Dynasty leagues have been gearing up for the 2023 season ever since the door closed on the 2022 campaign. The dynasty fantasy football world never sleeps, and trades are commonplace throughout the entire offseason.
But as we get close to the start of the 2023 year, there’s still time to make some moves that can benefit the long term of your team. And right now may be your last chance to sell on a few assets while their value is still sky high.
Let’s take a look at five players that I’m putting on the trade block in dynasty leagues to see if I can get a return as big as the current price tag asks.
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Top Players To Sell in Dynasty Right Now
Before diving into our candidates, let me prelude this by saying all of the following players are currently seen as premier assets. This is not a list of WR3s or TE2s you should sell. These are players that are being coveted in dynasty communities that I believe will have diminishing returns.
Whenever deciphering a player’s value, I’m always paying attention to the supporting cast, the team’s offensive philosophies, and the injury risk and history of any of the players. Often times in dynasty, age (or, rather, youth) is perceived as one of the most important attributes for a player. But I think that blinds many owners.
A young player is at just as much risk for injury as any other player. They still have the chance to be replaced or see their workload diminish. And a young player typically is near the height of their value while they are young, a value that will diminish with each passing game and year.
Additionally, keep in mind that if you have these players in a league where you’re a top contender, moving them may make very little sense. That’s understandable.
Banners fly forever and are the goal of every team. But if you have these players and think you may still need some pieces to fully contend, they’re a great place to start due to their big return value.
Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets
We’re starting off with a bang on this one! Breece Hall was one of the more exciting players in the NFL in 2023 when he was on the field. The issue was that he just wasn’t on the field for a long time.
Aaron Rodgers hands the ball off to Breece Hall and Hall makes some cuts. He’s ready to go (from what I can see) pic.twitter.com/fMvJDrokam
— Kyle McDonald (@mcdtakes) August 17, 2023
Hall averaged 15.1 fantasy points per game (0.5 PPR) in the seven weeks he was healthy in 2022, good enough for seventh best amongst running backs.
Justifiably, this has Hall currently ranked as RB3 and sixth overall in dynasty leagues. With the list of young running backs that have elite talent quite short, this ranking is not all that surprising.
My worry is Hall is coming off a major injury, tearing his ACL in Week 7 last season. Even now, Hall is just returning to practices with the Jets, and New York also invested in Dalvin Cook.
While Cook is not a long-term solution, his presence does signal that the Jets may be looking to have a committee approach with the running backs. The team may be looking at making sure to have fresh legs on the field and limiting the bulk of the carries to one RB.
Additionally, young backs that show promise tend to get valued extremely high in dynasty leagues and often can’t reach those expectations. At this time last year, D’Andre Swift and Javonte Williams were both being selected as top-five running backs. A year later, Williams is RB15 and Swift is RB21. The pendulum can swing in a hurry in dynasty leagues.
With all of this in mind, I’m selling and have sold Hall in the leagues that I had him. There are too many question marks surrounding a back that is still valued so highly. I’d rather sell now and load up on assets than trust that Hall’s return to form is coming immediately in 2023.
Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Travis Etienne Jr. being included on this list may come as a surprise to many. He’s just 24 years old, had over 1,400 scrimmage yards last year, and is on a young and exciting offense. But these are all the selling points I want to use for moving Etienne before the season begins.
Even with the large yardage numbers, Etienne struggled to find the end zone last year. With five total touchdowns (all rushing), Etienne finished 17th overall amongst running backs in half-PPR. Yet, he’s still being valued as RB8 and 18th overall in dynasty leagues.
Etienne is a skilled player, but being a top-10 RB feels more like his ceiling than the standard. Going off the board at RB8 feels quite high, especially with rookie RB Tank Bigsby impressing in camp and preseason games. With Etienne being a weapon the Jaguars value, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Bigsby take some of the load from him. This may include some (or most) of the goal-line work.
MORE: Fantasy Football Regression RB Candidates 2023
Ultimately, Etienne is an exciting player but one that is currently overvalued. His value is set at a point that is only reached if everything goes right for him in Jacksonville’s offense. The odds are stacked against Etienne, and he’s much more likely to be a back finishing in the RB10-15 range.
As a result, I’m selling Etienne for the price he is currently valued at in dynasty. If your league-mates are not willing to pay the top dollar, keeping Etienne is more than acceptable. But if you can get a top-10 price for him, you should sell now.
Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
This is one of the tougher sells on this list, as owners in your leagues will be a bit apprehensive of Rhamondre Stevenson at this point. But the Patriots’ back is still being drafted as RB13 and 27 overall in dynasty leagues.
I would have expected his ADP to drop with the signing of Ezekiel Elliott, but it appears it hasn’t shaken a large majority of the dynasty community.
But the issue is the same issue we have every year with Patriots running backs. It’s hard to rely on any of them long term.
Do we love Stevenson finishing as RB14 in PPG last season in half-PPR? Of course. But he’s not the first New England RB to have success. And the others haven’t kept that success over time.
Damien Harris had 929 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in 2021. Sony Michel had 912 yards and seven touchdowns in 2019. Dion Lewis had 1,110 yards from scrimmage and nine total touchdowns in 2017. LeGarrette Blount had 1,161 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns in 2016.
All of these running backs were in the top 30 in the league that season. Outside of Michel, all those seasons were top 14. And every single back failed to record another top-30 season with the Patriots.
Stevenson is still valued as a top-30 asset and top-15 back in leagues. The warning signs are there. With the long history of Patriots running backs, I feel much better cashing out now than being disappointed in the winter when Stevenson’s value may be diminished dramatically.
DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks
The sole wide receiver on this list, DK Metcalf is a bit of a polarizing asset in the fantasy community. But, overall, his stock is still up, and he’s seen as a valuable player for teams.
Still 25 years old, Metcalf has the chance to produce for several years to come. My issue specifically lies in his ADP. Metcalf is still being selected in dynasty formats as the WR15 and 31 overall. This after finishing 26th and 18th the last two years, respectively, in PPG amongst wide receivers who played at least half the season.
The value just isn’t adding up for me. While he’s still in his prime and an athletic freak, Metcalf is being drafted a full round ahead of guys like Brandon Aiyuk and Jerry Jeudy, both of whom are at DK’s age and outpaced him last year.
MORE: Will Jaxon Smith-Njigba Be a Top-30 Fantasy Football WR in 2023?
Now the Seahawks brought in the first WR off the board in the 2023 draft, Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Coupled with Tyler Lockett, Seattle’s receiving room is crowded. I still love Metcalf’s talent and believe he is the top guy in Seattle, but the opportunity to produce as a premier WR is diminishing.
If I could move Metcalf for another receiver in the high WR2 tier, like Aiyuk, Terry McLaurin, or DJ Moore, and get additional draft stock with the trade, it’s something I want to do. Metcalf’s name recognition and giant sophomore season are holding him up at this point, and I think you could sell now while he’s still considered a top-15 receiver.
I’m not sure he’ll still be in that tier come 2024.
Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys
This is another example of a player that I like in the immediate landscape of fantasy football but not nearly as much from a dynasty perspective. Yes, it’s important for our dynasty assets to perform in their current seasons, but they need to hold that long-term value as well.
Currently, the hype around Tony Pollard makes a lot of sense. We’re talking about a guy who was ninth in RB points per game last season (0.5 PPR) while splitting time with Zeke.
Fantasy managers should be excited about what Pollard can do in 2023 in an expanded role. But I would caution and consider Pollard as a sell in dynasty for a couple of reasons.
First, he’s currently being drafted as the RB7 and 17th overall in dynasty formats. This is a very high value on Pollard (and one that comes with a high price tag). Second, he’s already 26 years old. Not ancient, but aging for a dynasty RB. Lastly, we haven’t yet seen Pollard work as an every-down back in his career.
Pollard’s 232 touches last season were the most in his career by far. We can’t be certain that, even with Elliott moving on to New England, the Cowboys want Pollard to see more action than he already received a year ago. If they do, we don’t know how well he’ll handle this uptick in usage.
Being 26, Pollard is already at the point where owners will start to get worried about age. If you hold Pollard now and try to sell next offseason, he’ll be 27 years old. His market diminishes dramatically as any rebuilding or retooling team likely won’t want to pay full price for a back that age.
With all of this in mind, it seems like an opportune time to sell now before the 2023 season kicks off. Pollard’s stock is as high as it has ever been and likely will ever be. Capitalizing on this could give you a nice stock of prospects and picks for building your dynasty team moving forward.