Dynasty is all about making moves at the right time. NFL Free Agency 2025 kicks off on March 12th, and there are some major names on the market. For dynasty fantasy football players, it’s essential for your team’s future to track where players are going. To get ahead of other dynasty managers, we’ll be looking at four players to trade away and four players to trade for.
Dynasty Moves-Players to Trade Away:
Davante Adams: WR
The New York Jets are releasing Davante Adams ahead of the free agency deadline, ending the short, failed experiment. This brings his tenure in New York less than one full season as he only appeared in 11 games for the Jets in 2024. Adams was the #1 receiving option in his reunion with Aaron Rodgers, totaling 854 yards in his time in New York, compared to Garrett Wilson, who had 705 yards once Adams entered the picture.
Adams will instantly elevate the offense of whatever team he lands with & he was fortunate his time in New York made him look like a #1 receiver. Albeit, this was due to the connection he had with Rodgers and the inconsistency with Garrett Wilson that led him to earn this title. The 6-time Pro Bowler will be joining the 4th team of his career & we think it’ll likely be his last. Adams is entering his age-33 season & we’re not hopeful he has much juice left in the tank. He’s been holding off doubters the last few years, but he can only keep this up for so long and he likely won’t be the #1 option wherever he lands.
Thankfully, if you have Adams on your dynasty team, his name alone holds a lot of weight, and people will still be thinking they’re getting a top 20 receiver. Before free agency begins and Adams ends up as a #2 or even #3 option somewhere, trade him to someone who still thinks he is a #1 guy.
Sam Darnold: QB
One of the most unexpected storylines of 2024 was the resurgence of Sam Darnold. Darnold did a complete 180 on his career trajectory and should have a starting job entering the 2025 season. After J.J. McCarthy went down in the preseason, Darnold stepped up to the plate and had the best season of his career, throwing over 4,300 yards and 35 touchdowns and leading the Vikings to a surprising 14-3 record. The Vikings are weighing their options at quarterback, and it won’t be an easy decision deciding between bringing back Sam Darnold on a non-franchise tag, the guy who led them to 14 wins or giving the keys to J.J. McCarthy, the supposed future of the franchise that they drafted 10th overall to land. The Vikings appear to be sticking with McCarthy and moving on from Darnold, despite the success he brought to the team.
The situation that Darnold had in Minnesota won’t be nearly as good as any of the other teams in need of a quarterback. Darnold had a top 2 receiver in the NFL in Justin Jefferson, a solid #2 receiver in Jordan Addison, & an offensive line that can hold its own. It’s tempting to want to hold on to Sam Darnold after his success, but any situation he ends up in will be a significant drop compared to Minnesota and we don’t want him on our fantasy teams for when that happens. If the Vikings do bring Darnold back, we don’t see him keeping the starting job for the season. It’s unlikely they will do so since they opted not to keep him on the franchise tag.
Aaron Jones: RB
Sticking with Minnesota players, Aaron Jones is another player that we’re looking to offload from our dynasty team before free agency kicks off. Similar to Darnold, Aaron Jones also had a bounce back campaign in 2024. Jones went from 656 rushing yards & 233 receiving yards in 2023 to 1,138 rushing yards & 408 receiving yards in 2024. This was the most rushing yards that Aaron Jones had in a season and the 2nd most receiving yards. These stats makes Jones an attractive option at running back, but the area he hasn’t been able to succeed in is finding the end zone. Jones only had 7 total touchdowns in 2024 & hasn’t had more than 10 in a season since 2021.
We’d rather leverage the yardage value that Jones brings and try to upgrade for another veteran like James Conner, David Montgomery, or Joe Mixon who have all been better at finding the end zone in recent years. Jones is one of the older backs available on the market which makes it less likely that a team will want to pay much money for him or want him as a starter. The rookie class is rather deep this year, which will make it tougher for Jones to find a job. Before Jones might end up as a backup or in a rough situation, getting one of the better veterans would be better for our fantasy teams.
Mike Gesicki: TE
The tight end position is one of the toughest positions to find quality players at, outside of the top few, there’s a big drop off to the middle-tier of tight ends. One of those middle-tier tight ends is Mike Gesicki who is back on the market after only having a one-year deal with Cincinnati. Gesicki had a bounce back year with over 600 receiving yards after two straight years of being under 400 yards. This was in large part due to the Bengals having no running game, Gesicki having a top 5 quarterback in Joe Burrow, and Tee Higgins missing time which opened the door for more targets for Gesicki.
