In dynasty fantasy football, it’s always a good idea to explore trades every offseason, whether you’re contending or rebuilding. Many of these trades will include draft picks later used to select rookies taken in the NFL Draft.
While the results of these picks can vary, the potential value they possess is undeniable. For instance, selecting Jacksonville wideout Brian Thomas Jr. late in the first round of last year’s dynasty rookie draft was a home-run pick for many teams, allowing them to capitalize on the use of a later first-rounder to obtain a tem cornerstone.
Even though these picks carry a lot of value, sometimes it’s a good idea to trade them away at the right price. Getting a player who has already proved themselves at the NFL level in exchange for a first-round pick negates the risk of whiffing on an important selection.
However, trading away your pick for a decent player only to miss out on generational talent could haunt you for years. So, what’s the right value at which to trade away a first-round pick?
Using the KeepTradeCut Dynasty Rankings and Trade Calculator as a baseline for our values, we’ll be exploring some players you could consider trading your first-round pick for if given the chance. But remember, making a trade involving a pick involves just as much risk as making the pick in the first place.
Pick 1.01
Puka Nacua
(WR, LAR)
This part of the list is interesting. Trading the first-overall selection, which could be used to select generational running back prospect Ashton Jeanty, is something that I would advise against. The ceiling for a player like Jeanty is just too high. However, if you’re set on trading the pick, getting a receiver who is having one of the greatest starts to an NFL career that we’ve ever seen in return isn’t bad value at all.
While Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua struggled through an early-season injury that sidelined him for five of the team’s seventeen regular season contests, he returned to form as one of the league’s best wideouts after returning to action. Nacua had an unforgettable rookie season in 2023 after posting 105 receptions, 1,486 receiving yards, and six receiving touchdowns.
He continues to perform as a fantasy asset when on the field, averaging almost 25 fantasy points per game when in the game for more than 50% of the team’s offensive snaps. He’s still only 23 years old and is one of the best dynasty assets in the sport right now. While trading away the first-overall pick is a difficult task, Puka Nacua is one of the only players I would consider swapping it for.
Pick 1.02
Drake London
(WR, ATL)
Falcons wideout Drake London finally lived up to the hype in 2024, putting up a top-five fantasy wide receiver season during yet another season in which Atlanta cycled in multiple starting quarterbacks. London was one of the league’s best red-zone weapons, scoring a career-high nine receiving touchdowns this season.
Similarly to Nacua, London has everything you could want in a dynasty wide receiver. He is only 23 years old, receives a lot of target volume, and is ridiculously consistent and productive in terms of yards and touchdowns. The bonus with Drake London is that he will be catching passes from a quarterback with whom he showed a lot of chemistry on the field last year, Michael Penix Jr.
Through the three weeks in which Penix started at quarterback for Atlanta, London averaged 13 targets, 7.3 receptions, and 117.3 receiving yards per game while also adding on two receiving touchdowns. If this explosive connection continues into 2025, Drake London’s ceiling will be even higher. Like Puka Nacua, Drake London is one of the only dynasty assets I would be willing to accept in return for the 1.02.
Pick 1.03
De’Von Achane
(RB, MIA)
Dolphins running back De’Von Achane silenced the critics in 2025, playing in all 17 of Miami’s regular season games and finishing as a top-10 running back in fantasy football. He was especially productive in PPR formats, leading all running backs in receptions (78) and receiving yards (592), while being tied for first in receiving touchdowns (6).
When quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is healthy and on the field, Achane is a nearly unstoppable force in fantasy football, dominating on the ground and through the air. Achane, who was the RB4 in the first draft of my Top 24 2025 Fantasy Football Rankings (Redraft), has now scored 23 total touchdowns through 28 career games, making him one of the best dynasty running backs in the league.
The Texas A&M product is only 23 years old and still hasn’t reached his ceiling. If you can get him in exchange for the third-overall pick in your dynasty rookie draft, take the deal.
Pick 1.04
Bucky Irving
(RB, TB)
Buccaneers rookie running back Bucky Irving burst onto the scene after being selected in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft by Tampa Bay. Irving didn’t begin the season as Tampa’s top running back, but due to incumbent starter Rachaad White’s inefficiency on the ground, Irving took on a very large role in the backfield down the stretch of the 2024 NFL season.
Bucky Irving was remarkably efficient on the ground, averaging 5.42 yards per carry on 207 rush attempts. He was also active as a receiver, posting almost 400 receiving yards on the season. If Tampa Bay gives Bucky Irving a higher share of the team’s offensive snaps in 2025, as they should, the young back could reach his ceiling in fantasy football as an explosive playmaker. He is worthy of the fourth-overall pick in rookie drafts.
Pick 1.05
Jonathan Taylor
(RB, IND)
After disappointing fantasy managers in 2022 and 2023, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor enjoyed a bounce-back 2024 campaign, producing the second-best statistical season of his career. Taylor finished the season on one of the hottest three-game stretches we’ve ever seen in fantasy football, posting a whopping 520 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns in Weeks 15-17 to close out the fantasy football playoffs.
