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Dynasty Trade Targets: Let That Exciting Young RB Go

Get Ahead of Potential NFL Draft Shakeup

Remember Michael Mayer?

Just two years ago, he was basically the same fantasy asset as Sam LaPorta.

Mayer went one spot behind LaPorta in the 2023 draft, 35th overall to the Raiders – who traded up to get him. Mayer came out second behind only Dalton Kincaid in our Rookie Model scores amid that loaded class, after a terrific career at Notre Dame.

But then he went quiet … understandably.

Fine Situation Turned Bad

Mayer landed on a Raiders roster with WR Davante Adams, WR Jakobi Meyers, RB Josh Jacobs, and little else. He trailed only those three players in targets as a 2023 rookie, despite poor QB play, three missed games, and sharing the field with veteran TE Austin Hooper.

Then Vegas drafted Brock Bowers, and off-field stuff cost Mayer six games.

This offseason has found Mayer discussed as a trade candidate, though. And that’s what makes this the perfect time to grab him in dynasty.

Stash Sneaky Assets Before the Boom

If Mayer gets traded during the NFL Draft, he’ll likely see an immediate spike in market value. We know the talent’s there. He just lacks opportunity at the moment and has yet to match his NFL numbers with that talent.

That last part is why you can probably sneak Mayer pretty easily into some larger dynasty trade packages. Or maybe give up a middling draft pick for him directly – especially in another year with a good-looking TE class.

I didn’t nominate Mayer for the actual list of trade targets this time … honestly because I didn’t even think of it. He’s currently a lower-level asset than I was focused on. But the upside remains exciting.

Look around for other players with similar paths to post-draft value jumps. That could be:

• a veteran RB everyone expects to be displaced by a rookie
• a young WR with unproven upside but available opportunity
• a QB who just might hit Week 1 as his team’s unexpected starter

Have fun with it … as long as you’re using your Trade Navigator to keep the values in check.

Now let’s get to those dynasty trade targets at the higher-asset level …

Dynasty Trade Targets to Buy

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

Let’s start here: How old do you think Taylor is? (No cheating.)

Did you say 26? He just got there on Jan. 19. And our historical aging-curve research says we can expect a player of his archetype to deliver at better than 90% of his peak production for another three years.

The Colts clearly believe he’ll stay good at least through 2026. That’s how long the extension Taylor signed in October 2023 runs.

Ninety percent of Taylor’s fantasy peak (22.1 PPR points per game in 2021) would be 19.9 points per game. That would have tied for third at the position last season.

But Isn’t Taylor’s Peak Lower Now?

You might scoff at that previous section and point out that no other season has found Taylor come within 4 points of that 2021 fantasy-scoring average.

That’s fair. (And pretty astute.) But let’s look back at the details …

Taylor sprained an ankle in Week 4 of 2022. He wound up missing six games, needed January surgery, and even opened the following season on the PUP list. Taylor missed another seven contests in 2023.

This past season, however, found him back up to seventh among RBs in PPR points per game – even while catching a career-low 1.3 passes per game. His 102 rushing yards per game ranked third in the league. 

Taylor also, of course, had to overcome his team’s poor QB play.

Buy on the Colts’ QB Issues

Indy clearly wasn’t satisfied with the 2024 quarterbacking. Should Daniel Jones’ arrival excite us? Of course not. But it means we’ll either get a better version of Anthony Richardson or Jones in his place.

We already saw Taylor deliver more production with Joe Flacco in Richardson’s place last year. Check his splits with each QB:

That scoring average with Flacco would have led the position for the season. So yeah, Taylor’s peak still looks pretty high from here. (To be fair, though, I am writing this from my basement.)

That ceiling is key, because the market discount on Taylor might not be obvious right now. He sits:

• RB9 on KeepTradeCut
• RB7 in DynastyLeagueFootball startup ADP
• RB7 in the Fantasy Pros “expert” consensus rankings

That looks closer to Taylor’s healthy floor over at least the next two seasons than it does to his ceiling (or even his median outcome).

