Dynasty Trending Observations: New Year’s Edition

Jahmyr Gibbs | Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Moore Posted On January 2, 2025

For most, dynasty leagues have awarded their Championships and closed the book on the 2024 season. But all that means is the off-season has begun and the 2025 campaign has begun. Below are some bigger developments and trends this week as you prepare for next season.

Tee It Up

WR most PPR points per game this season (min. 8 games):

1. Ja'Marr Chase
2. Tee Higgins pic.twitter.com/ZxjofPqika

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) December 30, 2024

Bengals receiver Tee Higgins sure picked a good time to get hot. Not only is he winning playoff games for his dynasty managers but he’s also heading to free agency after the season where he should be one of, if not the, best receivers on the market.

This season could also be considered a bit of a comeback. Higgins suffered various injuries in 2023 that led to him missing almost ⅓ of the season and recording career lows in every major statistical category with just 42 receptions for 656 yards and five touchdowns. He also barely cracked the top 50 regarding fantasy scoring for receivers. It took a serious toll on his dynasty ADP where he went from a top-20 dynasty receiver to barely a top-40 one.

But all is forgiven now as the post above points out – Higgins is one of the highest-scoring fantasy receivers this season and is poised to be the top target on a new team next year. With that in mind, how should we assess his dynasty future?

Dynasty Impact: Higgins’ value has, deservedly, gone up this season. He’s on pace to finish the highest he ever has regarding fantasy rankings and will, therefore, cost a fortune to acquire. And that’s before he signs with a team for 2025, presumably someone besides the Bengals.

It’s fair to put Higgins back in the top 20 when it comes to fantasy receivers, just like he was before the 2023 season. He’s been a top-20 receiver in three of his five seasons and only failed to accomplish that in the injury-riddled season last year and his rookie season.

Where you have to be careful is the hype that will surely follow after he signs on with a team to be their top receiver. It’s unfair to propel into the top ten when A) there are already several receivers that have a better claim to that and B) we won’t yet know how his new team will use him. Just be cautious if you’re looking to acquire Higgins. Or, if you’re a current Higgins manager and someone offers a fortune, strongly consider it.

Brownie Points

https://twitter.com/Underdog__NFL/status/1873404734297804980

Browns tight end David Njoku has had quite the roller coaster of a career. From a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft to a top-ten fantasy finish his sophomore season to being demoted from his team in favor of a free agent signing and now back again. It seems like he’s been in the league forever, which he has, but starting his professional career at 21 helps him last a little longer (more on that below).

Since Djoku found his way back into the starting lineup for the Browns, he’s been a serviceable fantasy tight end. He had a top-15 fantasy finish in 2022 followed by a top-five fantasy finish last year and is on his way to a top-10 fantasy finish this season. It’s more impressive when you consider the fact that the Browns have had no consistency at quarterback. It was Jacoby Brissett and Deshaun Watson two years ago; Watson, Joe Flacco, then-rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson plus, literally, two other quarterbacks in 2023 and now Watson, Thompson-Robinson and Jameis Winston. It’s hard to know who would like to see the same quarterback under center more, Browns fans for Njoku fantasy managers. But what does it mean for Njoku?

Dynasty Impact: Sadly, it looks like it will be more of the same in 2025 if the post above is to be believed. Cleveland is doing everything it can to move on from the monstrosity that is the Deshaun Watson contract but isn’t bad enough to get a top pick to take a quarterback. Enter Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, or any other veteran that Cleveland will trot out there.

For Njoku managers, it’s not the quarterback situation to watch in 2025 but, rather, Njoku’s potential decline. Yes, he’ll only enter his age-29 season but he’s already logged eight seasons in the NFL. His 7.9 yards per reception would be the lowest of his career and he’s averaging 10 less yards-per-game than last season.

He’s technically a top-ten fantasy tight end this season but only because there aren’t a lot of tight ends scoring points. If a win-now team comes along this off-season and offers you a deal for the veteran, I would take it.

Lion’s Share

The @Lions are the first team in @NFL history to have two RBs and two WRs all top 1,000 scrimmage yards in a single season.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/Vvgjs3Gscz

— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) December 31, 2024

Having two 1,000-yard rushers and two 1,000-yard receivers is something fantasy managers can only dream of but, as of yet, hadn’t seen until the 2024 Detroit Lions. The quartet of David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Jameson Williams led the Lions in every facet of the game and rewarded their respective fantasy managers. Gibbs and St. Brown are top-five fantasy options at their position while Montgomery and Williams have been a solid RB2 and WR2 respectively. But now that the season has ended and the off-season is here, how should we evaluate these players and what they can do for your dynasty team next year and beyond?

Dynasty Impact: Targeting these players in your league’s off-season is a Catch-22. All of their values will have gone up thanks to their super-productive 2024 seasons. But the post above speaks for itself – no team has supported that many 1,000-yard players before so the chances of it happening again are miniscule. And while targeting Montgomery or Williams would certainly cost less, Gibbs and St. Brown are elite options for a reason.

As mentioned above, they’re both top-five fantasy scorers at their positions this year and have no obstacles to them replicating that again next year, even if Montgomery and Williams stick around. They also show no signs of leaving Detroit anytime soon after St. Brown signed an extension earlier this season and Gibbs is still on his rookie contract for two more seasons.

Let another team pay for Montgomery or Williams thinking they can keep up with Gibbs and St. Brown.

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Michael Moore

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

Michael has played fantasy football for over 20 years when his mom funded his first team in the fourth grade. He’s contributed to various fantasy football publications and most recently spent five years writing for the Fantasy side of things at Pro Football Focus.