Your dynasty fantasy football team is similar to your financial portfolio in that the value of your current assets is always changing based on things like age, contracts, and coaching situations, which can drastically impact the short- and long-term outlook of your players.
With that in mind, should dynasty managers consider trading the likes of Jaylen Waddle, Odell Beckham Jr., and Gabe Davis after a disappointing 2023 NFL season?
Should You Trade Jaylen Waddle in Dynasty Fantasy Football?
Waddle burst out of the gates to start his NFL career with two consecutive top-13 fantasy finishes at the WR position in PPR formats, topping 70+ receptions and 1,000 yards receiving in both years.
As the clear second option to Tyreek Hill in this offense, how should dynasty managers value Miami Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle going forward? https://t.co/uQnmQMr4yN
— PFN Fantasy (@PFNFantasy)
This season was a bit of a disappointment with a WR34 finish in PPR formats, but Waddle still managed to top 70 receptions and 1,000 yards receiving. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, right?
Well, he did post a career-low four receiving scores, and his 1,014 receiving yards, combined with another career-low 72 receptions, helped him achieve another high-floor season. But he lacked the pure target volume or high-yardage totals to crack the WR2 threshold for a third straight season.
Waddle is still positioned very well as an explosive playmaker in one of the league’s best offenses. However, few would argue that while Tyreek Hill certainly helps his efficiency by drawing coverage away from him, he does significantly cap Waddle’s fantasy ceiling in 2024.
Waddle should still produce WR2 value this year with Tua Tagovailoa, Mike McDaniel, and Hill all returning next season. But one could get a little concerned with what this offense may look like without Tagovailoa under center. Miami is going to have to make a decision on whether to commit to him long term in the very near future.
Waddle is 25 years old and coming off of his least productive year, which does present a buying window for interested managers. But I wouldn’t be interested in selling him for anything less than two future first-round rookie picks.
Should You Trade Odell Beckham Jr. in Dynasty Fantasy Football?
Once upon a time, Beckham was easily the consensus 1.01 in dynasty startup drafts after a historic three-year start to his career as a member of the New York Giants.
After posting over 1,300 receiving yards in all three of his first three seasons, Beckham has failed to top 1,100 yards in an individual campaign in his past seven.
My take is not meant to sound harsh on Beckham’s outlook moving forward, but dynasty managers need to be real with themselves about his future. The days of Beckham being a WR1 are long gone.
Even in a great situation playing with last year’s NFL MVP, where his best competition for targets was a rookie WR, Beckham failed to top 40 receptions, 600 yards, and four scores over 14 games played.
No matter where he lands, the odds of Beckham having a leading role — much less a reliable fantasy one — are slim. If I can get anything for OBJ at this time, I would strongly consider taking it.
Should You Trade Gabe Davis in Dynasty Fantasy Football?
Davis is the leading candidate for the most frustrating fantasy football player of the 2023 NFL season. On six occasions last year, he finished as a top-15 WR in PPR formats. Yet, on five other occasions, he failed to catch a single pass in a game. He was quite literally the poster boy for a boom-or-bust play in 2023.
Davis is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, which puts him in lotto ticket range at the moment because we can’t definitively say what his value on the open market will be after his up-and-down campaign.
MORE: Dynasty Rookie Rankings 2024
Sure, Davis once again flashed some of his top-shelf big-play ability this year — which could be intriguing for a WR-needy team — but his inconsistency and the prospect of not catching passes from Josh Allen doesn’t exactly scream that his situation is guaranteed to improve.
If you could get a second-round pick for Davis right now, I would strongly consider taking it in this deep rookie WR class.