Trade Value Chart Check

There's a dynasty trade value chart to fit your format, with customized values for every player and upcoming rookie picks.

• 1-QB, 1-PPR: 52
• 1-QB, Half-PPR: 59
• Superflex, 1-PPR: 42
• Superflex, Half-PPR: 42

Similar Values

• Ladd McConkey
• A.J. Brown
• Brock Purdy (superflex)

D.J. Moore, WR, Chicago Bears

Moore’s a terrific way to buy into a potential offensive renaissance in Chicago.

The arrival of new HC Ben Johnson after three awesome years of running the Detroit offense has everyone excited.

We all know QB Caleb Williams has enough talent. But we don’t yet know how well he’ll convert it to the NFL after a mostly rough debut season. Plus, he’s already priced as a QB1 for 2025 by both dynasty ADP and best ball ADP.

WR Rome Odunze’s an exciting prospect … but you’ll have to pay way up for him, too (WR18 in dynasty ADP).

Moore, meanwhile, sits in a familiar spot: on a bench marked “Underrated” … just waiting for you to pick him up.

This Case Could Not Be Simpler

Moore sits at just WR22 on both KeepTradeCut and DLF (startup ADP). He’s WR24 in the FantasyPros consensus. Why?

I know we want to chase future scoring rather than past fantasy points. But just look at Moore’s PPR finishes to date:

• 2024 – WR14
• 2023 – WR6
• 2022 – WR24
• 2021 – WR18
• 2020 – WR25
• 2019 – WR15
• 2018 – WR36

Pretty good. Now let’s run that same list again but reverse the order and add his primary QB for each season …

• 2018 – WR36 (Cam Newton)
• 2019 – WR15 (Kyle Allen)
• 2020 – WR25 (Teddy Bridgewater)
• 2021 – WR18 (Sam Darnold)
• 2022 – WR24 (Mayfield/Darnold/P.J. Walker)
• 2023 – WR6 (Justin Fields)
• 2024 – WR14 (rookie Caleb Williams)

If the Johnson-Williams marriage goes anywhere near as well as the fantasy market and city of Chicago hope, then Williams could become the best QB Moore has played with as soon as this year.

Yet the WR’s dynasty market price sits at a level that would rank just fifth-best among the seven fantasy finishes he has already posted.

Oh yeah, and the dude’s heading into just his age-28 season.

Here’s What I Gave for Moore

I’m not just talking about trading for Moore. I’ve been pursuing him this offseason. Here’s a trade I made in a $250 FFPC dynasty league:

Important Context: FFPC dynasty leagues require you to cut rosters down to 16 players between seasons. And two of those have to be your kicker and DST – so really 14 players.

That makes it more like a keeper league than true dynasty to me. And I’m even more focused on winning now vs. long-term building than I would be in other dynasty formats

Value Win Anyway: Of course, our Trade Value Chart for the format knows none of that extra context. Its values are geared toward more traditional dynasty setups, probably closer to your league’s settings.

And it still says I won:

Trade Value Chart Check

There's a dynasty trade value chart to fit your format, with customized values for every player and upcoming rookie picks.

• 1-QB, 1-PPR: 47
• 1-QB, Half-PPR: 47
• Superflex, 1-PPR: 38
• Superflex, Half-PPR: 33

Similar Values

• Bucky Irving
• Zay Flowers
• Kyler Murray (superflex)

Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It’s OK to be a little wary of Godwin right now. Last time we saw the guy leave a football field, he was dragging a busted left ankle.

But the market appears a little too worried about him.

Godwin sits WR34 on KTC, WR36 on DLF, and WR36 in the FantasyPros consensus.

At the time of his injury, Godwin ranked third among WRs in PPR points per game. He finished the previous season just 37th in that category, but also ranked 18th in 2022.

So how should you value the veteran wideout?

Bucs, History Say He Has Productive Years Left

First, do you realize how productive this guy has been?

