4 Players to Target in Dynasty Fantasy Football Before the 2025 NFL Draft

Every year, it becomes tougher and tougher to try to gain an edge when conducting trades in dynasty fantasy football leagues, especially with the amount of resources at our disposal. That being said, we can try to get ahead of the curve before the 2025 NFL Draft commences.

Using NFL Draft odds from FanDuel Sportsbook and recent news around the league, we can try to determine which players could see their dynasty value trend upward. Taking that into account, let's take a look at four players to target in dynasty fantasy football leagues before the 2025 NFL Draft.

Players to Trade for in Dynasty

Justin Herbert, QB, Chargers

In his first year playing under Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman, Justin Herbert performed well in real-life football, finishing with 23 passing touchdowns to only 3 interceptions. When it came to fantasy football, Herbert concluded last season as the overall QB12 and QB16 in fantasy points per game.

Along with Herbert's efficient passing numbers, he also set career-highs in rushing attempts (69) and rushing yards (306) a season ago, and I'm expecting the Los Angeles Chargers to give him the green light to run even more in 2025. The only thing preventing Herbert from being a top-10 quarterback in fantasy right now is his supporting cast, but LA's skill group could be bolstered during the draft.

After seeing Ladd McConkey become a go-to option for Herbert in 2024, four of the five positions with the shortest odds in the 'Position of Los Angeles Chargers First Drafted Player' market on FanDuel Sportsbook are on the offensive side of the ball. Even though we don't know what the Chargers' draft plans are, it seems likely that they don't want to rely on Quentin Johnston and Mike Williams as secondary pass-catching options.

The good news for Los Angeles is that this year's draft class is deep at wide receiver, tight end, and running back, making Herbert an enticing traded target at the quarterback position.

Jordan Mason, RB, Vikings

Just a month ago, there was a decent chance the Minnesota Vikings would use one of their picks during the 2025 NFL Draft to bolster their running back room behind Aaron Jones, who they re-signed in the offseason. However, the Vikings acquired Jordan Mason and a sixth-round pick in this year's draft from the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick.

While Minnesota could certainly still express interest in adding a rookie back into the fold, head coach Kevin O'Connell has spoken highly of Mason, and believes the newly-acquired back can provide the Vikings with better production in short-yardage situations. Finding a better option near the goal line isn't much of a surprise after Jones scored the fewest rushing touchdowns from inside the five-yard line (3) among running backs who garnered 70.0% or more of their team's attempts in that area of the field, per Pro Football Reference.

Amid a 2024 campaign where Mason saw extended playing time due to Christian McCaffrey being sidelined for a decent portion of the season, Mason tallied the 10th-most yards after contact per attempt (3.35) among running backs with 100-plus attempts and the most runs of 10-plus yards (23) among backs with fewer than 200 carries, via PFF. With Jones turning 31 years old during the upcoming season coming off a year where he posted a career-high 306 touches, I'm expecting Mason to be the preferred goal-line option for a Vikings team that strengthened their offensive line in the offseason.

Rome Odunze, WR, Bears

The Chicago Bears aren't likely to prioritize adding a wide receiver early in this year's draft, but the inclusion of Rome Odunze within this article is more about how much interest I have in acquiring the second-year wideout in general. Although Odunze had a forgettable rookie campaign in 2024 where he finished with a mere 1.18 yards per route run, there are positives to take from a season ago despite Chicago's offensive woes.

For starters, Odunze did happen to lead the Bears in average depth of target (14.2 yards) and yards per reception (13.6) last season. But above all, Odunze will now be playing in an offense coached by Ben Johnson, and he won't have to compete for targets -- primarily out of the slot -- with veteran Keenan Allen anymore.

Similar to the Vikings, the Bears made a concerted effort to drastically improve their offensive line this offseason, which should also lead to better results from Caleb Williams. Before the 2025 NFL Draft begins, I'd be trying to land Odunze in exchange for a first-round pick in a rookie draft instead of taking a chance on one of the incoming rookie receivers.

Isaiah Likely, TE, Ravens

Sharing the field with Mark Andrews prevented Isaiah Likely from having a full breakout season in 2024, but the athletic tight end still finished as the overall TE16 in half-PPR formats. However, there's a chance we see the Baltimore Ravens move on from Andrews after the team's general manager (Eric DeCosta) was hesitant to say whether or not Andrews would remain with the team beyond the draft.

Andrews is set to enter the final year of his contract in 2025, and the Ravens would gain $11 million in cap space by trading Andrews. Provided that information, taking a chance on Likely becoming the full-time starting tight end in a Lamar Jackson-led offense is worth the risk in case a trade transpires during the draft.

Regardless of Andrews' status with the team moving forward, Likely hauled in the third-most touchdowns (6) and had five weeks where he finished as a top-10 tight end in fantasy during the 2024 season. Even in the scenario where Andrews remains with Baltimore for the upcoming season, Likely is going to be turning 25 years old soon, and his role in the offense should still blossom.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.