2025 Cheap Dynasty Buys: Pre-Draft

As the 2025 NFL Draft approaches, dynasty leagues wake up from their month-long post-Super Bowl slumber. Given the excitement around the incoming rookies and the mystery of the unknown, many fantasy managers start looking for ways to gain more rookie picks for their upcoming drafts. That is how we can gain an advantage.

Actually selecting a player is one of the worst ways you can use a 2nd or 3rd-round rookie pick; doing so provides multiple seasons of startable production just ~18% and ~4% of the time, respectively. We can do significantly better than that by trading those picks to your rookie-hungry leaguemates in exchange for undervalued productive veterans.

Today, I’ll highlight my favorite veterans for whom to trade away rookie picks – ranging from safe ways to lock up production to newly discounted upside bets.

Marvin Mims (WR, Den)

Buy for 2025 late 2nd or 2025 3rd+4th

Coming out of college, Mims was adored by analytical professionals like Scott Barrett and tape wizards like Brett Whitefield alike. But in the NFL, he’s confusingly failed to become a full-time player (28.1% route share in 2024) despite elite per-route efficiency. His 2.78 YPRR and .78 FP/RR ranked 6th-best and 4th-best at the position last year, respectively.

On tape, Mims has insane quick-twitch ability and open-field explosiveness. His finesse in the open field with the ball in his hands earned him an enormously high designed target rate of 57.1% from Week 10 on (2nd in the NFL among players with 75+ routes ran).

Sean Payton utilized him in a “Puka Nacua Lite” role^[1]. Mims isn’t a dominant run blocker at 5’11” and 175 pounds; he’s more of an alignment mismatch and speed merchant. This role for Mims should get even better with the arrival of Evan Engram, who should operate as a big slot and a size mismatch vs. linebackers/safeties. This benefits Mims because he can still line up all over the formation, including out wide and in the backfield, and they can use Engram’s size while using Mims’ speed for mismatches.

As the season wore on, Denver started to unleash Mims more frequently down the field. From Week 13 on, Mims’ route share climbed to 40%+ before peaking in the wild-card game at 67.9%. This suggests Payton began to trust Mims as more of an every-down receiver. Mims still has the big-play ability to help him earn 2-3 designed targets a game, while his route tree development should earn him a more significant role in his third NFL season.

TLDR: Mims’ versatility on the football field does give some Taysom Hill vibes – a Swiss army knife to confuse defenses and utilize motion, handoffs, quick jets, and confusion in the red zone. Mims has the play-making ability to command 3-5 overall targets a game while also being a legitimate rushing threat on sweeps/reverses. Assume that he continues to grow his route tree while maintaining stellar per-route efficiency thanks to his elite athleticism, and get yourself a young, ascending player for a late rookie 2nd — or better yet, a 3rd + 4th.

Adonai Mitchell (WR, Ind)

Buy for 2025 late 2nd or 2025 3rd+4th

In my debut article, I mentioned how it may be too early to throw in the towel on Anthony Richardson. Adonai Mitchell’s ability to separate at an insanely high level is one underrated reason why.

Mitchell is another speed merchant who came in as a rookie and ran a more defined route tree than Marvin Mims had in his first two seasons. When a player has the home-run hitting speed that Mitchell does, it often forces softer coverage by the defense that helps open up the underneath routes and “easier” completions. This allowed Mitchell to pop in Fantasy Points Data’s Average Separation Score, finishing 7th-best of 217 qualifying receivers.

Guys who can threaten vertically like Mitchell while simultaneously slaughtering the defense on underneath routes will command a higher target share for a simple reason — because they are always open. The defense will sag off to avoid getting beat deep, and unlike Alec Pierce, Mitchell can manipulate the shallow parts of the field with quick hips and insane short-area quickness. Once defenses begin to cheat up to defend the short routes, Mitchell has a series of nasty double moves to make the opponent pay dearly. Mitchell is more than just a separator; he shows tremendous body control along the sidelines and snags over-the-head passes with his hands quickly while getting the ball down into his body before defenders can jar it loose.

My favorite thing about Mitchell (besides his A.S.S numbers) is his cutting ability in the open field. Someone could put a whole highlight reel together showing DBs falling and tripping over themselves as they try to keep up with Mitchell.

Like many rookies, Mitchell struggled to find consistent reps on offense, ranking 5th on the team in route share (34.1%). But if the Colts have a rational coaching staff, I fully expect Mitchell to earn a full-time route share at Pierce’s expense in Year 2.

TLDR: Mitchell’s “disappointing” rookie season has created a buying opportunity. Add uncertainty and instability at QB, and I believe Mitchell is being discounted even further. Stealing a line from the Guru, John Hansen, “anybody with the gift of sight” can see Mitchell is always open. The moment a competent QB can throw him the ball, he won’t be going for a late 2nd any longer. At 22 years old, he still has an incredibly bright future, and one I want to buy in on before he gets a stable QB and the price goes up.

Jakobi Meyers (WR, LV)

Buy for 2025 late 2nd or 2025 3rd+4th

Geno Smith coming to town is likely to further bolster the fantasy production of the perpetually underrated Jakobi Meyers. With Geno, the Seahawks’ offense had the 6th-most catchable targets per game last year (27.1). Meyers has been productive despite previously subpar QB play, thanks to his ability to command targets consistently, ranking top-30 at the position in first-read target share in three of the last four seasons.

