Rest Of Season Top-150 Rankings: Players To Buy And Sell Before Week 5 (Episode 1032 with Adam Levitan, John Daigle, Mark Dankenbring, Jack Miller)
The ETR crew updates their rest-of-season top-150 after a chaotic Week 4, with the Eagles' offensive line collapsing (Lane Johnson retirement, Jurgens trade) and the Saquon Barkley injury reshaping Philly's outlook, plus fallout across several backfields (Bucs, Chargers, Browns, Bears) and receiver rooms (Giants, Saints, Bills). They close with buy/sell trade recommendations and each host's 'move to make' for Week 5.
This episode of Establish The Run's weekly rest-of-season rankings show centers on how fast team-level chaos is reshaping value across the league, with the Eagles' collapse serving as the headline case study. The hosts spend most of the hour triaging injury situations, backfield committees, and buy-low/sell-high calls off their top-150 board, then run real listener trades through their calculator and each submit one actionable move for Week 5.
The arguments
The Eagles are quietly playing out the string, not just dealing with bad injury luck. Adam Levitan and Mark Dankenbring point to Lane Johnson's retirement, the Cam Jurgens trade to Baltimore, Saquon Barkley's hamstring injury, and Devonta Smith's serious hamstring injury as a cumulative sign ownership is shifting toward asset preservation. Dankenbring backs it with data showing the Eagles average 4.5 more points and over half a yard more per play with Johnson on the field, but notes a soft near-term schedule (Panthers, Cowboys, Commanders, Giants) could give the offense a short-term bump before the long-term outlook sours again in the fantasy playoffs against Houston and Seattle.
Will Shipley is a short-term plug-and-play starter but a shaky long-term hold. John Daigle argues Shipley profiles as a pass-catching back who can produce even with poor rushing marks, citing the Jaguars' defense allowing heavy running-back receiving work and using Alvin Kamara's recent box-score outcome as a comp. Levitan agrees Shipley is fine for the Jaguars/Panthers stretch but suggests selling him to a desperate team given uncertainty about Barkley's return timeline.
Emeka Egbuka is unstartable until Baker Mayfield returns. Daigle is unambiguous that Jalen Daniels' performance (35 scoreless yards, dead-last air yards per attempt) makes even Tyler Algier and Keaton Mitchell better flex plays than Egbuka right now. He frames holding Egbuka as a cheap, long-shot bet on a late-season Mayfield-Egbuka connection rather than a current-week option, and flags Sean Tucker's goal-line usage as a separate red flag for Bucky Irving.
Malik Nabors is still a sell, but the timing matters. Levitan and Jack Miller agree Nabors has two more strong matchups (Saints, then a soft stretch) before the Giants' schedule turns and J.J. McCarthy becomes a bigger threat if New York falls out of contention. Miller specifically recommends selling now while buyers see the easy matchups ahead rather than waiting for the Texans/Eagles slate to expose the risk.
Jeremiah Love's locker-room comments and the ankle confusion make him a lower-confidence hold despite elite talent. Daigle says he doesn't buy the Colts' shifting explanation for Love's limited second-half usage and reads the comments as a sign of genuine mental fatigue, while still valuing Love's talent enough to keep him in the 20s overall. Levitan counters that the top-three-or-four running back ceiling case is probably gone for the season, settling the group on a floor-based ranking tied to his roughly 15-16 touch workload.
Quinshawn Judkins' increased pass-game role looks legitimate, not just an injury-driven fluke. Dankenbring cites a 14.5% target share across six games without Dylan Sampson as evidence the receiving role is real, while Daigle counters that Judkins still ranks 94th of 95 backs in rush yards over expectation and that his production is purely touches-and-volume driven. Both land on him as a hold, not a sell, given the Browns' murky scoring outlook.
Puka Nakua's "pre-hernia" is being wildly overstated by online speculation. Miller acknowledges the broadcast did use the term pre-hernia and says there's elevated risk relative to Nakua's already-high baseline, but both he and Levitan note the Rams played him on 90.7% of dropbacks and 76 of 84 snaps, which signals no organizational concern. Levitan says he'd only sell Nakua for a true superstar package (Chase, St. Brown, Jefferson tier) and otherwise holds regardless of record.
What it means for your roster
- Sell Bucky Irving now, per Dankenbring's move of the week — Tucker's goal-line role and Kenneth Gainwell's passing-down work are squeezing Irving's high-value touches, and the Bucs' upcoming schedule (Cowboys, Panthers, Falcons, Bears) is a good sell window.
- Buy low on Parker Washington — Daigle's move of the week argues the Jaguars' blowout wins are suppressing his counting stats while his route share and WR1 role are intact; value should spike once Jacksonville's games get closer.
