BUY
Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints
When your brother tweets “1 Target?” late in your game, you probably aren’t putting up stats to help your real team or fantasy managers. Olave finished Week 5 with two catches for ten yards on four targets, leaving Saints fans and fantasy football players scratching their heads. Olave has now sandwiched three solid games between a couple of stinkers. We’ve already seen the injury status of a starting quarterback affect fantasy output for pass catchers in Miami, and now Spencer Rattler is stepping in for a banged-up Derek Carr. Breathe easy, Olave managers. Rattler not only has a strong pocket presence like Carr, but he also brings the ability to move outside the pocket and create plays. If you can find someone who thinks the sky is falling in New Orleans for Olave coming off a poor Week 5 performance and with a backup quarterback starting for the next month, see if you can trade for the super-talented Olave.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 29: D’Andre Swift #4 of the Chicago Bears carries the ball past Byron Young #0 of the Los Angeles Rams during the third quarter at Soldier Field on September 29, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
SELL
D’Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears
This is your reminder that you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. Swift’s lipstick over the last two weeks has been facing a couple of bottom-five defenses that allowed some people to forget the 1.8 yards per carry he gave us through the first three weeks of the season. Swift found paydirt in Week 4 and Week 5, but he didn’t even have the most rushing touchdowns on his team in that two-week stretch, as that honor went to Roschon Johnson. Do not allow last year’s 1,000-yard season in a dynamic Philadelphia offense to cloud your judgment here. This is a Chicago offense in the bottom third of the league in total yards (bottom five in rushing yards) with a rookie quarterback. There may be outlier performances, but I don’t expect Swift’s value to be much higher at any point of the season than it is right now. Trade him ASAP.
HOLD
Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints
A pass-catcher who is way too talented to drop but probably untradable in most leagues with the Derek Carr news. We’ll need to take a wait-and-see approach with Shaheed to see how he gels with Rattler. Carr made a point of heaving it up and letting him do his thing at least a couple of times per game, but Rattler’s game doesn’t necessarily align with Shaheed’s finest skills. Carr should return in about a month, and we may just have to bite the bullet until that time. If you’ve been riding the Rashid Shaheed train (raises hand), the conductor may bring that ride to a momentary halt very soon, especially with Shaheed missing Wednesday’s practice with a hip injury, but I’m not hopping off just yet.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 29: Raheem Mostert #31 of the Miami Dolphins celebrates after his rushing touchdown during the third quarter against the New England Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium on October 29, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Raheem Mostert, RB, Miami Dolphins
98 total yards in his first week back after injury has immediately inserted Mostert back onto the fantasy radar, even in what has become a less-than-potent offense in Miami. I’ve advocated for holding all top Miami players, and Mostert is no exception. Jaylen Wright picked up the slack last week when De’Von Achane slammed headfirst into the ground and received a concussion, but a full-speed Mostert will be ready for Week 7 after a much-needed bye for the Dolphins.
Zack Moss, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
Everyone has Chase Brown fever, and understandably so, but Moss played 70% of snaps last week and is still getting passing down work. He plays a bunch on a top-scoring offense and has scored in three out of five games. I haven’t been the biggest backer of Moss, but he should be a contributor to your roster.