Dynasty Trade Value Chart: December

A big debate in dynasty circles at this time of year revolves around whether leagues should have trade deadlines. While there are strong arguments on both sides, I generally believe trade deadlines sometime in November are healthy for leagues, and most of the leagues I play in have already reached that point. If you are like me, the die has been cast, and you are heading into the final week of the regular season and the fantasy playoffs with the roster you have. That makes December an unusual time to write an article on dynasty trade values.

I have three options. I can tailor the article specifically to the relatively small number of dynasty managers who keep trading open year-round. I can discuss dynasty values more broadly, focusing on big-picture topics that will help managers get a jump on the competition when trading reopens at the end of the month. Or I can address both perspectives by alternating between zooming in and out at each position. I have chosen the third option. That means many parts of the article, including the values themselves, will be aimed at managers who can still make trades. Still, I also want to cover broader themes that will shape the strategy decisions we will face in January and beyond.

For those still able to make win-now dynasty deals, December's Dynasty Trade Value Chart breaks each player's value into current value and future value. We will also touch on a few topics related to the fantasy playoffs. However, we will not go too deep since our redraft coverage already breaks down weekly lineup decisions in a way a monthly dynasty column cannot match.

For managers whose deadlines have passed, much of this month's article will zoom out and look at some bigger picture questions, including:

• An updated look at career expectancy based on quarterback playing style and the potential concerns for some players at the top of the dynasty rankings.
• An overview of the 2026 rookie and free agent classes at running back and what the strengths of each might mean for dynasty values.
• How quarterback concerns should influence dynasty wide receiver valuations.
• How to value the elite tight ends.

As always, we will go position by position to analyze dynasty trade values and the most interesting valuation decisions facing dynasty managers.

Tools and Full Values

My most current dynasty trade values, which can be adjusted to your specific format, are always available in the Dynasty Trade Value Chart tool. Full player listings are posted there. In this month's article, I have limited the tables below to the top players at each position as a supplement to the tool, which includes values for roughly 400 players.

My valuation process starts with something tangible. I calculate each player's short-term value by estimating their projected fantasy production above their position's replacement level. If the replacement level for wide receivers in PPR formats is 11 PPG and a player projects for 21, his current-year value is 10. If he projects for 13, his current-year value is 2. From there, I estimate future-year values the same way and apply a time discount to create the overall dynasty values that form the foundation of the Dynasty Trade Value Chart.

The benefit of this approach is that it clearly separates current value from future value, which matters even more as trade deadlines approach. Most trades this time of year happen between contenders and rebuilders, so this month's Dynasty Trade Value Chart separates each player's total value into two parts: 2025 value and Future value.

Quarterback

Quick Hits

Bryce Young is one of the big risers over the past month. Over his last three games, he has averaged 273.4 passing yards and 2.3 touchdowns. Carolina plays Tampa Bay twice in the final four weeks. Those two matchups will go a long way toward deciding the division in 2025 and shaping expectations for Young moving forward. If he can push the team to nine or ten wins and keep stacking strong passing numbers, he could become a hot dynasty commodity this offseason.

Joe Burrow returned to the Cincinnati lineup in Week 13 and looks ready to give dynasty managers a huge lift in the fantasy playoffs. The Bengals have the eighth-easiest quarterback schedule in the 2025 fantasy playoffs, and the offense is suddenly healthy at the right time. It also helps that the passing game will be pushed toward aggression because Cincinnati has one of the worst defenses in the league.

Rushing Quarterback Longevity

According to dynasty consensus rankings on KeepTradeCut, three of the top four dynasty quarterbacks and five of the top nine have scored a high percentage of their career fantasy points on the ground. One of the bigger picture questions worth considering is whether these valuations make sense over a longer horizon. A few of the things I am thinking about as we head into the offseason:

• Will it be wise to take Jaxson Dart, who has scored 47 percent of his fantasy points as a runner, in the second round of Superflex startups next offseason?
• Does it make sense to value Lamar Jackson as the dynasty QB3 when there are some signs that age or injury may have cost him some explosiveness?
• How many more QB1 fantasy seasons does Jalen Hurts have left, and how should we factor in the possibility of a Tush Push rule change?
• Is there a sell-high window to explore with some of these highly valued quarterbacks who rely heavily on their legs?

In July 2024, as part of my Dynasty Data series, I looked at the idea that rushing quarterbacks tend to have shorter productive fantasy careers than those who do most of their scoring with their arm. I used objective metrics to assess the extent of each quarterback's rushing-based fantasy production and the point in their career when they posted their final QB1 season.

The Cliff's notes version is simple. No quarterback in recent NFL history who scored more than 20 percent of his career fantasy points as a runner has produced a single QB1 season past Year 10. The visualization below is from that article. It compared career longevity on the X-axis (last QB1 season) against the year in which the player had their final QB1 season on the Y-axis. 

As you can see in the image, Michael Vick was the only quarterback who had a career fantasy point rushing percentage above 20 who had any QB1 fantasy season in Year 10 or later. He also had extenuating circumstances that allowed him to avoid the typical wear and tear on his body.

This point is especially relevant now because a big chunk of today's top ten dynasty quarterbacks fall into the 20 percent or higher group. It is also worth revisiting the study with nearly two full seasons of new data. We have already seen hints that some of the quarterbacks who were especially reliant on their legs are beginning to show signs of decline. We will get into one of those players below. We have also added new evidence supporting the idea that quarterbacks who rely least on their legs can have extremely long and productive careers. The 2025 version of Matthew Stafford is a new entry in this category. In his 17th NFL season, he is on pace for a QB1 finish and currently ranks QB5. He is doing this while literally scoring negative points on the ground with zero rushing touchdowns and minus ten rushing yards. It does not get much more non-rushing than that, and a quarterback capable of a top-five finish in Year 17 is precisely what you dream about when building a roster with long-term stability in mind.

The first player worth discussing in more detail is Lamar Jackson, who currently ranks as the QB18 overall. Some of this is due to missed time, but he is also just the QB13 in PPG. A significant factor in the shorter productive careers of highly mobile quarterbacks has been injury. Cam Newton had his streak of QB1 seasons snapped by injury in his age-29 season and never posted another. That does not mean Jackson cannot bounce back to top-five form next year, but there are more risk factors here than some are willing to acknowledge, which makes me hesitant to value him as a top-ten overall asset in Superflex leagues. Health is a genuine concern. Jackson is not as sturdily built as some other elite dynasty quarterbacks, such as Allen, Hurts, or Mahomes, and his list of lower-body injuries is growing. He turns 29 next month, and 2026 will be his ninth NFL season. We have seen at other positions how explosiveness can fade as players reach these age milestones, and this is especially true for those who have worked through repeated lower-body injuries. Jackson has developed into an excellent passer, which gives him a chance to age more gracefully than the average mobile quarterback. Still, it is not as simple as separating the passing success from the athleticism. His speed and rushing threat change how defenses approach him, creating downfield opportunities. His ability to extend plays has been elite. We have seen how quickly things can change for a player like Russell Wilson, who was one of the best in the league at extending plays in his prime but saw his fantasy production fall off sharply once his athletic advantage diminished. Wilson is a textbook example of a quarterback with a 20 percent rushing rate who was excellent as a passer but still fell off before his tenth season.

There are too many top quarterbacks in the 20 percent or higher category for all of them to follow the same pattern, and someone will eventually break the trend. But whoever does will be an outlier, and betting on outliers too often is a costly strategy. This is a topic worth exploring in depth during the offseason, but it is also something to keep in mind now if you have a chance to sell high or when your trade window reopens after the fantasy playoffs.

Running Back