5 Risky Wide Receivers to Buy in Dynasty Fantasy Football Leagues: Top WR Trade Targets

Patrick's risky fantasy football wide receivers to buy in dynasty leagues. His top trade targets and volatile wide receiver trade targets, including Chris Olave and more.

Fantasy leagues come in all sizes and formats – from the six-team single-QB league you started ages ago with four of your closest friends and one of your friend's friends, to the 16-team Superflex with rotating bonuses and a league charter longer than a few James Joyce novels. But no matter which league you're talking about, one universal rule presides over all – only one team wins every year. It sounds simple, but anyone who has spent years trying to get over the championship hump, only to eventually fade back into the middle of the pack without a title to call their own, will tell you it's anything but.

In a game designed to reward only one while making losers of the rest, very few make it to the top by playing it safe. Taking risks is as much a part of fantasy football as setting a lineup, and in a format like dynasty, where every move you make can have a lasting impact on your team for years to come, those risks must be calculated.

So, who are this year's high-risk, high-reward wide receivers to set your sights on, whether you're one piece away from finally hoisting the trophy or you're looking to build something special that will last for years?

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Drake London, Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons fourth-year wide receiver London is currently RotoBaller's WR9. This is coming off a year where he finished as the WR5 in PPR formats. He has yet to turn 24 years old, and his fifth-year option has recently been exercised. However, there is a catch.

Or, more accurately, 10 catches … for 187 yards … and two touchdowns. That ridiculous stat line is what London did in Week 18 … after most fantasy titles had already been decided … against a Carolina Panthers team with nothing to play for. Entering into the final week of the season, London stood at WR10, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at, but doesn't have quite the same glow as a top-five season.

Following rookie and sophomore finishes of WR36 and WR39, respectively, it's challenging to know for sure that the London breakout has arrived, and knowing for sure is of critical importance when you take into account his current cost to acquire.

In superflex startups, London often goes around the one-two turn, meaning drafters will often forego the chance to take a second quarterback. In single-QB startups, he’s a fringe first-rounder, again meaning that drafters are choosing to make him the bedrock of their team.

With the cost to acquire him in a trade usually sitting around two rookie firsts and a player, there can be no room to doubt that the London we saw finish 2024 is the London we'll get in 2025 and beyond.

Perhaps the most significant sign is that London's late-season dominance occurred after the Falcons' quarterback switch from Kirk Cousins to Michael Penix Jr. His targets, receptions, and yards went up in each of Penix's starts, and he scored the two aforementioned touchdowns in his monstrous season finale, the first multi-touchdown game of his career.

In the three games with Penix under center, London recorded 22 catches for 352 yards and two touchdowns, good enough for a 17-game pace of 1,995 yards and 11 scores on 125 grabs. He also faced fewer contested catch situations down the stretch (six in three games with Penix, compared to 32 in 14 games with Kirk Cousins, or 16% of his targets from Penix to 28% from Cousins).

With his ability to separate being the largest criticism of his game throughout both college and the pros, this could be a sign of him taking his game to the next level to close the season, and it might further suggest a quickly established rapport with his new quarterback, trusting and willing to target London as soon as he flashes uncovered.

A commitment to London will not come cheaply, but the evidence is there to suggest he could be fantasy's next great wide receiver. If he continues to take strides in his second season in Zac Robinson's offense, and if the Penix-London connection is real, this might be your last chance to get in before the cost becomes prohibitive.

Michael Penix Jr.’s response when asked if Drake London is underappreciated:

“He won’t be after this year.” 👀🥶 pic.twitter.com/yBQ7B3C8Gs

— Not Bijan (@InBijanWeTrust) June 11, 2025

Travis Hunter (R), Jacksonville Jaguars

Hunter moves with a glide and has some of the best ball skills seen in years. He was a 5-star recruit and the number one prospect coming out of high school in 2022, according to recruiting service 247 Sports. His long list of collegiate accomplishments is highlighted by his Heisman Trophy, Fred Biletnikoff Award, and Unanimous All-American selection in 2024. Additionally, his Number 12 has already been retired by the University of Colorado.

In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars gave up a second-round pick, a fourth-round pick, and their 2026 first-round pick to move up three spots and select him second overall, the earliest pick used on a WR since Calvin Johnson in 2007.

If he were any other prospect, he'd likely be the safest, no-brainer of a rookie pick in years. But adding to his list of accolades, in that same draft night trade-up by the Jaguars, he also became the highest-drafted cornerback in NFL history. Hunter is no ordinary prospect, and that makes him a terrifying fantasy investment.

