In my first article for goingfor2.com, I wrote about my favorite “Buy Low” players heading into draft weekend. For my follow-up, it seemed appropriate to contrast that with my favorite sell-high players. Some of the players who will make this list might still be in their prime, some might be at the age cliff, but the key to selling high is to recognize when a player is at max value and move them before that value takes a hit.
Quarterbacks
Kyler Murray – Arizona Cardinals
Kyler makes my list for sell high because his value is at its absolute ceiling with him being ranked between QB2 and QB4 on most sites. It’s no secret he is an electric player and has some solid weapons around him, but at the end of the 2021 season I don’t see him maintaining this ranking. Between the influx of young talented rookies such as Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence and bounce-back veterans such as Dak Prescott, I don’t see how his value can get any higher. Mahomes is going to have QB1 locked down for years to come. So if you can trade Kyler for a quarterback who is further down the rankings like Joe Burrow and not lose much on-field production while also adding another solid piece, I think now is the perfect time to do so if you are a team with some holes.
Jalen Hurts – Philadelphia Eagles
I’m not sold on Jalen being the long-term solution for the Eagles. He has a golden opportunity in front of him, but I see him more of a bridge quarterback than the long-term solution. If you look back at his games last year he failed to a reach 60% completion percentage in any of the games he played. Culminating with the infamous week 17 game where he was 7 of 20 for 72 yards.
Now I know he is a dynamic player and can move the ball with his feet, but in the NFL you have to be able to throw the ball. If you look back to his time at Oklahoma and Alabama he was never a great passer. This offseason I have seen him go as high as QB3 in a dynasty start-up league. I have also seen him traded for rookie picks as high as the 1.04. This is insane value for someone who could be a backup when the year is said and done. I would much rather take an overpay of a trade than ride the season out and gamble that he maintains or improves his current value.
Runningbacks
Miles Sanders – Philadelphia Eagles
Sticking with the Eagles here, Sanders is a sell high for me. The team constantly used him in a community role and I had hopes as an owner of Sanders in multiple leagues, that the new Head Coach would use him in a workhorse role. After the draft a few weeks ago it was clear that this was not going to be the case when they claimed Kerryon Johnson off of waivers and also with selecting Kenneth Gainwell with the 150th pick in the 2021 draft.
Add in the fact that Sanders has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, I think his value is primed to take a hit this year. He will be the lead back of this committee, but any running back who is in a committee is going to fail to bring back top-tier value. Moving him prior to week 1 will bring you top value, as his value is currently still pretty high.
Mike Davis – Atlanta Falcons
Looking at the current depth chart of the Atlanta Falcons, Mike Davis appears to be headed for a workhorse role this season. Davis was electric stepping in for the injured Christian McCaffrey last year. His 2020 performance still stands out in most dynasty players’ heads and should net you a pretty nice trade package. Especially if you can find a contending team that is in need of a starting running back. Already 28 years old, he is well at the age cliff that most running backs begin to drop off. No one was expecting him to be a starter anywhere this offseason, so take this gift and strike now while the iron is hot because this is his absolute peak value.
Wide Receivers
Adam Thielen – Minnesota Vikings
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Adam blossomed later in his career, so it may surprise some of you that he will be 31 years old before the season starts. This set off alarms for any team who is not contending for a title to be looking to sell. The age cliff for a wide receiver is right around 30 years old. Thielen still has gas in the tank and will most likely put up some solid numbers this year. Plus the emergence of Justin Jefferson, this is probably the year Thielen begins to dip in his production. Right now his value is steady and can net you a pretty solid return in a trade. If you aren’t contending for a title, do yourself a favor and ship Thielen for a younger piece and capitalize on his value.
Robby Anderson – Carolina Panthers
Talk about a player who came out of nowhere last year finishing with a career-best season. He had plenty of big weeks during his time with the Jets, but I doubt anyone saw him finishing as WR19 in PPR last season. If you had him on your team you were most likely keeping his as a bye week fill-in or injury fill-in, and he ended up becoming a bonafide must start at the wide receiver position. There are multiple factors leading me to encourage selling high.
The Panthers drafted Terrance Marshall in the 2nd round of the 2021 NFL draft who is another outside wide receiver. They will be competing for snaps heading into the year. On top of that Anderson is 28 years old and on the last year of his deal. I think last year was the best-case scenario for Anderson and I would trade him now with people remembering his top 20 finish from a season ago.
Tight End
Adam Trautman – New Orleans Saints
It’s no secret to any dynasty player that tight end is a wasteland unless you have one of the big 3 at the position. This means there are very few true sell high players to pick from. So for me, it is Adam Trautman. There is a lot to like about Trautman and he could very well be a breakout candidate. However, he could just as easily fall flat.
It appears as if Trautman is first on the depth chart and should have a great opportunity for the majority of the snaps. However, he still has to compete with Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara for targets. Best case scenario he will finish third on the team in receptions. Which if Drew Brees was still the quarterback you would take that all day long. But it’s not Brees, it is either Jamis Winston or Taysom Hill and maybe even a combination of the two. Given the majority of people’s optimism about him, I would take the value and laugh all the way to the bank.
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