Heading into next season, he’s a bit of a risk in terms of fantasy outlook, but if he can stay healthy and receive a similar amount of volume, he should enter the top-10 discussion for fantasy football running backs. For now, I’d say he is worth a first-round pick if you aren’t in full rebuild-mode.
Pick 1.06
Kyren Williams
(RB, LAR)
After a fantastic 2024 season, Kyren Williams remains one of the most underrated, underappreciated, and undervalued players in all of fantasy football. In dynasty, he is a phenomenal asset. At 24 years old, he already has multiple 1,100+ rushing yard seasons under his belt and has scored 26 rushing touchdowns over the past two years.
Williams also saw a significant uptick in volume in 2024, garnering an impressive 316 carries in 16 games. One of the most consistent running backs in fantasy football is absolutely worth the sixth pick in this year’s rookie draft. If you’re offered this deal, don’t hesitate to accept.
Pick 1.07
Xavier Worthy
(WR, KC)
Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy was selected with the 28th-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and lived up to expectations after a slow start to the season. After the season-ending injury to second-year receiver Rashee Rice, Worthy took a while to slide into the role of top wide receiver but eventually went on a strong run of games during Weeks 11-17. In that span, the speedy wideout put up 40+ receiving yards in every contest while scoring three receiving touchdowns.
While those statistics aren’t insane by any means, it’s certainly encouraging that Kansas City’s rookie wide receiver started to put things together late in the season. If the rookie can take the next step in his sophomore season, he could end up being Partick Mahomes’ top target in 2025.
Since he was selected in this range in 2024 dynasty rookie drafts, I don’t think there’s much risk in flipping the 1.07 for Xavier Worthy after a successful rookie year.
Pick 1.08
Sam LaPorta
(TE, DET)
In his rookie year in 2023, Sam LaPorta was the best tight end in fantasy football. But until the last few weeks of the 2024 regular season, he was being labeled one of the biggest fantasy football busts of the first few rounds. But from Week 14 through the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs, LaPorta once again looked like one of the best tight ends in football.
While his sophomore season wasn’t quite as impressive as his inaugural campaign, Sam LaPorta is still among the best young tight ends in fantasy football and should be regarded highly in dynasty leagues. His ceiling convinces me that trading the eighth-overall selection for his services is a good idea if you are in need of a productive tight end.
Pick 1.09
Josh Jacobs
(RB, GB)
After signing with Green Bay in free agency ahead of the 2024 NFL season, expectations were set high for Josh Jacobs. However, he delivered as one of the best running backs in fantasy football. Jacobs rushed for the second-most yards of his career while punching in 15 touchdowns on the ground during his first year as a Packer.
His efficiency also improved from a rough 2023 campaign in Las Vegas, in which he only managed to earn 3.45 yards per carry. Jacobs isn’t the youngest asset in dynasty fantasy football, but he’s a great piece to add for any team looking to contend in 2025. He’s worth the 1.09.
Pick 1.10
Chase Brown
(RB, CIN)
Second-year running back Chase Brown entered 2024 in what appeared to be a split backfield with free agency acquisition Zack Moss. Many, including myself, wrote Brown off in fantasy football after the workload was evenly divided between the two running backs through the first four weeks of the season.
However, Chase Brown took over the backfield after an impressive Week 4 performance against the Carolina Panthers and never looked back. Brown became one of fantasy football’s breakout stars, coming just 10 yards short of a 1,000 yard rushing season.
Unfortunately, his year was cut short after an ankle injury. If he receives more volume in 2025, Brown could become a top-10 running back in fantasy football.
Pick 1.11
Chuba Hubbard
(RB, CAR)
Like Chase Brown, Chuba Hubbard was one of the 2024 NFL season’s biggest breakouts. In his fourth NFL season, Hubbard rushed for 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns while maintaining an efficiency of 4.78 yards per carry.
If rookie running back Jonathon Brooks is sidelined for the majority of the 2025 season after an ACL tear late in the year, Hubbard should face little competition in Carolina’s backfield next year. Assuming Hubbard receives similar volume, expect similar results. Chuba Hubbard will be one of the best running backs in fantasy football once again and is well worth the eleventh-overall pick here.
Pick 1.12
Jerry Jeudy
(WR, CLE)
Jerry Jeudy was another unexpected breakout player during this past NFL season. After a relatively underwhelming four-year stint in Denver, Jeudy was traded to the Browns in exchange for a fifth and a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Heading into 2024, Jeudy had low expectations but was able to blow them out of the water. The 2020 first-round pick compiled 1,229 receiving yards as Cleveland’s top wideout, even registering a game with 235 yards through the air in Week 13 against Denver, his former team.
Jeudy is a big risk because of Cleveland’s quarterback situation, but you don’t play fantasy football for fifth place. He is still only 25 years old and will enter 2025 as the top receiver on the depth chart. Trading the last pick in your rookie draft for Jeudy is a risk that’s worth taking.