On tape, Meyers is the definition of a possession receiver with terrific spatial awareness. He is super smooth in finding the soft spots in the zone and has a knack for silently sliding away from coverage to give the QB a clear throwing window. This is massively important with Geno at QB; Meyers should function as a more athletic Tyler Lockett, showing up where Geno expects him to be as an outlet receiver.

Meyers is so successful as a PPR weapon in fantasy because of his reliability in the middle of the field, on third downs, and in the red zone. He routinely catches with his hands instead of his body, a key trait I look for when watching receivers. His ability to hide his hands also keeps defenders guessing when the ball will arrive.

TLDR: The Raiders are making moves to try and compete for a playoff spot in 2025. While Geno is the best quarterback Meyers has played with since Tom Brady, there are still numerous holes to fill on the roster, with rumors of Ashton Jeanty at pick 6 that are hard to ignore. Though a blue-chip prospect like Jeanty could reduce the amount of passing overall, I’d still expect Meyers to command 5-6 targets per game, with better overall efficiency leading to more scoring opportunities in the red zone. Jakobi continues to serve as a high-upside WR3/Flex and an important piece to go after for dynasty teams needing that reliable depth.

Cedric Tillman (WR, Cle)

Buy for 2025 late 2nd or 2025 3rd+4th

Opportunity came knocking for Tillman in Week 7, following the Browns’ trade of Amari Cooper. Tillman wasted no time stepping right into the void left behind by Cooper^[2] on the outside and demanded a high possession-based target count. Post-Cooper trade, Tillman ranked 16th in targets per game (8.4). Even controlling for Jameis Winston’s unbelievably fantasy-friendly pass volume, Tillman averaged a respectable 20.1% target share in games with Winston, on which he averaged 18.7 FPG (would rank ~WR5).

Tillman has the perfect size and body control for the X-receiver role. On tape, he shows great physicality and release off the LOS. One of my favorite things about Tillman is how he snags every pass out of the air with his hands, similar to Jakobi Meyers. Many bigger-bodied receivers try to box defenders out while catching with their bodies, creating more difficult contested catches. Tillman is the opposite; he snatches the ball out of the air like a Venus flytrap. His big hands (10” – 87th percentile) and catch style allow him to thrive in the short-intermediate areas of the field, such as slants, hitches, and in the red zone. In weeks 7-12, Tillman was tied for the 2nd-most red zone targets (6).

Players of Tillman’s archetype are important because they don’t need timing to get open, unlike route technicians such as Jerry Jeudy. When a play breaks down or a blitz is on, Tillman gives you a larger hot-read target that is hard to miss with his huge wingspan.

TLDR: Similar to Adonai Mitchell, there is a ton of QB uncertainty for Tillman. I love the idea raised in Brett Whitefield’s latest mock draft of Shedeur Sanders going to Cleveland. This is the exact type of QB that would feed Tillman thanks to timing, rhythm, and reliability on the outside. The potential of a rookie like Shedeur, or even a veteran like Kirk Cousins is enough for me to move a 3rd+4th in dynasty for Tillman.

Blake Corum (RB, LAR)

Buy for 2025 late 2nd or 2025 3rd+4th

Another NFL offseason means another opportunity to stress ourselves over what Sean McVay will do at the RB position. We weren’t even through free agency week beforeMcVay started dropping little nuggets to give us fantasy managers gray hairs and high blood pressure. McVay has historically fed the rock to one lead back, but hecontinues to praise Blake Corum, striking fear into Kyren Williams truthers. Remember, Williams himself originally came onto the scene after McVay pulled the rug from under Cam Akers without warning.

I am ready for another heartbreak, especially considering Kyren’s inefficiency in 2024. Alongside the ball security issue (Kyren’s five fumbles ranked 2nd-most of any RB), he ranked well outside the top-32 rushers in key metrics. Overall, Williams is an inefficient grinder at high risk of turning the ball over.

On tape, Corum seems similar to Kyren because they are well-rounded, do-it-all, reliable players that coaches love. Corum’s playstyle gives me C.J. Anderson vibes. He has a bowling-ball physique and specializes in his one-cut, downhill running style, where he shows off his vision and jump cuts to hit the hole low and hard. He also shows terrific ball security with his high and tight style, constantly keeping the ball glued to his chest plate. With his low center of gravity, Corum is more adept at pushing the pile and bouncing out of arm tackles. In contrast, Kyren struggled to break tackles, ranking just 59th in missed tackles forced per attempt (.13).

TLDR: Blake Corum and Kyren Williams have very similar playing styles. McVay trusts the vision and decisiveness of his running backs. That is what you get out of these two. Because they seem so interchangeable, Kyren will need to elevate his level of play, or Corum could take over this backfield without warning. Right now, Kyren is a top-50 pick in startups worth around the rookie 1.03/1.04, while Corum costs a late 2nd. There will be plenty of RBs that we will be drafting with our late 2nds who will land in situations where they are backing up an incumbent starter. The biggest question becomes, will any of them have the league-wrecking upside that Blake Corum would have in a Sean McVay offense, given what we already know when they feature their lead back? There are only a handful of opportunities like this in the entire NFL.