While he should be an easy top-2 pick in rookie-only drafts and a borderline first-rounder in dynasty startups, questions about exactly how the Jaguars plan to make use of Hunter's unique skill set make it incredibly difficult to make the pick when it's staring you in the face, even with this inherent risk baked into his current draft cost (RotoBaller's WR17).

New head coach Liam Coen has said many things we like to hear regarding said usage, but being a first-timer in the role, it can be difficult to gauge how much smoke comes with his coachspeak.

Throughout minicamp, Hunter practiced on both sides of the ball as the Jaguars installed both a new offense and defense for 2025. For most of minicamp, he worked exclusively with either the offense or defense on any given day while meeting with the opposing staff later in the day.

However, in the final practice of camp, he was spotted playing on both sides of the ball, with Coen later saying in an interview with Pat McAfee, "That will have to continue throughout training camp where he's playing on both sides of the ball and getting that mental and physical endurance throughout the training camp because that's what he's going to have to do in games."

For context, Hunter averaged over 120 snaps per game in his final season at Colorado. If Coen and the Jaguars can creatively find a way to get him the field for even 75% of that in the pros, he could still be involved in almost all passing situations, and he should greatly outperform his draft cost. In the game of fantasy football, talent usually wins in the end, and it really can't be overstated how much natural talent Hunter possesses.

Friendly reminder just how good of a RECEIVER prospect Travis Hunter is pic.twitter.com/3Jb9FSbK2o

— Willie Knows Ball (@WillieKnowsBall) June 22, 2025

Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints

When healthy, New Orleans Saints WR Chris Olave has been one of the most reliably consistent fantasy producers over the past three seasons. In his 37 career games in which he played at least 25% of his team's snaps, he has produced a staggering 28 games of at least 10 fantasy points in PPR scoring.

That kind of predictable safety is rare to find and can be invaluable to a contending roster. And yet, having just turned 25, he currently sits as WR29 on RotoBaller's dynasty rankings because, at this point in his young career, almost any story told about Olave will begin with those two ominous words -- when healthy.

A frightening history of concussions has cast considerable doubt over his future in the league. Olave has suffered at least four confirmed concussions in his three NFL seasons, including two in 2024, the second of which left him sidelined for the final eight games of the season.

While it would be understandable to fade Olave entirely over risks that extend beyond the game of football, his notably low acquisition cost could yield huge returns for the risk-averse.

Chris Olave is 10th in first downs per route run among WRs with 500+ routes since he entered the league in 2022. Surrounded by a bunch of guys we all agree are great players.

He's also 11th in yards per route, 13th in targets per route, 7th in successful targets per route.… pic.twitter.com/gCLiLiGy41

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) June 7, 2025

Ranked as high as WR6 going into the 2023 season, Olave is still an elite route runner, and while the thought of catching passes from some combination of Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haener doesn't exactly get the blood pumping, Derek Carr wasn't setting any hearts ablaze either in his later seasons.

The unexpected retirement of Carr could prove to be a driving factor in Olave's fantasy resurgence. Things could get delightfully ugly this year in New Orleans. The Saints have the lowest projected win total in the NFL, with odds currently sitting at 4.5 victories. Not only does this mean increased passing opportunities in garbage time, but the team should be in line for an early pick in the 2026 NFL draft, with a quarterback class that is shaping up to be very interesting.

If he's able to make it through this season relatively unscathed, a healthy Olave could be entering a contract year as the number one option for a top two or three rookie quarterback and a likely extension on the table at only 26 years old. Any deal he signs at that point could vault him back into the top ten of dynasty wide receivers.

His concussion history is terrifying, but in a world where good health remains on his side, Olave might be the most rewarding buy-low candidate heading into the 2025 season.

DK Metcalf, Pittsburgh Steelers

There was a time in the offseason when everyone and their cousin would tell you that Steelers wide receiver Metcalf was an obvious sell candidate. Coming off the worst fantasy season of his career, Metcalf was traded from Seattle to Pittsburgh, where his role looked mighty redundant to that of the incumbent George Pickens. And though it was no secret who would eventually be throwing him the ball, the top quarterback on the depth chart at the time was Mason Rudolph.

My, how things have changed. Pickens has since been traded to Dallas, while quarterback Aaron Rodgers has officially signed a one-year deal. Now, cousins, second cousins, and even third cousins twice removed will all tell you what a screaming buy Metcalf has become.

At WR23 in RotoBaller's dynasty rankings, he is the type of high-ceiling WR2 that every contender should be looking to acquire, but given his recent spike in cost, he could prove to be a considerable risk beyond 2025. After trading away a second-round pick to acquire him, the Steelers extended Metcalf for four years, tying him to Pittsburgh through his age-33 season.

People forget that DK Metcalf was the WR16 in PPG (15.1 PPG) through WK7 before getting injured last year – on a team with JSN.

WR25 ADP this year – on a team where he’s the clear #1 target.

EASY CLICK. pic.twitter.com/ah1OZIYWv5

— David J. Gautieri (@GuruFantasyWrld) June 15, 2025

While the runway is clear for Metcalf to take off this season, the warning lights could flip on as early as 2026. Rodgers has suggested recently that this will be his final season, and he should have enough left in the tank to lead this team to another nine or ten wins.

Unfortunately, that means the Steelers could once again find themselves outside of the range where they can look for quarterback help in the draft. And with a team that can't seem to get out of its way at the position, would anyone be all that surprised to see Metcalf play out the rest of his career with a revolving cast of signal-callers like Marcus Mariota, Jacoby Brissett, or Jimmy Garoppolo on one-year deals.

While Metcalf stands starkly alone at the front of the line for targets in 2025, if there's one position the Steelers have repeatedly proven an aptitude to draft and develop, it is wide receiver.

The good news regarding Metcalf is that the risk swirling around him is based almost solely on hypotheticals and what-ifs. In the here and now, he appears locked in for an alpha role with a quarterback who has never hesitated to hyper-target his number one. Even with the recent acquisition of tight end Jonnu Smith, the Steelers don't have another pass-catcher on the roster who has earned greater than a 20% target share in any of the past four seasons.

Say what you will about Metcalf ceding looks to Jaxon Smith-Njigba last season in Seattle, but there's probably a good reason that the Seahawks parted ways with first-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb following Metcalf's lowest target numbers of his career.

While the shelf life may not be long, Metcalf should be targeted by all contenders with the understanding that you may end up holding a depreciating asset if you're unable to flip him after your inevitable title win. Who knows? Maybe someone's cousin will take him off your hands.

Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins

In 2024, while playing in all 17 games, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill made 81 catches for 959 yards and six TDs, his lowest numbers across all three categories since his rookie season in 2016. In what was his age-30 season, he also recorded the lowest yards after catch (287) and yards per route run (1.75) of his career.

For most wide receivers, this would signify that the age cliff had been reached, and it's a quick trip straight down from there. But when dealing with superhumans like Hill, you almost need to see the body impact the ground before you're even ready to acknowledge the cliff exists.

Think about it -- how many times have we watched the Road Runner ignore the laws of physics and return safely to solid footing? And Hill might just be faster.

Investing in a 30-plus-year-old wide receiver coming off the worst season of his career isn't generally an advisable move to make in dynasty leagues. But when that same 30-plus-year-old is only 18 months removed from the best season of his otherwise brilliant career and has spent most of his offseason in a will-they, won't-they stare down with the fastest man on the planet, RotoBaller's WR35 starts to look a bit more appealing.

For almost a decade, Hill has been arguably the most dominant fantasy wide receiver in the game, with his world-class speed practically impossible to game-plan for. To obtain him now at the lowest price since his rookie year could pay league-winning dividends to any competing roster, and doing so would be gambling on the idea that last year was an outlier, a mere blip, and not the beginning of the end.

Hill played through a well-documented wrist injury, his quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, missed five games in the middle of the season, and the distribution of targets looked much different in Miami than the previous two seasons, when a combined 334 targets went Hill's way.

After two years of stretching the field in ways rarely seen around the league, Miami's offense operated primarily underneath coverages, with running back De'Von Achane and tight end Jonnu Smith combining to see 194 targets at a paltry 2.7-yard average depth of target.

Whether this was a product of Hill failing to gain the separation we're used to seeing, through either age or injury, or head coach Mike McDaniel insisting on fixing what wasn't broken, it did not work, and the Dolphins missed the playoffs for the first time since McDaniel and Hill's arrival in Miami.

With the recent reshuffling that sent Smith to the Steelers and brought Darren Waller and his career 8.9-yard ADoT out of retirement, it's looking more likely that this was a one-off approach.

For most veteran wide receivers, the end comes fast, and the gamble is hardly worth the risk because even if they aren't completely cooked, the upside is generally capped. In Hill's case, if last season does prove to be a collection of correctable circumstances working against him, he still belongs on the short list of wide receivers that could conceivably finish the year as the WR1.

If you’re playing for now, he is as obvious a buy-candidate as you can find. Just don’t blink, or the cliff might finally show up.

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