All the cards were in line for Gesicki to succeed in 2024 and he finished as Fantasy TE17 on the year. It’s unlikely the Bengals can afford to keep him on the team and most other landing spots would be a downgrade. If we’re able to get a 2nd or 3rd round pick from a tight end desperate team, we’re taking the offer and focusing on the plethora of running backs & wide receivers in this year’s draft class.
Dynasty Moves- Players to Trade for:
Amari Cooper: WR
After having the worst season of his career, it’s easy to see why people would be down on Amari Cooper. This was a big letdown after the high hopes we had for the 5-time Pro Bowler having MVP Josh Allen as his quarterback for the latter half of 2024. Amari played a minimal role in Buffalo and is looking for a new opportunity to move past this dismal year where he had less than 600 yards total. Part of that play had to do with an injury that set him back and not play up to his high expectations. With spending the off-season recovering, regardless if Cooper stays with Buffalo or signs elsewhere, we expect him to return back to form.
With the poor showing in Buffalo, Cooper’s trade value is at an all time low. If you’re looking for a receiver that’s consistent, paying a late round pick or even a boom or bust younger player for Cooper is worth making the move. He’s still a flex / high end backup, even at his age.
Justin Fields: QB
While the Pittsburgh Steelers are looming their decision at quarterback, now is the time to make a move on Justin Fields in Superflex leagues. After 3 years with Chicago, the Bears had seen enough of Justin Fields and moved on from the young quarterback.
Heading into Pittsburgh as the backup, Fields got the opportunity to start the first 6 games of the season while Russell Wilson was nursing an injury. Those 6 games should be enough of a showcase for other NFL teams around the league on what Fields can do with a semi-competent offensive line, something he never had in Chicago. In those 6 games, Fields had his lowest interception rate of his career at only 0.6%, lowest sack rate of his career at 9.04%, and his best completion percentage at 65.8%. Fields held his own and led the Steelers to a 4-2 record during that stretch which should ease any doubts on whether he’s a starting caliber quarterback in the league.
There’s several teams like the Giants, Raiders, Browns, & Titans that would instantly improve their offense with the addition of Fields who is a dual threat quarterback. Fields has improved his passing game, but his main appeal is his legs where he can change the game on the ground. Making a trade for someone seen as a washed up player when they have the chance at being a starter or a premium backup is worth the low price point.
Juwan Johnson: TE
Finishing as Fantasy TE19 is not someone you would think would be worth trading for, especially someone who’s 28 years old, but Juwan Johnson is someone we love heading into 2025. Johnson finished with career bests in receiving yards with 548, receptions with 50, and catch rate with 75.8%. Johnson managed to pull this off even with Derek Carr missing half the season. The Saints have a new offensive-minded head coach in Kellen Moore, a new offensive coordinator in Doug Nussmeir, and a healthy Derek Carr back to spark some energy into this dormant offense if the Saints decide to bring back Johnson which is likely with him being a fan favorite and having a career year.
The Saints finished bottom 10 in scoring and finished bottom 5 in Red zone scoring opportunities. This is an area where Johnson can thrive. With the changes made within the organization, Johnson should continue building off his career year and with finding the end zone more, could sneak into the top 10 fantasy tight ends. For someone who’s flying under the radar, we want to make a go at the veteran before he signs a long term deal to stay in New Orleans.
Najee Harris, RB
The Pittsburgh Steelers declined picking up the 5th year option on running back Najee Harris, letting him test the waters in free agency. This was a surprising move given that in the 4 years Najee Harris has been in the NFL, he has rushed for 1,000+ yards each season. The last 2 seasons, Harris still managed to have 1,000+ yards rushing while having to split duties with the emergence of Jaylen Warren. Harris proved to other teams he can operate in a two-back approach and something more teams across the league appear to be adopting.
It’s understandable to give up on Najee Harris in fantasy with him likely going to one of the bottom dwellers of the league, as these are where the majority of the RB needy teams are. Even if Harris ends up on a team like the Raiders or Titans, he still will get lots of touches as he operated as a dual threat back averaging 45 receptions per season in his career. This puts him in the upper half of backs in the league. With where Harris is currently ranked around the RB27 mark, he’s a steal at that price.
Before he signs elsewhere and potentially landing a starting job where he can expect more of a workhorse load, we want to snag him up quickly. He’s one of the younger free agents on the market and is our #1 target we are sending trade offers for. With wide receivers becoming more prominent and quality running backs becoming a greater value, moving a wide receiver or two for Harris is the ideal route.
