Several factors go into building a consistently elite dynasty fantasy football team. One of those is identifying the top player on every NFL team. Another is knowing which players you should trade away before their fantasy value decreases. All of this boils down to your dynasty trade strategy.
Typically, the starting quarterback is the top dynasty asset on every NFL team in superflex leagues. However, they are rarely the top asset in 1QB leagues. To help you build the best dynasty fantasy football team possible, I will identify the top dynasty asset and sell candidates for every NFL team.
Today, I break down the NFC West teams. Here’s my dynasty trade advice for the NFC West, including the top dynasty asset on each team as well as a dynasty player to trade now.
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Dynasty Trade Advice: NFC West
Top Dynasty Trade Assets
Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR – ARI)
Harrison is the clear-cut 1.01 pick in 1QB rookie drafts for good reason. He was unstoppable at Ohio State, totaling at least 67 receptions for 1,211 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in back-to-back seasons despite losing C.J. Stroud to the NFL. The superstar rookie will be a top-10 wide receiver in most redraft leagues. More importantly, many have him as high as the WR5 in their startup dynasty rankings. Harrison enters the league with massive expectations but has the talent to meet them as a rookie.
Despite being a fifth-round pick, Nacua was one of the top wide receivers in fantasy football in 2023. He ended his rookie season as the WR4, averaging 14.5 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. Nacua set two rookie receiving records, totaling 105 receptions and 1,486 receiving yards. The former BYU receiver was better without Cooper Kupp playing. However, Nacua averaged a 26.5% target share, 29% target per route run rate, and 14.6 fantasy points per game in the nine contests with Matthew Stafford and Kupp healthy (per Fantasy Points Data).
The superstar was the RB1 last season, averaging 22.4 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. McCaffrey was the only non-quarterback to average over 20 fantasy points per game last year. Furthermore, he was the RB1, averaging 20.5 fantasy points per game from his first full game with the 49ers (Week 8) through the end of the season in 2022. Despite playing with three elite pass catchers, McCaffrey has averaged 4.4 receptions on 5.5 targets for 38.1 receiving yards and 0.41 touchdowns per game in 27 career contests with San Francisco.
Seattle has one of the top wide receiver cores in the NFL. Metcalf is the top guy in the unit, posting a top-18 finish in half-point PPR scoring every year since his rookie season. Last year, the veteran led all Seahawk wide receivers in yards per route run (2.22) and target per route run rate (23%), per Fantasy Points Data. While Jaxon Smith-Njigba will earn a larger role after a quiet rookie season, don’t be surprised if Metcalf has a couple of top-12 finishes over the next few years.
Top Dynasty Trade Candidates
While he has been one of the more underrated dynasty running backs the past few years, it’s time to move on from Conner despite coming off his first career 1,000-rushing-yard season. The veteran is entering the final year of his contract. Furthermore, he has struggled with injuries, missing nearly 20% of the games since joining the Cardinals in 2021. More importantly, Arizona used a third-round pick on Trey Benson. While the rookie won’t replace Conner as the starter this year, he will cut into his featured workload.
Williams was the RB6, averaging 19.9 half-point PPR fantasy points per game last season. He ranked sixth in yards before contact per rushing attempt but 20th in yards after contact per attempt, 18th in missed forced tackle rate, and 26th in explosive run rate among running backs with at least 100 rushing attempts in 2023 (per Fantasy Points Data). More importantly, the Rams spent a third-round pick on Blake Corum. While the rookie won’t replace Williams as the starter, it’s time to sell high on the former Notre Dame star.
Some will argue that McCaffrey is a buy-high candidate after his outstanding 2023 season. However, now is the perfect time to sell high on the veteran, especially for non-contending teams. The superstar led the NFL in touches for the second time in his career last year. He has had 668 touches over the past two seasons. More importantly, McCaffrey played in only 30.3% of the contests during 2020 and 2021 because of injuries. While fantasy players shouldn’t panic sell, now is the time to get a bounty for the veteran.
Hopefully, fantasy players sold high on Lockett in 2022. Last year, the veteran was the WR33, averaging only 9.6 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. He had fewer than 1,000 receiving yards and eight touchdowns for the first time since 2017. More importantly, Lockett’s role on offense will decline this year after Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a disappointing rookie season. The veteran is likely heading into his final year with the Seahawks. At soon-to-be 32 years old, fantasy players need to take the best off on the table for Lockett.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.
