Top wide receivers like Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson can be considered ‘buy-low’ candidates due to slow starts.
Players like Kenneth Walker III and A.J. Brown may be ‘sell-high’ options after strong Week 3 performances.
With three weeks of the NFL season behind us, we are starting to get a solid sample size to figure out who is real and who are the pretenders. That knowledge allows you to target league mates who aren’t paying close attention in trades.
Unfortunately, some candidates who seemed like sure things have not produced yet. Brian Thomas Jr. and Drake London are two who come to mind. Dropping them is out of the question since the talent and usage are still there, but starting them is getting tough. Trading them now would be selling low, which isn’t a great strategy either.
There are, however, some players after Week 3 who make strong trade candidates. Below are 10 recommendations:
Week 4 fantasy football players to buy
WR Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
This was a rough first full game for the Bengals offense without Joe Burrow. Fantasy managers with Chase and other Bengals playmakers may have already been concerned, and there are even more worries now.
Chase is still someone to trust going forward. Despite the offense struggling, he scored 10.9 PPR points. The Bengals have too much talent, even with Jake Browning at quarterback, for this type of performance to become the norm.
WR Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
It’s hard to believe two of the top wide receivers drafted this season are buy-low options just three weeks in.
Jefferson has yet to top 81 yards in a game and has only one touchdown. He also hasn’t scored 15 fantasy points in a week, which is far from the production managers expected when they drafted him.
This weekend’s game showed the Vikings offense is still strong, putting up 34 points. With Jordan Addison back next week, Jefferson should see more opportunities to get open and return the value managers expect.
RB TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots
Both Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson fumbled in Week 3. Those fumbles led to Henderson pacing the team in carries for the first time this season. This kicks the door wide open for Henderson to take more control of the backfield.
It may not happen next week, but it’s only a matter of time before Henderson earns a larger role. Now is the time to get him before the price rises.
RB D’Andre Swift, Chicago Bears
Swift entered the game questionable with a quad injury. He played, but his snap share dropped from 69% to 61%, and he didn’t perform particularly well.
The Bears offense is still a work in progress, but it has shown improvement. Once Swift is past the quad issue, his playing time and production should climb again.
TE Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
Bowers’ season has not started the way managers had hoped. He hasn’t missed time, even after suffering a knee injury in Week 1, which might make some forget he dealt with it at all.
He is still elite, so if any manager is frustrated with just 76 total yards in his last two games, now is the time to pounce.
Week 4 fantasy football players to sell
RB Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks
With Zach Charbonnet out, Walker dominated the usage as expected. He scored twice, but the rest of his production left plenty to be desired.
Fantasy managers will see the 16-plus PPR points and overlook his 2.3 yards per carry. Once Charbonnet returns, the workload split should resume, making Walker a volatile starter. This could be the highest trade value he has all season.
WR DK Metcalf, Pittsburgh Steelers
Three games, two touchdowns. Name value and those stats could carry a lot of weight in a trade.
Metcalf is the No. 1 target in Pittsburgh, but he has just 10 receptions on the season. That kind of usage does not lead to a reliable source of points, which is a big reason to want to trade him.
WR A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
Should managers have panicked after Week 1 when he saw a single target? No. Should they expect Week 3’s 10 targets, six receptions, 109 yards and a touchdown every week? Also no.
Week 3 was not a typical game script for the Eagles. They were down 26-7 early in the third quarter, which forced more passing than usual. Both Brown and DeVonta Smith benefited.
Brown and Smith will have more games like this, but they will be sporadic. The problem is you can’t bench them unless your roster is loaded, so leave this headache for another manager.
TE Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo Bills
Just looking at box scores, Kincaid looks fantastic. Digging a bit deeper there is some concern that this is fool’s gold.
Kincaid is in a three-man rotation at the tight end position for the Bills, with Dawson Knox and Jackson Hawes. This leads him to be in the game for only about 40% of snaps in one-TE sets and just over 50% of the snaps in two-TE sets.
Sure, he had a great game and is one of the team’s leading target getters, however, consistency is going to be a problem for him. This is and will be the case for Kincaid and all the Bills pass catchers this season as was pointed out over on Fantasy Six Pack in the Week 1 usage trends.
TE Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Henry leads the Patriots in targets, receptions, yards and touchdowns. While that could very well continue the rest of the season, it still comes with limited upside.
This is due to the team already having six receivers, including Henry, with double-digit targets this season. This has already led to some inconsistent performances from Henry. He’s an easy player to trade, especially if he is your second TE. Use the move to improve your WR3 or flex spot.