After four weeks of this fantasy football trade column, we've already had some big hits and misses. Buying Buffalo RB James Cook after Week 1 is looking great, but only if you didn't also invest in Chargers QB Justin Herbert or Bears TE Colson Loveland. Trading for Drake London or Zay Flowers before Week 3 seems smart now, but not if you moved Falcons RB Bijan Robinson to get there.
The point here is that you can't win every single trade you make. It's impossible. But outside of drafting a perfect team in August or grabbing an RB1 injury replacement off waivers, doing your best to buy low and sell high a few times a season with the information in front of you is one of the only real ways to win a championship. Fantasy is too fluid and wonky to just
sit tight and hope for the best.
With that said, here are 10 fantasy football trade targets for Week 5:
Week 5 fantasy football players to buy
TE Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
If Ja'Marr Chase or Tee Higgins miss Week 5 or more for the Bengals, the most popular player on waivers this week is going to be wide receiver Dohnte Meyers. The former CFL receiver impressed with seven catches for 82 yards in Week 4 after Chase left with his injury, but undrafted rookies tend to slow down once there's tape on them. The player to start in Chase's potential absence is actually going to be Gesicki, who historically can elevate when Chase or Higgins is out and should be very cheap to acquire.
WR Malik Washington, Miami Dolphins
We had Washington listed as a buy last week and he responded by catching all five of his targets for 67 yards in a loss to Minnesota where QB Malik Willis threw for only 85 total yards. Miami is one of the worst teams in recent league history and is not going to be a fun watch or follow, but Washington is easily the team's most trusted pass catcher and should be a decent weekly flex play against defenses worse than the Vikings' vaunted unit.
QB Matt Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
In three non-season-opening games in Australia this season, Stafford has thrown for 327 yards/four touchdowns, 390/two and 317/zero. He's third in the NFL in passing yards and that's with WR Puka Nacua missing two games. After not scoring on Sunday, you might be able to buy into a slight value dip.
WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Cardinals
The Harrison manager in your league has to be fed up and might use his touchdown in Week 4 – Harrison's only catch of the day – as an excuse to sell. The outlook for the rest of the season is still looking pretty bleak, but the Cardinals play the Lions' JV defense in Week 5 and should score a ton of points. If you can buy Harrison for pennies, you might be able to flip him after playing Detroit for a higher return.
RB Zach Charbonnet, Seahawks
I promise that this is the last week Charbonnet will appear in this column, but if you've ignored the past month, now is finally the time to invest in the Seattle RB1. Rookie Jadarian Price is on IR and hasn't impressed, while veteran backup Emanuel Wilson has turned 53 carries into a pedestrian 190 yards so far this season. The Seahawks are in the top half of the league in rush attempts despite their mediocre running backs and want to run the ball – as long as Charbonnet is recovered from a torn ACL he suffered in January, he's a potential league-winning RB1 down the stretch and could be back as early as Week 5 or 6.
Week 5 fantasy football players to sell
WR Davante Adams, Rams
Another repeat from last week, we had Adams as a sell after he was third in the NFL in receiving yards through three weeks. He might be harder to flip after turning nine targets into just four catches and 32 yards in Week 4 with Nacua back, but if you can still get WR1 prices in return for Adams, you should do that. Old touchdown dependent WRs are not a fun bet to still be fantasy stars come November and December.
WR Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers
The second-year Panthers wideout had been good but not great alongside WR2 Jalen Coker through three weeks. The situation in Week 4 for "Sunday Night Football" was perfect, though – no Coker and playing against the Lions, who statistically have the worst defense in the league. McMillan responded with a career-high 14 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns, which is what we want out of superstars. But Coker's quad injury doesn't appear to be that serious and Carolina has a much harder schedule following a Week 5 bye. It's not a bad time to dangle McMillan in trade offers.
RB Emanuel Wilson, Seahawks
For many of the same reasons you want to buy Charbonnet, Wilson is a sell this week after a Week 4 performance that looked solid on paper (21 carries for 81 yards, three catches for 39 yards, two total touchdowns). Some teams are going to be desperate enough at running back that they'll talk themselves into Wilson earning more work even after Charbonnet and Price are back, and you should let them.
WR Romeo Doubs, New England Patriots
The story of Doubs' career is that he scores in bunches. On Sunday, he turned nine targets into six catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns, his first two scores with the Patriots. If history tells us anything from his time in Green Bay before signing with New England as a free agent, Doubs might not see the end zone much again in October. Good time to sell.
QB Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders
The vibes in Sin City are still sky-high despite a close loss to the rival Chiefs in Week 4. The Raiders seem to finally have a competent coaching staff in place and Cousins is 10th in the NFL in passing yards. However, it's not going to take many bad games for the veteran to hit the bench in favor of No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, and Cousins will be useless in fantasy once that happens. This might be selling him too early, but if you don't see Cousins keeping this up all season, you'd rather get a return than nothing at all.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football trade targets Week 5: Buy low, sell high candidates
