Players To Trade For In Fantasy Football: Rome Odunze & More Fantasy Trades To Make For Week 6

It’s all about pass catchers this week.

Fantasy football rosters continue to be impacted by bye weeks, with four more teams (a some damn good offenses) off this weekend. But this can present really interesting trade opportunities when players are on bye. This edition of players to trade for in fantasy football features three high-upside wide receivers that should be producing a lot more than they are.

Oh, and once again, go trade for Bhayshul Tuten. He’s awesome.

Players to obviously inquire about if anyone is worried:

Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, DET
CeeDee Lamb, WR, DAL
Zay Flowers, WR, BAL

Players To Trade For Ahead Of Week 6 In Fantasy Football

Rome Odunze | WR | Chicago Bears

The Bears passing attack was one of the most polarizing fantasy storylines all summer, and it’s continued into the regular season. Chicago’s pass catchers have underwhelmed through five weeks, while the injury to Caleb Williams certainly hasn’t helped. Things were ugly this past weekend, as Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum both struggled against the Packers.

A buy-low window is open.

This applies to Luther Burden, too, but I want to focus on Odunze, who is in a pretty awesome role at the moment. Over the past three weeks, Odunze has run a route on 93% of dropbacks, easily the highest rate on the team, but also the eighth-highest rate in football during that span. The volume has been solid, too, averaging a healthy 7.3 targets per game, including a team-high nine targets last week. So far this season, we’ve seen more in-breaking routes for Odunze, which are a lot more fantasy-friendly than the vertical routes he’d been targeted on across his first two seasons. 16% of his routes have been in routes, a career-high, while also setting career bests in post route rate (11.2%) and slants (5.3%). It’s an encouraging sign for Odunze, who will still see the downfield looks in this offense, especially once Williams returns, which seems like it will be this week against the Falcons.

DK Metcalf | WR | Pittsburgh Steelers

The AFC’s version of Jameson Williams.

That’s essentially how I view Metcalf going forward, though I do think his weekly target volume will be easier to predict. He was quiet against the Colts on Sunday, catching three passes for just 12 yards. It was disappointing, as Metcalf has just one game over 50 yards this season: his 115-yard effort in Week 4. Metcalf’s overall WR40 PPG rank is obviously a disappointment, but his 12.6 expected fantasy points per game (19th) suggest better days are ahead.

So does the volume.

Metcalf quite literally is not leaving the field, leading all wideouts with a 99% route rate. His 21% target share is healthy, while averaging just over seven targets per game. His 201 routes run are the fourth-most among all wide receivers and while Metcalf is still running go routes over 28% of the time, the Steelers are involving him in other ways, too. He’s actually run 10 WR screen routes (10th-most), seeing four such targets (8th). And in his first season in Pittsburgh, Mike McCarthy is dialing up the pass with Aaron Rodgers. Through five weeks, the Steelers rank fifth in dropback over expected (5%), fifth in dropback rate (66%), and second in dropback rate when leading by four-plus points. But perhaps more notable is the fact that the Steelers have a whopping 82% dropback rate from inside the 10-yard line, easily the highest rate in all of football. Despite the heavy pass volume from in close, Metcalf has just two end zone targets so far this season, something that should change going forward. And with both Michael Pittman and Roman Wilson sidelined, this passing attack should be very concentrated.

Don’t expect a weekly floor of 15-plus fantasy points or anything. But given his situation, Metcalf should be in store for a lot more production than he’s shown so far.

Tee Higgins | WR | Cincinnati Bengals

I honestly didn’t think Higgins would suit up this past weekend, but he played through his injuries. Of course, the final stat line was rough (2 catches, 22 yards), and now the Bengals are set to go on their bye in Week 6. If you are a team with a winning record and/or have depth to stomach Higgins not being available this week, I absolutely love the idea of trading for him.

Prior to last week’s game, Higgins has been strong this season, recording 90-plus receiving yards in three of five games. Sure, most of his huge Week 4 outing came with Ja’Marr Chase off the field, but we know Higgins is capable of finishing as a top-15 wideout alongside Chase. He’s currently being targeted on 25% of his routes, and following a Week 6 bye, Higgins gets a pretty favorable schedule.

Week 7: @ Baltimore
Week 8: vs Tennessee
Week 9: vs Atlanta
Week 10: vs Pittsburgh
Week 11: @ Washington
Week 12: vs New Orleans

One of my favorite things to do in fantasy is try to trade for really good players in really good offenses. Duh. But in particular, acquire those players from teams that are struggling and can’t afford to take a zero from them during their bye week.

Dallas Goedert | TE | Philadelphia Eagles

Following a two-game absence with an MCL sprain, Goedert immediately operated as Jalen Hurts’ top target on Sunday, hauling in a team-high six passes for 38 yards on nine targets. In his first game back, Goedert ran 67% of the routes and logged 69% of the snaps, both of which should increase this week. Goedert was targeted on 31% of his routes, and although this Philadelphia offense looks broken right now, he should continue to see strong weekly volume, especially if DeVonta Smith remains sidelined. Since 2024, Goedert has now been targeted on 35.8% of his routes with Smith off the field, and while the Eagles are hopeful their star wideout will return this week, it’s far from a guarantee.

But this trade recommendation isn’t solely reliant on Smith’s status anyway.

There have been plenty of disappointing tight ends in fantasy this season (Colston Loveland, Kyle Pitts, Mark Andrews), making Goedert a player to covet. He’ll have a large role regardless of Smith’s health, especially when the Eagles get inside the 10-yard line. The upcoming schedule is awesome, too, as Philadelphia gets the Panthers, Cowboys, Commanders, and Giants before their Week 10 bye.