Looking back, it seems fair to wonder whether or not there has ever been a Monday Night Football game that produced as many bad fantasy football beats as what we saw in Week 5. The list of players who went off in Monday’s game between the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens was seemingly endless. Hopefully, you weren’t on the wrong end of any of those beats. At any rate, with five weeks of the NFL season in the books, fantasy trade talks are continuing to escalate in leagues everywhere. After a week of big-time performances, there are plenty of intriguing angles to utilize in fantasy football buy low, sell high trade discussions.
Read on for this week’s fantasy football buy low, sell high candidates, including Stefon Diggs, Aaron Jones, Myles Gaskin and Marquise Brown. The following breakdowns and analyses can be used to help guide your trade discussions and weigh fantasy football player values heading into Week 6.
Fantasy Football Buy Low Players | Week 6
Stefon Diggs | WR, Buffalo Bills
Rare was the occasion that Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills offense was stopped in Week 5. The Bills had their way offensively against the horrendous Kansas City Chiefs defense. But while Allen surpassed 300 yards passing and the team put up 38 points, one player who was rather quiet was wideout Stefon Diggs. Such has been the case for the most part through five weeks for the Bills’ alpha receiver. Diggs still hauled in a pair of receptions for 69 yards in Sunday’s game, but the 8.9 fantasy points were well below projections considering the matchup.
Compared to what many fantasy football managers thought they were getting back in drafts, Diggs has largely been disappointing through five games. Week 5 was his worst game yet, but Diggs has failed to exceed 16 fantasy points in four of five games thus far. He is only the WR25 on the season and not even the top fantasy WR in Buffalo. That title currently belongs to Emmanuel Sanders, who scored twice on Sunday night. He has now reached paydirt four times compared to just once for Diggs. While there are several mouths to feed in Buffalo, Diggs is still “The Guy” when it comes to the receiving corps. After this latest disappointment, he is a prime buy-low candidate heading into Week 6.
Aaron Jones | RB, Green Bay Packers
After five weeks of play, Aaron Jones is the RB8 in fantasy football PPR scoring. However, the vast majority of his production came exclusively in one game. Jones went off back in Week 2, scoring four total touchdowns as the Packers picked up their first win of the year. While he cannot be expected to score 40+ fantasy points every week, Jones has consistently failed to reach projections since. After scoring 14.9 points in Week 5, Jones has now finished with fewer than 15 fantasy points in three of five games. Taking his Week 2 outburst out, Jones has totaled just 48.6 points in the other four games played to date.
Given his slow start, several fantasy football managers might be more open to parting ways with Jones than they previously would have been. Despite the underwhelming production relative to his lofty ADP, there is no reason not to target him as a buy-low candidate this week. A single touchdown would have bolstered Jones’ fantasy day in Week 5. The fact that he ran for over 100 yards and scored 14.9 points without finding the end zone is cause for optimism going forward. The former UTEP back leads the Packers in touches per game this season with 17.4. He also ranks second to Davante Adams with 19 targets and 17 receptions in the passing game. Touchdown regression is imminent, and Jones’ fantasy production will explode when that comes.
Tyler Boyd | WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Rounding out our fantasy football buy-low candidates for Week 6 is veteran Bengals receiver, Tyler Boyd. Things have changed drastically around Boyd in Cincinnati over the last two years. He is now part of an offense that has two other talented wideouts in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The former has ridden an incredible first five games to a WR8 ranking in PPR leagues. Interestingly enough, quarterback Joe Burrow has targeted both Boyd and Chase exactly 35 times to date. A couple of deep conversions combined with a 5-1 touchdown advantage are what have Chase ranked much higher in fantasy scoring. Boyd figures to find the end zone more frequently over the long haul and improve upon his WR35 season ranking. After a disappointing 24-yard effort in Week 5, he is worth pursuing in trade talks going forward.
Fantasy Football Sell High Players | Week 6
Myles Gaskin | RB, Miami Dolphins
Hey, all you fantasy football managers who benched Myles Gaskin following a 3-yard performance last week, here’s 68.5% of the snaps, 99 total yards, two touchdowns and 31.9 fantasy points in your eyehole! Love, Brian Flores and the Dolphins Offensive Coordinator(s).
Yup, just when we thought the Dolphins had cast Gaskin aside, Week 5 happened. He finished the week as the RB2 in PPR scoring after having all of 0.3 points in Week 4. Malcolm Brown, who looked like the preferred back going forward, failed to garner a touch. Perhaps some of the drastic change in usage and game plan had to do with Miami’s opponent. It’s borderline impossible to run the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As a result, Gaskin’s abilities as a pass-catcher were a key part of the offense on Sunday. While it was one heck of a performance, whether Gaskin can replicate the workload or production going forward is anyone’s guess. Managers shouldn’t hesitate to shop him around following this monster outing.
Marquise Brown | WR, Baltimore Ravens
This fantasy football sell-high recommendation is simply relative to the player’s perceived value and ADP compared to his standing through five games. Marquise Brown is clearly the lead wide receiver for the Ravens. After going without a catch in the first half in Week 5, Brown exploded for 125 yards and two scores after the break. The resulting 33.5 fantasy points saw him finish as the WR3 on the week. Brown is also now the WR6 in PPR scoring through five games. Given that the Ravens place such an emphasis on running the football, the success of the passing offense has been noteworthy. For all the talent Brown possesses, there is no way he can sustain this level of production over the full season. Sell him as high as possible after this latest outburst.
DK Metcalf | WR, Seattle Seahawks
In last week’s fantasy football buy low, sell high column, we featured Seahawks wideout, Tyler Lockett. This week, it’s teammate DK Metcalf’s turn to be among the sell-high candidates. The former Ole Miss standout is coming off his best game of the season to date. Metcalf totaled 26.8 fantasy points last Thursday in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Unfortunately for him and the entire Seattle offense, quarterback Russell Wilson is set to miss the next 4-8 weeks with an injury. Backup Geno Smith wasn’t awful down the stretch of last week’s game, but the drop-off will likely be felt over the long haul. Add in a tough Week 6 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and managers are wise to explore unloading Metcalf as soon as possible.
