high on this fool's gold.
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