De’Von Achane‘s done for the year. Breece Hall injured his quad and is reportedly week-to-week. Justin Jefferson sprained his ankle and missed most of the Vikings’ Week 3 contest in Tampa, but could play this week. These are some of the biggest names in fantasy football, but their injuries could be taking a toll on your team. Let’s find some help by identifying three buy candidates heading into Week 4 that can bolster your already strong roster or provide you with some necessary help to get back on track. We’ll also go over a few sell candidates to ship off your roster before their value potentially dips and the return in a trade is reduced.
BUY
Chase Brown (RB-CIN)
Week 3: 13 carries, 61 yards, two targets, two receptions, 8 yards
Chase Brown was a universal second-round pick in pretty much every fantasy football draft this past summer, and the results so far have been underwhelming. 8.1 PPR points in Week 3 is really disappointing for a player who commanded significant value in drafts, which is exactly why now is the time to buy him. According to JJ Zachariason of lateround.com, the Bengals’ first three opponents (Bucs, Texans, and Steelers) were all bottom-12 matchups for Running Backs based on adjusted fantasy points per game. The Jaguars in Week 4 aren’t an amazing matchup, but the Bengals face the Dolphins in Week 5, who give up the most fantasy points to running backs. Greener pastures and bigger running lanes are probably in the future for Chase Brown.
While the stat sheet hasn’t been what we’re looking for, Brown’s volume and opportunity are. Brown ranks third in rush share and eighth in route share among all Running Backs. Thus far, 86% of the Bengals’ touchdowns have come through the air, a number that is likely to regress. Between the tough matchups, the great volume, and the touchdowns through the air potentially taking a step back, it’s a perfect time to buy Brown before he has the inevitable turnaround and the price in a trade goes way up. It won’t hurt to see if the Chase Brown manager in your league is frustrated and losing patience, especially if you’re strong at receiver and can flip a pass catcher to add some depth to your running back room.
Schedule: vs. Jaguars, @ Dolphins, @ Ravens, vs. Titans, @ Falcons
Zay Flowers (WR-BAL)
Week 3: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 84 yards, 1 carry, 20 yards
After a Week 2 absence due to a hamstring injury, Flowers returned with 15.4 PPR points in the Brazil showdown against the Cowboys. Solid, but not spectacular, which is why he’s a buy candidate now before he’s another week removed from the hamstring injury. Flowers went out of his mind in Week 1, exploding for 150 yards and a touchdown on just five receptions before suffering the hamstring injury. He has 10 receptions for 234 yards and a touchdown on just 25 routes in the two games he’s played. John Hansen of fantasypoints.com noted Flowers has a 27% target share and a 36% first-read target share so far this season. Lamar Jackson also barely threw the ball in Week 3, coming away with just 20 attempts, but Flowers still managed to put up a quality fantasy outing. If Flowers can continue to progress in the right direction with the hamstring injury, he looks like he’ll take the next step into the truly elite group of pass catchers in the NFL.
Their Week 4 tout against the Titans is a middle-of-the-pack matchup, but their Weeks 5 and 6 matchups against the Falcons and Browns are games to be excited about for Flowers. Atlanta and Cleveland give up the sixth- and eleventh-most fantasy points to receivers, respectively, according to footballdatabase.com. If the Flowers manager is struggling at running back or feels like they have depth at receiver, do anything you can to buy him now before that manager looks at Flowers as off-limits in a trade.
Schedule: vs. Titans, @ Falcons, @ Browns, vs. Bengals, @ Bills
KC Concepcion (WR-CLE)
Week 3: 9 targets, 2 receptions, 9 yards
This might be one of the cheapest buy-low opportunities I’ll mention all season. The rookie out of Texas A&M had a forgettable Week 3 performance against Carolina, while his teammate in Tight End Harold Fannin Jr. shined with two touchdowns. I may be slightly biased because I was a fan of Concepcion leading up to the NFL Draft, and did draft him in my own keeper league, but I found some real evidence as to why it’s the perfect time to trade for Concepcion. Concepcion had a 30% target share in Week 3. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, according to JJ Zachariason, his two receptions for nine yards was the fifth-worst performance by a receiver with at least a 25% target share since the beginning of the 2025 season. In other words, his down performance was an outlier in relation to his usage.
His usage throughout the season has been encouraging too, as he has commanded a 24% target share and a target on 26% of his routes. Per Zachariason, dating back to 2016, the rookies who had at least a 22% target share and a target on a minimum of 25% of their routes through the first three weeks were Chris Olave, Puka Nacua, Zay Flowers, Drake London, Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr., Ladd McConkey, Malik Nabers, Jerry Jeudy, and Marquise Brown. Concepcion has found himself in that great company, but the fantasy points just haven’t come around yet. With how low the cost is to acquire him in a trade, it’s worth it to bet on the talent and move a player on your bench for Concepcion.
