Dynasty Fantasy Football Trades
Taking advantage of potential valuation trends in the trade market is imperative. That is even more true during the season when players can experience wild valuation changes on a week-to-week basis. Each week, I will be highlighting some players you should be looking to move or acquire and the reasons why.
Buy – DeVonta Smith, WR PHI
Smith came out of college as one of the greatest slot receivers ever. In the NFL, he has averaged 2.48 yards per route run from the slot and only 1.65 yards per route run when he has been lined up outside. Despite this disparity, he has spent the majority of his career as an outside receiver who plays occasionally out of the slot.
Enter Kellen Moore, who has had incredible success over the past few years with CeeDee Lamb and Keenan Allen playing out of the slot. Smith played 54% of his snaps out of the slot in week one, which was more than he had done throughout his career. He may not have had a breakout game in week one, but seven receptions for 84 yards on eight targets is far from a mediocre performance. Smith is primed to have a tremendous season this year in one of the best offenses in the league, and I have now moved him up to my WR13. I would happily play a little more than a random 2025 first and second to acquire him, which is about where the trade analyzer has him valued. If you wanted to make a player-based trade, pivoting off a player like Stefon Diggs with a second or maybe a couple could be a win-now move that can significantly buy back years.
Sell – Jahmyr Gibbs, RB DET
Gibbs is poised to be a fantasy superstar. He is a lead back in one of the league’s best offenses. He is explosive every time he touches the ball and is a significant piece in the receiving game. However, after week one, I’m concerned. The hope was that in his second year, Gibbs would start to see a bigger share of the workload, perhaps a 60/40 split with David Montgomery. After week one, Gibbs was on the field for 50.8% of the snaps and saw an opportunity share of 45.9%. He saw six targets, but a 33% Target per route run rate is unsustainable. He must be on the field to produce to the level we hoped he could. You also need to consider the emergence of Jameson Williams, who adds another weapon to command targets in this offense.
I like Gibbs, the player, but I think he will struggle to pay off his current price. He is currently the RB4 and worth more than two future first-round picks in a superflex league. If you could pivot from Gibbs to a running back a tier or two down like Saquon Barkley, Kyren Williams, or even Rhamondre Stevenson, you could add a significant asset on top without sacrificing any value in the present or the future.
Buy – Tucker Kraft, TE GB
The Packers’ offense when Jordan Love is healthy will be great. Having pieces of this offense will be important. And Kraft is a significant piece of the offense hiding in plain sight. Kraft had a record of improvement, like very few players, during his rookie year. He came into the league quite raw but continued to develop and was a competent tight end by the end of the season. Despite the gap in draft capital, he outplayed Luke Musgrave through the off-season and, in week one, was on the field for 95.5% of offensive snaps. No other Packers skill player was above 90%, and Luke Musgrave was at 25.4%. It is evident and apparent that Kraft is the TE1 in this offense. He didn’t trouble the box score with only 3 targets, but that will come if he consistently stays on the field.
Add in the fact that Love is likely to miss a few weeks, and it opens up an incredible buy window for Kraft. If you go about it the right way, you may be able to prize him away for as little as a third-round pick.
Sell – Davante Adams, WR LV
Adams is a star and is still one of the best wide receivers in the game. However, the Las Vegas Raiders are a tire fire. Gardner Minshew has his fans but is a very limited starting quarterback. He doesn’t have the arm talent to threaten defenses deep, so he thrives on the RPO-heavy quick passing game like he did last year in Indianapolis. In week one, his aDOT was a league-low 4.7 yards downfield. Despite having the lowest aDOT, he had the tenth fastest time throwing. He isn’t getting the ball out as quickly as he should, and the windows in the underneath passing game are incredibly small. With this sort of quarterback play, Adams will need an obscene target volume to pay off his current price. He can do that, but with Jakobi Meyers, Brock Bowers, and the running backs, he may struggle to see the 30% target share he will need. I would happily sell for any future first round pick, or if you’re a contender, I would try to pivot to a player like Keon Coleman, who showed some promise in week one, or even Mike Evans if you’re looking for a win-now option.
One to Watch – Devaughn Vele
This segment is always challenging because you’re looking for a glimpse of something that could turn into something bigger. Vele was one of my favorite players to monitor through the preseason. He is an older prospect who turns 27 in December but has some interesting spots in his profile. During week one, he was the clear WR3 in Denver, playing 49.3% of snaps and well ahead of Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin. It may come to nothing, but a seventh-round rookie playing this much in week one is noteworthy and worth monitoring moving forward.
- Dynasty Decision: David Montgomery - April 18, 2025
- Dynasty Decision: Michael Pittman - April 11, 2025
- Dynasty Decision: Rhamondre Stevenson - April 4, 2025
