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Wyatt's risky dynasty fantasy football buys to target in trades for 2026. His top risky buys with upside include Bhayshul Tuten, Marvin Harrison Jr., and more.
There's nothing more exhilarating in fantasy football than engaging in those high-stakes trade conversations. The constant tug-of-war between two opposing goals: one manager trying to sell his players for top dollar, while the other attempts to buy them at a discount.
Oftentimes, the ones that give us the most pause carry the biggest risk factor and have the potential to make the biggest impact for our teams. Praying that the last player can raise our hand to a coveted royal flush instead of turning it into junk. The only way we'll ever truly find out the impact of a player is if we pull the trigger and trust our instincts.
It is time to push all our chips in on these five fantasy football buys that can bring us home the pot. Make sure you're following RotoBaller on X and download the RotoBaller app for all your fantasy football needs.
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Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Washington Commanders
Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt went from being a fantasy darling during drafts to being a fantasy outcast within a year. The hype got too high for a rookie, and he never had a fair chance to live up to it.
Croskey-Merritt finished the year with 805 yards and eight touchdowns on 175 carries. Those stats suggest a promising future for a young back in a normal situation, but they scream positivity when we put them into perspective with Croskey-Merritt’s situation.
72 YARDS 🫨
📺 #DALvsWAS Netflix pic.twitter.com/HASpAgWaXD
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) December 25, 2025
The 25-year-old took live hits for the first time in a year after being forced to forfeit his final year of college football. The NCAA deemed him ineligible due to a clerical mix-up with his jersey number and playing stats during his freshman season at Alabama State.
While shaking off rust, Croskey-Merritt was forced to become a focal point of the Washington offense due to injuries to Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin. With them sidelined, defenses could game-plan exclusively for Croskey-Merritt and load up the box to stop him.
In 2026, the sophomore will be running in a new offense under offensive coordinator David Blough. Blough’s offense is set to play primarily under center, which provides backs with a deeper alignment that creates better downfield vision, a running start to build momentum, and more effective play-action fakes to keep defenses off balance.
Additionally, Croskey-Merritt will get to play with a healthy Daniels at quarterback. Defenses have to honor Daniels' elite scrambling ability, much like what Robert Griffin III did for Alfred Morris years ago.
The biggest weakness to Croskey-Merritt’s fantasy outlook is his likelihood of being a non-factor in the passing game. In his rookie year, Croskey-Merritt was only able to haul in nine catches on 13 targets.
Furthermore, Washington signed Rachaad White in free agency, who has a strong suit in pass blocking and catching the ball out of the backfield.
Luckily for Croskey-Merritt, the Commanders heavily invested in their defense this offseason to properly balance their offense and defense. Head coach Dan Quinn wants to be a run-first team that relies on a strong defense. After making key acquisitions on defense, Washington has a chance to do just that.
Croskey-Merritt is now in a position to live up to those lofty expectations with an improved offensive ecosystem and the chance to play in positive game scripts. He was dealt a poor hand a year ago, but now he'll get to play with a winning one.
Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Bhayshul Tuten's stockholders have been riding a continuous roller coaster all offseason after the departure of Travis Etienne Jr. during free agency. Over the last two months, Tuten’s dynasty value has slightly risen or fallen every single day.
Unfortunately, we won’t get to see Tuten operate as a bell cow for the Jaguars after the team actively sought Chris Rodriguez Jr. in free agency. Rodriguez signed a two-year contract with real money attached, which means he is going to get a good chunk of carries.
With Rodriguez profiling exclusively as the early down grinder, Tuten will control the pass-catching role, which alone holds value in PPR leagues. Over Rodriguez's career, he has just six catches on seven targets.
In addition, Tuten’s skill set does not require him to get 20 rushing attempts a game to be fantasy relevant. His athletic profile contains elite speed that produced a 4.32-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine a year ago.
Similar to TreVeyon Henderson, Jahmyr Gibbs, and prime Tony Pollard, Tuten has game-breaking speed to score a touchdown on any given play. It only takes one touch for Tuten to be a contributor in fantasy lineups.
Bhayshul Tuten starts the scoring in Jacksonville!
HOUvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/wDP7ibBVZv
— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2025
KeepTradeCut currently has Tuten’s estimated value at a late-2026 first-round pick. It might seem expensive, but considering the current rookie class, it could be a bargain for Tuten.
The former Hokie will not be confined to a passing-down role only. Tuten was able to carve out a role in the rushing attack as a rookie despite sharing a backfield with a star running back. He was able to snipe 83 carries from Etienne and find the end zone five times.
In his sophomore campaign, Tuten will be fighting with Rodriguez for carries, not Etienne. With the passing game secured and the ability to earn more carries, Tuten could explode in 2026.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona Cardinals
Marvin Harrison Jr. is the poster child for any high-risk, high-reward fantasy football article this offseason. The once-deemed generational prospect has had a slow start to his career due to poor quarterback play and injuries.
Heading into Year 3, Harrison will have a fresh start with a new offensive system and quarterback. New head coach Mike LaFleur comes from the coaching trees of Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan, both of whom put receivers in a position to succeed.
