Last Year's Fantasy Football Busts to Trade For: 5 Dynasty Buy-Lows and Trade Targets

Justin's fantasy football dynasty buy lows for 2025. His top 2024 busts to trade for in 2025. His top dynasty trade targets include Kyle Pitts, Blake Corum, and more.

One of my favorite things in dynasty is buying low on players. Maybe it's because I'm eternally optimistic about my favorite players, but there's just something so rewarding about trading for a guy once everyone else has given up on him and then reaping the rewards.

Jonnu Smith, for example, was a great buy-low option after 2022, when he had his worst NFL season. If you managed to get him for cheap, then you were rewarded two seasons later with his best campaign, as he caught 88 passes for 884 yards and eight touchdowns last year.

Here are five players who struggled in 2024 but have enough future upside for dynasty managers to buy low on. Could these players be the next Smith?

Editor's Note: Identify fantasy football draft busts, overvalued ADPs, and key players to avoid so you can draft with confidence this season.

MarShawn Lloyd - RB - Green Bay Packers

Josh Jacobs still looks like an elite NFL running back after rushing for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns in his first season with the Packers. Still, he's an NFL running back with 1,606 career carries, a number that's starting to reach that danger zone where sudden fall-off could hit.

That's why more people need to be looking at MarShawn Lloyd. Limited to just one game as a rookie, Lloyd appears to be healthy heading into 2025. The former third-round pick is a home run threat when he touches the football and should see a major rise in usage, provided he can stay on the field this season.

The fact that Green Bay didn't add a running back this offseason speaks to how high they must be on Lloyd. Again, Jacobs is still the guy in Green Bay, but his extensive prior usage means the Packers need to have a backup plan in place behind him. That backup plan appears to be simply trusting Lloyd.

10. marshawn lloyd is the most under-the-radar bell cow-in-waiting in the NFL thanks to a truly random litany of 2024 injuries, which included appendicitis. lloyd's athletic + physical profile is impressive. pic.twitter.com/9vQNEbbUG9

— The Podfather (@Fantasy_Mansion) June 23, 2025

Dynasty managers probably won't get a ton out of Lloyd in 2025, but getting him on the roster now could pay huge dividends in the future. Jacobs has three more seasons under contract in Green Bay, but his past usage suggests he probably doesn't have three more elite seasons left in him. Lloyd will get a chance to showcase his skills in 2025 and then a chance to battle for the lead role in 2026.

Blake Corum - RB - Los Angeles Rams

With Kyren Williams dominating the Rams' backfield in 2024, there wasn't much room for rookie Blake Corum to make an impact. Williams had 316 carries in 2024, while Corum had 58 as his primary backup.

Williams was effective, but there are still plenty of reasons to think his production was a product of volume more than skill. Williams led all running backs in snap share and ranked third at the position in carries and first in red zone touches, but he wasn't particularly efficient.

Among all running backs, Williams was 47th in yards per touch, 32nd in breakaway runs, and 52nd in yards created per touch. He actually finished with negative expected points added.

I'll say this as plainly as I can: I am not sold on the idea that Williams has an unbreachable hold on the Rams running back position.

Sure, he'll be the RB1 in 2025, but this is the last year of his current contract. He's going to want a huge raise because of his production, but will the Rams be the ones to give him that raise?

With Corum waiting in the wings, the Rams could afford to move on from Williams if his asking price is too high, especially when Corum's biggest theoretical strength is the red zone. Overlapping skill sets with one player being younger and cheaper? Unless Corum goes out in 2025 and stinks the joint up, the smart play for Los Angeles is to move on with him as the starter in 2026.

With Jarquez Hunter also on the roster, Corum has become even cheaper to buy. He's a low-risk trade target.

Keon Coleman - WR - Buffalo Bills

The Bills had a very unsettled wide receiver situation last year, and many expected rookie Keon Coleman to come in and immediately make an impact.

