Week 5 Dynasty Buys: Exploit Values Before They Ascend

We’re now heading into Week 5, and the fantasy football world is already in massive flux. We’ve seen major injuries, significant disappointments, and surprise performances. Dynasty managers are flocking to their resource outlets to find their next moves to secure their 2026 championship title or get ahead next year.

Dynatyze now has its own trade database tool, where you can look up players and see what people in real leagues are offering and what they’re selling them for! One of the best ways to approach trades is to see what the active market is doing instead of relying solely on a basic trade calculator. Remember, many dynasty managers just follow everyone else instead of being self-reliant.

Here are some of our Week 5 dynasty buys at each position that we’re actively targeting right now:

Week 5 Dynasty Buys

Quarterback Dynasty Buy: Justin Herbert (LAC)

It’s understandable if you have a visceral reaction to the first name for a dynasty buy I’m providing, but hear me out. While Herbert, and frankly the entire Chargers organization, has been a disaster for the most part this year, he’s still comfortably a franchise quarterback. The NFL is desperate for good quarterback play. Teams like the Dolphins, Jets, Falcons, Cardinals, Vikings, Steelers, Colts, Browns (depending on whether you believe in Deshaun Watson), and Titans are arguably still searching for their franchise quarterback. While Herbert is clearly having a down year, any of these franchises would welcome him in with open arms.

With that being said, Herbert has always seemed like someone the general consensus gets super high on coming into each season, but then fails to live up to lofty expectations. This year, everyone thought that Mike McDaniel would be the answer to this offense. Clearly, that hasn’t been the case thus far. However, we have a large data sample showing that Justin Herbert is still a good, not great, quarterback. That still matters for dynasty, even in a down year.

For his career, in over 4,000 dropbacks, he’s been relatively modest as a passer given his bazooka arm. He’s sitting on 7.2 yards per attempt, an 8.0 average depth of target (aDOT), and a 4.3% big-time throw rate. These numbers are good, but not those of an apex predator at the position like Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes. These advanced stats suggest he’s taking what he’s given more than he is pushing the ball downfield.

While Herbert is far from absolved of blame for the Bolts’ season-opening struggles, some context matters. According to Next Gen Stats, he leads the league in most pass yards lost due to drops. Quentin Johnston is regressing sharply in that area this year, with a 22.2% drop rate so far. The Chargers have also suffered significant injuries again, as lead wide receiver Ladd McConkey is dealing with a foot injury, center Tyler Biadasz is missing the season with a knee injury, tackle Joe Alt is dealing with a neck injury, and tight ends David Njoku and Charlie Kolar have both missed time.

Contending teams are growing impatient with this Chargers offense’s week-after-week fantasy inadequacies. Every offensive player has a stink around them, and many fantasy managers want nothing to do with them. That is where you can find a prime dynasty buy value, especially for rebuilders who don’t care about points this year. Right now, Justin Herbert is generally valued as the dynasty QB17. This feels much closer to his redraft value than his dynasty value. We are still talking about a 28-year-old quarterback who’s consistently finished in the top 12 for fantasy in five of his six completed seasons.

Despite having a bad start to the season, Herbert is a quality franchise quarterback. While people are panicked about their Chargers players, you can take advantage. Here are some trades from the Dynatyze Trade Wire that have happened in real leagues that illustrate Herbert being a value as a dynasty buy right now at cost:

• Justin Herbert for Kirk Cousins, Javonte Williams, and two 2027 third-round picks: Herbert is by far the most insulated asset here. His career will outlast every player in the trade, and the picks are pure dart throws based on historical hit rates. This is clearly a contender selling Herbert who’s panicked and desperate for RB production.
• Justin Herbert and a 2027 first-round pick for Trevor Lawrence: Lawrence is great, but he’s not an entire first-round pick better than Herbert. I’d be willing to make this move to target Herbert as a dynasty buy here, whether as a contender or a rebuilding team. I’d figure out a cheap band-aid option at QB until Herbert breaks out of the slump.
• Bryce Young for Justin Herbert: While I don’t always love one-for-one trades, this is a fun one to comment on given the recent history. Young seems to have turned things around thus far; however, in all fairness, the Panthers have had a cakewalk schedule to start their season. We have a lengthy sample size of each, and if I had to put money on who I thought was the better quarterback long term, it’s still very clearly Herbert for me. This is a trade where I can see someone getting a second-round pick in addition to Herbert in some leagues, since KTC currently ranks Bryce Young higher than Justin Herbert.