- Sell Ollie Gordon — Miller's move of the week flags this as a hot-hand committee where Jalen Wright out-snapped and out-carried Gordon before his one long run; sell into the recency-driven high.
- Buy George Pickens if he's been devalued into the 40s-50s range — Levitan's move of the week says Pickens' talent and the Cowboys' shootout environment haven't changed even though CeeDee Lamb's health has suppressed his target share; paying a cost in that range is a smash, but giving up a player like Ollie Gordon or Brian Robinson for him is not advised.
- Hold Puka Nakua unless you're 0-4 or 1-3 and need to pivot to win-now assets — snap count evidence outweighs injury speculation.
- Stash Jonah Coleman and Keaton Mitchell on bench/IR — Coleman has a path to the Broncos backfield over a struggling J.K. Dobbins, and Mitchell is now out-touching Amarin Hampton outright in a backfield the hosts call must-roster for both players.
“He's the rich man's Alvin Kamara right now.” — Adam Levitan
Players in this episode
→ Diagnosed with a 'pre-hernia' but played 76 of 84 snaps; hosts say hold, not panic-sell, since the Rams show no sign of reducing his role.
↓ Week-to-week with a hamstring injury; ranked 54th overall as the Eagles' offensive line situation worsens.
↓ Lost snaps to Keaton Mitchell, who out-touched him 15-11; dropped to 83rd overall and seen as near-unstartable for the next five weeks given a brutal schedule.
→ Public comments about wanting other guys to get the ball raised concerns about his mental state; still ranked 27th overall on talent, but hosts are uncertain about a timetable to separate from Tyler Allgeier.
→ Expected back Week 5 with a wide range of outcomes; his rushing upside is key to fantasy value, but hosts may consider him a sell-high if he looks good given a fragile supporting cast.
↑ Value has fallen since CeeDee Lamb's return, but hosts argue his talent/role is unchanged and he's a strong buy-low given Dallas' shootout-prone offense.
↓ Only 21 carries for 105 yards through four games; hosts worry he's not running enough to be a strong fantasy QB, ranked 94th overall.
→ Good matchups vs. Commanders and Saints the next two weeks, but hosts remain long-term sells due to shoulder/knee concerns and the looming threat of J.J. McCarthy taking over at QB.
↓ Mark's 'sell' pick of the week — route share has declined every week (53% to 31%), popped up on the injury report, and is losing high-value touches to Tucker and Gainwell.
↓ Serious hamstring injury likely keeps him out Week 5; ranked 34th overall with concern about the Eagles' collapsing infrastructure.
↓ Unstartable until Baker Mayfield returns; only 35 receiving yards with Jalen Daniels at QB, ranked 67th overall.
↑ Receiving role has improved to a 14.5% target share in games without Dylan Sampson; ranked RB20 despite poor per-touch efficiency, seen as a solid hold.
→ Benched after a fumble but hosts expect him to return to his normal shared role with Kyle Monangai rather than being punished long-term.
↓ Hamstring injury at age 31 raises concern about his recovery and role security.
↑ Already 6th among RBs in targets; seen as an interesting buy given Bo Nix's checkdown tendencies and J.K. Dobbins' struggles.
↑ Progressing in rehab (running, jumping); hosts like buying him given a plus schedule once he returns, though usage will likely be eased in.
↑ Still Jacksonville's WR1 by route share despite lower raw stats because the Jaguars have been winning big and passing less; hosts like buying him low.
↑ Up 18 spots as the clear alpha WR behind Trey McBride regardless of Marvin Harrison Jr.'s status; only CeeDee Lamb has more targets than him since Week 2.
↑ Joe Brady publicly admitted to not using him enough; hosts expect him back as a top-six TE option against the Rams on Monday night.
↓ Considered 'toast' given the poor QB play and offensive struggles in Tampa Bay.
↑ Worth stashing on IR as a path exists to overtake the backfield if he returns healthy while Dobbins struggles.
↑ Target share and touch share have risen every week, reaching a 45% snap mark and out-touching Hampton; hosts say he should be universally rostered as the team's RB1B.
↓ Getting goal-line work away from Bucky Irving, a concerning sign for Irving's role.
↓ Hosts argue the Browns should trade him at the deadline given the offense's direction.
↑ Earning a strong target share (19.3% over his last 8 games) and playing well, but seen as a threat to lose volume once Tyson returns.
↓ Jack's 'sell' pick after a big Week 4 game in a hot-hand committee with Jalen Wright; value seen as a relative peak to sell into.
→ Good short-term plug-and-play against the Jaguars/Panthers with Barkley out, but hosts see him as a sell to desperate managers given uncertain long-term role if Barkley returns.