Trading is fun. Everyone wants to trade in their dynasty league. But no one wants to give anything up. That’s the big catch-22. There are a lot of articles out there telling you who to buy-low on in dynasty or who will be this year's big sleeper. We even wrote one detailing a few books that can make you a better fantasy trader. 

But the more valuable information, information that we sometimes don’t want to hear, is which players we should trade away. Which players are still high in those fantasy football rankings that we can sell now for those coveted stars or picks.

And I’m not just going to cop out here and say, “trade Keenan Allen because he’s 32”. The players we are looking at here are all 25 years old or younger. We also used trade evaluation sites like PeakInHighSchool (which looks at industry rankings) and KeepTradeCut (which measures general sentiment) to ensure that someone out there is interested in these players. 

You should be able to get a second-round rookie pick back for these guys, or at least a third. But, without further ado, here’s one tight end, one wide receiver, and one running back to cash out on in your fantasy football dynasty leagues. 

 

 

 

Cole Kmet – Chicago Bears

The fact that Cole Kmet is still valued where he is baffles me. We’ve done extensive research on this position that shows the VAST majority of difference-making tight ends either lead their team in targets or are second. There is an argument to be made right now that Cole Kmet might not even be a top four target on the Bears.

Not only did the Bears add Keenan Allen to go along with superstar DJ Moore, but they drafted Rome Odunze at nine overall. That alone is a nightmare situation for Kmet. But, even worse, they brought in Shane Waldron to be the offensive coordinator. 

The same Shane Waldron who has rotated tight ends at every stop along the way. The same Shane Waldron that was the tight end coach for the Rams when they drafted Gerald Everett. The same Shane Waldron who brought Gerald Everett with him to the Seahawks and used him as the pass catching tight end in that rotation. The same Shane Waldron that brought Gerald Everett to the Chicago Bears.

I’m just not sure how folks think this offense is going to work. Do they think Shane Waldron convinced Everett to join the team and gave him $12 million to strictly back up Cole Kmet? And that the Bears will run 11 personnel every play with three wide receivers and Cole Kmet? And that a rookie quarterback will somehow support all of them? No.

What’s most likely to happen is Kmet will skew blocking while Everett will skew pass-catching. That could lead neither tight end to be relevant with both of them settling in somewhere with 30-50 targets, as would often happen with Waldron’s tight ends in Seattle. Folks are probably still looking at the TE7 seasons for Kmet when the Bears were depleted of talent, so they’re thinking things can only get better. But they very clearly just got worse, so I’m cashing out.

 

 

 

Khalil Shakir – Buffalo Bills

Within the wide receiver position, there are actually three “roles”. You have your split end, which is typically a bigger body player that lines up on the outside directly on the line, you have your flanker which lines up on the outside off the line, and then your slot wide receiver, who lines up in between the line of scrimmage and an outside wide receiver. Naturally, players who can play all three of these positions, especially the outside ones, have more opportunity.

The issue we run into with this Bills offense is that they not only use two tight end sets, but they also have a fullback in Reggie Gilliam. That creates a lot of situations where there are only two wide receivers on the field, and sometimes, only one. The Bills spent a high draft pick on the big-bodied Keon Coleman to be that split end. They paid for Curtis Samuel in free agency to be the flanker. 

That leaves Khalil Shakir in a spot where he will likely be rotating with Dawson Knox as well as the field-stretching wide receivers in Mack Hollins and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. His upside is capped. With Stefon Diggs leaving and vacating so many targets, there is some renewed hype around Shakir. PeakedInHighSkool currently has him valued as an early third round pick, while KeepTradeCut suggests you can actually get a second for him. 

My policy on day three NFL draft picks that briefly generate that kind of steam is to cash out now and roll the dice again on someone that’s drafted within the first three rounds and has more upside. I know every once in a blue moon there is a hit on an Amon-Ra St. Brown or a Puka Nacua, but the odds really are not in your favor with late round wide receivers. The outliers are the exceptions that prove the rules.

 

 

 

Brian Robinson – Washington Commanders

Brian Robinson has a great story. Shot in the leg during an armed robbery and recovered to not only play, but play well at the NFL level. He’s an easy guy to root for. And he’s honestly a good football player. But the situation surrounding him is outside of his control. And that’s why we are looking to sell.

Sometimes it’s difficult to figure out what teams are planning to do, but that’s not the case with Washington, as they’ve essentially told us. The running back coach is former Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn. And he brought in former Chargers running back Austin Ekeler. The plan, as Austin Ekeler has said, is for Brian Robinson to handle the short yardage work with Ekeler handling pass down work and also getting some touches in space in the red area. 

He specifically mentioned the split backfield between him and Melvin Gordon with the Chargers as an example. I know Ekeler is getting up there in years, but if the new regime decides they like the system, they are more likely to replace Ekeler with another pass-catching back than they are to go back to a bellcow.

This setup is honestly not the end of the world – there are a lot of split backfields. But the Commanders also just used the second overall pick on a mobile quarterback. Not just a mobile QB, but a true rushing QB. As we’ve seen around this league, rushing QBs not only throw the ball to the backs less often, but they also vulture rushing touchdowns for themselves. 

Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts each had 15 touchdowns last year. James Cook just dealt with this, and he only scored two rushing touchdowns – that’s why, even though he catches passes and was a top five back in yards from scrimmage, he was the RB19 in fantasy points per game. 

If Brian Robinson is going to be splitting the backfield with another back AND battling with a mobile QB for touchdowns, it could get pretty rough. He was already an older prospect so he’ll be 27 years old when he hits free agency and I’m not sure we can wait for that. Both trade evaluation sites suggest you can get an early second for him now.