The average age of NFL players, as of this writing, is 26 years, 5 months, and 17 days. Don’t ask me how I got to that number, just know I’m a wizard and the rest of you are mere mortals.
Considering this, you should be taking a hard look at your roster. Where does it land on the aging curve of the NFL? You don’t need to get it down to the day, but you should at least figure out if you’re over the 26-year mark, or under it.
Now consider the value of the players above and below that line, excluding QBs since they work on a different timeline. Be honest with yourself. Is this team ready to compete for the next three years?
When it comes to rebuilding in dynasty football, it’s difficult to accept the risk of blowing it up a year too early. But the worst-case scenario is being a year too late. Or even worse, several years late.
The last place you want to be in your league is one spot out of the playoffs, missing high-end assets to sell off at peak value, and picking 6th in the rookie draft. Don’t squeeze the lemon when you can just get a new lemon. Take your lumps now and start your rebuild with these sell-high players.
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3 Sell-High Candidates to Start a Dynasty Football Rebuild
D.J. Moore, WR, CHI
Moore kicks off our list at just over the average age in the NFL, turning 27 in April. Entering the prime years for a wide receiver, Moore picked an excellent time to put up a career year, eclipsing 1,200 yards for the first time in his career.
He did this all while his primary QB was Justin Fields, who also had a career year in passing. For Fields, that meant just crossing the 2,500-yard mark.
Naturally, people will see this and assume, with the Chicago Bears considering a new signal caller at no. 1 overall, the best is yet to come for Moore. So, as expected, let me pour some cold water on that.
For starters, the Bears had Tyson Bagent starting several games as well. So while the Bears did rank 27th in passing yards, it wasn’t as abysmal as you’d think with Fields.
Second, while you have no idea what you’re getting with Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or even Jayden Daniels as a dark horse, you have less of an idea of what they’re doing with their 2nd pick at ninth overall. In the draft or otherwise, expect some genuine competition at receiver, which Moore didn’t have this year.
That could be Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze. But there’s a non-zero chance the Bears go with Marvin Harrison Jr. at pick one overall. With all this uncertainty actually moving D.J. Moore’s stock up, I’d say zag and sell high to an optimistic manager.
Kyren Williams, RB, LAR
While I initially had Christian McCaffery on this list, I opted against featuring him. I shouldn’t need to explain how a soon-to-be 28-year-old running back as the only RB over a week older than 25 in the top 10 of KeepTradeCut is a sell high.
Instead, I’ll look at the RB6 on that list in Kyren Williams. At 23.4 years old, Williams is not your typical sell candidate for a team entering a rebuild.
But, for starters, a large majority of running backs should be seen as short-term assets. They are for win-now teams and should be the first players jettisoned from a rebuild.
Many will suddenly drop off a cliff, particularly after their rookie contract is done, and their situations are impossible to predict more than a year out. While Williams was extremely productive this year, he scored an abnormally high number of touchdowns. Williams also doesn’t profile as a receiving back and didn’t produce much through the air this past year.
Much like Tyler Allgeier was a rising asset after being an afterthought in the NFL Draft, Williams doesn’t have the pedigree to protect his three-down status. Don’t be surprised if the Los Angeles Rams draft another back with more receiving prowess. Before that happens, sell high.
Lamar Jackson, QB, BAL
When Jackson last won MVP, his stock couldn’t have been higher. He was the undisputed top asset in both dynasty and redraft leagues. Having Jackson felt like a cheat code, like having Michael Vick in Madden 2004.
What followed were still great, but disappointing seasons in which his touchdown totals fell significantly as well as his availability in the fantasy playoffs.
Does that predict anything moving forward for Jackson? Absolutely not. The point isn’t really to illustrate that history will repeat itself for the same player. It’s to say that, when someone wins MVP, they are typically displaying the height of their powers. Repeating is not the norm, it is the exception.
Jackson just turned 26, so he still has a lot of football ahead of him. That said, data is largely unavailable on running QBs and what their aging curve looks like.
Complicating matters is the nature of Jackson’s contract. The cap hits increase significantly over the next several years, ballooning to $43.6M in 2025, and then $74.6M in 2026 and 2027.
Those are absurd numbers and will obviously invite cap wizardry to bring them down when it comes time to pay the piper.
But there are legitimate concerns about how this will impact the team around Jackson, particularly on the offensive line that fuels so many of his designed runs. With this level of uncertainty coming off an MVP campaign, I’d push the sell-high button and start your rebuild with a bang.