🤩 IT'S MARV 🤩
📺 Amazon Prime pic.twitter.com/LfzYZCZQZQ
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 26, 2025
Over the last three seasons, LaFleur has been the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams, designing ways to get Puka Nacua targets over the middle of the field. Nacua has been a nightmare for defenses to handle in the intermediate-to-deep levels of the field between the numbers.
Likewise, Harrison does his best work on in-breaking routes over the middle of the field. As a rookie, Harrison posted over an 84 percent success rate on the dig and post route, according to Matt Harmon of Reception Perception. When healthy, Harrison has been creating separation, but has not had the quarterback play to get him the football.
It is worth mentioning that Michael Wilson had a breakout season while posting historic stats in stretches with Jacoby Brissett under center. Wilson posted 78 catches for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns on 126 targets.
However, in the three games Harrison had over a 70% snap percentage with Brissett, Wilson was unable to produce a single double-digit fantasy week. In those games, Wilson tallied 7.0, 9.1, and 7.4 total PPR points.
Additionally, Wilson averaged 4.9 points a game during the first seven weeks of the season when Harrison was healthy.
KeepTradeCut currently projects Harrison’s value to a top-5 pick in 2026 rookie drafts. Yes, this may be a hefty price, but Harrison still has a significantly higher ceiling than any rookie you can select with those picks.
Historically, it has paid off to bet on talented players who have gotten off to a slow start to their careers. For some players, it takes three years before they break out (example: Davante Adams, Chris Olave, and Kyle Pitts Sr.). Eventually, it clicks for players, and their talent wins out.
The generational talent is still inside Harrison. In an improved offensive ecosystem around him, he finally has a real chance to put it all on display.
Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers
We truly are watching a once-in-a-lifetime situation shake out in San Francisco between the 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk. Shortly after agreeing to a four-year, $120 million contract, the 49ers decided to void his guaranteed money. The team stated Aiyuk repeatedly failed to meet contractual obligations during his injury rehab.
“I've been coaching over 20 years, and I've never been in a situation where a contract's been voided,” said head coach Kyle Shanahan during a news conference. “It's extremely unusual to me."
Aiyuk is the ultimate wild card in all of football at this point in the offseason. The football community doesn’t have a good sense of where he is mentally or football-wise, and we don’t know exactly when the 49ers plan to release him from their roster.
The longer the 49ers hold him captive, the shorter the amount of time Aiyuk will get to learn a new playbook and gain chemistry with a quarterback. However, Aiyuk will eventually get cut this summer. The current sense is that he will end up playing in Washington with his former college teammate (Daniels).
Aiyuk is one of the most talented receivers in the league when he is playing on the field. The 28-year-old has produced multiple 1,000-yard seasons and was a major contributor in the 49ers' Super Bowl push in 2023.
This Brandon Aiyuk hurdle TD is still just 🤭🤭🤭 @THE2ERA
38 yards with 38 days to go until #Kickoff2021! pic.twitter.com/GdI2Vz4ny8
— NFL (@NFL) August 2, 2021
If Aiyuk finds himself in Washington, he will have an opportunity to be the No. 2 target earner behind McLaurin. The offense is lacking a clear second option and was unable to bring in a big-name free agent this offseason.
In addition, Aiyuk already has a connection with Daniels from their time together at Arizona State. So the ramp-up time and building trust with a quarterback would not take as long if he lands in Washington.
Aiyuk remains a mystery in fantasy football, which makes him almost free to acquire in a trade. His talent and upside alone make him worth taking a flyer on in fantasy football. Even if he does not return to his peak, it would not take anything significant to get him.
Terrance Ferguson, TE, Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams have set the next offensive trend in the NFL by placing a heavy emphasis on the tight end position.
McVay utilized 13 personnel more than any team last year while loading up on more of them in the offseason. During free agency, the team re-signed Tyler Higbee and then selected Max Klare in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
In a crowded tight end room, Terrance Ferguson remains the most valuable fantasy option. His unique size, speed, and athleticism make him the ultimate chess piece for an offensive mastermind.
Terrance Ferguson's 2⃣nd career TD reception gives @RamsNFL the lead 👏
LARvsSEA on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPluspic.twitter.com/SUjh2TOK2c— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) December 19, 2025
He offers physicality in the run game and an explosive threat in the passing game. McVay can now marry the run and pass game together, and can attack defenses in 1,000 different ways from the same formation.
With heavy 13 personnel usage, it not only keeps Ferguson on the field more but also allows him to compete with tight ends for targets instead of receivers.
With his athleticism, Matthew Stafford is more likely to target him than the other traditional tight ends on the field. We even saw this in the playoffs with the game on the line. The Rams' last push to beat the Seahawks was a deep shot drawn up for Ferguson.
Yes, there is a possibility he gets lost in a crowded tight end room in Los Angeles. However, Ferguson has the highest draft capital in the room, and he is the same tight end who played ahead of Kenyon Sadiq at Oregon. Sadiq was just drafted 16th overall in April's draft and put on a historic performance at the NFL Combine.
In a barren tight end landscape, Ferguson is worth taking a risk on. If he lives up to his potential, he can be a fantasy game-changer for managers looking to maximize their tight end spot.
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