Godwin broke out in his third season, 2019 – back when WRs were allowed to take that long. He ranked second at the position in PPR points per game that year. Since then, Godwin has ranked:

• 15th in 2020
• Eighth in 2021
• 18th in 2022
• 37th in 2023
• Third in 2024

So that 2023 number is the outlier. And the biggest culprit was a mere 2 TD catches. Bad luck.

Mike Evans caught a league-high 13 TDs that year. TE Cade Otton (4), RB Rachaad White (3), and WR Trey Palmer (3) all beat Godwin as well, in QB Baker Mayfield’s first year with the team. Godwin rebounded for 5 TD catches in just seven games last season.

But What About His Age?

Godwin turned 29 in February, so he’s still in the traditional prime years for a WR.

Exactly what level of production we should expect going forward depends on which archetype bucket you’d sort Godwin into. 

But the one that best fits his production of the past six years says we can reasonably expect 90+ percent of his peak scoring for another three years, according to our historical aging research.

But What About His Ankle?

Let’s check with GM Jason Licht, who just re-signed Godwin instead of letting him reach free agency:

Licht said that back in late March, roughly two weeks after giving Godwin $66 million over three years, with $44 million of that guaranteed at signing.

We’ll watch Godwin’s recovery and readiness through summer, of course. But there’s no current signal that we should worry about him for the short or long term.

Godwin Doesn’t Fit Every Dynasty Build

Of course, even a valuable dynasty asset doesn’t necessarily fit every roster.

If you’re closer to rebuild mode, then Godwin doesn’t make as much sense. But you might even want to hold him rather than sell in that scenario.

We have Godwin ranked 31st among WRs in PPR dynasty formats right now – only a little ahead of the market. But we also have him 25th in redraft. So there’s room for a healthy Godwin to improve his market valuation later this year.

Just scroll back up if you forget how high his ceiling reaches.

Trade Value Chart Check

There's a dynasty trade value chart to fit your format, with customized values for every player and upcoming rookie picks.

• 1-QB, 1-PPR: 33
• 1-QB, Half-PPR: 33
• Superflex, 1-PPR: 26
• Superflex, Half-PPR: 22

Similar Values

• Chuba Hubbard
• Joe Mixon
• Sam Darnold (superflex)

Dynasty Trade Targets to Sell

Bucky Irving, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This one kinda hurts, because I spent last offseason championing Irving as a fantasy asset.

He lost some standing early last offseason because of poor Combine testing. But Irving carried a strong college rushing profile into a backfield with sneaky opportunity, thanks to Rachaad White just not being all that good a rusher.

It worked out. So why not just enjoy our spoils?

Market Has Swung Too Far on Irving

Irving delivered the 13th-most PPR points among RBs last year, ranking 19th in points per game. He now sits among the top 9 in dynasty valuation by any reasonable market measure.

I know what you’re probably thinking: Matt, he didn’t take over the backfield until like halfway through the season. So we’re chasing that production, not those full-season numbers you mentioned.

Fair. From Week 10 on, Irving handled at least 16 touches in every healthy game. And he ranked seventh among RBs in fantasy scoring across formats over that span. Take out the Week 14 contest he left after only 5 touches, and that gets even better.

If you believe he’s that guy going forward, then keep him.

Don’t Forget About Irving’s Limitations

Irving averaged 17.6 carries per healthy outing over those final eight weeks. Only six RBs averaged that many carries for the season, with one other at 17+:

• Jonathan Taylor 21.6
• Saquon Barkley 21.6
• Kyren Williams 19.8
• Derrick Henry 19.1
• Bijan Robinson 17.9
• Josh Jacobs 17.7
• Joe Mixon 17.5

Among that group, only Williams weighs less than 215 pounds. And even he’s thicker than Irving, at 5’9, 202 pounds to Irving’s 5’10, 195.

No RB weighing less than 200 pounds logged more carries than Irving’s 207 last season. Since 2015, we’ve only seen five seasons of 200+ carries by a sub-200-pound RB.

