Did your 2023 Dynasty Fantasy Football Season go differently than planned? Is your Dynasty Roster in need of a little shakeup? You may need a young quarterback and tight end with bright futures. It will take a lot to trade for players like C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young, Sam LaPorta, Dalton Kincaid, or even Michael Mayer. But one rookie quarterback and one tight end each stand out as players who still have very bright futures in this league. Below are the two rookies you should target in trades this offseason. Remember that these are candidates for large rostered/deep Dynasty Leagues.
Will Levis – Tennessee Titans
| Year | Team | Games Played | Completion Percentage | Yards | TDs | INTs | Rushing Yards | TDs |
| 2023 | TEN | 9 | 58.4% | 1,808 | 8 | 4 | 57 | 1 |
Going into the 2023 season, Tennessee’s offense had a lot of question marks surrounding it, especially at the quarterback position. Though Super Bowl odds favorites were not among expectations, some believed that veteran signal-caller, Ryan Tannehill, deserved to keep QB1 duties for the team. Others thought second-year pro, Malik Willis, didn’t get enough looks during his rookie season after the Titans selected him in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. And then you had the ones that believed in Will Levis, the team’s second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Those who believed in the banana peel-eating Levis were the ones who were right. Levis proved that he was easily the team’s best quarterback during the 2023 season.
The rookie gun-slinger started the season third on the depth chart behind Tannehill and Willis but quickly drew his first start in Week 8 against the Falcons. He finished his debut with an astonishing four touchdown passes, along with 238 passing yards. There were some highs, lows, and injuries throughout the rest of the season. But what we know now is that the QB1 spot for the Titans is Levis’ to lose going into next season. In Weeks 8-15, Levis served as the QB16 in fantasy before eventually losing most of the remaining season dealing with an ankle injury. During that same span, he put together a QB6 finish and five QB24 or better finishes. What this tells you is that he could easily slide into your QB2 slot without question. And in Superflex leagues, he has a ton of value.
At this point, he shouldn’t be too difficult to trade for. He has a high ceiling, and he’s now going into his second season with a new head coach. Brian Callahan is an offensive-minded OC who comes over from Cincinnati after molding Joe Burrow into one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Coaching in a division where the Ravens are currently among Super Bowl lines, the former Bengals’ OC has experience working with Peyton Manning (offensive assistant for the Broncos), Matthew Stafford (quarterbacks coach for the Lions), Derek Carr (quarterbacks coach for the Raiders), and Burrow during his coaching tenure. He also had a huge part in developing Jake Browning this past season once Burrow went down due to a season-ending injury. Now he takes the responsibility of improving Levis. Although Tennessee’s offense may look a lot different next season, Levis is worth trading for with hopes of great improvements.
Luke Musgrave – Green Bay Packers
| Year | Team | Games Played | Targets | Receptions | Yards | Yards/Catch | TDs |
| 2023 | GB | 11 | 46 | 34 | 352 | 10.4 | 1 |
I don’t think you can go wrong with trading for Luke Musgrave or Tucker Kraft. Both tight ends showed a lot of promise during their rookie seasons. One thing was apparent though. Musgrave seemed to be Green Bay’s preferred pass-catcher at the position when he was healthy. During Weeks 1-11, the rookie hauled in 33 receptions for 341 yards and a touchdown before coming back in limited action during the final week of the regular season. His 17-game pace calculated out to about 53 receptions for 544 yards and two touchdowns. To put things in perspective, Kyle Pitts finished his third season this year. In 17 games played, he hauled in 53 receptions for 667 yards and three touchdowns.
Sure, Musgrave may never turn into a consistent TE1 for your fantasy team. But he’s already established himself as a TE2 in just 11 regular season games played. With Jordan Love improving increasingly, it wouldn’t be surprising if Musgrave eventually evolved into a fringe TE1. There aren’t that many “great” fantasy tight ends in today’s game. If you take a shot and trade for Musgrave for minimal value right now, it’s a win-win. If he doesn’t turn out to be anything, you don’t miss out much because you gave up minimal value for him. If he does turn out, you look like a genius for capitalizing on his lower value right now.
And if I haven’t convinced you yet, maybe a few stunning stats will change your mind. Musgrave became the fourth tight end drafted in the 2023 NFL Draft behind Dalton Kincaid, Sam LaPorta, and Michael Mayer. Amongst the four of them, Musgrave finished with the highest speed score (114.4), the highest burst score (125.5), and the largest catch radius (10.2). On top of that, Musgrave finished FIRST OVERALL out of all tight ends in the league this season in target separation (2.78 yards). He has the tools to become a great tight end in the NFL and for your fantasy teams. Do I think he will leapfrog LaPorta and Kincaid, particularly when you can bet on Super Bowl with Sam having a legitimate chance depending on what happens during this week’s NFC Championship? No. Do I think he will finish as a top-12 tight end in fantasy next season? I’m not ruling that out; I think that is a possibility. Musgrave is underrated at this time. Don’t be surprised if he turns a lot of heads next season in Green Bay’s lethal offense.
Honorable Mentions
Tucker Kraft (GB), Luke Schoonmaker (DAL), Aidan O’Connell (LV)
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