Trade Targets & Trade Bait Ahead of Week 5

Trading is the quickest way to take your team from sitting on the bubble of a playoff berth to a championship contender, or vice-versa if you make the wrong deal, which is why it is so important to make sure you are targeting (and selling) the right players at the right time.

And yes - every player has a price. It doesn't matter whether they are the best player in fantasy football or a dwindling kicker - every player has a price that they should be traded away for or should have something given up to get.

For people in leagues that are more active in trading, this is for you. These are my favorite players to target and my favorite players to shop as their current value and future value don't necessarily align due to easy matchups, surrounding injuries, improving/changing scenarios, etc.

Top Trade Targets/Buy-Low Candidates This Week:

Players to try and trade for this week - they may be available at a discount compared to what they should produce going forward.

Rashee Rice (WR - Kansas City Chiefs)

We're finally drawing closer to the return of Rashee Rice, who is now 4 of 6 games through his season-opening suspension.

In case you need a reminder of what Rashee Rice is capable of on the field:

• In 2023 (as a rookie):

  • Ended the season with six straight games of 11+ points, including five games of 14+ points & a top-24 finish

    • He was the WR4 in PPR scoring during this stretch

• In 2024 (prior to a season-ending LCL injury):

  • Posted weekly totals of:

    • 17.3 points (WR14)

    • 18.5 points (WR16)

    • 29.1 points (WR3)

  • Was the WR2 in PPR scoring through 3 weeks

    • 1st in receptions

    • 2nd in yards

    • 3rd in targets

Since truly becoming involved in the Chiefs' offense as a rookie, he has definitively become Patrick Mahomes' top receiving target whenever he's been on the field. Now is the last chance to get a likely top-10 WR once he returns for the price of a fringe-WR2/WR3. Go all-in on Rice, especially if you're sitting with a record where you have a little wiggle room to drop a game before he returns in Week 7.

Chris Godwin (WR - Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

After just narrowly missing the PUP list to open up the season, Chris Godwin was held out of the first three weeks of the season as he continued his recovery from a gruesome ankle injury from last season.

One would think that would mean getting eased back into the offense, right? Wrong - Godwin was immediately back into his typical role, earning a league-leading TEN targets (granted, he only brought in 3), drew a 25.6% target share, and played over 80% of the offensive snaps in his first game back.

The fact that he was immediately involved that much is shocking - it's the Bucs' coaching staff saying "you're needed now" with the absence of Mike Evans. It immediately takes my perception of Godwin from a depth WR with the hopes of him returning to former glory to a likely WR3 option going forward.

I think it's worthwhile throwing some depth player(s) at the Godwin owner to try and poach him before the fantasy production begins to match his excellent snap share and target share.

Derrick Henry (RB - Baltimore Ravens)

Goodness, it has been an ugly start to the season for Derrick Henry, who is currently the RB24 on the season so far despite having a 5.8 YPC.

The issue for him has surprisingly been involvement. Through four weeks, he's eclipsed 13 touches just once (Week 1), and he's been limited to a mere 51.4% snap share. Both of those are direct results of the Ravens playing in pass-heavy game scripts for 3 of the first 4 games. That can't last, right?

Even despite losing QB Lamar Jackson for the next week or two (which will likely result in Baltimore force-feeding Henry, but the Ravens playing from behind), now is the time to buy. The hard part of the Ravens' schedule lightens up a LOT going forward. The Ravens only have two games that stand out as game scripts that should prove negative for Henry: the Rams in Week 6 and Green Bay in Week 17 (which should be prime Henry weather in Lambeau in December).

He might not be the elite, top-7 RB many hoped for at the start of the season, but he should very easily be a top-15 RB (and likely end as a top-12 RB) the remainder of the season. I'd LOVE Henry as my RB2 option, especially since you can likely get him for that type of value right now.

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Top Trade Bait/Sell-High Candidates This Week:

Players to try and trade away this week - this isn't saying that they'll be bad, but right now is likely when you're going to get the most for them.

D.K. Metcalf (WR - Pittsburgh Steelers)

Metcalf has been decent, but not great, so far this season, entering the Steelers' Week 5 bye as the WR17 in fantasy. That's not too far from his preseason ADP, but the way he's gotten there raises some red flags for me.

Aaron Rodgers' WR1 has always been productive, but it's been a result of being hyper-fixated on by Rodgers, resulting in the WR getting that production off of volume. That's not been Metcalf so far. Through four weeks, Metcalf is sitting at a mere 21.2% target share and is getting over 30% of his fantasy production from TDs. That's not a promising combination within an Arthur Smith offense that seems set on being predicated on spreading the ball around.

I still generally like Metcalf as a WR2 option for the remainder of the season, but I'd really consider taking offers on him, especially coming off a big game (5-126-1, WR7) where almost all of his production came on an 80-yard TD. At the very least, see if you can get a comparable (but more stable) WR option.

George Pickens (WR - Dallas Cowboys)

Week 4 was exactly what everyone was watching for (and hoping for) from Pickens - stepping into the WR1 role in the absence of CeeDee Lamb and going nuclear with 8 catches for 134 yards and 2 TDs en route to over 33 points and a WR2 finish on the week.

He should absolutely be a quality option for the near future as he serves that WR1 role in Dallas. My two concerns with him are:

• A large chunk of his production is still coming off big plays/touchdowns (32% TD Dependency)

• CeeDee Lamb's injury doesn't appear to be long-term

Can Pickens be a WR1 for the next few weeks until Lamb returns? Absolutely, and I expect him to be.

Can Pickens be a top-24 WR the remainder of the season? Yes, and I expect him to be.

Are you going to find a time this year where you can get more in a trade for Pickens? No - and that's exactly why he's here.

The window is very narrow for you to get high-end WR2 (or potentially borderline WR1) trade value for Pickens. With us now one week into the '2-to-4 week' timeline for Lamb's high ankle sprain, now's the time to pitch Pickens as someone who has three straight weeks of 17+ points and is the WR1 for his team. Both of those are true for now, but neither the TD rate or the volume is sustainable once Lamb returns.

I'd really consider shopping him around to see what you can get. I'd be willing to bet you can get quite the haul for him alone and could likely strike for an Amon-Ra St. Brown-level WR if you pair a decent RB or another half-decent WR with Pickens.

Khalil Shakir (WR - Buffalo Bills)

It still appears that Khalil Shakir is the Bills' top receiving threat in 2025, but it looks like the gap has shrunk quite a bit between Shakir and the rest of the receiving threats from the 2024 season, where he had over 30 catches more than the next Bills' receiver (and 45 catches more than the next Bills' WR).

Keon Coleman has emerged as a threat for Josh Allen, having led the Bills in targets (22) through the first 4 weeks of the season, but Shakir isn't far behind (20). The big difference is that Coleman is getting production through efficiency while Shakir is currently getting it through TDs - something that is the polar opposite of his 2024 season.

Coming off back-to-back weeks of Shakir scoring a TD to get him into double-digit points, I'd look around to see if anyone would pay more for Shakir than he's seemingly worth (fringe-WR3/WR4 option). The volume simply isn't what you'd hoped for after last year, especially with the ball getting spread out a lot more than last year with Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid getting much more involved. He's not a must-sell, but definitely someone I'd put some feelers out for just based on the likely volatility in volume.