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 in my Week 4 Five for 5:
- Five players to stash for Week 4
- Five players to stream for Week 4
- Five buy-low trade targets
- Five sell-high players
Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
20 targets, 11 receptions, a ton of rust from an out-with-a-whimper contract saga that kept him out of training camp. We’ve all seen the drops. We’ve seen Peyton Manning losing his mind.
Aiyuk has zero touchdowns and three end zone targets. His catch percentage is going to regulate, and it’ll do so on paydirt sometime. I like him for a TD against the Pats.
Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
Here’s some of what I said about Watson in my Week 4 Stash List (the one that features actual analysis on ten players, not just soundbytes and quick-hit stats for five names headed into the weekend):
I know—nearly 70% ownership is not a stash. But people are dropping Watson a lot, and broadly, I’ve noticed.
He may still be highly-owned, but he’s worth a mention here. In several of my leagues, frustrated, impatient Watson owners have kicked him to the curb for guys like Bucky Irving and Jauan Jennings—both featured in my colleague Zach Thompson‘s Week 4 Waiver Wire list.
And, to be clear, the numbers are not good—even the advanced ones. Watson’s catch rate is actually 15% over expected; his expected yards figure is 54, but he has 80 actual receiving yards. He only has 107 air yards, and that’s well-below the league average figure.
Spin the above a different way: Watson’s a field-stretching wideout (average depth of route is a nothing-to-sniff-at 16.0 yards) in a situation where his offense is trying to win by any means with Malik Willis. Watson has needed to a lot of the work himself, and, actually, all of his numbers over expectation are examples of what he can do when you give him a chance with the ball.
He’s a no-brainer add in season-long if someone was flustered enough to cut bait.
Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens
Whenever Lamar finds his air groove again consistently, Flowers will be a primary beneficiary. He currently has -6.7 fantasy points over expectation, so he’s due for at least a touchdown of positive regression. There is nothing about his advanced receiving opportunity metrics that should have fantasy managers worried. He’s due. Be patient.
Andrei Iosivas, Cincinnati Bengals
We find new ways to write about this guy every week, it seems. Well! He’s quite good. His opportunity metrics per NFL Next Gen Stats suggest he, like Flowers above, is due for some positive fantasy regression. Iosivas has -36.0 receiving yards over expectation. He already has two end zone targets and two end zone receptions; he also has a third touchdown on a longer play.
I believe what Burrow says about this guy. If folks in your league got impatient,
George Pickens, Pittsburgh Steelers
I also love Pickens as a buy-low candidate. Here’s what I said about him in that column:
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.
The volcano game is coming. Welcome it.
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.