Irving’s a nice player, but he’s simply not built to keep handling the workload he got late last season. Even last year, he dealt with hamstring, toe, hip, and back injuries.

Of course, it’s quite possible none of those injuries had anything to do with his size. But don’t you think the Bucs might be motivated to avoid overworking him in 2025 and beyond?

Even in college, Irving never averaged more than 13.2 carries per game for a season and topped out at a 52.5% share of his team’s RB rushes.

Why You Should Try to Sell Right Now

I’m not saying Irving’s about to crash. I believe he’s good. I believe he’ll continue to get a good number of touches. And I expect that he’ll continue to deliver fantasy value – probably at a higher level than where you got him in last year’s rookie drafts.

But I also won’t be surprised if Tampa Bay drafts a RB somewhere in the Round 2-4 range later this month. Even if it doesn’t, we might well see Sean Tucker get more work in 2025.

However that works out exactly, I simply don’t believe Irving will deliver regular RB1-level fantasy production for you going forward.

He and the next guy on this list fit a player type that has historically made for a good dynasty sell …

Trade Value Chart Check

There's a dynasty trade value chart to fit your format, with customized values for every player and upcoming rookie picks.

• 1-QB, 1-PPR: 44
• 1-QB, Half-PPR: 47
• Superflex, 1-PPR: 35
• Superflex, Half-PPR: 33

Similar Values

• D.J. Moore
• Trey McBride
• Kyler Murray (superflex)

Chase Brown, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Like Bucky Irving, Brown emerged as a second-half stud after opening 2024 in a backfield split. He doesn’t share Irving’s size concern, weighing 211 pounds. And he even tested well:

• 89th-percentile speed score
• 9.81 Relative Athletic Score (out of 10)

So what’s the problem here? Why sell an athletic RB with good size in a strong offense who delivered top-15 fantasy scoring once he finally got a shot?

Well, that timeline’s a big part of it …

If Brown’s So Good, Why Don’t Coaches See It Sooner?

Brown spent time at Pitt and Western Michigan before landing with Illinois. He didn’t break out until his age-20 campaign and didn’t exceed 13.0 carries per game until his age-21 season.

Brown closed out college with a terrific season:

• 328 carries
• 1,643 rushing yards
• 27 receptions
• 240 receiving yards
• 13 total TDs

But despite that and his excellent Combine workout, he didn’t get drafted until Round 5 – 163rd overall and 10th among RBs. Brown went 48 picks after Roschon Johnson and 20 behind Israel Abanikanda.

His climb proved kinda slow in Cincinnati, too. We can excuse a fifth-round rookie getting little 2023 work behind a healthy Joe Mixon. But even after moving on from Mixon, Bengals coaches apparently didn’t believe Brown was better than Zack Moss.

They signed the former Colts and Bills RB that offseason and opened 2024 with him leading the backfield pretty clearly. Brown didn’t reach 10 touches in a game until Week 4. For the season, he averaged just 9.8 carries in games shared with Moss.

Was Brown as Good as His Numbers? 

Of course, coaches aren’t always right. And once Brown took over Cincinnati’s backfield last season, he became a must-start fantasy asset.

From Week 9 on, Brown scored the position’s ninth-most non-PPR points and sixth-most PPR points. He also got a big boost from the league’s fourth-largest opportunity share over that span.

Behind the base numbers, Brown also looked merely fine. Among 49 RBs who carried 90+ times for the season, he ranked:

• 29th in Pro Football Focus rushing grade
• 20th in yards after contact per attempt
• 20th in elusive rating
• 21st in rush yards over expected per attempt

Those numbers aren’t bad. But they’re also not studly. And that’s been a recurring issue for similar late-drafted RBs who flash early fantasy success.

That Late-Round Stud You Remember? He’s a Dramatic Outlier

Since 2000, there have been 58 occurrences of a RB who entered the league as a Round 4 NFL Draft pick or later averaging 10+ PPR points per game in his first or second season.

