Fantasy Football Trade Targets – Week 5

Four weeks are in the books, so it’s time to take a look at the Week 5 fantasy football trade targets. The goal here is to highlight a few players who have seen their stock rise and fall, which ultimately leads to buy-low and sell-high trade targets in fantasy football. If you’re looking for Week 5 waiver wire pickups, check the latest edition of Mean Streets.

I’ve also highlighted a few players whom I’m concerned about, a few whom I would rather hold than trade, and a few players whom I would cut my ties with. You’ll also see the top 10 players traded in CBS Sports fantasy football over the past 24 hours. 

Keep in mind that some of the buy-low and sell-high candidates mentioned below don’t need to be moved. They are simply suggestions, as their fantasy stocks have changed despite just one game on their 2021 NFL resume. I’m a big believer in 2-for-1 and 3-for-1 package deals if it means landing the best player in the trade.

Fantasy Football Trade Talk: Who to Buy and Sell After Week 4

Buy-Low Candidates 

Damien Harris, RB,  New England Patriots 

Harris has 10 rushing yards on 10 carries and 5.7 fantasy points in his last two weeks. He ran the ball four times for -4 yards in Week 4 and caught two passes for -3 yards in Week 3. The Patriots’ back has 37 total yards on 14 touches over his last two games. He’s definitely available. Harris will be phased out of the offense when the Pats are down, but they have a favorable schedule coming up, especially this week against the Texans. 

If you want out, now is the time to sell Harris, but keep in mind that he totaled 162 rushing yards on 39 carries in the first two games of the season. The Pats were able to control those games and with the Texans, Jets, Panthers, Falcons and Titans coming up, we may see a heavier workload for Harris. Those are much easier matchups than the two top 10 run defenses he just faced. J.J. Taylor fumbled last week and Harris’ role in the receiving game increased with James White sidelined. 

Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders 

Jacobs had an underwhelming game in his return in Week 4, as he finished with just 40 yards on 13 carries, though he did catch five passes. Jacobs took back all the work on the ground that Peyton Barber received in his absence and Kenyan Drake was a non-factor. Drake had three kick return touches and just one carry (zero targets). Barber left with a foot injury so the backfield could and should be Jacobs’ moving forward.

He may draw a questionable tag this week and throughout the season so there’s some risk involved, but I think you can add him for cheap if you’re looking for some RB depth. The Raiders are going to get back to running the football and they have some favorable games ahead on the schedule (CHI, DEN, PHI, NYG). All anyone ever talks about is how Jacobs is game script-dependent and those are all winnable games for Las Vegas. In fact, they should be favored in three of those four games, and if they’re playing from behind he may get a few targets along the way.

CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys 

Lamb racked up 24 targets and 15 catches in his first two games, yet he had just five grabs on eight targets over the last two weeks. He’s going to live somewhere in between those two sets of games. The Cowboys may not be as pass-happy on offense as many thought they would be after watching them in Week 1 against the Buccaneers. Dak Prescott is taking what defenses are giving them and they’ve been running it down opposing teams’ throats. The defense is also playing well, so they’ve been able to lean on that run in the second halves of games. I believe in the defense and a balanced attack on offense, but I also believe in Lamb. I think there’s a small window to buy and I’d be willing to part with several players listed above for CeeDee. It’s worth noting that Amari Cooper has a rib and hamstring injury, which could lead to an increase in plays called for Lamb. 

Check in on:

Christian McCaffrey, Nick Chubb, Dalvin Cook, D’Andre Swift, DeAndre Hopkins, Odell Beckham, A.J. Brown, Allen Robinson, Tee Higgins, Courtland Sutton, Kyle Pitts, George Kittle, Dak Prescott, Joe Burrow

Sell-High Candidates

Cordarrelle Patterson, RB/WR, Atlanta Falcons 

I won’t blame you if you want to ride this thing out with Patterson, who scored three touchdowns in Week 4. It’s a pretty cool story considering the path he’s taken to get here – and by here I mean RB3 status in fantasy football. Only Derrick Henry and Austin Ekeler have more fantasy points than Patterson at the RB position. He’s pretty valuable in leagues which allow him to be played at running back, but he’s also among the leaders at WR as only Cooper Kupp, Tyreek Hill and Deebo Samuel have more fantasy points.

