Dynasty managers constantly evaluate their rosters throughout the season, determining what players to buy and who to trade or cut loose. With this, it’s time for the reaction to Week 5 of buy-and-sell within Dynasty. I’ll be analyzing veteran and rookie profiles to project current and future values, which is the key to building a successful Dynasty Fantasy Football team.
My buy candidates throughout the year will range from immediate help to long-term upside that could deliver consistent production for the future. Also, knowing when to trade away players at or near their peak is valuable for always infusing your roster with up-and-coming talent. So, let’s dive right in, and let me help you by suggesting the players that you’d be wise to buy and sell in Dynasty this week.
* Within this article, the statistics were pulled from Sports Reference, KeepTradeCut (KTC), and Sleeper.
Buy
Tank Bigsby
All aboard the Tank Bigsby bus because this might be one of the last opportunities to acquire him for a reasonable price. So far this season, his Dynasty Fantasy Football stock is starting to rise faster, and he appears to be surpassing Travis Etienne, who came into the year as the starter in the Jaguars offense. In Week 5, Bigsby racked up 101 rushing yards with two touchdowns while adding one reception on one target for 28 yards. It’s also important to note that Bibsby had three red zone touches. However, the most impressive statistic for the young twenty-three-year-old is that he looked to be running through every Colts defender, and he finished as the RB1 (Full-PPR) for the week.
Even with Jaguars’ head coach Doug Peterson sticking by Etienne’s side, something to keep in mind is that the team needs wins after their 1-4 start, so they should be riding with the hot hand and more productive players this season. Etienne has failed to rush for over 68 yards in any week and hasn’t finished as a weekly top twenty running back yet, either. After their Week 5 game, it came out that Etienne’s decrease in snaps was because of a shoulder injury. While Etienne likely isn’t going anywhere, rumors about him being moved have surfaced. Etienne remains a major part of the passing game, but Bigsby appears to be the better overall player. The Jaguars’ RB1 spot is more open than ever, and Bigsy has the potential to take more and more carries. Bigsby is also a great buy-low candidate as he’s in the second year of a four-year rookie contract, so buying him now ensures he’s part of what most consider a potent Jaguars offense. Bigsby is currently listed as the RB24 on KeepTradeCut (KTC), which presents a great opportunity to try to buy him at this cost before his value takes off. Bigsby now has a chance to prove that he’s simply too good to stay off the field and, with more strong performances, make a very difficult decision for the Jaguars. So buy Bigsby now, whether you’re a contending or rebuilding manager, because if he continues to piece weeks like this together, he’ll be forcing his way into being one of the focal points of the Jaguars’ offense.
Diontae Johnson
Diontae Johnson is coming off a down week, presenting a great buy-low opportunity for Dynasty Fantasy Football managers. He started the season poorly, with former top pick Bryce Young quarterbacking the Panthers. However, since the “Red Rifle,” otherwise known as Andy Dalton, took over beginning in Week 3, Johnson’s results have been much better as he’s returned to fantasy relevance. With Dalton at the helm, Johnson had great performances in Week 3 as he finished as the WR6 (Full-PPR) with eight catches on fourteen targets for 122 yards and one touchdown. Then, in Week 4, he finished as the WR9 (Full-PPR) with seven catches on thirteen targets for 83 yards and one touchdown. In Week 5, Johnson only had three catches on six targets for 23 yards and zero touchdowns, and it was a disappointing performance, but I’m not worried about him the rest of the season as long as Dalton can retain the starting job.
Johnson’s Week 5 performance doesn’t worry me because he still commanded an 18% target share and still leads all WRs in the NFL with ten red zone targets. Both are impressive statistics. Late in the game, the Panthers pulled Dalton in favor of Young because of the blowout lead that the Bears had, and it’s important to note that while Dalton was in the game, Johnson tallied a 28% target share. As long as the Panthers have a serviceable quarterback for Johnson, I’m very high on him for the rest of the season. He is a perfect player to target for a win-now Dynasty Fantasy Football manager. Johnson is in a contract year, but the Panthers aren’t deep at wide receiver or playmakers in general, so it would make sense for both sides to figure out a long-term solution to stay together, or Johnson will leave for a more favorable quarterback situation that could favor even better fantasy performances. Johnson is currently listed as the WR39 on KeepTradeCut (KTC), which presents a great opportunity to try to buy him at a very reasonable cost, especially for contending Dynasty Fantasy Football managers in need of a wide receiver. Johnson is the Panthers’ top pass-catching option, and I like the consistency and ceiling that Johnson provides with Dalton. Buy Johnson lower now, as once he gets back on track, he will continue to be a focal point of this offense’s passing and help your team on your championship push.
