Dynasty Fantasy Football Trading Post: Will Levis

Will Levis | © Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

Russ Fisher Posted On July 11, 2024

Everyone has a different level of risk they are willing to accept. This stands across all aspects of life, fantasy football included. In dynasty fantasy football, we measure our roster – and sometimes our success – in the value we have on it. You can play it safe and keep a roster full of steady assets and make the playoffs every year but probably never win. Or, you take a risk in order to get the highest rewards. Now is when the first sentence of this paragraph comes into play: just how much risk are you willing to endure? The truth is, for me, the answer is not very much. I don’t usually take very big swings. The fear of losing big value looms over my head like a dark storm cloud waiting to burst open and drench me with the bitter wetness of defeat. This doesn’t mean I don’t take any risks though. I will take plenty of risks but always at what feels like a reasonable price.

In a superflex league the player with the biggest opportunity for a value swing is easily quarterback. Some QBs who feel risky but the price would be too much to bear for me are Caleb Williams and Anthony Richardson. I drafted both of them in rookie drafts but I wouldn’t dare try to trade for them outside those drafts. Richardson and Williams are currently QB6 and QB8, respectively, in DLF June ADP and they carry the trade value that those rankings demand.

Instead for today’s piece, we are sliding way down the scales of ADP down to QB22. This second-year quarterback has his fans and detractors and nothing in between. During his partial starting stint last season, he looked not terrible but not great. More importantly, the team surrounded him with talent and beefed up the offensive line. Surrounding a young quarterback with talent is a sign that they want to give him every chance to succeed and I want to have a few shares throughout my rosters just in case he does. Today we will be looking at some trades involving…

Will Levis, QB TEN

I wasn’t the biggest Levis fan through his draft process and was honestly a little surprised he started as many games as he did. Of course coming out and throwing four touchdowns in your first game will buy you a little bit of leeway. Unfortunately Levis never came close to repeating that first game. But that was last year! This year the Titans brought in a new coach and offensive coordinator, shed Derrick Henry, brought in Tony Pollard for the backfield, and Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd to secure the wide receiver corp. I might still not be the biggest Levis fan but I like the pieces they are bringing in and if anything, we know Levis can throw the ball a lot and very far.

Starting with an ADP of QB22 leaves a lot of room for Levis to rise if he can put even a decent season together. Also, as of right now the incoming 2025 class doesn’t seem to have any stud QB prospects. I bring this up for two reasons. First, It will be harder for Levis to lose value by default since there is a chance that no incoming rookie QBs will be valued above him, and second, because this makes it less likely that the Titans will replace Levis through the draft if this season doesn’t work out as well as we like.

We need to make sure we have our expectations grounded in a little bit of reality. Will Levis will not be a high-end quarterback asset. That isn’t what we are betting on. But if he can finish as QB14-16 in points per game and not look bad while doing it there is a good chance his value can jump up to that range in dynasty ranks. That is the game we are playing, small and calculated risks that have the ability to raise the value of our rosters but not tank them if the gamble doesn’t go our way. Enough with the hypotheticals, Let go to the DLF Trade Finder and Trade Analyzer and see if the market for Levis is in my risk wheelhouse.

12 team superflex PPR TE premium start 10.

It feels like there is a lot to digest in this trade. The rookie fever is strong with the valuation that seems to be placed on Drake Maye. You can see the sizable difference in these two sides on the analyzer. Also add in the uncertainty with Drake London with the new offense and quarterback and the unhappy feelings people feel about Levis and you get a trade done that looks very strange when put in an analyzer. But that is why we send offers, that is why we make trades. We use our values to get deals done that make us feel like we brought value to our rosters. The issue with this trade is that if Maye doesn’t become a stud QB it will be hard to rationalize this one in the morning – even if London becomes a solid WR2 and Levis stays in the QB22 area.

12 team superflex PPR start 11.

One of the reasons I want to try to trade for Levis is that his price should be very obtainable for a starting quarterback. Honestly, I don’t think you have to pay a first for him. You did, however, just have to pay a first to draft Xavier Worthy. There were a lot of trades in the Trade Finder that were Levis for late 2024 first picks or players who were drafted in the late first. In this instance I would hold onto the late first or the rookies taken in that area.

12 team superflex PPR TE premium start 10.

It would absolutely sting to send away Trey McBride in a tight end premium league but I love this move for a full rebuild. Full transparency, I was always a fan of McBride and I firmly believe that what we saw in the stretch down the end of last season was real. But would I go against the Analyzer and trade him away to get two young quarterbacks in very similar situations? I think I would. I at least want to say that I think I would. I probably would. Yes. Yes, I would. I think.

There are a lot of smart people playing fantasy football these days. It is very hard to win while playing safe but that doesn’t mean you need to throw on a blindfold and throw all of your darts at the wall. You don’t need to swing for the fences with every swing. You don’t need to… I can’t think of any more metaphors. Trading for players who play premium positions, who don’t have too high of a price tag, but have a relatively easy path to gaining value is a low-risk, nice-reward game. You won’t set the world on fire with any one move but if a few of them work out you make an instant impact on your roster.

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Russ Fisher

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

Russ likes to trade and Russ likes to talk. He pulls them both together into many dynasty/trade related podcasts. He has been playing fantasy football for 16 years and dynasty for 5. He spends too much time on Twitter and is always around to talk trades whenever you need!