It’s only Week 2, and already we’ve seen some major value swings in the dynasty fantasy football trade market. Travis Etienne Jr., left for dead by many this offseason, is surging back toward top-20 RB status after torching the Panthers for 143 rushing yards. Jacory Croskey-Merritt has taken on near-mythical status in the fantasy community; while he did nothing Thursday night vs. the Packers, his value is poised to climb again now that Austin Ekeler is done for the season with an Achilles injury.
On the flip side, Tua Tagovailoa and Bryce Young looked dreadful in their 2025 debuts, causing both to slide down the quarterback rankings.
If you’re looking for an edge or some guidance on the best dynasty fantasy football trade to make before the majority of Week 2 kicks off, I’ve got you covered. I’ve highlighted four players I think you should buy, sell, or hold in Week 2, depending on your roster build. Check them out below — and go make some deals.
PlayerProfiler is home to award-winning dynasty rankings and tools. Our Dynasty Deluxe package includes complete Dynasty Rankings, Rookie Rankings, Trade Analyzer, Draft Planner, Mock Drafts, and more. Check it out!
Dynasty Fantasy Football Trades To Make Week 2
Buy: WR Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans
You didn’t really expect Calvin Ridley to pop off in Week 1, did you?
He was on the road, facing Patrick Surtain II — the reigning Defensive Player of the Year — with a rookie quarterback making his first NFL start. That’s a recipe for a quiet day.
The meal Ridley cooked up left fantasy managers with an empty stomach.
Surtain shadowed Ridley on 27 of his 32 routes, locking him down while Ridley also dealt with multiple drops. He finished the day with four receptions for 27 yards. The raw numbers weren’t pretty, but there’s more beneath the surface.
Calvin Ridley‘s Advanced Metrics
Ridley still commanded eight targets and a 32% target share (WR11). He also ranked WR11 in target separation at 2.25 yards, showing he was consistently getting open when Surtain wasn’t draped all over him. The usage we wanted to see was there; the production simply wasn’t.
Better days are ahead, starting this week against the Rams. Yes, they held Nico Collins in check last week, but they aren’t a terrifying defense. With a young, unproven WR corps around him, Ridley is a strong bet to lead the Titans in targets for every game this season. Elite target volume eventually leads to fantasy points, and that’s all fantasy managers should care about.
Contenders shouldn’t hesitate to buy for a second-round pick. There are far worse ways to spend draft capital than acquiring a team’s WR1 who will see steady volume week in and week out.
Buy: TE Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints
Guess who’s the No. 1 TE in PPR scoring after Week 1?
Not any of the guys you spent early-round picks on. It’s a player who either went in the final rounds of your draft or might’ve still been on waivers before this week: Juwan Johnson.
Juwan Johnson‘s Advanced Metrics
Johnson kicked off the 2025 campaign with a bang. A former wide receiver, Johnson had the elite usage of one in the season opener. He played all but one snap, earning 11 targets for a 26.8% share. He was deployed all over the formation, but primarily as a big slot. Johnson finished the game with eight catches for 76 yards, and it could’ve been an even bigger day if not for a dropped 18-yard, last-second TD after taking a hard hit from two defenders in the end zone.
Johnson also ranked:
- #1 in routes run (39)
- #1 in first read targets (8)
- #2 in air yards (89)
- #4 in Dominator Rating
- #6 in yards after catch (29)
The Saints are going to be playing from behind often this season, which sets Johnson up for boatloads of volume if he keeps producing at a high level. And even if QB Spencer Rattler eventually gets benched at some point for rookie Tyler Shough, that shouldn’t hurt Johnson’s outlook. Believe it or not, Johnson and Shough played together at Oregon. Yes, Johnson, already in his sixth NFL season, caught passes from his rookie QB waiting in the wings. Pretty wild.
If you lost George Kittle and need a replacement, or you’re just looking to shore up your TE slot, go talk with the Johnson owner. You might be able to buy him for a pair of third-rounders. Or if they are rebuilding, perhaps you can flip a young TE like Mason Taylor or Elijah Arroyo for him. If he continues to earn targets at this rate, Johnson has top-12 upside written all over him.
Get him now, and when he goes off again, channel Johnson’s doppelgänger, Mr. Milchick and tell your opponent to “devour feculence.”
Sell: WR Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers
Tired of riding the Quentin Johnston rollercoaster? He just gave you a sell window if you’re ready to get off the ride.
Building on last season’s regular season finale — 13 catches for 186 yards — Johnston burst out the gate to start 2025 with five catches for 79 yards and two TDs, good for 24.9 fantasy points. But sandwiched between those two games: A total zero: no receptions on five targets in the Wild Card round.
Quentin Johnston‘s Advanced Metrics
So, is the third-year breakout upon us? Or is Johnston just what he’s always been: an inconsistent wide out who will give you the occasional boom week? Those types of players are difficult to trust in fantasy as they lack long-term consistency. He’s starting to feel like early-career Gabe Davis or, for longtime players, T.Y. Hilton: players who give fantasy managers weekly headaches trying to decide if this is the week to plug them into lineups.
While Week 1’s performance was encouraging, Johnston was still third on the team with a 20.6% target share behind Keenan Allen and Ladd McConkey. Allen has a long-standing chemistry with Justin Herbert, and McConkey is just a superior route runner and separator. Johnston will be third in the pecking order most weeks. And as the team gets more comfortable with rookie first-round RB Omarion Hampton, I suspect they’ll lean on him for a more balanced attack.
Can you package Johnston with a second-round pick to tier up to Jerry Jeudy, Chris Olave or George Pickens? If so, do it. Alternatively, if someone is offering a projected high second-rounder, that’s probably a dynasty fantasy football trade you should take.
Hold: WR Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts
Josh Downs produced a dud in Week 1. An analytics darling, there was plenty of excitement about him building on last year’s success once Daniel Jones won the starting job. Downs thrived when Joe Flacco was under center in 2024, so the expectation was he’d take another step forward in this offense.
If Week 1 was any indication, Downs managers could be in for a long season.
He’s still not seeing the field in two-WR sets, with Alec Pierce playing way more snaps than we’d like. Downs only had a 49.3% snap share and a 10.3% target share in Week 1, ending the day with just two catches on three targets for a measly 12 yards.
Worse yet, not only is he competing with Pierce for snaps, but it looks like he’s losing a chunk of the underneath targets to first-round TE Tyler Warren. With an aDOT of just 5.2 yards, Warren soaked up nine targets, catching seven of them for 76 yards. Fellow wide out Michael Pittman also operated in the short area, earning eight targets with an aDOT of 6.8 yards.
Josh Downs‘ Advanced Metrics
If Downs is only on the field half the time and isn’t commanding volume from the slot, it’s hard to see where his production will come from. This is especially disappointing after many fantasy managers expected a third-year leap following his 140 catches, 1,574 yards, and seven touchdowns across his first two seasons.
After that deflating opening game performance, there won’t be much excitement on the dynasty fantasy football trade market for his services. He’s sitting at WR42 on KeepTradeCut currently. Hold onto Downs for now and see if the snaps and targets tick up in the coming weeks before deciding what to do with him.
For more articles from PlayerProfiler, check out the fantasy home page – NFL Fantasy | PlayerProfiler – Fantasy Football News & Media
Wolf Trelles-Heard is a fantasy football contributor for PlayerProfiler. Find him on X at @DynastyFFWolf.