Sell
Rhamondre Stevenson
After putting up a couple of poor performances the past few weeks, Rhamondre Stevenson bounced back in Week 5, finishing as the RB5 (Full-PPR) with twelve carries for 89 yards and one touchdown while adding four catches on four targets for three yards. With this strong Week 5 performance, it’s a good time to consider selling him to another Dynasty Fantasy Football manager in need of running back help. Stevenson is now the RB21 (Full-PPR) on the season, so even though he’s the Patriots’ lead back, his grasp on that position makes me a little nervous after he’s had issues holding onto the ball so far this season and had a few meager stat lines. Going into Week 5, Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said, “I had a conversation with Rhamondre, and quite frankly, this week, he won’t be starting.” The Patriots second running back, Antonio Gibson, started in Week 5, but Stevenson took over shortly afterward. Gibson has been a factor, and in Week 2, he had a strong performance with eleven carries on 96 yards, adding one catch on one target for seven yards. This and his past season’s performances have put more heat on Stevenson to perform. Additionally, in Week 5, the final snap count was 50/50 between Stevenson and Gibson, which isn’t ideal for Stevenson owners.
Stevenson is not in the upper echelon of running backs, and he’s also part of what’s considered one of the worst offenses in the NFL. Throughout the season, the Patriots’ offense will struggle to sustain drive consistency, which will only drive the panic meter on Stevenson up further. So, I would look to sell Stevenson as I’m not confident that he’ll get back into the elite-snap usage he was seeing at one point as long as Gibson remains healthy. After Stevenson’s Week 5 performance, now is the time to sell him, as he’s currently listed as the RB28 on KeepTradeCut (KTC). Even though he did just sign a four-year contract extension worth $36 million before this season, the Patriots are looking for productive players, and the shelf lives of running backs in the NFL don’t typically last too long. Being on a less dynamic offense like the Patriots is also something that makes me want to sell him. I would use this past week’s performance as a sell-high opportunity to market him to those Dynasty Fantasy Football managers who still see Stevenson as a top running back and need help before it’s too late.
Michael Pittman Jr.
In the past couple of weeks, Michael Pittman Jr. has come back to Dynasty Fantasy Football relevance since Joe Flacco took over as the Colts starting quarterback after Anthony Richardson‘s injury. Pittman failed to top thirty-six receiving yards the first three weeks, but in the past two weeks, he’s turned it around. In Week 4, he had six catches on nine targets for 113 receiving yards and zero touchdowns, finishing as WR21 (Full-PPR). Then, in Week 5, he was productive again with five catches on eight targets for 37 yards and one touchdown, finishing as the WR23 (Full-PPR). This past week, he had two red zone targets, and with these few strong performances, he’s entering the must-sell conversation as Anthony Richardson has struggled so far this season. Richardson will come back, and when he does, he’s spreading the ball out to all the Colts wide receivers and not specifically targeting anyone. An additional takeaway from the Colts’ offense is that Rookie Adonai Mitchell is also emerging, and he ran thirty-one fewer routes than Pittman, but they posted very similar target shares.
On a Colts offense that tends to be more run-heavy with a healthy Richardson and running back Jonathan Taylor, these factors combine to make it an easy decision to sell Pittman now, especially after coming off two strong performances. Pittman is a sell-high candidate, and I would either look to sell him now or in the next week or two to move him before Richardson reclaims the quarterback starting job. His performances aren’t sustainable on a run-heavy team and will make it difficult to predict his boom weeks. Even though he did sign a three-year contract extension for $70 million, as long as Richardson struggles with his completion percentage and a run-heavy game plan, I would be looking to sell him. Pittman is currently listed as the WR36 on KeepTradeCut (KTC), and now is a prime opportunity to look to move him before he reverts to his output in the first three weeks of the season. I would be using the past couple of weeks’ performance as an opportunity to market him to those Dynasty Fantasy Football managers who believe he’s back to his productive ways before it’s too late.
Conclusion
As the football season quickly moves along, don’t let your league catch you sleeping, as it’ll cost you in the standings. Buy and sell these players now to build your long-lasting championship-caliber Dynasty Fantasy Football roster.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I hope you gained some valuable information. If you have any questions or you’d like additional insight and analysis, please follow me on Twitter/X at @MonicasHubby. #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding
