Dynasty Fantasy Football Trade Targets and Avoids: Running Backs to Buy or Sell (2025)

John breaks down the fantasy football running backs you should buy or sell ahead of the 2025 dynasty season. Which RBs should you avoid and which should you target in trades?

Running back volume and production is highly mercurial in the NFL. It can thus be difficult to know when to trade away and when to trade for tailbacks. There is constant competition for roles in certain backfields, and red-herring situations are abound due to injuries and plain luck.

While some RBs are certainly safe in their roles for now, others who were productive in 2024 were in unique situations that probably won't replicate themselves in 2025. Others were either hampered by bad injury luck or have changes happening around them that give them a better outlook for next season.

So, let's keep all that in mind and dive into dynasty fantasy football running back buys and sells for the 2025 season.

Buy: Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB, New York Giants

Yes, it's the Giants, but I can't help but think Tracy is slightly underpriced right now. The offense around him completely collapsed due to the injury to left tackle Andrew Thomas, and his health will be a big question moving forward.

But Tracy's abilities as a pass-catcher should insulate him from the bad offense around him, at least if head coach Brian Daboll does the right thing and gets him the ball more.

Tracy is a converted wide receiver, so he has plenty of talent in the passing game. And he's the team's unquestioned workhorse back, given how much he outplayed backup Devin Singletary this past season.

That's unlikely to change, as RB is not on the Giants' list of draft priorities right now. And if they simply draft a QB better than Daniel Jones was, the offense should take strides forward.

Toller TD Catch von Giants RB Tyrone Tracy 🔥pic.twitter.com/v5rzw06WYM

— René Bugner (@RNBWCV) December 22, 2024

This one isn't tough. His value is being dragged down because it's the Giants, but he's a great buy.

Sell: D'Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears

The Bears got a new head coach in Ben Johnson. He was one of the best offensive coordinators in the league for the past two years, and while you might think that should boost Swift's stock and production, your league managers probably think that, too. It's a good time to sell that hope because Swift wasn't good last season.

He had a few games with good production, but despite having a solid run-blocking offensive line, he ranked dead-last in Next Gen Stats' rushing yards over expectation per carry last season. He also had just seven broken tackles. These form part of the reasons he was let go by Detroit after the 2022 season.

Ryan Poles mentions the “additions we will have” to the RB group that’ll get Ben Johnson what he needs. Truly sounds like the starting RB is not currently on the roster. #DaBears

— Ben Devine (@Chicago_NFL) February 25, 2025

To add to this, Johnson heavily utilized a committee system with the Lions. Swift's production from last year will be difficult to match on reduced volume, and there's a good chance the Bears decide to change gears and take an elite running back with their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

It would make perfect sense. Johnson's offense already has its pass-catchers in wide receivers DJ Moore and Rome Odunze and tight end Cole Kmet. They could opt to retain WR Keenan Allen, though that's probably not a good idea. And the offensive line, which was much maligned by Bears fans, really wasn't that bad.

Measures of pass protection from two independent sources

The Broncos are kings and the Saints/Pats are the opposite

The Bears were perfectly fine pic.twitter.com/njn4xeUFnD

— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) January 7, 2025

No matter how many people insist that they "have eyes" and "the Bears offensive line was the worst of all time," those just weren't true. So, the QB is set, the pass-catchers are set, the offensive line is just fine, and the defensive roster is in very good shape, as we knew before former head coach Matt Eberflus was fired since they had one of the better defenses in the league.

It rightfully should come as no surprise if we see Chicago choose Boise State Broncos RB Ashton Jeanty with its first-rounder. And if it did, Swift's value would immediately plummet. Even if it doesn't choose Jeanty, this is a stacked running back class, and there are at least seven incoming rookie backs who are easily better than Swift.

Now is the best time to trim the fat and sell off your mediocre running backs in dynasty. You should especially sell Swift as quickly as you can before it's too late.

Buy: Tank Bigsby, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Bigsby was a tackle-breaking and yards-after-contact machine for a good stretch of 2024. Like Tracy, he's being undervalued because he's on an offense that's been bad for the past few years. But new head coach Liam Coen will bring run schemes that will transform this offense. He led the best RB rushing attack in the NFL in 2024, after all.

Tank Bigsby ... DOG pic.twitter.com/rbuUZEJabi

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) December 12, 2024

Bigsby's eye-popping efficiency numbers are probably foreshadowing a big breakout in 2025. Yet, he's ranked as just the RB39 in dynasty right now by FantasyPros. That makes no sense. Coen elevated rookie Bucky Irving, maximizing his talents and turning him into a league-winner.

There's no reason he can't do the same with Bigsby, who's an explosive-play machine and has yet to be unleashed. And he can be acquired for very cheap right now. Go for it.

Sell: Josh Jacobs, RB, Green Bay Packers

There are a lot of factors about Jacobs' situation that are being mostly ignored right now. For starters, Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur prefers to run a committee-style system in his backfield. He did so every year of his HC tenure with running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon before this season.

Jacobs was the uncontested workhorse back, and the community has largely seen that as a likely guarantee moving forward. It doesn't make much sense for LaFleur to completely change his philosophy like that. Both Dillon and rookie back MarShawn Lloyd missed essentially their entire 2024 seasons, though, due to a variety of injuries.

I still think the Packers have a fun player in MarShawn Lloyd. How he was able to bounce outside and turn this into eight yards was so impressive; his burst is legit. pic.twitter.com/rDtuC4pGCU

— zachary jacobson (@zacobson) February 19, 2025

The problem here is that it goes against history. For starters, this situation happens all the time -- a certain player gets far more touches than they normally would due to injuries to other players on his team. With both Dillon and Lloyd not playing much at all, Jacobs was the main beneficiary.

The idea that undrafted free agents Chris Brooks and Emanuel Wilson not getting many touches was more indicative of Jacobs being a preferred workhorse rather than a coach knowing that two undrafted free agents aren't very good simply doesn't make sense. The team invested a third-round pick in Lloyd and retained Dillon for another season. It probably doesn't even want five RBs on the roster in 2025.

The Packers are activating RB Marshawn Lloyd off of IR this week. pic.twitter.com/xdK9Eam66I

— Easton Butler (@Easton__Butler) November 11, 2024

And if it weren't for Lloyd's appendicitis ruining his return from injured reserve, we'd probably have seen him get significant touches. He got seven touches in just 14 percent of snaps in Week 2. A full-blown committee next season wouldn't be a surprise for the Packers backfield. There is zero reason to think LaFleur doesn't want to do things that way -- he's proved to us he already likes it.

And Jacobs got a ton of volume in 2024. It's hard to see that happening again unless injuries knock out both Dillon and Lloyd for a second year. And that probably won't happen. Now is the best time to sell off Jacobs.

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