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 – Kirk Cousins, QB ATL
I would like to start this by asking you to walk through a little exercise. Write down every team you think will need a new starting quarterback in 2025. I imagine you note down at least six but could potentially write down more. Now, write down all of the available quarterbacks. There are likely two in this draft class, potentially three. Then there’s Sam Darnold, and that’s pretty much it. You quickly find yourself in the Aaron Rodgers, Justin Fields, and Daniel Jones tier of very questionable options.
This is where Kirk Cousins walks in. In 2025, a team can either add the veteran signal-caller for free after the Falcons release him or may be able to trade for him and take on his very reasonable non-guaranteed contract, with the Falcons paying his signing bonus. They could even add an asset in the process, like the Browns taking on the Brock Osweiler contract. Before his season completely fell apart, Cousins strung together a stretch of six solid performances. He is returning from a career-altering Achilles tear to his plant leg (big difference to the Rodgers Achilles tear). Yes, there is a chance he is completely done as a viable starting quarterback in the NFL. However, as I mentioned, the NFL will be thirsty for starting quarterbacks in 2025.
Kirk Cousins for free will likely be enough to tempt one team. When he is a starting quarterback, he will be worth significantly more in superflex leagues than he is right now. I saw him traded for a single third-round pick this week. Now, I think you may need to pay more than that, but I would be surprised if you had to part with as much as a second-round pick. If you could acquire him for a couple of Third-round picks, you will either have yourself a starting quarterback in 2025, or you can spin him off for a likely second-round pick during the season. There is a slight risk that he decides he’s had a good career and packs it all in, but I think he is too competitive to go out like this.
Sell – Davante Adams, WR NYJ
Adams is having a truly remarkable stretch of production. Since the Jets’ bye week, he has been the overall WR2, averaging 26.5 points per game. He is likely winning people leagues right now. However, he has just turned 32 and will have a $38m cap hit in 2025 if he remains with the Jets under his current contract. He will either rework his current contract to stay with the Jets or hit the open market. If he does that, I am not very confident that a 32-year-old free agent will be able to find a new home where he can continue to produce.
If you can sell to a championship team right now for peak value, it may be your last chance because his value will significantly reduce the second we move out of points-scoring season. If you can manage to trade him away for any future first-round pick, that is a move I would look to be making. Alternatively, if you can pivot to a younger wide receiver at a similar price point and buy back years, that could be a positive move. Cedric Tillman and Rashid Shaheed are two of my favorite targets that you may even be able to get a small asset on top of.
Buy – Drake Maye, QB NE
When a future superstar pops onto the dynasty radar, they rarely present a buy window. We’re so quick to lust after the next big thing that their dynasty value skyrockets, and we all just watch as they ascend to a price point so expensive they can’t be touched. Maye is on that ascension; however, because of the quirk of his current surroundings, it has presented a small buy window. As a prospect, I was a big fan of the North Carolina product, but his performance since he entered the league has been more impressive than I could ever have imagined. That hasn’t truly found itself in the fantasy box score, where he has been a modest producer but not spectacular. He has been over 18 fantasy points in four of his last five games but hasn’t crossed 22 points all season.
But the issue is that the Patriots are so devoid of talent that they’re averaging 17.3 points per game. They’re in need of numerous new offensive linemen and numerous new receivers. This off-season, the Patriots will have well over $130m in cap space, and they are currently holding the number two overall pick with several QB-hungry teams behind them. They could add significant talent to this offense and allow it to take a step forward.
If this offense steps forward, Maye can be a special fantasy player. Since he started in week six, he has led the league in scrambles with 30. That’s four more than Jayden Daniels and six more than Jalen Hurts. He has also seen two goal-line carries, which will likely increase if the Patriots see the red zone more often. I would make that move if you can acquire Maye in a superflex league for around two future first-round picks. I would happily pay three first-round picks as he is now my dynasty QB7 and in the same price tier as Jayden Daniels, Joe Burrow, and Justin Herbert, but I appreciate that price may be too rich for some people.
Sell – Dalton Kincaid, TE BUF
One of the biggest traps in all of dynasty is young, highly drafted tight ends who haven’t yet shown it in the league. Consistently, we lust after potential. They get overdrafted and largely disappoint. Kincaid is still held up as a top-eight tight end in December ADP despite having only broken double-digit fantasy points three times this season and never breaking 18 fantasy points in his entire career. He is being held up based on potential. Yes, he was drafted highly and is tied to an elite quarterback, but he isn’t young. He is already 25. In recent weeks, he has consistently lost playing time to veteran Dawson Knox and has been below 50% snap share for each of the last two weeks. I think Kincaid is a descending asset, and I would be looking to move out from beneath quickly. I would accept almost any second-round pick for him, but I still firmly believe you could get a mid-to-high second back on name value alone.
One to Watch – Chigoziem Okonkwo, TE TEN
33.3% and 27% are Okonkwo’s target shares over the last two weeks. In week 15, he set a career high for receptions. In week 16, he broke that record. He ran 30 of a possible 36 routes on Sunday and is showcasing himself to be a featured part of this offense moving forward. I’ve officially sat up and will be watching over the next two weeks to see if there is more to this than a quick two-week flash in the pan.
