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Week 5: Sleepers| Busts| Buy-Low, Sell-High players
Making trades is one of the most enjoyable and exciting parts of playing fantasy football. Like I always say, “if you’re not trading, you’re not trying!” Here are five players you should buy low and five players to sell high ahead of this weekend. For all of your final lineup decisions, be sure to check out Start ’Em, Sit ’Em and my weekly fantasy player rankings, which are updated daily throughout the season.
Week 5 Fantasy Buy-Lows
Jalen Hurts, QB, Eagles: Hurts has had a tough start to the season, scoring fewer than 16.2 points in each of his last three games. Things will get worse before they get better—I recommend sitting him against the Jaguars—but he will get Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert back for the Eagles at some point. Hurts also has the easiest quarterback schedule for the rest of the year.
Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seahawks: Charbonnet is getting closer to returning from a torn ACL, so I’d be looking to grab him now before his value rises. Rookie Jadarian Price has been placed on injured reserve and the Seahawks passed on signing Joe Mixon, so Charbonnet could wind up as the starter when it matters most: down the stretch in the fantasy football playoffs.
Justin Jefferson, WR, Vikings: You might not be able to get Jefferson at a huge discount, but he is dealing with an ankle injury that already has sidelined him. The good news is that he is getting closer to a return to action, and Jefferson has one of the easiest schedules for the rest of the season based on Fantasy Points Allowed data. Go ahead and make an offer now.
Parker Washington, WR, Jaguars: Washington is coming off his worst stat line since Week 1 … of 2025! I would call that a simple bump in the road, and chances are he won’t have a game this bad the rest of the season. So if you’re a fantasy manager looking to acquire the talented wideout, now’s the time to do it. He also has a favorable rest-of-season schedule.
George Pickens, WR, Cowboys: Pickens has started the season off slowly, ranking just 37th in fantasy points among wide receivers after four weeks. However, I suspect his numbers will rise in the near future as part of an explosive Cowboys pass attack. Dallas has a bad defense and will be in plenty of shootouts this season, so Pickens should be far more productive.
Week 5 Sell-Highs
Kirk Cousins, QB, Raiders: Cousins has been solid over four weeks, ranking ninth in fantasy points among quarterbacks. That makes it the perfect time to sell high, especially with the bye weeks here and a number of quarterbacks falling short of expectations. Cousins also has the toughest strength of schedule the rest of the season, and top pick Fernando Mendoza still looms.
Aaron Jones Sr., RB, Vikings: Jones has been terrific in the last three weeks, as his touches and production have increased since Jordan Mason went on injured reserve. Mason is getting close to being eligible to return, however, so now is the time to sell high on Jones. His insane 50-plus percent touch share is destined to decline, and so will his value once Mason is back.
Jaylen Warren, RB, Steelers: Warren has been fantastic for fantasy fans in the last two weeks, scoring 36.2 points while seeing a near 48% touch share. But much like Jones, Warren will see his chances decline once Rico Dowdle returns from a toe injury. In fact, I expect him to see closer to the 30% touch share that he saw in the first two games before Dowdle went down.
Jaylen Waddle, WR, Broncos: Waddle has had two good fantasy performances and two bad ones, and I think that’s going to be the story all season long. He also has one of the toughest rest-of-season schedules among wide receivers, so now might be the time to sell high. At this point, you can land a wideout with similar value like a George Pickens or Parker Washington.
T.J. Hockenson, TE, Vikings: Hockenson went off last week, posting 13 catches for 119 yards and 24.9 fantasy points. That’s one of his best stat lines in the last two years. Hockenson will also be hard-pressed to see even half of that target total on a regular basis once the Vikings get Justin Jefferson back. Tight end is a tough spot to fill, so put Hockenson on the block.
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MICHAEL FABIANO
Michael Fabiano is a fantasy football analyst for Sports Illustrated. His weekly rankings and Start 'Em, Sit 'Em articles are must-reads for fantasy players. Before joining SI in August 2020, he worked for CBS Sports, NFL Network and SiriusXM. He also contributes to Westwood One Radio and the Locked on Dynasty Podcast. Fabiano was the first fantasy analyst to appear on one of the four major TV networks and is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.
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