Week 5 Recap! THE TRADE MARKET LIVES

Five whole weeks of our inaugural season down, and Breakfast of Champions is cooking!

I feel like we’re hitting a crucial point in the season where teams are really starting to figure out where they stand, and some of y’all are making decisions accordingly. We saw some movers at the top of the standings, while the bottom has stayed pretty consistent week to week… (starting to look like if you’re a Steelers fan, your fantasy team is kinda ass. Shoutout Varms, Sean, and Nick.)

We’ll get to some of the scores around the league, but first, let’s talk about something that got me fired up this week…

TRADES!

The Trade Block Lives!

This week, we finally saw the league’s first trades that DO NOT INVOLVE MYSELF go down! I called y’all out in last week’s recap, and you delivered. I’ve been leaking insider info for a couple of weeks now that Vance has been looking to sell some of his vets, and this week, it finally happened.

Vance traded Geno Smith and D’Andre Swift for Fred’s 2027 first-rounder.

I gotta admit, when this hit the timeline, I was a little surprised! Not because I think it’s a bad trade - I actually think it’s really solid, but I was surprised to see Fred give up his first rounder.

Fred is going all in this season on the (creaky) backs of Kirk Cousins and Jacoby Brissett, but you know what? It’s actually been working quite well. As you know, I’ve been vocal about my disbelief in Fred’s team, and he has done nothing but prove me wrong. I may be a dick, but I’m an honest dick. Fred, your team is outperforming what I expected of them. Good stuff! I also love how you saw me giving you shit about your old quarterbacks and said, “Fuck you, I’ll go get another one in Geno Smith.” Who knows what’s going to happen with your team after this season, but for the time being, you’re hooping.

For Varms, I LOVE this trade. His team has dealt with injuries galore, and he’s finally blowing it up. Getting a first for D’Andre Swift is fantastic value, and getting rid of Geno sheds some points and helps with draft position. Really well done, Varms! Good luck catching me in the draft though.

Vance followed this up with another trade (let’s go!), this time with Jake Carter. Vance acquired Demond Claiborne and a 2028 second-rounder for Josh Cameron and Brian Robinson.

Again, really well done by Vance here, grabbing some extra draft capital for players he doesn’t need this season. Also well done by Jake for liquidating an asset in his 2028 second to go out and get some RB help. Love this trade for both sides.

Fellow Steelers fanatic Sean saw this and decided he wanted to get in on the action, too. Sean has basically put his whole team up for sale on the trade block. That’s a LOT of production sitting there in Amon-Ra St. Brown and Trey McBride. Which contender is going to bite? After a disappointing 1-4 start to Sean’s season, I think this is the right move. Sometimes you have to recognize where you stand and start thinking about the future.

Insider info has also reached me that a few contenders are looking to buy production, so hopefully we see some more trades go down this week!

Keep it up, fellas. This is what I like to see!

Drake Maye Continues to Bounce Back

Nick’s team may have lost this week, but not without one massive bright spot: Drake Maye is officially OFF our Fraud Watch and BACK in the elite tier of QBs.

He had another incredible performance this week, throwing for 374 yards and four touchdowns while adding another score with his legs. He finished with 43 fantasy points, which, if I’m not mistaken, is the most by any player this season.

ON TOP OF THAT - and I genuinely could not have written a script this good - the Weekly Challenge this week was “The Sheriff,” awarded to the QB with the most points in their active lineup. Which means Nick takes home $10 on top of everything!

I mean, seriously, how perfect is it that the ONLY QB Weekly Challenge we have all year was won by Drake Maye? He heard all the meatball sub talk, and he shut it all down. Very impressive stuff, and congrats on getting a fifth of your buy-in back, Nick. I reckon we need a pint of Guinness this week.

Superflex Who?

Sandy Nic continues rolling this year, moving to 4-1 despite Sam Darnold playing like ass and waiver-wire pickup Tyler Huntley carrying his team this week. Sandy is truly redefining what we should be valuing in Superflex. He’s barely had a starting QB this season and just keeps on winning. Once again, amazing stuff, Sandy!

Unfortunately for his opponent this week, Sean scored the fewest points among the remaining Survivor teams and has officially been eliminated.

NINE TEAMS LEFT!

The Wildcard Playoff Spot Thickens

For those who haven’t been paying attention, seven teams make the playoffs. Six spots are decided by the Sleeper standings, but the seventh is a wildcard. The wildcard goes to whichever of the remaining teams has the highest PF, not Max PF, just regular PF-  among the eight teams that don’t qualify through the standings.

If the season ended today, Conner’s team, currently sitting at 2-3 and in eighth place, would make the playoffs anyway. And honestly, that feels right. Conner’s team went OFF this week, scoring 194 points and moving to the fourth-highest PF in the league. Do not underestimate this team. I’ve been saying it since the offseason, but this roster can beat anyone on any given week. Christian Watson has been the biggest surprise for me. He’s currently the #2 receiver in the league and #12 player overall. Jordan Love has been feeding him, and it’s paying off for Conner.

The standings might say 2-3, but the points say this team is much better. If you’re sitting comfortably above Conner right now, I wouldn’t get too comfortable!

A Blistering Start Has Scabbed Over

After starting the season 3-0 with the highest PF in the league and absolutely demolishing everyone, Graham has now lost two games in a row and is sitting at a less comfortable 3-2. To be fair, his team still scored a lot of points this week. He just happened to be playing another 3-2 team in Gaye for Maye, who also went off for 183 points. Shoutout Gibbs, that man is insane.

I’m honestly not worried about Graham’s team at all. He’s still scoring a ton, and his roster is really, really good. BUT I did have to point out that I jinxed him after our first Power Rankings update a couple of weeks ago. My bad, Graham. Apparently, I have the power to destroy your season with a few paragraphs of shit talk.

Quick Hits

• Julian goes to 5-0 after beating Jake, despite Jake making a valiant effort on Monday night to come back and steal the win. Julian is still the man to beat.

• Spencer goes to 4-1, and his team is rolling. I should probably talk about him more. Jaylen Warren has been incredible.

• Jayden Daniels is BACK. He returned from his elbow injury and looked insanely good, finishing as QB2 on the week behind Maye. In real life, though, that Giants/Commanders game featured some absolutely horrendous clock management at the end.

• The bottom five is a beautiful disaster. Myself, Vance, Nick, Sean, and Jacob are all down there, and it’s making me laugh. I guess being a Steelers fan and/or frequenting Hibernia on 50th Street means your fantasy team is buns.
  

  Closing Thoughts

  I love the activity we’re finally seeing on the trade market, and the group chat has been lively, too. This is exactly what I was hoping for when we started this league. Some teams are starting to separate themselves, others are figuring out whether they’re buyers or sellers, and we’re only five weeks in. There’s still a lot of football left to play.  

  Hope this league has been fun for everyone! I've really enjoyed it so far.

  See y’all next week!