Dynasty Fantasy Football Sells - Players To Trade Away (AFC Edition)

While knowing which players to buy in dynasty fantasy football leagues is essential to success, it’s equally important to know which players to sell. You never want to get stuck “holding the bag” on players who seem to be heading down the wrong path.

Surprisingly, many dynasty gamers stubbornly refuse to move off their prior opinion of a player. They fail to see the signs and instead convince themselves all will be ok with their favorite players despite mounting evidence to the contrary. This is a situation any good dynasty manager should strive to avoid. It’s always better to take your medicine, cut your losses, and get something in return for a player rather than watch them lose all value on your bench.

You can also check out our fantasy football dynasty rankings. Make sure you’re following RotoBaller on X and check out RotoBaller.com for all your fantasy football needs. Here are five AFC players you should sell in your dynasty fantasy football league.

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Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts

Richardson was a popular breakout candidate heading into 2024. Unfortunately, things didn't quite pan out. The sophomore quarterback battled injuries throughout the season and was outright benched when questions about his professionalism emerged.

He also didn’t provide as much rushing upside as originally thought and struggled mightily as a passer. Richardson threw only eight touchdowns against 12 interceptions and completed just 47.7 percent of his passes. He ranked 72nd in Fantasy Points Data Suite’s Adjusted Completion Percentage and was just PFF’s 57th-highest-graded passer. Richardson's 2024 puts him in dangerous territory.

QBs with 250+ pass attempts and a sub-50% completion rate in a season since 2000:

Anthony Richardson
Tim Tebow
Akili Smith

— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) January 24, 2025

All of these are not good signs for his future. General manager Chris Ballard stopped short of saying Richardson is Indianapolis’ quarterback of the future during his season-ending news conference. Ballard cited Richardson’s inaccuracy and injuries as reasons for concern. The team also suggested it may bring in another signal-caller for competition this offseason.

None of this sounds good for Richardson’s long-term outlook. If his struggles continue, his time as the Colts starting quarterback is likely finished. Dynasty gamers would be wise to get what they can for the third-year signal-caller. His future doesn’t look super encouraging right now, and there is a good chance his value will completely tank during the 2025 season.

Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

Pacheco was a popular breakout pick heading into 2024, but things quickly went sideways when he suffered a broken fibula in Week 2. The injury knocked him out of action for 10 weeks before he eventually returned in Week 13.

Upon his return, Pacheco was not immediately reinserted into the lineup as Kansas City’s RB1. That may have been the team taking it easy with the young back, but even as Pacheco was further removed from his injury, the team chose to work him in tandem with veteran Kareem Hunt.

The Chiefs could have easily given the RB1 job back to Pacheco but chose not to do so. Perhaps it was partly due to his play whenever he was on the field. Pacheco averaged a career-worst 3.7 yards per attempt in 2024. He also graded poorly in several running back metrics. Out of 53 backs with 80+ carries, Pacheco finished:

46th in PFF Rushing Grade
50th in Missed Tackles Forced Per Attempt (MTF), per Fantasy Points Data Suite
50th in Yards After Contact Per Attempt (YACO/ATT), per Fantasy Points Data Suite
53rd in PFF's Elusive Rating

Some of his 2024 struggles could be explained due to his injury. However, the fact that Kansas City was so quick to move away from Pacheco for the 29-year-old Hunt speaks volumes about his standing with the organization.

Pacheco enters the final year of his rookie contract in 2025, and there’s a high likelihood that Kansas City will add a running back in this year’s loaded draft class. Any back added with significant draft capital will be a threat to Pacheco. Dynasty managers would be wise to sell the fourth-year running back as it looks like only a matter of time before he is replaced.

Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Miami Dolphins

Tagovailoa missed time again in 2024 due to concussion issues.

The Thursday night play on which Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa suffered another concussion: pic.twitter.com/q7P5L7LiaK

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 13, 2024

While Tagovailoa has said retirement is not in his plans, this issue doesn't seem to be going away. He made it through all of 2023 without suffering a head injury, but unfortunately, it became a problem again in 2024. For whatever reason, Tagovailoa seems more prone to head injuries than most players. It’s tough to trust him in your lineup if he is always one hit away from missing several months of the season.

In addition to that, we have only seen Tagovailoa be a viable fantasy quarterback with Mike McDaniel as his play-caller and head coach. Miami has yet to win a playoff game in McDaniel’s three seasons leading the team. Ownership could be getting impatient, and if McDaniel doesn’t soon deliver playoff success, he could find himself out of a job. That would be disastrous news for Tagovailoa and could remove any fantasy appeal considering the success he’s had under McDaniel.

Regardless, Tagovailoa does not possess any rushing upside, and that alone limits his value. Add in his health concerns, and he becomes an easy sell.

Keon Coleman, WR, Buffalo Bills

Coleman’s rookie season was not exactly what Bills fans were expecting. He did average a robust 19.2 yards per reception but struggled mightily to consistently separate against defenders. Out of 169 receivers with 50+ targets, Coleman finished 142nd in Fantasy Points Data Suite’s Average Separation Score. He also finished dead last in Next Gen Stats' Average Separation (SEP) score. However you slice it, Coleman just couldn’t get open.

Part of this can be attributed to his role in Buffalo’s offense. Per Fantasy Points Data Suite, Buffalo had Coleman run 88.6 percent of his routes from the outside. This just doesn’t fit his current skill set. Coleman may have had more success as a rookie working in a power slot role in the Bills offense. We will see if Buffalo makes this adjustment for 2025, but with Khalil Shakir locking down the slot receiver role, this seems unlikely.

Bills general manager Brandon Beane also noted the team’s need for a true WR1 in his season-ending news conference. He made no mention of Coleman in such a role, so it seems like Buffalo might be losing faith.

Gamers should strongly consider selling Coleman. Receivers of this archetype rarely work out (think DeVante Parker for a best-case scenario), and Coleman playing out of position also doesn’t help matters. It might be time to cut your losses and move on without him.

Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Since breaking out as a sophomore in 2022, Etienne has struggled. He's posted back-to-back seasons with sub-4.0 yards per carry, and when we look under the hood for his 2024, things don't get much better. Here are his finishes in several advanced metrics from last year.

Among 46 backs with 100+ carries, Etienne finished:

30th in YACO/ATT
38th in Next Gen Stats' Rush Yards Over Expected Per Attempt (RYOE/ATT)
40th in Next Gen Stats' Rush Yards Over Expected (RYOE)
43rd in PFF Rushing Grade
45th in MTF/ATT

Etienne was outproduced by fellow back Tank Bigsby this past year. Bigsby also finished higher than him in each of the above metrics.

Liam Coen takes over as Jacksonville’s head coach in 2025. He has no ties to Etienne and was not part of the group that spent a first-round pick on him in the 2021 NFL Draft. If he is outperformed by Bigsby again, then he could be supplanted as the team’s RB1. Coen had no issue handing the reins over to Bucky Irving in Tampa Bay last year when Rachaad White struggled. There’s little reason to suggest Coen wouldn’t do the same here.

There’s also the possibility Coen uses a draft pick to acquire his running back of choice. Such a move would completely tank Etienne’s value. Find a manager who still believes in Etienne and get him off your roster.

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