Take a look at these three buy-low fantasy football trade targets for Week 5, including Jacksonville Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr.
Through four weeks of the fantasy football season, some things are like we thought they would be, while some things… well, they aren’t. Fantasy football is a weird and unpredictable game. In the span of two months, Quentin Johnston has gone from fighting for his role in the Chargers’ offense to looking like the undisputed WR1 wearing powder blue in LA.
These three players have various reasons as to why they may be undervalued. It could be poor performance, injury, or negative public perception. However, the fantasy landscape is a stock market, and a valley is just a prime opportunity to buy low on an asset that can bounce back. Take a look at these buy-low fantasy football trade targets for Week 5.
3 Buy-Low Fantasy Football Trade Targets Week 5
Brian Thomas Jr., WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
The fall of Brian Thomas Jr. in the public eye has created an opportunity for savvy and bold managers to buy low on an elite talent that’s been underperforming to this point of the season. Coming in at just the WR43 on ESPN and averaging nine fantasy points per game (FPPG) in PPR scoring, Thomas has probably been the pain point of many losing fantasy squads through September. The good news is the opportunity is still there for the top dog in Duval; he just has to make more of it.
BTJ is still seeing elite usage, per the FlurrySports Opportunity Index, with 8.3 looks per game and 96.5 air yards per game. He’s nine targets clear of the next target on the Jaguars offense for the season (Brenton Strange; 23 targets). After struggling mightily to connect with Trevor Lawrence in the first three games (25 targets, 7 catches), the duo connected on 5-of-7 targets in Week 4.
The Kansas City Chiefs aren’t exactly the easiest matchup for fantasy WRs, boasting a top-10 unit against wideouts and a bottom-10 one against running backs, earning the title of a run funnel defense. Making a fantasy football trade for Brian Thomas Jr. isn’t a move for this week, but to set yourself up for the rest of the season.
The Jaguars have four straight weeks of favorable matchups leading up to the fantasy playoffs, starting in Week 12 with the Arizona Cardinals. The Jaguars face the Titans and Colts in Weeks 13 and 14, finishing the stretch with the New York Jets in Week 15. Buying BTJ now, when owners may still be skeptical and frustrated, could pay big dividends down the road when he and Lawrence get back on the same page and the Jags are forced into more throw-heavy game scripts.
Jaylen Warren, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Did your leaguemate forget to move Jaylen Warren out of their lineup and get goosed last week? They definitely are not entitled to compensation.
Jaylen Warren was inactive in Dublin for the Pittsburgh Steelers last week and saw teammate Kenneth Gainwell drop 31.4 fantasy points against the Vikings, turning 25 touches into 134 yards and two scores. This usage very closely mirrors how Warren was used in Week 3 against the Patriots, as the normal Steelers lead back saw 18 carries and six targets (five catches), turning the 23 touches into 81 scoreless yards.
Pittsburgh is on bye this week, and owners who may have been counting on Warren could be searching for a replacement. If what is available on the waiver wire isn’t enticing, then trying to move Warren could be in play. Referring back to the FlurrySports Opportunity Index again, Warren is 15th in looks per game, but he is sixth in red zone looks per game. Fantasy is about scoring touchdowns at the end of the day, and Warren is getting the chance to do so when the Steelers get close to the goal line.
Pittsburgh and Jaylen Warren face a few tough matchups against RBs when they come off bye, in Cleveland and Green Bay, but Weeks 11-15 see matchups against soft run defenses in Cincinnati, Chicago, Buffalo, Baltimore, and Miami.
Gainwell’s performance in Week 4 could influence Arthur Smith to split work more between the two players, but if Warren can hang on to the lion’s share of touches in the backfield, he could be a league-winner down the stretch. That is why you make this fantasy football trade, and you likely could get him for cheap.
Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Ricky Pearsall has been unexciting, if reliable, so far in 2025. Entering Week 5, he’s top-five in the league in total yards, but this has just translated into WR24 and 13.1 FPPG in PPR.
Pearsall has been targeted 29 times, catching 20 balls for 327 scoreless yards on the season. He also just missed Thursday Night Football, and Pearsall fantasy owners had to watch Kendrick Bourne go bananas. The biggest thing with Ricky is his opportunity has been great so far in 2025.
The second-year wideout for the 49ers averages 7.3 looks per game and 111 air yards per game, with an aDOT of 15.86 yards, according to the FlurrySports Opportunity Index. Converting nearly 70 percent of your targets at that aDOT is impressive to say the least, even more so when you consider that outside of Christian McCaffrey. The 49ers offense has been banged up for the first four weeks of the season, leaving Pearsall as one of the few weapons in the pass game.
Ricky Pearsall is 10 targets clear of the next man up in the 49ers offense (Jauan Jennings, 18) and should continue to see great usage as the season rolls along. Brandon Aiyuk should be coming off the PUP list at some point, but he slides into the X role in Kyle Shanahan’s offense while Pearsall most likely continues to play slot/flanker alongside Jauan Jennings. This role should be beneficial and see Pearsall continue a breakout campaign, even if he isn’t smashing as a top-five WR every week.
The one downside to the 49ers as a whole this year is a Week 14 bye. Depending on your league rules, that may fall during playoffs. That obviously is something to consider with any roster decision you make. That being said, Pearsall gets three of the softest matchups you could ask for that aren’t the Dallas Cowboys. They get the Titans, Colts, and Bears to end the fantasy season, unless you play until Week 18, where they draw the Seahawks.
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