10 Dynasty Players to Trade Before the NFL Draft

Apr 22, 2022

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Anytime there’s a significant NFL event, there is likely to be a change in player value. That change brings dynasty managers an opportunity to buy or sell a player, and you never know if it might be your last chance to get significant value for said player.

The events of the past couple of months have included the NFL Combine, pro days, and free agency. For dynasty fantasy football players though, there is no bigger and more significant annual event than the NFL Draft.

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The events of the NFL Draft will cause major value swings for rookies and veterans alike and dynasty managers must be ready to respond. Actually, in some cases, you should be responding BEFORE the draft actually arrives. As unpredictable as the NFL Draft is, we can use beat writer reports, expert mock drafts, and information from the teams themselves to predict which players could be in for a post-Draft value change.

Why wait? Now is the time to move on from these players, before the Jacksonville Jaguars officially go on the clock.

Quarterback

Jameis Winston

Although they had plenty of fair warning, the Saints were clearly not prepared for life after Drew Brees. The future Hall of Famer retired following the 2020 season and last year was a difficult one for the team. To be fair, Winston, whom the team signed to replace Brees, was playing well before suffering a torn ACL. After flirting with Deshaun Watson earlier this offseason, New Orleans settled for their Plan B and re-signed Winston to a two-year, $28 million deal.

Even with Winston back in town, Saints beat writers have continued to suggest that the team could use one of the team’s two first-round picks on a rookie signal caller. In fact, the Saints recently made a trade with the Eagles, sacrificing their 2023 1st rounder, which means they likely won’t be finding their long-term starter in next year’s draft. The Saints have hosted four quarterbacks for top-30 visits, more than any other team outside of Carolina and Pittsburgh.

Unfortunately, Winston has almost no value in most 1QB leagues, but those of you in superflex leagues should get busy. According to the Dynasty League Football Trade Finder, Winston has recently been traded away for a 2023 1st rounder. Another deal flipped Winston for future 2nd and 3rd round picks, while a third used the quarterback to acquire young receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. These are all examples of deals you should be shopping for in dynasty superflex leagues.

Mitchell Trubisky

Following the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers had to make some moves at the quarterback position. Despite big names, including Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers potentially being available, the Steelers mostly sat back and waited. Eventually, the team signed former Bears' first-round pick Mitchell Trubisky, agreeing to a two-year, $14.3 million deal. As if the contract itself didn’t make this clear, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert made it clear that the addition of Trubisky would not preclude the team from selecting. Oh yeah, the Steelers have also met with a league-high seven rookie quarterbacks during top-20 visits. The team has been linked to Liberty’s Malik Willis and Pittsburgh hasn’t exactly been good at hiding their intentions lately, giving away their selection of Najee Harris last year. If Willis is available when the Steelers go on the clock, it seems inevitable that he will be the selection.

Like Winston, Trubisky simply doesn’t carry much value, even in superflex leagues. Ideally, I like to wait until the regular season, or at least a pre-season injury, to sell depth quarterbacks like Trubisky, but we don’t have that luxury this time. Package him up and take what you can get.