Three of those came last year: Brown, Bucky Irving, and Tyrone Tracy.

Those other 55 seasons? Forty-two of them found the player averaging fewer fantasy points the following year. The median change for the entire group: minus-3.3 points per game.

Aaron Jones broke out in his second season after the Packers drafted him in Round 5. But for every Aaron Jones, there have been roughly three Jay Ajayis.

You probably didn’t want to sell James Robinson after his awesome rookie year. But if you had, you would have avoided dips of 4+ PPR points per game in both his second and third seasons.

That’s why you should now strongly consider moving Brown, Irving … and/or Tracy.

Trade Value Chart Check

There's a dynasty trade value chart to fit your format, with customized values for every player and upcoming rookie picks.

• 1-QB, 1-PPR: 33
• 1-QB, Half-PPR: 34
• Superflex, 1-PPR: 26
• Superflex, Half-PPR: 23

Similar Values

• Jaylen Waddle
• Rome Odunze
• Tua Tagovailoa (superflex)

Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders

We were all happy to see McLaurin finally get a QB last year, right?

That upgrade delivered a fantasy points bonanza. McLaurin finished seventh in PPR, powered by 13 TDs. That nearly doubled his previous high (7 as a 2019 rookie) and ranked second in the league.

But as much as we enjoyed having those TDs in our lineups, that category now works as a key reason to sell the veteran wideout.

McLaurin Thrived on Good Luck in 2024

Lots of luck goes into scoring TDs, and that luck favored McLaurin last season.

Check this nugget (No. 135) from Jared’s 135 Things I Learned Doing 2025 Fantasy Football Projections:

Sheer regression makes that TD total likely to come down in 2025, because things didn’t change all that much otherwise.

Other Numbers Stayed In Line with Previous Seasons

Outside of the TD total, McLaurin’s stat line looked a lot like the rest of his career.

He did snag the second-most receptions per game of his career, despite his second-fewest targets per game. But that number (4.8), edged 2023 by just 0.2 and the previous two years by only 0.3.

Here’s how some other numbers rank among his six NFL campaigns:

Jayden Daniels undeniably helped, but he didn’t transform McLaurin as a player.

The wideout reached WR1 territory in total fantasy points, but ranked among the WR2s in points per game, and fell outside the top 30 in target share.

McLaurin’s Valuation Looks Volatile

Throw in that McLaurin will turn 30 early this coming season, and he sports a pretty strong “sell” profile. But that doesn’t make him a “must”-sell everywhere. His valuation could vary widely by league.

KeepTradeCut has him as WR30 in their dynasty rankings. The Fantasy Pros “expert” consensus puts McLaurin 18th – with a high of 12th and a low of 29th. And DLF’s March startup ADP lists him 22nd among WRs, with his overall draft position ranging from 21st to 62nd across the six startup drafts in their sample.

Your best bet will likely be to try selling McLaurin to the Daniels manager in your league – especially if that person doesn’t already have WR Deebo Samuel.

If you’re the Daniels manager, then you can still send out some offers to run a price check on McLaurin. But you might wind up just wanting to hold him in that case.

We have McLaurin just 34th among WRs in our PPR dynasty rankings. So any move where you get WR2-level value or better will make sense.

Trade Value Chart Check

There's a dynasty trade value chart to fit your format, with customized values for every player and upcoming rookie picks.

• 1-QB, 1-PPR: 30
• 1-QB, Half-PPR: 32
• Superflex, 1-PPR: 23
• Superflex, Half-PPR: 22

Similar Values

• Rome Odunze
• Late-Round 1 rookie picks
• Michael Penix Jr. (superflex)

Don't Screw Up That Deal

We just spent a whole lot of words discussing who to target and who to trade away. But it ain't that simple.

You need to find a worthwhile trade partner ... without wasting an entire day looking through the whole league's rosters.

You need to build a trade package that boosts your squad ... and actually has a shot at getting accepted.

You know what you really need? The Trade Navigator.

Check out this short video to learn more ...

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.