Fridays are for Five Lists of 5! I’ll be doing this for every week of the season. Think of these as byte-sized, two-minutes-to-yourself lists to scan during your weekend as you foam at the mouth for any competitive fantasy edge. As much relevant analysis as I can fit into, like, 250 words per player (notice how that number has already ballooned since the first list?).
Kicking it off this week with five buy-low trade targets.
Follow along at my handle @dansby_edits for stat threads with minimal emojis all week long. The minimal emojis thing is how I differentiate myself in the market, you see.
Also available:
- Five players to stash for Week 4
- Five players to stream for Week 4
- Five sell-high targets
- Five wide receivers due for breakout games
Jonathan Brooks, RB, Carolina Panthers (IR)
All signs point to Jonathan Brooks returning to practice within the next two weeks—potentially in time for Week 5—and reassuming the role Dave Canales had planned out for him. Don’t forget: the Panthers drafted him in 2024 as the first running back off the board. I don’t think Chubba Hubbard, impressive though he is, will stand in Brooks’s way.
You could do worse than trade for a running back with fresh legs right now on a team that might have, as they say, found its new (red-haired) groove.
Amari Cooper, WR, Cleveland Browns
I wrote about Amari Cooper’s value as a trade target thus far this season. Here’s an excerpt:
Here’s where Amari Cooper, in a struggling Browns passing offense, ranks among wideouts in receiving opportunity metrics through Week 3:
- Fourth in air yards (363)
- First in routes run (124)
- Third in targets (29)
- Fourth-worst among receivers with 10+ targets in catch rate over expectation (CROE; -15.1% catch rate)
- Worst among receivers with 10+ targets in receiving yards over expectation (RecYOE; -90 receiving yards)
You see how the list doesn’t quite square, not even a little bit—right? Amari Cooper is existing at two wildly diametric statistical poles. You know what that means! Positive regression. Our absolute favorite.
He already had what I’d constitute as his breakout game last week. The buy-low window is going to release itself shut like a guillotine this weekend. Try to get him before Sunday.
T.J. Hockenson, TE, Minnesota Vikings (IR)
How’s your team doing? Are you sitting on a sparkling 2-1, or a perfect 3-0? Feeling confident about some of your lottery draft picks that are paying off, or some of your early-season FAAB acquisitions?
If any of the above applies to you, trade for his man. He’s going to vacuum targets from Sam Darnold in about 4-6 weeks. He’s worth paying a slight premium right now in the name of his TE1 value come the winter.
Diontae Johnson, WR, Carolina Panthers
I am all-in on Diontae Johnson the rest of the year, and earlier this week I told you why here. Go read why, and then acquire him ASAP.
George Pickens, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
You’d think I was a Steelers fan with how much I’ve written about them in this weeks Five Lists of 5, huh? I’m not. But I am big-time here for the Justin Fields renaissance. With those accuracy numbers I detail in my Fields article, I just don’t see how Pickens isn’t a ship benefitted by a rising tide. He’ll be a WR2 by the end of the year.
You can get him on the cheap right now, I bet. I’d trade Xavier Worthy for him in a second. Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $3.25M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st].
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is thegreatdansby9) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
