Capitalize on the fantasy football trade market in your leagues with these players to target or trade away ahead of Week 6.
Buy low on Khalil Shakir
Shakir missed Week 5 with an ankle injury. He wasn’t able to practice all week, which could mean he’s at risk of missing Week 6 as well. This has created a buy-low situation on perhaps the Bills’ No. 1 pass catcher. In Week 5 without Shakir, Josh Allen completed just 30% of his passes for only 131 yards.
Shakir being out wasn’t the only reason why Allen struggled, but it definitely was part of it. Shakir has been Allen’s go-to target against pressure this season. In Week 5, Allen didn’t have that safety net, and it led to him completing zero of 13 attempts while under pressure, according to PFF. That’s extremely concerning.
Shakir leads the Bills with a 20% target share this season and 95% of his targets have been catchable. He’s the perfect buy-low candidate. Try to trade away Tank Bigsby or Kareem Hunt for Shakir if you can.
Trade for De’Von Achane
Achane is at an absolute floor right now for his fantasy value. He left in Week 5 with a concussion and did not return. Achane has now failed to top 10 fantasy points in three straight games and has seen his production drop each of the last four weeks. To make matters worse, both Raheem Mostert and Jaylen Wright saw success in Week 5 with Achane out.
It’s a frustrating time to be a De’Von Achane fantasy manager, which makes it a good time to send a buy-low offer. Achane heads into his bye week so he should be good to return from his concussion in Week 7. While on his bye, you may be able to get him at a discount as he won’t be usable for his current managers.
The real reason you want to buy low on Achane is because Tua Tagovailoa is trending toward a potential return in Week 8. In the two games that Tagovailoa started this season, Achane averaged 22.8 fantasy points per game. He ranks fourth in yards created and sixth in yards per route run this year.
Buy low on Achane while he enters his bye week. Try to trade away Mike Evans or DJ Moore for Achane if you can.
Trade Away Nick Chubb
Chubb began practicing for the Browns last week. He was able to practice in limited fashion all three days, which is an encouraging sign. Chubb is coming back from a brutal knee injury that can take up to two years to fully recover from. But he’s already back on the practice field just 13 months after sustaining the injury in Week 2 of 2023.
This is great to see and, according to Deepak Chona, Chubb could be close to returning either this week or in Week 7. However, a return for Chubb wouldn’t mean he’s instantly back to his former self; it could take weeks for the Browns to ramp him back up to a fantasy-relevant workload. Even if he gets to this point, there’s still a big question surrounding how the injury will have affected his efficiency.
We also have concerns about this Browns offense and their banged-up offensive line that currently ranks 31st in run blocking, according to PFF. Try to trade Chubb for someone like Rashid Shaheed or George Pickens if you can.
Send an offer for Kenneth Walker III
Walker is arguably a top-three running back for the rest of the fantasy season. He’s coming off a week where he ran just five times for 19 yards. Not great. But it was his newfound receiving game role that saved his week. The Seahawks were trailing for most of the second half in Week 5. In previous seasons, this could have led to fewer snaps for Walker, but not under new play-caller Ryan Grubb.
Walker ran 30 routes for the second straight game. This is important because Walker had only run 30 routes in a game one time in 30 games prior to this season. This receiving-game usage has led to strong production. Walker has earned 13 targets the past two weeks — which includes this past week where he turned eight targets into seven catches for 57 yards; again, this saved his fantasy day.
Since returning from injury, Walker has handled 64% of the backfield snaps and 17 of 21 carries. He’s shown no signs of his injury holding him back. Trade for Walker if you can; I’d be willing to part with Chris Godwin or Garrett Wilson for him.
Buy low on Dontayvion Wicks
Wicks was a popular waiver add last week who many fantasy managers started. Christian Watson was out, and Romeo Doubs was suspended one game by the Packers. It was the perfect setup for Wicks to have a big day.
But he didn’t.
Wicks posted just two catches for 20 yards on seven targets. Once again, he had two drops in this game and was just missed by Love deep on two more targets. The box score looks bad, but we were a few inches away from a big day here. Most importantly, Wicks was open often in this game. In Week 6, Wicks will have another strong matchup against the Cardinals. Arizona allows the fifth most receiving yards per play this season.
Buy low on Wicks before Week 6 kicks off. Trade someone like Kareem Hunt or Wan’Dale Robinson for him.
