The Only Buy Low/Sell High Guide You Need: Week 5

The air is thick with anticipation on the eve of battle. The main slate of Week 5 is one day away!

How time flies when you’re winning fantasy football matchups. I hope your teams are looking like juggernauts. If not that’s all good! Never lose hope in these first few weeks. A well-placed trade or waiver wire pickup can make the difference between last place, middle of the pack, or a championship.

Let’s take a look at some trades that can make all the difference for your 2021 fantasy football season.

SELL HIGH

Cordarrelle Patterson, RB/WR, Atlanta Falcons

33 percent, 33 percent, 42 percent, and 30 percent. Those are Patterson’s offensive snap percentages each week of this season. Yet he has five touchdowns! I declare this production… UNSUSTAINABLE! Have you heard of the term fire sale? It’s time to sell him incredibly high because he’s on fire.

He has accumulated 5 TDs in four weeks. That is two behind his career-high of seven in his rookie season. He is valuable for your team based on his targets per route run, but TDs are fickle. They will even out eventually. Although perhaps wait one more week because the Falcons are without Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage in their Week 5 matchup in London against the Jets.

Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

There is no denying he is one of the most talented players in the NFL, but this Jameis Winston-led offense is impossible to trust. Kamara’s fantasy value lies in his ability as a pass-catcher, not a runner. Through four weeks he is on pace for 59.5 targets. In his previous four seasons he has seen 100, 105, 97, and 107 targets. Half the amount of targets theoretically equals half the production. Utilize the power of his name and get out before “sell Alvin Kamara” is being written in every article.

Sam Darnold, QB, Carolina Panthers

Our first QB candidate! Chalk up another player to flourish after shaking off the coils of Adam Gase. Darnold has been downright awesome for fantasy through four weeks. It’s time to shop him to a QB needy team. He has matched his rushing TD total (five) from his first three seasons combined. Christian McCaffrey is on track to suit up moving forward which helps Darnold in the passing game but will limit his opportunity for goal-line rush attempts. I like his talent and I think he finishes as a top 15ish QB, but he’s not getting the rushing yards needed to maintain a top seven pace.

BUY LOW

CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

He exploded for a 24/15/185/1 receiving line through the first two weeks. He owns an 8/5/79/0 line through the last two weeks. I guarantee you the Lamb manager in your league is frustrated. He was touted all offseason as the second-year lock to break out and become a top 10 WR. Here is a little secret… Dallas DESTROYED their Week 3 and 4 opponents on the ground. There was zero need to air the ball out. That isn’t going to be the case every week. Lamb didn’t lose any of his talent or potential. The game script didn’t necessitate 58 pass attempts. Recency bias is your ally in making midseason trades.

DeVante Parker, WR, Miami Dolphins

He is quietly ranked 13th in targets after four weeks. Will Fuller is out with an injury and his upcoming schedule is JUICY. Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Buffalo (tough), and Houston. Four of those matchups are against defenses in the top 12 in terms of passing yards allowed. Miami’s defense has taken a massive step back from 2020 forcing the offense to throw the ball a ton (10th in pass attempts). He is not a “sexy” player and that’s why you can acquire him for pennies on the dollar. Wait another couple of weeks and you’ll have to pay full price for his services.

Damien Harris, RB, New England Patriots

There is no better buy-low opportunity than a player coming off a game with four rush attempts for -4 yards. New England just gave up on the run against Tampa Bay in Week 4. The entire team was eight for -1. Harris is the man in New England especially with James White missing the rest of the season due to injury. His next four games are against Houston, Dallas, the New York Jets, and the Los Angeles Chargers. Respectively those teams are ranked 9th, 28th, 3rd, and 18th in fantasy points allowed to the RB position. Dallas is a tough matchup, but the rest of those defenses are exploitable. Capitalize on a couple of down games for Harris and add a top-24 RB to your squad.

There you have it! Week 5 buy low/sell high candidates. I’ll be here for you each week to offer my two cents. Feel free to DM me or @ me on Twitter @FantasyBBQ if you agree/disagree/need someone to yell at.

I wish you good fortune in the fantasy wars to come!

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