Dynasty Fantasy Football: Four Wide Receivers to Buy for 2025

Ricky Pearsall | Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Lewis Wood Posted On December 17, 2024

So your team didn’t make the playoffs. Or you got Cooper Kupp’d on Thursday, and you’re about to be bounced out at the first time of asking. Well, it’s all part of the game that we choose to play. However, have no fear! The greatest joy of dynasty fantasy football is that “there is no off-season” (not so subtle DLF slogan plug).

What that means in practical terms is that your team can be constantly improved even if your 2024 season is over. Even if you’ve been knocked out, you can still remain active in your league, and make moves to try to compete in 2025 and beyond.

Here are four players I think you should be buying now to get yourself ready for next season.

Rome Odunze, WR CHI

It’s been a bit of a forgettable rookie season for the 9th overall pick. At the time of asking, Odunze has 45 receptions for 585 yards and three touchdowns. That’s not a bad rookie season by any means, but pales in comparison to stud rookies like Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr and Ladd McConkey. However, the signs are definitely there. After the week seven bye, Odunze’s 17-game pace would be 68 for 823 and 5 TDs. He’s seen five or more targets every single week since the bye, including two games with 10+ targets, and has been improving his connection with Caleb Williams. The most important factor is that Keenan Allen will be a free agent in 2025. Combined with the fact that the Bears will be going out to get a new head coach (please please please get someone offensive-minded), Odunze should be seeing the field in two-WR sets in 2025. The talent is absolutely there and the connection with Williams is improving.

If you can buy him for anything after the 2025 1.05, you should be doing so. Odunze would be in competition for the WR1 in this upcoming class and is still worth the investment even if he hasn’t quite produced in the way that we’d have hoped for in 2024.

Rashee Rice, WR KC

The saddest story of the 2024 season for me was Rice’s ACL injury in week four. If we just take the first three weeks (yes, a limited sample size, I know), Rice’s 17-game pace would have seen him finish as the WR4 in 2023. He was the entire offense and the Chiefs have still not managed to replace his production. Rice’s skillset is different to everything else on this offense and we have seen how much they have missed him since the injury.

If you’re rebuilding, you should have already bought Rice. There’s a significant discount available here for someone who is a solid top-ten receiver in dynasty. There may yet be a suspension on the way, and this injury may take some time to recover from, but no wide receiver on the Chiefs has the same chemistry with Patrick Mahomes. The only person who does is Travis Kelce, and there’s a good chance he retires this off-season. Rice has an unbelievably high ceiling that’s being ignored in dynasty circles – buy the dip.

Chris Olave, WR NO

Olave is unbelievably talented. It’s such a shame he’s been tied to Derek Carr and the awful Saints offense. It’s been a lost season for Olave who’s been out since week nine with a concussion – which has been a continual issue for him. However, he started the season pretty hot with two top-24 finishes in the first four weeks. He hasn’t returned investment on the second-round pick you’ll have spent on him in redraft, but the talent is still absolutely there. Olave is only 24, will return from injury next season, and the Saints will be entering a rebuild as they seek a new head coach – and potentially a new quarterback to follow. Olave is by far the most talented WR on this roster and will remain as WR1 on the team as long as he’s healthy. I think the discount here is huge for a young stud WR who finished as WR25 and 16 in his first two seasons in the NFL. Similar to Odunze, he’d be WR1 in this class – worth investing and hoping he gets healthy.

Ricky Pearsall, WR SF

There’s absolutely a running theme of injury discount through this article, but the biggest injury of all was for Pearsall who was shot in the chest this off-season – then he somehow returned to the field in week seven. It’s been a very difficult rookie season for Pearsall, as you would expect with the injury he’s coming back from. He finished as WR13 in week ten, but has been outside the top 40 every other week, including three weeks without a single target.

However, the plan for Pearsall was always going to be for 2025 and beyond. And with Deebo Samuel almost certain to be cut after his drastic drop-off (which, as a Rams fan, I simply hate to see), Pearsall has a chance to step into a much bigger role. Brandon Aiyuk is unlikely to be ready for week one in 2025, with Pearsall has a chance to compete for the WR1 role on a high-powered offense. You can’t ignore the first-round draft capital, even if 2024 has been disappointing for him.

Thanks so much for reading! You can talk to me on X at @FF_Pancake to tell me your thoughts on the players discussed above.

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Lewis Wood

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

Lewis is a Rams fan from the UK who is obsessive over dynasty leagues. League mates have accused him of being way too trade happy but it works out when you bring home titles!

You can hear more from Lewis on his YouTube channel 'Fantasy Pancake' https://youtube.com/@fantasypancake?si=U7BLlUCqY38dTsEv