Sam Wallace presented the Dynasty Fantasy Football Guide, analyzing the value of five players going into Week 5.

The fantasy football process looks (roughly) the same, regardless of the format you play—fantasy football waiver wire research on Tuesdays, trade considerations throughout the middle of the week, and setting lineups toward the end of the week.

That said, there are subtle nuances that dynasty fantasy football managers have to pay attention to in order to alter their strategy. To assist, I'll be consolidating everything a Dynasty Fantasy Football manager needs to know to prepare for the week at hand.

Dynasty Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Target For Week 5

Jalen Tolbert, WR—Cowboys

 

The Cowboys have been lacking consistent production from any wideout not named CeeDee Lamb, and I'm cautiously willing to take a chance on third-year option Jalen Tolbert.

Tolbert, who has had an uninspiring start to his career, had quietly put together a decent stretch of games to start 2024. Over his last three weeks, he's averaging almost 50 receiving yards per game. It's nothing to write home about (yet), but I am fine taking swings on young, cheap players tied to highly productive QBs (Dak Prescott) and offenses.

As we've seen this season, and in almost every previous season, all it takes is a player finding the right fit, seizing on an opportunity, and making the most of it to turn a relatively unknown asset into a productive fantasy piece for dynasty managers.

Trade Targets for Dynasty Fantasy Football

Xavier Legette, WR—Panthers

When it comes to trading for players in dynasty formats, I often go against the traditional method of "buying low" and instead “buy high.” Here's what I mean.

Just because you miss the floor price on someone doesn't mean you should just forget about trying to acquire them simply because the price went up. In all likelihood, if the player is legitimately good, the price will continue to rise. You're still getting a “discount,” just not as much as before.

That's why I have no issue targeting someone like Xavier Legette even after an excellent Week 4 performance. I generally like getting exposure to rookie WRs in dynasty anyways, and if I have to pay slightly more for Legette today compared to last week, so be it.

It's the price of doing business.

Andy Dalton has revived this offense and, with most of the attention focused on Diontae Johnson, Legette quietly had his best game as a pro (6-66-1 on 10 targets).

Legette did come in at WR11 in our Rookie WR Model, but he also carries first-round draft capital.

His size (6-foot-3, 227 pounds) stands in stark contrast to Johnson (5-foot-10, 183 pounds) and it allows him to win at different levels of the field. Bryce Young couldn't drive the ball down the field … Dalton can. That matters for a big-bodied wideout. Toss in the injury to Adam Thielen (hamstring), and Legette has a great stretch of opportunity ahead of him.

Tank Dell, WR - Texans

As a rookie, Tank Dell posted a respectable line of 47-709-7 on 75 targets in just 11 games. Now a second-year player in Houston's high-flying offense led by C.J. Stroud, Dell has gotten off to a rocky start.

The extension of budding superstar Nico Collins combined with the arrival of Stefon Diggs has left fantasy managers a bit wanting with Dell. Even so, despite missing Week 4 (chest), his underlying metrics haven't been terrible this season.

In fact, Dwain McFarland went so far as to name Dell the No. 1 Buy-Low Target in Fantasy Football just last week. Here's what he had to say:

When the Texans drop back to pass, they use 11 personnel 79% of the time, which is excellent news for the three WRs.

Nico Collins is the No. 1 in Houston, but I don't expect this sort of target share discrepancy (28% to 17%) to continue. When all is said and done, we could see Collins around a 24% share and Dell around 21% (their TPRRs were only 4 percentage points apart last year).

Start smiling and dialing people. Your local Dell manager might be ready to give him away.

That's all I need to hear. Dell's price (both in redraft and in dynasty formats) is at its floor. Take advantage of his absence and subpar performances and add this talented young asset to your dynasty roster before he gets back on track.

Player to Trade Away in Dynasty Leagues

Tucker Kraft, TE—Packers

Whenever I'm targeting a player to trade away in any league format, I try to look for a performance (or two) of unsustainable production. It's awesome when a player comes out of nowhere and scores a lot of points, but it's unlikely to continue if the underlying metrics aren't there.

This is why I have no issue trading away Tucker Kraft if a certain boxscore-scout in your league sees how well he played on Sunday and thinks it's a sign of things to come.

The Vikings almost blew a 28-0 lead against the Packers and Jordan Love, playing from behind, put up nearly 400 passing yards and 4 scores. Kraft hauled in 6 of 9 targets for 53 yards and a score. He also lost a costly fumble.

Love attempted a career-high 54 passes, which certainly won't be the norm. Green Bay wants to be balanced and it has demonstrated an ability to move the ball effectively both through the air and on the ground. I fully expect this performance to be an outlier for Kraft this season.

Breakout Watch

Bucky Irving, RB - Buccaneers

It's a wonderful thing when talent, opportunity, and coachspeak come together at the same time. Bucky Irving, who came in as the RB9 in our Rookie RB Model, landed with Tampa Bay in Round 4 this past spring.

Through Week 4, the results have been promising. He's averaging 10+ touches per game and it sounds like his role could grow. Head coach Todd Bowles has come out and said that the promising rookie has earned more snaps.

Heading into this season, third-year RB Rachaad White has been the presumptive starter, but he's been wildly inefficient throughout his career. In his first two seasons, he averaged 3.7 and 3.6 yards per carry, respectively.

Irving, however, has demonstrated a history of desirable traits at the college level that translate well to the NFL. Check these out:

  • 2022: 67 missed tackles forced (15th nationally), 172.4 elusive rating (6th)
  • 2023: 69 missed tackles forced (10th), 149.2 elusive rating (13th)

Those are really strong numbers that rank right up there with some of the best RB prospects in college football over the past two seasons. It sounds like Irving has already made a strong impression just four games into his NFL career and, to be honest, White doesn't represent a big hurdle for him to clear to earn even more work in this high-upside offense.