Who are some players you should consider selling high in fantasy football before the start of the 2024 NFL season?
What Is a Dynasty Fantasy Sell-High Option?
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term “sell high”, it’s a phrase commonly used in the finance world where you aim to sell an asset after its price has appreciated by a significant margin but when you also believe it will drop in value in the near future.
In dynasty leagues, this generally comes in the form of parting ways with a player via trade who has recently seen his value skyrocket due to great recent production on the field, which presents an opportunity to offload him and receive a boatload of assets in return.
Top Players To Sell in Your Dynasty League
Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers
Trading a veteran running back off your dynasty fantasy football team as a sell-high option isn’t exactly groundbreaking. Yet, it still takes some courage to trade a league-winning asset like San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey after the exceptional season we saw from him in 2023.
McCaffrey’s 2,023 total yards and 21 touchdowns from scrimmage this past year made him the runaway top overall RB in fantasy football by a wide margin.
Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, and now Christian McCaffrey 💪
Only three players in #NFL history to total 2️⃣K scrimmage yards with two different franchises 👀 pic.twitter.com/u726ZSHRz0
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 31, 2023
In PPR formats, McCaffrey’s 391.3 fantasy points was 100.8 points more than the RB2 overall (Breece Hall). That’s an absurdly wide gap when you consider the difference between the QB1, WR1, and TE1 and QB2, WR2, and TE2 is just 74.8 fantasy points combined.
That illustrates just how dominant McCaffrey was at his position in 2023. Exceptional doesn’t feel like a strong-enough word to describe his fantasy excellence last year.
McCaffrey’s success in San Francisco wasn’t a one-year wonder, either. There’s no doubt that he’s positioned for another great fantasy season in 2024 in this high-powered 49ers offense. Head coach Kyle Shanahan is using the veteran’s all-purpose skill set perfectly, and his exceptional burst is still intact.
However, McCaffrey will turn 28 before next season and did have a two-year stretch during which he played just 10 games due to multiple injuries. That run of missed time temporarily dented McCaffrey’s dynasty value.
Yet, the change of scenery and recent string of good health have helped make him an elite asset at the RB position. After being traded from the Carolina Panthers ahead of Week 7 of the 2022 season, McCaffrey was the RB1 overall in full-PPR formats the rest of that campaign with 21.7 points per game.
At this point, we have the necessary sample size to suggest that CMC is the RB1 overall in fantasy football in 2024, until we either see a big drop in his personal efficiency or this offense regresses catastrophically.
That being said, the next time the bottom falls out on McCaffrey due to age or a significant injury, his dynasty value will be capped at a certain level for good. We would all love to assume McCaffrey has put his durability concerns behind him and will continue to maintain impeccable health, but he did miss 23 games over his final two years with the Panthers.
If you have a struggling roster that needs to recoup some ammo to help bolster a rebuild, McCaffrey’s a solid trade option right now. Yes, selling McCaffrey high may not be the best individual move for every dynasty manager, but if there’s a player to trade at his peak, then the talented Niners RB fits the bill.
Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins
Speaking of selling a veteran player still at the peak of his powers… Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill managed to improve upon his outstanding 2022 campaign with 119 receptions, 1,799 yards, and 13 TDs in just 16 games in 2023. His established fantasy floor over 119+ receptions, 1,700+ yards, and 7+ TDs in a Dolphins uniform is outstanding.
Normally, I’d be growing increasingly concerned about the fantasy outlook of an undersized receiver whose calling card is his game-breaking speed and who just turned 30 years old earlier this year. However, Hill has shown no signs of slowing down whatsoever.
Tyreek Hill has been a model of consistency over the last 3 seasons
@cheetah
– 349 receptions (1st in the NFL)
– 4,748 receiving yards (1st)
– 29 receiving TDs (T-3rd) pic.twitter.com/zapWzmh7Xg— NFL (@NFL) January 8, 2024
His elite production at the position with absolutely no decline in usage or efficiency is great news for dynasty managers, because it extends the window for them to potentially make a definitive decision on whether or not to sell him to another dynasty roster heading into the season.
Hill topped 22 MPH as a ball carrier again in 2023, which means he hasn’t lost a step. Yet, once a speed receiver loses a step, the drop in production can come quickly and drastically.
I’m not suggesting Hill hits that wall in 2024, but it’s certainly within the range of outcomes. After all, given his elite production over both seasons in a Dolphins uniform, the likelihood of you still getting a haul for Hill is very high.
If Hill’s age isn’t enough to persuade you to sell him, then perhaps his quote from an interview with the Totally Offensive podcast in April 2023 will help.
“I’m going to finish out this contract with the Dolphins,” said Hill, “and then I’m going to call it quits.”
For some context, Hill’s current contract has him playing through the 2025 season. Admittedly, there’s no guarantee he’ll stick to that timeline, but the sheer mention of that being a possibility should serve as a reminder that he’s not going to play forever.
Interested managers would be far more willing to give up a significant haul if they feel secure getting two more seasons of elite production than if you hold off and dynasty managers attempt to throw that quote in your face to lower the asking price.
