Capitalize on the fantasy football trade market in your leagues with these trade targets and players to trade away ahead of Week 5.
Trade for Josh Jacobs
The sentiment is low on Jacobs because he hasn’t finished as a weekly top-20 RB this season. But his production has been fine. He already has games of 104 and 151 total yards this season. The problem is he has 0 touchdowns through four games. But in Week 4, we saw encouraging usage with Jordan Love back.
Jacobs earned four catches on six targets. He now has nine targets in two games with Love this season. That’s important because he only had one target in two games with mobile QB Malik Willis. The other reason people are down on Jacobs is backup Emanuel Wilson’s role in the offense.
Wilson played over 40% of the snaps this past week and Wilson is a quality player ranking seventh in yards created per touch this year. But this is still Jacobs’ backfield. He played 61% of the snaps and handled 64% of the backfield opportunities in Week 5.
Jacobs is playing well. He’s breaking tackles and averaging five yards per touch this season. Trade for him before he takes on the Rams in Week 5, who allow the most rushing yards per game. Try to deal a player like Terry McLaurin or Xavier Worthy for Jacobs.
Buy low on Jaxon Smith-Njigba
He’s currently 22nd in expected fantasy points per game but just 32nd in actual points, according to PFF. This means his role is great, but the points haven’t followed … yet. Sometimes these expected points don’t matter if your offense or QB is bad, but that’s not the case for Smith-Njigba. Seattle ranks 11th in EPA per play on offense and Geno Smith is second in completion rate, completing 72% of his passes according to NFL Pro.
Smith-Njigba earned a 23% target share in Week 4. It’s the second time this season he’s earned at least 23% of the targets. This is an offense I want pieces of and Smith-Njigba is the most affordable piece with upside. His upcoming schedule against the Giants, Rams and 49ers twice is appealing. Buy low on Smith-Njigba; send away someone like Brian Robinson Jr. or Tony Pollard for him if you can.
Try to acquire Rome Odunze
The window to buy low on Rome Odunze has officially re-opened. In Week 4, the Bears offense surprisingly struggled against a poor Rams secondary. The problem in this game was the Bears’ offensive line. Caleb Williams had no time to throw. This led to no Bears wide receiver topping 25 yards in Week 4. But Odunze’s role remained strong.
He played ahead of Keenan Allen, running a route on 88% of the passing plays and he out-snapped Allen 12 to six in two WR sets according to PFF. Another soft matchup is on the schedule in Week 5 against the Panthers, who lack any sort of pass rush (31st in the NFL per PFF).
Caleb Williams should have time to throw this week. Expect a bounce-back performance for Odunze and this Chicago passing attack. Trade someone like Brian Robinson Jr., Bucky Irving or Christian Kirk for Odunze.
Send a trade for Ladd McConkey
Buy McConkey as he heads into his bye week. It’s a great strategy to target players entering their bye week. The fantasy manager in your league may be desperate for a win and they might give you a discount on McConkey to acquire a player they can actually start in Week 5.
Quentin Johnston got the early season love in this offense thanks to a hot run of touchdowns. Johnston has looked better this year, but the real alpha on this team is McConkey. Over his first four NFL games, McConkey leads the Chargers with a 27% target share. In fact, his lowest target share in a game this season was Week 2 when he earned 21% of the team’s targets. Quentin Johnston has hit a 21% target share just one time in his 21-game career. Try to trade someone like Chuba Hubbard or Jordan Addison for McConkey.
Go get Brian Thomas Jr.
Target the Jaguars’ rookie in trades before Week 5. Brian Thomas Jr. is coming off a solid week where he earned a 28% target share. He turned this usage into a 99-total-yard performance on six catches and found the end zone. Thomas has earned nine targets in back-to-back games. Despite Trevor Lawrence ranking 32nd in the league in completion percentage, Thomas is still producing.
He’s scored at least 10 fantasy points in three of four games and has two top-20 finishes at the position. You want to acquire Thomas before Week 5 because he gets the best matchup a receiver can find against the Colts, as Indy has allowed over 300 passing yards in back-to-back games against the Bears and Steelers. This is a get-right spot for the Jaguars offense, and it could be your final chance to buy Thomas at a fair price. Trade someone like Rashid Shaheed or Puka Nacua for Thomas if you can.
