Week One of the 2023 NFL season is in the books.! Dynasty managers have spent all offseason drafting rookies, making trades, and nit-picking every aspect of their rosters. We officially have points being scored, and the wins and losses are beginning to pile in. Some managers are ecstatic that their offseason moves have paid off, while others are pulling their hair because they made a big move for Drake London. Right now is the best time to take advantage of a shift in the market, so let’s review some great dynasty sells before Week Two of the NFL season.
Chase Claypool, WR, Chicago Bears
Sunday may have been one of the most low-effort outings for a football player I have ever seen. Claypool was always a player that seemed to have issues committing to his team. His Week One performance shows how checked out he is in Chicago. His routes were run at half speed, and his blocking was generally low-effort. These things may be excusable if he were playing on a high-powered offense, but he only saw two targets on Sunday in a passing attack that seemed lackluster at best. This is a true sell-low moment, but I would take any draft capital in exchange for jettisoning him from my roster for good.
J.K. Dobbins, RB, Baltimore Ravens
J.K. Dobbins’s career has been one of the saddest NFL careers in recent memory. Coming out of Ohio State, he was an extremely talented running back everyone in the dynasty community had extremely high hopes for. In his final season in Columbus, he accumulated over two thousand rushing yards with 23 total touchdowns. He was selected at the end of the second round of the 2020 NFL draft and was set to be a dynamic weapon next to one of the most unique quarterbacks in the NFL.
Dobbins suffered an ACL tear in the preseason before his second season. After a promising rookie year, 2021 was set for the Dobbins breakout, but unfortunately, that was cut short. After a year of rehabilitation, Dobbins needed two follow-up surgeries during the 2022 season. 2023 would be his first healthy season in what seems like forever. However, he suffered a torn Achilles in Week One, and his season is already over. He was in a contract year, and his future is very uncertain. I would sell for whatever I could get for Dobbins, and you can even drop him in leagues with smaller benches.
Alec Pierce, WR, Indianapolis Colts
Week One was our first look at this Colts offense under Shane Steichen with Anthony Richardson under center. Richardson threw 37 pass attempts for over 220 yards. Unfortunately, Alec Pierce wasn’t a large part of this game plan. He only saw three targets, which he turned into one reception for five yards. Pierce was hyped up over the summer, and there still might be managers out there who have hope for the second-year receiver in Indianapolis. Find that manager in your league and offload Pierce while you still can.
Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams
Enough with the sell-lows; let’s get into some sell-highs. Puka Nacua had one of the more impressive rookie outings in recent memories. Most people were off the Los Angeles Rams this summer. It seems like a franchise ready to hit the reset button this year. They are starting mostly rookies on defense and have already lost Cooper Kupp for the first four weeks of the 2023 season. BYU rookie Puka Nacua stepped in and filled that Cooper Kupp role immediately. He could soak up 15 targets for ten receptions and 119 yards.
Puka was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft. The scouting community mostly overlooked him as an unathletic receiver from a smaller school that generally goes up against worse competition. This very well could be the best performance Puka has in his career. Don’t unload him for anything you can get, but if you could turn him into a 2024 second-round pick, that is something you should consider accepting.
Calvin Ridley, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
Our final sell of the week may be controversial. Calvin Ridley looked great this past week in Jacksonville’s 31 – 21 over division rival Indianapolis. Ridley has been on an almost two-year hiatus from the NFL due to both personal reasons and a suspension. The connection with Trevor Lawrence seems like an almost instant positive. However, we must look at Ridley from a dynasty lens. Ridley will be 29 halfway through this season, so he is older than most people might realize. We must also remember that the Colts were starting a bunch of rookies in their secondary and might be giving up performances like this on a weekly basis. I would start the process of cashing in on Ridley. Don’t sell easily, though; hold out for a 2024 1st if possible.
Now that we are in season, the information will come fast and furious. Dynasty managers must stay on top of the current trends regarding player values. The most active managers going out and buying players at the right time will find themselves playoff-bound this season. Check back next week, as I will review some more key dynasty buys and sells.
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