The final week of the regular season has arrived. And with it comes a host of questions you need to be asking yourself about your dynasty fantasy football roster.
Am I ready to make a deep playoff run? Can I compete with the top teams in my league? Am I one piece away from winning it all?
And, even if you’re not contending, there’s still time to improve your team for next season. Now is the time to take advantage of competitive squads asking themselves the questions listed above.
In some leagues, a playoff trading freeze is instituted. So, it’s important to make your moves now to take advantage of squads with championship aspirations.
So, contender or not, it’s time to deal. With that in mind, here are my favourite players to buy and sell ahead of, potentially, the final trading window of your dynasty fantasy football season.
Buy Jake Ferguson
Jake Ferguson was included as a buy for me in last week’s article. Now, I have to feature him to drive my point home. To be fair, I’m buying every Dallas Cowboy ahead of the dynasty fantasy football playoffs. And, mostly, it’s because their schedule is fantastic.
Dak Prescott is being talked about as an MVP candidate, and it’s easy to see why. Since their Week 7 bye, Dak has averaged 316.8 yards and 3.3 TDs per game. Over the span, he’s also thrown just 2 interceptions while the Cowboys have gone 5-1, scoring 39 points per game.
And the schedule continues to look phenomenal, as the Cowboys wrap up the season against teams with top offences and bad defences in the Eagles, Bills, Dolphins and Lions.
A product of his situation, Ferguson is a massive buy for TE-needy squads.
Since Dak has gone scorched earth on the competition, Ferguson has benefitted. In the same 6-game span, Ferguson has averaged 4.2 receptions on 6.2 targets for 51.3 yards and 0.67 TDs per game. The PPR TE9 on the season has been the TE5 in this most recent stretch, catching the most TDs of any tight end in the league.
He’s also more athletic than you think:
With his recent success, upcoming schedule and target #2 status in one of the league’s most productive offences, I want all of the 24-year-old Ferguson on my contending squads (and on my rebuilds, too). Send out a mid-2nd round pick or a young wideout like Michael Wilson – or both. It’s possible you can secure a tight end who can produce for you now and down the road.
Sell Christian Kirk
Unfortunately for the Jacksonville Jaguars and dynasty fantasy football managers alike, Christian Kirk is out for the season. An unfortunate groin pull will find Kirk on the IR after visiting the OR soon enough. But that’s also why some might believe Kirk is a good buy-low option. Instead, I’m selling Kirk right now.
Especially as a contender who just lost a significant weekly flex-level producer, I’m selling for what I can get now that the 27-year-old Kirk is on the mend. But, if we’re looking at the numbers more closely, Kirk was not the reason dynasty squads were contending in the first place.
Other than his Week 7 PPR WR9 finish, Kirk never finished better than the WR20 this season. And, his consistency fell off a cliff after Week 7, with WR60, 25, 45 and 31 finished before going down with an injury.
Bottom line: An inconsistent Kirk hasn’t come with the boom weeks we need from high-variance players. And given the roles occupied by Calvin Ridley, Evan Engram and Zay Jones, a healthy Jaguars squad probably won’t afford Kirk the consistency you are looking for next season.
Thankfully, many still view Kirk as an incredibly consistent player due to his stretch run earlier in the season. But, with so many mouths to feed in Jacksonville, I’m not buying it. Sell Kirk for a high-end 2nd round pick or a younger player like Chuba Hubbard or Tyjae Spears in a rebuild. If contending, buying in on DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans or Keenan Allen should be possible if pairing Kirk with a 2nd rounder of your own.
Buy Josh Jacobs
For contending squads, Josh Jacobs is a screaming dynasty fantasy football buy now that Aidan O’Connell looks competent and the Raiders are past their Week 13 buy.
Jacobs is a clear-volume play on a bad team. But, he’s a good player. I was out on him during the draft season because he was a clear volume-play on a bad team, but now that the playoffs are here, I’m buying in for a 1st to fill my RB2 void and win some ‘ships.
Jacobs has finished as an RB1 in 5 of his last 8 games and 2 of 4 games since Josh McDaniels was relieved of head coaching duties. But what’s more important is that Jacobs’s receiving role returned in Week 12. He earned 4 receptions on 6 targets to add to his 20 carries. That elite level of volume should continue, especially given the Raider’s upcoming schedule.
To round out the season, Jacobs gets the Vikings, Chargers, Chiefs and Colts. According to Fantasy Pros, it’s a mediocre RB schedule. However, the volume here is what you’re after.
Whether ahead or behind, Jacobs’s role is once again secure. I’m sending a late 1st round pick for his services to help get me over the hump. Or, if I have a surplus at WR or TE, I’d send my beloved Rashee Rice or Cole Kmet to see what can be done.
Sell Tee Higgins
It’s no fun at all, but all should be on the table when a championship is within reach. So I’m sending the recently healthy, pending free-agent, stud WR Tee Higgins for a high-end asset on my contending dynasty fantasy football teams.
Higgins is an alpha wideout stuck in a beta role behind Bengals’ all-world flanker Ja’Marr Chase. He’s also sure to gain value by either staying in Cincinnati or moving to another city to become their top dog on the outside. But without Joe Burrow for the rest of this season, there’s just no true weekly upside for a 6’4”, 219-pound 24-year-old in 2023.
And that’s why you need to sell him.
If in a rebuild, Higgins is a clear hold, but on contenders, I’m shipping him out as fast as possible. Few can argue that Higgins is a value right now, so package what you can for an upgrade at the position.
In that vein, here’s a deal I got done just yesterday:
Even with DK Metcalf’s value spike after a massive 3 touchdown performance, I was still able to secure him and Isaiah Likely on a contender in need of both a weekly WR2 and TE until Dallas Goedert returns. I don’t love the value here, but it’s what I need to make a playoff run. Even facing a win-and-you’re-in matchup with the current 4th-place squad in a 10-team league, I’m still making this move.
If you need the production, try sending Tee for an older, high-end wideout like Keenan Allen or Mike Evans. Or, package him like I did to secure an even younger producer. Either way, use his presumed value spike next year to spike your chances of winning it all this season.
That’s it for my dynasty buys and sells this season. Hopefully, you’ve been able to gain some much-needed insights into who to move and when to deal with. I’ll be sure to be back next year to continue to help you build the best dynasty rosters possible.
For now, good luck in your dynasty fantasy football playoffs. May all your deals help you take home a handful of ‘ships.
Jeremy Shulman
Jeremy is an avid football fan from New York who lives in Amsterdam and roots for the Patriots. This walking contradiction has played fantasy football for over than 20 years. He is now a Senior Dynasty Writer at The League Winners. In his spare time, he writes and edits professionally.