Dynasty Players to Sell Before the 2023 NFL Draft

With the 2023 NFL Draft looming, it’s time to evaluate what players you should sell in your dynasty fantasy football leagues. Right now, you can get a fair idea of what players will be replaced or have additional competition in the 2023 NFL season. Of course, many players could be getting replaced or at least have some competition in the upcoming NFL Draft.

For this article, I’ll highlight some players within the top 150 of KeepTradeCut (KTC)’s dynasty rankings. Continue reading for my top three players to sell high on before the 2023 NFL Draft in your dynasty leagues.

Isiah Pacheco

Running Back – Kansas City Chiefs

My number one player to sell high on this list is Isiah Pacheco, the rookie running back for the Chiefs. Despite the fact he has looked amazing as of late, he might be someone to consider selling. While Pacheco has looked great this year, he has a multitude of glaring red flags surrounding his profile and potential in the NFL.

For what it’s worth, Pacheco was great this year, rushing for 830 yards while only starting nine games. He averaged a meager 7.9 PPG for fantasy football purposes. Pacheco is in one of the best offenses in the NFL, which boosts his upside significantly. Especially for fantasy football purposes.

On the other hand, Pacheco is not a good pass catcher at all. This limits his ceiling in a PPR format, which is really what just about every league is anymore. Many people are excited about Pacheco drawing six targets against the Bengals, but this is primarily because Jerick McKinnon was banged up and Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been out. So far this year, we’ve seen that the Chiefs are looking for another option as their passing down back. That much is clear.

While Pacheco has looked amazing thus far, time and time again, these running backs with low draft capital are often replaced. We’ve seen this recently with players like James Robinson and Michael Carter. Robinson was replaced by Travis Etienne and later traded just a year after he finished 6th in the NFL in rushing yards. This is because teams aren’t willing to invest in players who don’t have high draft capital. As a result, these later-round running backs can easily be replaced with other late-round picks. 

Pacheco was a 7th Round draft pick and didn’t profile to be an excellent player coming into the NFL. The Chiefs may take another running back late in the 2023 NFL Draft, creating a three-man committee. According to KTC, Pacheco is ranked 97th overall. Even though I don’t necessarily love the players behind Pacheco, I would be packaging him with a small piece to trade up for a few different players. 

Some assets I would trade Pacheco for are any 2023 first-round picks, Rashod Bateman, Rachaad White, Tyler Allgeier, Cam Akers, AJ Dillon, and James Cook. According to consensus, these are not extremely hard trades to pull off as these assets above are listed from least to most valuable. A 2023 first-round pick is ranked 86th, and Cook is ranked 95th. Take advantage of the hype around Pacheco from this playoff run and trade for one of the players mentioned above. 

Geno Smith

Quarterback – Seattle Seahawks 

Geno Smith is a player who was fantastic this past year and far exceeded any expectations surrounding him. However, I’m not sold that he’ll be the Seahawks quarterback of the future or even their starter next year. According to KTC, Smith is ranked at 105, but his price is subjective, depending on your league. In a Superflex format, if you have a team in need of a win-now quarterback, they’re more than likely going to pay more than this price point for Smith. Even though he is on this list, you shouldn’t be trading him for whatever you can get. Only sell high to the right owner that believes Smith is going to start in Seattle for another year or two.

Last year Smith was fantastic, finishing as the QB8 on a PPG basis and throwing for over 4,000 yards. Nevertheless, this was a breakout year for Smith at age 32. This isn’t great for your dynasty team in the long term, and the Seahawks will have a hard time investing in Smith for the future. It’s very realistic that the Seahawks decide to bring in another quarterback in the NFL Draft.

 This would be relatively easy for them as they have a ton of draft capital from the Russell Wilson trade. With the Seahawks picking at 5th overall, there’s an outside chance they select CJ Stroud, Will Levis, or Anthony Richardson. According to Matt Miller’s recent mock Draft on ESPN+, he has the Seahawks taking Hendon Hooker in the second round. I’m not sure if this is extremely likely, but there is a chance that the Seahawks will take Hooker in the 2nd or 3rd Round. 

If any of these scenarios happen, Smith’s stock will plummet since he may not even start the entire 2023 season. If you can move Smith and a mid-third round pick for Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson, or Jared Goff, that’s a fantastic trade. According to KTC, the deal mentioned above is fair for all three players. If you find a league mate willing to buy Smith for that price, I would sell him off before the NFL Draft. 

James Conner

Running Back – Arizona Cardinals

Of the three players mentioned above, James Conner has the least market value. When looking at KTC, Conner is ranked 137th; however, many contending teams would love to have him due to his elite-level production. Over the past two seasons, Conner averaged 17.2 and 15.4 PPG. While Conner is 27 years old, this top-end production is attractive to a contending team. On the flip side, if you’re looking to win now he’s not a bad player to buy if the price is right.

On the contrary, there are multiple issues with Conner where you should be looking to sell him before the NFL Draft. According to several NFL mock drafts, Sean Tucker is projected to go to the Cardinals in the 4th Round. Regardless, there is a real possibility that one of these running backs, like Zach Evans, Sean Tucker, or Zach Charbonnet, lands with the Cardinals. Since the Cardinals are looking to trade DeAndre Hopkins and get younger, it’s a possibility that they’ll go and replace Conner in the NFL Draft. 

On top of this, Conner is heading into a year with the historical age dropoff for running back. Age 28 is typically when these running backs’ production starts to see a significant decline due to the wear and tear of the position. To make matters worse, this Cardinals offense looks like it could be horrible and there is all sorts of drama surrounding Kyler Murray and the coaches. The Cardinals finished 4-13 last season, and things don’t look any better. 

It is expected that DeAndre Hopkins won’t be back, and Murray will miss part of the 2023 season. Using KTC, you can trade Conner and a fourth round pick for players like Khalil Herbert, Wan’Dale Robinson, or Courtland Sutton. Due to the massive red flags surrounding Conner, I would move off of him before his value decreases even more.

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