Schedule: vs. Steelers, @ Jets, vs. Ravens, @ Titans, @ Steelers
SELL
Aaron Jones RB-MIN)
Week 4: 17 carries, 58 yards, 6 targets, 5 receptions, 34 yards
This seems like one of the more obvious sell-now opportunities so far this season. 14.2 PPR points in Week 3 was more a product of volume than efficiency, and with Jones turning 32 on December 2, Jones probably can’t take on 20 touches a game long-term. On top of that, Running Back Jordan Mason is set to return from IR as early as Week 7. He’s five years younger than Jones and will come back fresh and ready to go. Mason will likely cut into Jones’ workload pretty significantly once he’s back, meaning now is the time to see if you can get some trade value back for an aging running back who’s set to face increased competition for touches in the coming weeks.
Jones may very well find himself on this list next week after he faces the Miami Dolphins, who have given up the most fantasy points to running backs. If you can sell Jones to a team desperate for immediate production, do it now, but if you’re 2-1 or 3-0 with Jones on your roster, you can probably afford to wait and see how big of a game Jones has against the struggling Dolphins defense and capitalize on his value never being higher next week. However, a team hit with injuries at Running Back may be okay with betting on the volume the former Packer is likely to see over the next few weeks, so send some trade offers their way and see if they’ll bite on acquiring Jones.
Schedule: vs. Dolphins, @ Saints, BYE in Week 6, vs. Colts, @ Lions, vs. Bills
Travis Kelce (TE-KC)
Week 3: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 59 yards, 1 touchdown
13.9 PPR points in Week 3 for a guy about to turn 37 isn’t too bad, not to mention his really strong Week 2 performance. Kelce seems like his old self, but some of the under-the-hood metrics indicate it may be a good time to sell Kelce at a value while you can. So far this season, Kelce is averaging more than 16 PPR points per game, something he hasn’t done since 2022. His target share of 19.8% isn’t significant, and he’s being targeted on less than 22% of his routes, which has only happened one other time in his career. I’m used to seeing Kelce turn around for a six-yard reception and get tackled, but this year he’s averaging more than 11 yards after the catch per reception. Going back to 2016, his highest average yards after the catch per reception sat at 6.2, indicating that we shouldn’t bank on these after-the-catch numbers holding up. The worldwide famous Tight End is averaging 16.3 fantasy points per game on 10.3 expected fantasy points per game in 2026, meaning he’s drastically exceeding expectations. The gap between actual fantasy points and expected points will probably start to shrink, but before that happens, see what you can get in a trade for one of the most well-known fantasy assets out there.
The managers in your league with Colston Loveland and Tucker Kraft may be looking at Kelce’s stat lines so far this year and think that would sure look nice on their roster. If you paired Kelce with another Tight End in the draft, like George Kittle or Dalton Kincaid, you’re in a great position to capitalize on selling Kelce high, bolstering another position on your roster, while not downgrading your Tight End room.
Schedule: @ Raiders, vs Chargers, BYE in Week 6, @ Seahawks, @ Broncos
Deebo Samuel (WR-SF)
Week 3; 0 targets, 0 receptions, 80 yards, 1 TD (check out the link below if you’re confused), 2 carries, 14 yards
The theme of selling 30+ year-olds continues with Deebo Samuel. He had one of the crazier 80-yard touchdowns you’ll see, when Mike Evans lateraled the ball to him this past week, and he took it in the distance. I have to admit that he displayed plenty of juice on this touchdown run, but if another manager is excited about Deebo turning back the clock, by all means, see what you can get for him in a trade. According to Fantasy Points data, Samuel is averaging 13.3 fantasy points per game on 9.5 expected fantasy points per game. His 3.36 average depth of target and 6.3% air yard share this season are also underwhelming. He’s a short-area merchant and a guy who probably won’t amount to a major win for your fantasy roster with this type of usage. Send out some trade offers and include he link for Samuel’s 80-yard lateral TD from this past week. If the Bhayshul Tuten manager is 1-2 or 0-3, and your roster could use a little extra at the running back position, Samuel for Tuten could be a reasonable trade.
Schedule: vs. Broncos, @ Seahawks, vs. Commanders, @ Falcons, vs. Raiders
Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire | Featured image by Ethan Kaplan (@djfreddie10.bsky.social on Blue Sky and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)