But in 13 games, Coleman had two or fewer receptions seven times. His overall receiving numbers (556 yards) look better than they were because of a handful of big plays — over 100 of those yards came on two receptions, both of which came in games where that was his only catch.

EXCLUSIVE: #Bills 2nd-year WR Keon Coleman has been working with renowned coach, David Robinson, he tells @_MLFootball.

“His routes, knowledge of the offense are more seasoned, feet & arm mechanics have improved, he has been grinding”

KEON LOOKS SPECIAL.pic.twitter.com/0vYR0VDdGf

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) June 24, 2025

In 2025, Coleman should receive more consistent opportunities. The Bills added a handful of receivers this offseason, but none of them are true No. 1 options. Joshua Palmer, Elijah Moore, and Laviska Shenault Jr. will be fighting for the No. 3 role, while Coleman and slot receiver Khalil Shakir are the clear top two options for the Bills.

Buffalo's moves this offseason — or, rather, their lack of major moves at receiver — suggest that Sean McDermott and offensive coordinator Joe Brady trust Coleman to take a leap in his second season. If you can grab him in dynasty this offseason, you have to do it.

Marvin Mims Jr. - WR - Denver Broncos

Is Marvin Mims Jr. a bust? That's a rather complicated question.

The 2023 second-round pick is coming off a decent 2024 season, catching 39 passes for 503 yards and six touchdowns. The numbers aren't great, but they represent a sizable improvement over his 2023 numbers.

Beyond that, it's hard to fully apply the "bust" label because Mims has been a Pro Bowl returner in both of his seasons. However, fantasy managers are only getting rewarded for that when he scores a return touchdown, which he didn't do in 2024.

As far as fantasy goes, Mims has been a bust. He had some nice games down the stretch last year, but four of his six rushing touchdowns came in Week 17 and Week 18. There's no way you trusted Mims enough to play him in a Week 17 championship game, and you should not be playing fantasy football in Week 18.

That late-season momentum adds to Mims' appeal in 2025 and beyond, but it doesn't feel like it's being baked into his fantasy cost. For example, Mims is ranked WR53 right now in RotoBaller's rankings, one spot behind rookie Matthew Golden and two ahead of Jalen McMillan, who is set to be Tampa's No. 4 receiver.

When you look at this Denver roster, it's hard to imagine Mims not having a sizable role. The only notable offseason addition at the position was third-round pick Pat Bryant, and Mims outplayed Devaughn Vele last year. He looks like he'll open the year as the No. 2 receiver behind Courtland Sutton, though new tight end Evan Engram will siphon off some work.

Assuming Bo Nix doesn't hit a sophomore slump, this Denver offense should support two fantasy-relevant wideouts and a tight end. Mims needs to be on your radar.

Kyle Pitts - TE - Atlanta Falcons

How many chances will the fantasy community give Kyle Pitts before they give up on him? Well, it turns out that we might have reached that moment. Pitts is just the TE15 in the RotoBaller half-PPR rankings, and I wouldn't be shocked if by the time we get to the meat of draft season, our rankers have moved rookies Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland ahead of him.

We've reached a point where Pitts is no longer getting the benefit of the doubt, which means that if you're someone who still believes there's a good player buried inside the former Florida Gator, this is your shot to buy low on him.

Me looking at Kyle Pitts further down the draft board every offseason https://t.co/qOlaojGugz pic.twitter.com/3pPffW0g7L

— Dave Kluge (@DaveKluge) May 6, 2025

Four seasons in, it's fair to call Pitts a bust after being taken No. 4 overall in 2021. After finishing with over 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie, he hasn't gone over 700 in any of the three seasons since.

Pitts did catch a career-high four touchdowns last season, though, and in the first season with Zac Robinson as the offensive coordinator, the passing attack was sixth in yards per game. If Michael Penix Jr. proves to be the real deal under center, there should be plenty of targets for Pitts, giving him a shot to get closer to his rookie-year production.

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