Week 5 saw wild chaos around the NFL, from unfathomable clock management to last-second field goals. Congratulations to the Kenneth Walker, Chuba Hubbard, and Tetairoa McMillan managers, not to mention Bryce Young and Patrick Mahomes, who are all already done with their bye weeks for the year. Still, four more teams find themselves on bye in Week 6, with the Lions and Bengals in particular leaving fantasy managers without studs in their lineups. That’s why we come back to Buy and Sell each week, to find out how we can navigate the struggles of bye weeks and injuries, as we’ve really hit the core of the fantasy football season. If you’re in playoff position, let’s see who can help bolster your roster. If you’ve had a rough start, we can find good buy opportunities to try to turn things around. Even if you’re in a keeper league and are thinking 2027 may be your year, we’ll identify good selling opportunities to try to strengthen your draft capital ahead of next year.
BUY
Dak Prescott, Quarterback, Dallas Cowboys
Week 5: 24/42, 316 passing yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 0 rushing yards
A Thursday night win at home over the Bucs last week seemed certain, until the game started. CeeDee Lamb got banged up, and the defense couldn’t hold off an undrafted rookie quarterback in Jalon Daniels. The 11-year veteran only finished with 12.64 standard fantasy points, but that’s much more of a fallacy than what the norm will be going forward. First, Tight End Jake Ferguson had a catchable ball fly off his helmet into the waiting arms of a Bucs defender late in the game, causing Prescott’s second pick of the day. If Ferguson hauls that pass in we might be looking at a different stat line, and a different outcome, for the Cowboys.
Did I mention his top weapon, CeeDee Lamb, was injured? He re-aggravated a quad injury he sustained the week prior, and clearly was hobbled by it. Just four days before, Lamb was out of control, putting up 17 receptions for 189 yards and a touchdown. Losing a guy like that as part of your supporting cast is difficult to overcome, but the good news is things are trending in the right direction for Lamb to play Sunday night against the Packers. George Pickens is a #1 WR in his own right, and he had 28 PPR points on Thursday, but having Lamb back out there on Sunday will be a huge boost to Dak’s fantasy viability. He doesn’t run much, so he needs all the weaponry he can get, and as of now it appears he’ll have his two elite receivers alongside him.
Prescott’s averaging around 20 fantasy points per game, pretty good for a guy that doesn’t get much done on the ground. He’s the leader of one of the NFL’s top passing attacks and has arguably the best tandem of receivers in the league. If you’re struggling at quarterback, or have a guy like Jared Goff on bye, the window is now to get Dak after his two-interception performance. He can help solidify your quarterback spot heading into the thick of the fantasy season, and it shouldn’t cost you all that much to get him.
Schedule: @ Packers, @ Eagles, vs. Cardinals, @ Colts, vs. 49ers
Chris Olave, Wide Receiver, New Orleans Saints
Week 5: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 46 yards
Olave, Tyler Shough, and the Saints offense had an overall down game against the Vikings in Week 5. That’s no shock, though. The Vikings defense is the real deal, and I didn’t expect a second-year quarterback to light it up against Brian Flores‘ chaotic defensive scheme. He didn’t light anything up, and as a result, Olave’s performance suffered. The Vikings allow the fewest points per game and are 1st overall in defensive DVOA. Also, their 4th-quarter numbers are staggering (usually around the time the Saints offense really gets going). They’re 1st or 2nd in basically every meaningful defensive category in the 4th quarter, from points allowed, to yards allowed, to 3rd down conversion percentage, to red zone conversion percentage, etc.
By far his worst performance of 2026, Olave came away with fewer than double-digit targets and fewer than at least eight receptions for the first time this year. The fifth-year WR from Ohio State was having an All-Pro start to the season prior to Week 5, and there’s no reason to think that a down week against one of the NFL’s toughest defenses means Olave is heading in the wrong direction. This is the perfect week to try to buy Olave before he has the inevitable 25-point performance again, and his manager wants some of your home equity to try to get him in a trade.
The caveat here is to check the record of the Olave manager in your league. If they’re 2-3 or worse, they may be willing to move off Olave to see if they can get a package of players and get things going in a positive direction. 3-2 or better, and that manager probably is just fine with sitting back and waiting for the next big week from Olave. He’s too good, though, to not see if there’s a way you can snag him off a disappointing week and strengthen your receivers with a superstar talent.
Schedule: @ Giants, vs. Steelers (in Paris), BYE, vs. Browns, vs. Panthers
SELL
Jameson Williams, Wide Receiver, Detroit Lions
Week 5: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 47 yards, 2 touchdowns
Just looking at the box score alone gives you reason to believe Jamo is a good sell candidate for this week. We know how boom or bust he can be, and he happened to have a boom week against the Cardinals, a struggling defensive unit. A team that’s desperate at receiver may be willing to buy high for the upside that Williams brings. If you’re pretty comfortable at receiver, this is the perfect week to sell him. It’s also the Lions’ bye week, so the time is now to ship him off before his impressive Week 5 outing starts to fade, or before he has another middling performance.
JJ Zachariason of lateround.com pointed to some concerning metrics for Williams, even from this past week when he scored 18.7 PPR points. He noted Williams’ target share on the season is just 15.4%, down from around 18% each of the last two years. His target share percentage this year puts him outside of the top 50 among receivers. He also just had a 14% target share on Sunday, showing his involvement continues to be lackluster. The former first-rounder ranks just 33rd in expected PPR points per game, according to Zachariason. The boom weeks will happen, but the usage suggests there will be plenty of bust weeks too.
Schedule: BYE, vs. Packers, vs. Vikings, @ Dolphins, vs. Patriots (Berlin)
Bucky Irving, Running Back, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 5: 21 carries, 165 rushing yards, 1 touchdown, 3 targets, 2 receptions, 10 yards, 1 touchdown
Irving had one of the best games of his career in Week 5, and there’s a good chance it doesn’t get any better for him from here on out. He’ll definitely be a useful fantasy asset, but this is the perfect example of selling about as high as you can get. The Cowboys are the worst rushing defense in the NFL, so matchup-wise it won’t get any easier for Bucky. Also, a receiving touchdown on just 10 yards through the air and two receptions is flukey. If he had more involvement in the passing game this past week, it might be more difficult to view him as a great selling opportunity, but he hasn’t seen more than four targets in a game since Week 1.
Going back to draft season, Irving was getting selected in the middle rounds. You may have already stocked up at running back early and then snagged Irving in the 5th or 6th round, giving you the flexibility to move off of Irving and strengthen another position with a trade. Bucky was traded for Zay Flowers, Garrett Wilson, and Nico Collins today, according to the Yahoo trade transactions site. I’d do all those in a heartbeat.
Schedule: vs. Steelers, @ Panthers, vs. Falcons, @ Bears, BYE
Photo by Andrew Dieb/Icon Sportswire | Featured image by Ethan Kaplan (@djfreddie10.bsky.social on Blue Sky and @EthanMKaplanImages on Instagram)