Dynasty Fantasy Football Trade Values: Four Backup Wide Receivers To Buy (2025)

Depth charts are constantly shifting in the NFL, and on the offensive side of the ball, wide receivers are constantly breaking out, falling off, or displaying all the precursors for an increase in production the next season. The third group of players are the ones we'll be discussing today.

It's easy to be pessimistic about players after they have a down year or simply fail to live up to expectations, but often, production is a product of a player's environment more than it is of their talent. The players themselves also can improve significantly year over year.

Sometimes, the situation improves, and the player does, too. Often, these two grouped together can signify a breakout is imminent, and you should take advantage of this by making a move for that player in dynasty fantasy football. Let's break down the best backup WR buys ahead of the 2025 season. By backups, we mean not the team's WR1.

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Rome Odunze, WR, Chicago Bears 

This one's obvious, and many expect him to have much better production in his second season. However, the presence of WR Keenan Allen could muddy things a bit. It's still not clear if Chicago wants to retain him. He's an unrestricted free agent. It seems better to let him walk and use resources elsewhere, though. The team already has other good pass-catching weapons.

Another fit that Matt & I talked about with Ben Johnson in Chicago is Johnson potentially using Rome Odunze in a power slot role like Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Odunze is a big body, had some nice moments working from the inside and is a plus-blocker.pic.twitter.com/3Hz1EsRk47 https://t.co/Pg37dmw7Lh

— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) January 22, 2025

His usage will be very important. Slot receivers on offenses commandeered by Ben Johnson, the new head coach of the Bears, tend to do very well. And Odunze is best suited for the slot. He's a more physical mismatch for slot corners and doesn't have the top speed to win consistently on vertical routes on the outside. The tape from his rookie season was mostly fine.

But players who excel on horizontal breaking routes and don't have the speed to burn corners are better suited to playing closer to the middle of the field, so they have more space to work to whichever side of the field is shorter for them. In addition, he'll face better matchups within the secondary.

Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints

Shaheed was in the midst of a breakout season before a knee injury cut his year short and sidelined him for the remainder. He was the clear preferred target of quarterback Derek Carr, though, and that's unlikely to change. Yet, top wide receiver Chris Olave is seen as the team's clear WR1, but he's continually disappointed fantasy managers after his rookie season.

Rashid Shaheed pic.twitter.com/nfSzJz61LC

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) January 4, 2025

Shaheed has developed very nicely as a route runner. His explosiveness led to him being used primarily as a returner in his first two seasons, but his ability to win on vertical routes and explosiveness out of his breaks make him a true potential WR1 who can play outside. He will also be moved around the formation more to exploit mismatches.

Carr also loves the deep ball, and he'll likely continue to look to complete long downfield passes to Shaheed more than once per game. It seems that consensus isn't ready to move on from the idea of Olave being the team's clear top wideout, so there's a good chance to capitalize on that sentiment.

Olave and Carr have had some chemistry issues, and Shaheed would have likely finished ahead of him statistically had both remained healthy for the majority of the season. That didn't happen, but that gives you a chance to make a move while uncertainty is still a big factor.

Xavier Legette, WR, Carolina Panthers 

Legette had a disappointing first season as a pro, but for the price you can get him, he's probably worth picking up. He's dealt with a wrist injury since college that he aggravated around midseason, which caused his production to drop off a cliff. He was probably playing through extreme pain, as NFL players often do.

Come for the Xavier Legette hand/wrist update — he aggravated an injury he’s had for years against the #Saints, he told reporters.

But *stay* for Legette’s excitement for traveling out of the country for the first time. pic.twitter.com/TfOarOPGNd

— Alex Zietlow (@alexzietlow05) November 7, 2024

He said he would finally have surgery this offseason to fix the issue, so we should expect him to be fully healthy in 2025. Additionally, it seems that quarterback Bryce Young has made strides as a signal-caller, and head coach Dave Canales made the offense look serviceable in the passing game even through the QB turmoil.

The Carolina defense was also woefully bad, yet the offensive line played mostly well. If they don't fix those issues, they could find themselves having to pass heavily, which would benefit Legette. And WR Adam Thielen is 34 years old and will turn 35 before the 2025 season starts.

Receivers also tend to take big leaps in production in their second year if they have relatively mediocre rookie seasons. For all these reasons, and because of Legette's absurd combination of size and athleticism, it's worth buying into him before next season rolls around.

Josh Downs, WR, Indianapolis Colts 

The problem has been and remains to be quarterback Anthony Richardson. Downs was fantastic out of the slot and made great strides in many aspects of his game in the 2024 season. The issue was Richardson's lack of accuracy, awful inconsistency, and the omnipresent injury issues he deals with.

Anthony Richardson 🛫🛬 Josh Downs pic.twitter.com/CVzEWpQFba

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) November 18, 2024

The suddenness in Downs' route breaks, his short-area quickness, and his savviness in separating from defenders were all on display, but his value is depressed in dynasty fantasy football due to his inconsistent production. Yet, he looked like a league-winner in PPR scoring formats for a few weeks.

The fact that Richardson was benched for backup QB Joe Flacco at any point doesn't reflect well on ARich's tenure so far. Even after he returned, he struggled with inconsistency and didn't manage to complete even 50 percent of his passes. It's not hard to see why a QB with such poor accuracy is bad for his receivers.

Downs has the makings of a fantastic slot receiver and an elite PPR fantasy option if Richardson can fix his problems or if the team finds another quarterback at some point in the future. The returns might not be immediate, but if you're willing to wait, making a move for Downs could pay off in a year or two.

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