Looking for that league-winning edge in your fantasy football league? The secret often lies in making savvy trades, not just relying on your draft.
This guide separates the must-buy playmakers from the sell-high candidates ahead of Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season. Let’s explore the receivers who can put your team over the top.
Top Trade WR Targets To Buy in Your League
Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos
Courtland Sutton’s 2024 season stands out as an outlier compared to his previous fantasy performances. The veteran receiver broke into the top 30 at the wide receiver position for only the second time in his seven-year career, giving managers plenty of reason to be cautious.
His performance, though, was as solid as they come in fantasy and grew throughout the season as then-rookie quarterback Bo Nix became more comfortable in the NFL. Nix failed to register a passing touchdown until Week 4, often relying on his legs to make things happen. Despite his quarterback’s slow start, Sutton finished as the WR15 on the season.
COURTLAND SUTTON. ONE-HANDED TD.
HOW?!
(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/Bb2trY4tZy— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 13, 2024
From Week 8, Sutton was the WR10 in FPPG (18.0). He received 8.8 targets per game over that stretch, turning that into 804 yards and six touchdowns. Over 17 games, that pace would net Sutton 150 targets, 1,367 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns.
Sutton signed a four-year, $92 million contract extension during the offseason, cementing his role as the team’s top pass catcher. TE Evan Engram has joined the team after being released by the Jaguars, while the Broncos’ run game will be looking to take a big step forward after struggling in 2024.
Sutton should be considered a high-end WR2 with the potential to finish inside the top 12 at the position this coming year.
Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans
Unlike Sutton, Calvin Ridley has outperformed his 2025 ADP (WR29) in all but one year of his career (limited to five games in 2021). He is also the clear WR1 on his team and is set to be rookie QB Cam Ward’s go-to guy throughout the season.
Ridley finished as the WR28 last season, despite dealing with sub-par quarterback play for the entirety of the campaign. Of the 35 wide receivers with at least 100 targets last season, Ridley’s 53.3% catch percentage ranked dead last.
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The veteran’s 120 targets ranked 18th among receivers in 2024, but his 64 receptions were tied for 34th, as Will Levis and Mason Rudolph took turns spurning the team’s offensive opportunities.
Tennessee tied the Panthers for the fewest plays per drive (5.5) in the NFL last season and the third-fewest yards per drive (26.9). Better quarterback play should result in better efficiency for Ridley, who should be the primary fantasy beneficiary of the Titans’ improved offense in 2025.
Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers
Keenan Allen’s late addition to the Los Angeles Chargers’ roster has meant he hasn’t been spoken about as a fantasy asset as much as he might have been. The veteran performed well in Chicago last season, despite the hapless dysfunction of Shane Waldron’s offense, and is now back with a quarterback who loves throwing him the ball.
However, things will be different this time for Allen, as WR Ladd McConkey is the main target in the L.A. offense. However, Allen should be closer to his young teammate than he is getting credit for, and he could quickly prove a valuable fantasy asset from Week 1.
Over four years together on the West Coast, QB Justin Herbert targeted Allen 524 times, which the receiver turned into 4,013 yards and 24 touchdowns.
That connection won’t have disappeared in a year, and Allen could be a PPR machine again in 2025. He is still being drafted as a WR5 in redraft, incredible value on a receiver who finished as a WR3 last year on a terrible offense.
Top Trade WR Targets To Sell in Your League
Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
Marvin Harrison Jr. should expect better efficiency in Year 2, but his name value is still propping him up and can be flexed in trades. The Cardinals star is currently the WR19 in ADP, despite finishing as the WR38 in FPPG (minimum eight games) in 2024.
The then-rookie’s 116 targets were tied for 20th among all receivers, but his 53.4% catch rate ranked 34th among 35 receivers with at least 100 targets. 35th on that list was Calvin Ridley, who averaged 0.1 FPPG more than Harrison in 2024, and has received a huge quarterback upgrade during the offseason.
Marvin Harrison Jr. we love you pic.twitter.com/GE6a9vVabw
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 15, 2024
Still, Ridley is being drafted almost two full rounds later than Harrison this year, furthering the suggestion that the Cardinals receiver’s name adds value. Ridley is the alpha pass catcher in his offense, as are DK Metcalf and DJ Moore, who are all considered less valuable than Harrison in fantasy.
TE Trey McBride will continue to dominate targets in Arizona. That, and the fact that only 11 receivers scored more touchdowns than Harrison (eight) last year, leaves the young receiver with a narrow window for improvement in Year 2.
Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
Like Harrison, I expect Rome Odunze to improve in Year 2. However, I don’t think he’ll improve as much as his ADP projects. The Bears are one of the fashionable teams this offseason after the arrival of the aforementioned Johnson from Detroit, and Odunze has been getting plenty of hype throughout the preseason.
A quick look online, though, and you’ll see that Luther Burden III has also been receiving hype… as has DJ Moore… as has TE Colston Loveland… as has Olamide Zaccheaus even. And that’s the issue with Odunze — the Bears’ offense should be better as a whole, but there are so many mouths to feed, and two of them were high draft picks that Johnson was a part of.
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Johnson wasn’t around when Odunze was drafted, and was willing to campaign for Loveland and Burden in the opening two rounds of the draft, suggesting they will feature heavily. Regardless, second-year receivers have long been a great bet in fantasy, and plenty of your league mates will be high on Odunze and the Bears.
The likes of Ricky Pearsall, Jayden Reed, and Emeka Egbuka are currently deemed less valuable than Odunze in fantasy this season. Stefon Diggs and TE Tyler Warren are likely alpha pass catchers on their respective teams and are also potentially attainable with Odunze going the other way.
