Dynasty Fantasy Football Outlook for 2025: Matthew Golden, Shedeur Sanders, and More
Sam Wallace breaks down players who have the most to gain or lose in terms of their dynasty fantasy football stock during the 2025 season.
There are many ways to successfully play dynasty fantasy football. Some managers prefer to build through the draft and are always looking to turn players into draft picks. Others try to play it as a soft redraft league and are constantly looking to add veteran players for short-term gain.
Regardless of how you play, you have to be looking ahead at least a little bit. Based on current dynasty values, here are four players I believe have the biggest chance to either increase or decrease in value over the next year.
For my full dynasty fantasy football rankings ahead of the 2025 season, click here!
Players With The Most Dynasty Fantasy Football Value To Gain
Shedeur Sanders, QB - Browns
If you're looking for a player with an incredibly wide range of outcomes, Shedeur Sanders is your guy. From a potential early-first-round pick all the way down to a Day 3 selection (Round 5), Sanders will have to fight off Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel for the starting position.
Last weekend, our own Nando Di Fino made quite the bold prediction regarding Sanders:
Shedeur Sanders will start at least 10 games for the Browns and be a fantasy stud.
Honestly, I love it.
I've been pro-Sanders ever since the NFL Draft (even considering his Day 3 selection) because I genuinely believe he's the most talented QB on the team. Speaking of the other QBs, the first domino has already fallen in the form of Pickett sustaining a hamstring injury, which will force him to miss some time.
While I wish him a speedy recovery, that just means more reps for Sanders.
Let's look beyond this season for a moment. No one truly believes that Flacco will be the long-term starter in Cleveland (no offense, Mr. Flacco). He's 40 years old and hasn't thrown for more than 2,000 yards since … 2018.
We've already seen Pickett attempt to hold a starting position, and the numbers were pretty atrocious. In 25 career games with the Steelers over two seasons, he threw 13 TDs and 13 INTs.
That leaves Gabriel, the 5'11" standout from Oregon. Not to make this about height, but there are only about three other starting QBs in the NFL under six feet tall.
Is it really that much of a hot-take to suggest that Sanders is the most likely to win the starting job at some point? If it's going to happen, it's going to happen sooner rather than later.
From a value perspective, the community has Sanders ranked as the dynasty QB33. If Nando's bold prediction comes true, or even partially comes true, Sanders' dynasty value is going to rocket up the boards.
By this time next year, we could be looking at Sanders as a mid-QB2 with upside, and that could be just the starting point. He offers very little risk to dynasty managers from a cost perspective, but there's infinite upside to betting on this talented, young player.
Dynasty managers should take notice and act before the season begins. The cost will never be lower.
Matthew Golden, WR - Packers
As a resident Wisconsinite and Green Bay Packers fan, I have conflicting feelings about the team doing something for Jordan Love they never did for Aaron Rodgers—draft a receiver in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Obviously I'm thrilled for Love, but there's a not-so-small part of me that will always wonder "what if" when it comes to Rodgers' tenure with the Green and Gold.
Ah well.
Matthew Golden (23rd overall) and his 4.29 speed could unlock a new level of this offense that we haven't seen in years. On paper, the wideout room is a bit…crowded, but a closer look will reveal that it really isn't.
Last season, the Packers had three receivers (Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs) finish with more than 600 yards, but none more than 900 yards. Toss in TE Tucker Kraft (707 receiving yards), and the team had four guys in that range.
This team is desperate for an alpha-level playmaker.
With Watson (knee) sidelined for the foreseeable future, there's a glaring hole in the downfield threat portion of the passing attack. There's also pressure on Love to make good on his massive contract, and there's even pressure on the head coach and general manager. The incoming CEO has said he has no plans to extend the contracts of either the HC or GM at this juncture.
All of this adds up to the perfect storm for Golden. He has the skillset, offensive environment, and requisite circumstances to get production early and often.
Currently, the dynasty community values him as the WR31. An excellent rookie campaign with a few boom games sprinkled in, coupled with a deep playoff run, could vault his dynasty value into the high-end WR2 range by this time next year.
Here's the greatest part about rookie wideouts—barring an absolute bust of a first season, their value is pretty well insulated. Even if things don't click, Golden is going to have a similar value next offseason. This means that he offers (almost) nothing but upside at his current price point.
I'm doing my best not to let my homerism get in the way of this take, but Golden is an exciting prospect with league-winning potential. Dynasty managers, take notice and act quickly.
Players With The Most Dynasty Fantasy Football Value To Lose
Breece Hall, RB - Jets
It feels a bit different to start this section by highlighting a 24-year-old RB with dual-threat capabilities, but bear with me.
Let's start with his price. Breece Hall is currently valued as the dynasty RB9.
I have no issues with his price point. It feels spot on for what he's done in his first three seasons with the Jets and how he projects to produce this season. However, I think his ceiling has already been reached.
In his rookie season (2022), he played in just seven games before tearing both his ACL and meniscus. He came back to play in all 17 games in 2023, rushing 223 times for 994 yards, but only managed to score five TDs. His exceptional fantasy finish was buoyed by 76 receptions (95 targets) for an additional 591 yards and four TDs.
Last season, he again topped both 200 rushing attempts and 850 rushing yards but only scored five rushing TDs in 16 games. He was hampered by lingering knee issues but managed to miss only one game.
Now, another year removed from his serious injury, one would assume Hall was set to get back on track. However, my concern lies in his starting QB. Justin Fields is undoubtedly the most mobile QB that Hall has ever played with. The checkdowns that Hall enjoyed from guys like Zach Wilson and Aaron Rodgers won't be there to the same degree from a QB with a 1,000-yard rushing season under his belt already.
To make good on his dynasty value, or even increase it, Hall will have to do something he hasn't demonstrated an ability to do yet in his career—score more than five rushing TDs in a season.
The passing volume won't be there to provide fantasy managers with a safe floor each week, so positive TD regression will have to hit in a big way.
Hall is a great RB who I think is valued appropriately. However, I only see downside given his current situation. If injuries become a problem again, or if he fails to reach 1,000 rushing yards and/or score 10+ TDs on the ground, his dynasty value could slide.
It's also worth noting that Hall is entering the last year of his rookie contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next offseason. He's already said he doesn't expect to get a new deal before this season starts, and, if this season does not go well for all parties, he could be looking to sign his second contract with a new team heading into 2026.
Jonathan Taylor, RB - Colts
My final player who I believe has peaked in dynasty value is another RB in Jonathan Taylor. He comes in one spot behind Hall in the general consensus rankings (RB10). Similar to Hall, Taylor is valued appropriately but offers little in the way of increasing his value moving forward.
He's already set to enter his 6th season at just 26 years old, and there are a ton of miles on those tires. In three years at Wisconsin, Taylor compiled a whopping 923 rushing attempts for over 6,100 yards and 50 TDs.
In his tenure with the Colts, Taylor already has a pair of 300+ carries and two 1,400+ yard rushing seasons.
The insane usage and production has not come without some frustration for fantasy managers. He's played a full season just once in five years, and that was back in 2021. From 2022-2023, he missed essentially 14 games.
Taylor also offers very little in the pass-catching department. He has five receiving TDs in his five-year career and hasn't topped 160 receiving yards in three consecutive seasons. Looking at who his QB might be this year (either Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones), it's unlikely that Taylor will suddenly become a receiving specialist. Both QBs, especially Richardson, are plenty mobile and are less likely to check it down.
There's no denying that Taylor is arguably one of the best pure rushers in the league, but his value has peaked. If he continues to battle injuries and not elevate his floor with pass-catching, his dynasty value could start to slide in the months ahead.
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