Running Back Dynasty Buy: Jonah Coleman (DEN)

The 2-2 Denver Broncos are struggling offensively, especially given the expectations coming into the season. Quarterback Bo Nix has struggled to push the ball downfield, as evidenced by his less-than-7.0 aDOT. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle hasn’t lived up to the first-round price tag that the Broncos paid Miami for him. Lastly, their run game has been abysmal this year.

J.K. Dobbins looks cooked. After a very efficient year before his injury in 2025, he’s returned and given fantasy managers nothing but disappointment thus far in 2026. He leads the Denver backfield with 46 rush attempts for just 161 yards, a 3.5-yard-per-attempt clip. He’s only churning out 2.72 yards after contact per attempt (YCO/A). For reference, we want running backs to hit 3.0 or higher for YCO/A to show they are creating yards on their own.

If it wasn’t for RJ Harvey’s pass-catching chops, he’d be a fantasy bust too. His YCO/A is even worse at 2.50, and he has zero runs of 10-plus yards this year, with a flat 0.0% breakaway percentage. For an “explosive” run option, he’s doing nothing on the ground to showcase it.

The Broncos need a spark in this backfield to get something going. Without a sufficient run game, it’s hard to imagine Bo Nix carrying this offense deep into the playoffs this season, let alone making it. This is where Jonah Coleman could see his opportunity come shortly after he returns from his stint on the injured reserve. Coleman was my RB2 in the weak 2026 rookie running back class before the NFL Draft because he’s good at many things but great at none.

It’s a small sample size before he got hurt, but he showed enough to prove he could be the only running back who doesn’t look like he’s running underwater. In just 10 rushing attempts, Coleman has already shown explosiveness with two 10-plus-yard runs. He’s also the only running back on the team to score a touchdown on the ground so far.

Unlike Dobbins and Harvey, he’s more than a one-trick pony, having caught passes in both college and the NFL, with three catches on three targets so far. Nix is a checkdown artist, so this bodes well should he see a sizeable workload. Sean Payton has little excuse not to see what the rookie can do, given that his vets aren’t providing much themselves.

Since Coleman has a small sample size and is currently still on the injured reserve, he’s still acquirable in many leagues. Here are some examples of what real managers traded him for on the Dynatyze Trade Wire:

• Jonah Coleman for Malik Willis: While Willis has no supporting cast, he hasn’t shown much that suggests he can be a franchise quarterback. Miami looks like a lock for an early pick in the next draft, so it wouldn’t be shocking if they rerolled this offseason despite paying him a contract ($22.5M AAV slots him 21st among starting QBs). If you’re deep at quarterback in Superflex, I have no problem taking an upside swing on Coleman as a dynasty buy here.
• Jonah Coleman for Khalil Shakir: Shakir is what he is at this point in his career. He’s a fine flex play, and he’ll have a couple of upside weeks just by variance, since Josh Allen spreads the ball around so much. Shakir won’t gain value from here on out, but Coleman can very easily. This is likely a trade made because someone is trying to fill their flex due to the Week 5 bye week or the plethora of injuries.
• Jonah Coleman and Luther Burden for Denzel Boston and Emmett Johnson: As nice a breakout as Boston’s has been, I still believe Burden is the better talent, attached to a better quarterback and a better system. This has everything to do with recency bias, as Emmett Johnson is nothing more than a very good handcuff.

Wide Receiver Dynasty Buy: KC Concepcion (CLE)

Speaking of Denzel Boston’s breakout, the Browns’ passing game has shown signs of life lately. Both Boston and Concepcion look like great picks for an organization trying to get back on its feet, and they are still great dynasty buys for rebuilding teams. Boston is the guy everyone wants at WR right now, since he’s been putting up fantasy points. In dynasty, I still rank KC higher, since he was the much better prospect and has higher draft capital.

While everyone’s attention is diverted to Boston’s fantasy box score, savvy managers are looking at KC’s usage metrics and salivating at what’s coming. One of the best ways to find the next breakout wide receiver is to track usage. Start with snap rates, route-run rates, and target share. If these metrics are growing and hit specific thresholds, it’s a telltale sign that a breakout is imminent. I track these metrics each week on my X profile. Specifically, here are the baselines for each metric:

• Snap Share: steady growth from 60-70% to 70-80%+ of offensive snaps
• Route Share: 75-80% is the growth/breakout stage, 90%+ is the fantasy starter range
• Target Share: 18-20% is the growth/breakout stage, 22-30% is the fantasy starter range

Over four weeks, KC Concepcion has a snap share of 79.3%, a route share of 62.9%, and a target share of 24.4%. Last week, he effectively pushed Jerry Jeudy to the wayside; it just hasn’t translated to fantasy production yet. He’s clearly commanding a nice target share now, so it’s only a matter of time until it clicks for fantasy. Here are some trades that have happened to acquire KC Concepcion from the Dynatyze Trade Wire database:

