Dynasty Fantasy Football Trade Advice: Assessing Bryce Young, Javonte Williams and Curtis Samuel

Before making a dynasty trade, if you're not using a trade calculator to seek out advice, I have to question whether or not you're sentient. Look, you don't need to believe, care or trust any particular calculator, but it is the fantasy football equivalent of sticking a toe in before diving into the water. There's no harm in getting a quick second opinion.

Everyone is their own personal fantasy football trade calculator, so it doesn't hurt to consult with another calculator. Fantasy SP has a fantasy football trade analyzer for redraft leagues. There are aggregate calculators like Keep Trade Cut, where they crowdsource opinions, and most calculators rely on their internal rankings. There are countless numbers of them now. 

The larger point here is that collaboration is invigorating. Seeking out other opinions, whether from a friend, a fantasy football personality on Twitter, or a trade calculator, are all valid methods for getting another opinion and learning a little something. 

If you're making decisions based on one person's or a calculator's advice, you're not doing fantasy football or much of anything else right. The same can be said if you're making decisions all on your own. So here's my attempt to collaborate and to teach you something, even if, at a minimum, it's just another guy's opinion.

I will close each player writeup in this article with different scenarios: player trade cost, what to do, whether you have this player rostered, whether you should trade for him, trade him away and so on.

Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers

Right now, Keep Trade Cut has Bryce Young as their QB20 in their superflex rankings. Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a big believer in the quarterback, but the soon-to-be 23-year-old is certainly valuable.

So why trade for him? Because the game isn't to win. It's to accumulate value. Winning is fluky, so all you can do is put yourself in the best position to have the best roster when the fantasy postseason happens. And that's by having a roster full of promising players in good team situations.

If you think your team is a win-now, rebuild or tear-down, that's all well and good. But talk to me when the playoffs start, and let me see who's healthy or injured from your team. Who's been playing well now compared to the first six weeks of the season.

Sometimes, you want to be the scrappy sixth seed who got their act together late in the season rather than the guy who's been coasting all year as the No. 1 seed. Anyway, I digress.

So why is he a value? Well, the jury is still out. I haven't closed the door on the young man.

The numbers weren't promising, especially what was my biggest concern: an offensive line that allowed Young to be sacked 62 times, second-most behind Sam Howell (65). 

I'm a big believer in supporting casts, but it's a symbiotic relationship. Good quarterbacks make their cast of playmakers better and good offenses elevate the play of their quarterback. The reason for my cautious optimism is new head coach Dave Canales. He worked in tandem with Geno Smith during his Comeback Player of the Year season in 2022 and most recently was the offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay.

So we've got a guy who may or may not have been responsible for Mayfield's solid 2023 and Smith's 2022, but he was in the building. I'm willing to kick the tires on Young and talk to the fantasy manager who has him rostered. 

I'll be the first to admit that this isn't a ringing endorsement, as Young certainly didn't pass the eyeball test last year, but they've at least freshened up the place by bringing in Canales, Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette.

If I can stash Young as my third quarterback, that's the ideal situation. I wouldn't want to start him or give up assets that put me in a position where I'd have to start him. If he's your QB2 in a superflex, I'd understand the impulse to want to move him. But if you trade him now, the gains will be minimal.

Rostered: Hold
Unrostered: Buy
Cost: Late 2025 1st in superflex, mid 2025 2nd in 1QB

Curtis Samuel, WR, Buffalo Bills

The Bills had to reset their roster. Josh Allen is entering the meatier years of his average annual salary and he's on track to carry a $30.4M cap hit in 2024. There are certainly worse quarterback contracts out there, bigger cap hits and so on, but Buffalo does a good job of staying ahead of cap problems.

So, with that in mind, they move on from Stefon Diggs and transition away from some of the pricier veterans who populated their team, such as Gabe Davis, Tre'Davious White, Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, Leonard Floyd, etc.

I say all this in Samuel's blurb because I believe good teams, Buffalo included, are a move ahead. Meaning they knew they would likely have to move on from their receivers, so they at least attempted to mitigate it. 

Do I agree with them throwing money at a bunch of cut-rate wideouts like Mack Hollins or Chase Claypool? Do I believe Curtis Samuel will come in and replace Diggs?

No and no.

However, I do believe there is more unknown here than known. While I loved Keon Coleman's college tape and like Khalil Shakir as the primary slot receiver in this offense, I'll take a flier on Samuel, as he is by far the cheapest asset of this trio. 

Who's to say Samuel doesn't come in and flourish? It's not like he was set up for much success in Carolina with all the injuries he experienced there and then having to play for the NFL-equivalent to purgatory like the Washington Commanders. He'll turn 28 later this year, and he still has a few years left to find a second wind in his career with one of the best quarterbacks at his disposal.

If someone in your league has already traded for him since Samuel's arrival in Buffalo, then admittedly, it's a little late now. Samuel is an ideal WR6 stash. Hopefully, you have a rookie receiver or two ahead of him that you're stashing, but there's no harm in holding firm on a veteran in a good offense and getting a fresh opportunity after toiling for years on a really bad team.

Rostered: Hold
Unrostered: Buy
Cost: Late 2026 2nd

Javonte Williams, RB, Denver Broncos

What happened here? 

After a promising rookie year where he totaled over 1,200 rushing and receiving yards, Williams sustained tears to his ACL and LCL to end his 2022 season. We thought we'd be returning to the good times in 2023, but Williams didn't get much traction, rushing for just 774 yards on 217 carries, posting a lowly 3.6 yards per carry.

Many people saw Denver hiring Sean Payton as some sort of cure-all and Williams would automatically become Alvin Kamara 2.0. It didn't pan out that way. The Broncos have yet to commit much else to the position with Samaje Perine in the RB2 spot and the use of a 2024 fifth-round pick on Notre Dame's Audric Estime. So, on paper, Williams is still the guy.

Being able to trade for a running back in a dynasty is already a red flag. Anybody you want to trade for, you're likely going to have to overpay. Anybody available to be traded is being traded away for a reason.

Given the heavy value fluctuations that happen at the position during the season where starters get hurt and third-string running backs can come out of nowhere, you're often better off playing the waiver wire and hoping the fantasy gods are on your side where some rando emerges at the right time when you need to add someone.

But Williams' trade value has more or less bottomed out. It could certainly get even worse if he falters again this season. We're in a buying window, though. 

The Broncos hit the reset button by moving on from Russell Wilson. As shrewd as that was, you have to give them credit for following their convictions and buying into Payton's vision for this franchise. They're starting over and Williams is in the driver's seat. There's not much else you could ask for. If they used big draft capital on another running back, I'd be concerned that Williams' role would be diminished. That's not the case.

I'm encouraged by his three-down credentials and usage. He collected over 40 receptions in each of his full seasons in 2021 and 2023 (43 and 47). I will even give Perine his flowers, though maybe that's giving him too much credit. Perine will get his share because we must remember Payton split time between Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara for all those years. It's going to be a split backfield.

I understand the "cut your losses" point of view. If you've been holding Williams since before his rookie year, it's been a roller coaster from his peak at the end of his rookie season to his ACL injury, cautious optimism before the 2023 season and now. 

If someone is willing to give up a mid-tier rookie WR for Williams, I might sell and walk away. However, you can never have too many running backs. The churn at the position cannot be overstated and ultimately, you always need one more than you think you do when injuries and bye weeks come calling.

Rostered: Hold
Unrostered: Buy
Cost: Mid 2025 2nd