Hill had a legit MVP-type season in 2023. He’s a perfect fit for this offensive scheme and certainly could give us another encore performance this coming season, but you would be passing on a great sell-high window if you don’t move him.
Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
Yes, I believe it is time to sell high on another veteran WR. The issue with this suggestion is that many won’t consider selling high on Las Vegas Raiders WR Davante Adams because his WR10 fantasy finish last year is his lowest mark since the 2019 season, when he missed four games due to injury.
Davante Adams Fantasy Positional Ranks Since 2016
- 2023: WR10
- 2022: WR3
- 2021: WR2
- 2020: WR1
- 2019: WR23 (WR6 on points-per-game basis)
- 2018: WR3
- 2017: WR14
- 2016: WR10
Now, is a WR10 finish awful? Absolutely not. Adams still managed to produce a viable low-end WR1 campaign with a fourth-round rookie quarterback under center. That speaks to his continued level of greatness into his early 30s. Not to mention, he’s still among the best route runners in the league, which gives him a longer shelf life than receivers who rely purely on athleticism to win routinely against defenders.
Yet, Adams has seen north of 170+ targets in both seasons with the Raiders. However, Las Vegas spent the No. 13 overall pick on dynamic tight end Brock Bowers, which could eat into Adams’ target share. That does matter, considering the Raiders’ QB play is expected to be amongst the least exciting in the NFL this upcoming season.
Adams’ yards-per-route-run and yards-after-catch numbers fell from residing inside the top 10 for wide receivers in 2022 to outside the top 20 a season ago. He also had some struggles against elite corners last year.
Does this mean I’m projecting Adams’ numbers to completely fall off a cliff this season? No, but a drop in target share paired with the slight drop in efficiency we saw last year and potential subpar quarterback play this season makes his profile feel less exciting than we would like to admit.
You aren’t going to get a top-five fantasy WR back in return for Adams at this very moment because of the concerns I mentioned above and him turning 32 years old later this year. However, if you can get a 2025 first-round pick or some nice younger prospects in return for the veteran wideout, I would strongly consider it.
Stefon Diggs, WR, Houston Texans
There is no disputing just how exceptionally productive Stefon Diggs was as a member of the Buffalo Bills. His 445 receptions for 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns — Diggs’ production over his four years in Buffalo — was nothing short of elite. That was an average of 111 receptions, 1,343 yards, and nine scores every season he was in a Bills uniform.
Simply put, Diggs was outstanding by any standard. Yet, can fantasy managers really expect that production to transfer over to a Houston Texans roster with Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and Dalton Schultz already having firmly established rapport with QB C.J. Stroud?
Over the last four years, Diggs saw a total of 644 targets, which ranked behind only Adams amongst wide receivers. Could Diggs’ elite target share have something to do with the lack of competition for targets over that span?
Then, you take into consideration Diggs will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, which potentially makes him a 32-year old receiver without a definitive destination past this coming season.
When you combine his age, contract situation, and a rough finish to his final year in Buffalo — WR44 in full-PPR formats Week 10 through the end of the regular season in 2023 — this may be the final chance to sell Diggs at a WR1 price tag in dynasty leagues.
Hollywood Brown, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
When the Kansas City Chiefs sign a veteran free agent wide receiver, the fantasy community tends to overreact. If you are a shareholder of Hollywood Brown, this is an excellent development.
The Chiefs’ receiver group struggled to create explosive passing plays down the field throughout the majority of the 2023 NFL season. Brown still has plenty of vertical speed to connect on some deep shots when Patrick Mahomes decides to uncork a cannon shot 60 yards down the field this upcoming year.
Yet, are we really sure Brown is going to be a reliable fantasy option in this offense? Personally, I can’t definitively say that.
Brown is coming off of a two-year run with the Cardinals where he failed to produce a single top-40 fantasy WR season with his former college quarterback. Brown finished 2023 as the overall WR52 with 51 receptions for 574 yards and four TDs.
Sure, he dealt with some injuries last year, but his average of 9.6 fantasy points per game in full-PPR formats over 14 games played is nothing to write home about.
To further dissect his 2023 season, Brown’s 1.27 yards per route run, 5.7 yards per target, and 11.2 yards per reception — all which ranked outside of the top 65 at the WR position — feel like a major disappointment for a player who ranked inside the top 30 at his position in target share and air yards.
Now he is entering an offense with multiple short-area target hogs in Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice. Additionally, he could have his vertical shots eaten into by dynamic rookie WR Xavier Worthy — who posted a 4.21-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, the fastest mark posted by any player in the event’s history.
Additionally, Brown signed just a one-year deal with the Chiefs. Unless he manages to finally put it all together by connecting on the majority of his looks from Mahomes and stays healthy enough to absolutely blow up this year, there is no guarantee he will even be back with Kansas City in 2025.
Brown falls into the dreaded ‘better in real life than in fantasy’ realm for me. That makes his fantasy outlook with Mahomes heading into the receiver’s age-27 season an opportunity to cash out on the potential that Brown has never quite lived up to in the NFL.
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