• KC Concepcion and a 2029 third-round pick for Terry McLaurin, Kyle Monangai, and a 2027 third-round pick: On the surface, this looks like a rebuilder-vs.-contender trade, with the contender chasing points at Kyle Monangai, who had a good fantasy day last week but is far from an insulated dynasty asset. McLaurin looks completely washed. I still prefer the KC side regardless of my roster. I’ll figure out RB if I have to.
• KC Concepcion for Cam Skattebo and Jaylen Wright: I’m as big of a Skattebo fan as they come, but his usage has been disappointing this year, and the offense as a whole looks very volatile without Jaxson Dart at the helm. Wright is just a guy and is fighting with Ollie Gordon for touches in an offense I don’t really want pieces of, especially long-term. KC is the most value-insulated piece of the trade, and it wouldn’t shock me if this trade looks completely tilted within a year’s time.
• KC Concepcion, Tetairoa McMillan, a 2027 first-round pick, and a 2027 second-round pick for Ja’Marr Chase: Chase is a stud; there’s no debating that. Even with the concussion concerns from this past week, he’s still an S-tier wide receiver in dynasty. The only reason you’d want to move these kinds of assets is if you’re selling them for a haul. This is about as good a haul as you can expect, since Tet McMillan is an alpha wide receiver and KC has strong upside. The picks help insulate this trade, and it makes perfect sense if you’re a rebuilding team looking to gain valuable upside assets.

Tight End Dynasty Buy: Tucker Kraft (GB)

The Green Bay Packers are shifting how their offense operates, as they have virtually no run game, and their defense is a total sieve. The pass game has benefited immensely from this, especially for fantasy purposes, as they now throw the ball far more than in the past, moving from a -4.8% pass rate over expected in 2025 to -1.4% in 2026.

Tucker Kraft is truly just a younger version of George Kittle. I mean, both are great not only as fantasy receivers, but also as real-life tight ends. They aren’t tweener tight ends who never get asked to line up inside, as they can absolutely do the dirty work of blocking. He’s the exact type of dynasty buy that pays dividends when the production catches up.

His efficiency metrics suggest we should stay patient with him if you own him, but patience isn’t common anymore in dynasty fantasy football. That impatience creates these dynasty buy windows. Over four weeks, Kraft has seen an 82.2% snap share, a 16% target share, and a 71.4% route run rate. He’s already reclaimed his pre-injury role, so once his legs are fully recovered, I’d expect his efficiency to bounce back as well. He currently ranks 24th in yards per route run (1.34).

Prior to the ACL injury last year, Kraft was dominant for fantasy. He commanded an 86.9% snap share, an 18.8% target share, and ran a route at a 73.2% rate. When fully healthy, he ranked second in the league in yards per route run (2.33). This led to 14.74 fantasy points per game in points-per-reception formats. Clearly, he has room to grow in his efficiency this year as he returns to full health.

Whether you’re a contender or a rebuilder, the Dynatyze Trade Wire database shows Kraft, at just 25.9 years old and having just signed a massive four-year $75M extension, is a great-value dynasty buy right now. Here are some real trades that have happened recently:

• Tucker Kraft and C.J. Stroud for Fernando Mendoza, Eli Stowers, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2028 second-round pick: Most people rank Mendoza a tier above Stroud, but Stroud has played well so far this year, and Mendoza is still an unknown. Two random seconds and Stowers, who was having a hard time getting onto the field before the injury, don’t make up for adding Kraft to the Stroud side for me.
• Tucker Kraft, Jordan Addison, and a 2027 first-round pick for DeAndre Swift, Tee Higgins, and Juwan Johnson: Higgins and the first-round pick are fair value, so this becomes Kraft and Addison for Swift and Johnson. Give me the Kraft side here handily. The value is significantly insulated on the Kraft side, as Swift and Johnson aren’t locks to be relevant beyond this year. Yes, I know Swift signed a weak contract extension, but if you read the details, it’s easy for the Bears to move on from him.
• Tucker Kraft and a 2028 first-round pick for Chuba Hubbard, Jake Ferguson, and a 2027 second-round pick: This has to be a reactionary move based on the first four weeks, with the manager acquiring the Chuba side. There isn’t a single player worth any first-round pick, yet they are playing that on top of Kraft to go all in this year. This is what some will call a “taco” trade, but these kinds of trades happen all the time in general public leagues. This is an example for new dynasty managers of what not to do if you’re thinking about accepting the Chuba side.