Patterson was extremely raw coming out of college but you could see the ability in his game, especially as a kick returner. The Bears gave him a career-high 64 carries last season (four per game), but only 25 targets (second-fewest of his career). He already has 22 targets with the Falcons through four weeks and he has 6.7 carries per game. There are reasons to be concerned, though, as Mike Davis continues to play more snaps, get more carries and run more routes. Patterson played 23 of Atlanta’s 76 snaps last week and Davis played 51. Wayne Gallman is also in the picture now as he picked up six carries on 10 snaps in his ATL debut. Five touchdowns through four weeks is a pace that’s just unsustainable given the workload, but I get rolling him out as a FLEX each week. What’s crazy about his three receiving TD’s on five targets last week is that he only ran 12 routes. I’d look at the RB-needy teams in your leagues and sell him on his dual eligibility and 2021 resume. You could include him in a much larger package if it meant getting the best player in return.

Zack Moss, RB, Buffalo Bills

Hold Moss if you’re thin at RB. If you have three starting running backs you like more, flip him for some help at WR. Moss has four touchdowns in three games, despite splitting touches with Devin Singletary. Both Bills’ backs had 14 carries last week and Singletary looked better as a runner. It’s nice to have an RB linked to a top-five offense, but it’s still a crowded backfield. 

A.J. Green, WR,  Arizona Cardinals 

I like having someone linked to the Cardinals’ high-powered offense, especially when we get into bye weeks, but I’m not sure you can trust Green. There are a lot of mouths to feed in Arizona so there will be some dud games for him. Similarly, Christian Kirk was a sell-high last week and now owners may panic and drop Kirk. There will be highs and lows for everyone inside this offense. I understand if you want to keep him if you’re thin at WR and you’re looking ahead at your schedule and you see some of your big name WR’s on bye. He could come up big if you suffer a couple injuries or if you need someone, so take a peek at your schedule. If he doesn’t fit into your long-term needs, flip him to a WR-needy team. 

Field offers for: 

James Robinson, Chris Carson, Melvin Gordon, Mike Davis, Damien Williams, James Conner, Zack Moss, Amari Cooper, Kenny Golladay, Tyler Boyd, Jamison Crowder, Jared Cook, Hunter Henry, Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones

Dynasty Buys

Justin Fields – CHI

Trevor Lawrence – JAX

Chase Edmonds – ARZ

Trey Sermon – SF

Michael Carter – NYJ

Tony Pollard – DAL

Rondale Moore – ARZ

Elijah Moore – NYJ

Henry Ruggs – LV

Cole Kmet – CHI

Concerned

Allen Robinson – CHI

Miles Sanders – PHI

Myles Gaskin – MIA

JuJu Smith-Schuster – PIT

Will Fuller – MIA

Drop

Ty’Son Williams – BLT

Ronald Jones – TB

Kenyan Drake – LV

Marquez Callaway – NO

Robert Tonyan – GB

Hold

Ezekiel Elliott – DAL

Nick Chubb – CLV

Darrell Henderson – LAR

Leonard Fournette – TB

DJ Moore – CAR  

Mike Williams – LAC

Deebo Samuel – SF

Laviska Shenault – JAX

Dawson Knox – BUF

Jalen Hurts – PHI

Stock Up

Cordarrelle Patterson – ATL

Zack Moss – BUF

James Conner – ARZ

Leonard Fournette – TB

Kenny Golladay – NYG

Stock Down

Allen Robinson – CHI

Julio Jones – TEN

Miles Sanders – PHI

Myles Gaskin – MIA

Chris Carson – SEA

Stash

Jerry Jeudy – DEN

Michael Carter – NYJ

Kenneth Gainwell – PHI

Rashod Bateman – BLT

Van Jefferson Jr. – LAR

Terrace Marshall – CAR

Most Traded in CBS Sports Leagues

Clyde Edwards-Helaire – KC

George Kittle – SF

Robert Woods – LAR 

Chuba Hubbard – CAR

Saquon Barkley – NYG

Miles Sanders – PHI

Allen Robinson – CHI

Devin Singletary – BUF

Odell Beckham  – CLV

Damien Harris – NE