Dynasty Football Big Board Week 16

Kevin Coleman's Dynasty Football Big Board Week 16 Kevin Coleman Published 12/18/2023

The appeal of playing dynasty fantasy football is that you never stop building your rosters. There is always time to make moves to help build a contender or rebuild your struggling roster. Now that the 2023 class has come and gone, it's time to start looking ahead to the 2024 class. This season, we will provide fantasy managers with a top-36 big board that will be updated weekly to reflect the top 36 draft-eligible players in college football. The hope is that this big board will give you actual names and value to any draft picks you are trying to trade or acquire. With the college football season over, this board will only change as we learn whether players are returning to college for another season.

2024 Player Spotlight

WR Troy Franklin (Jr - Oregon) 6-foot-3, 187 lbs

Franklin made it official this week by declaring for the NFL draft. He has caught 81 receptions for 1,383 yards and fourteen touchdowns on the season. He will be a hotly debated prospect heading into draft season, with some believing his ceiling is a WR2 at best, while others think he can push into Tier 1 of the class. One thing is for certain: Franklin will be one of the most explosive athletes in this class and still has a ton of growth as a prospect.

2024 Draft Pick Values

With the NFL season starting, dynasty leagues are increasingly active, which means more trades are undoubtedly occurring. The whole point of this big board each week is to help you identify where the talent in the current class is and start identifying target areas and tiers to trade for. It's also important to understand market values and what 2024 picks cost in the dynasty market. Below, you will find players currently being moved for 2024 1sts and 2024 2nds.

2024 Early-1st

2024 Mid-1st

2024 Late-1st

2024 2nds

2024 Draft Pick Trades*

*All trades are from FantasyCalc's free database and are 12 Team/SF/PPR settings

2024 Free Agent Watchlist

As the fantasy season ends, dynasty managers should know some upcoming free agents that could impact their potential value. The free agency period in football has been lackluster in recent years, with trades being the main driver in dynasty value. However, there are some upcoming free agents that managers must keep a close eye on as the off-season progresses. On top of each player, I have also included recent trades made for them in dynasty leagues.

Mike Evans (KTC Value - WR28) Age: 30.3

Evans might be one of the most underappreciated fantasy assets in the last five years. Evans has averaged over five receptions, 90 yards, and a touchdown in the last four years. In that same timeframe, he has averaged over eight targets and been one of the most consistent receivers in fantasy football. In his career, he has averaged 16.3 FPTS/G; this season, he is averaging 17.1 FPTS/G, the fourth-best output of his career. The question will be, does he move on from Tampa Bay this off-season or sign a contract that will see him retire as a Buccaneer? And in Dynasty, he's essentially hit his age cliff, so what can you truly get for him in a trade? I view Evans as an asset, similarly to how I viewed Cooper Kupp going into 2023. He's a buy for a contender, and the longer you wait this off-season, the cheaper he will be. I don't see a scenario where he doesn't re-sign with Tampa Bay, which makes him an intriguing asset. Evans should be on your radar if you have a roster that will contend the next two seasons.

Tee Higgins (KTC Value - WR24) Age: 24.9

Higgins has had a down season in 2023. There was a time in dynasty when Higgins was valued higher than CeeDee Lamb, Those days are long gone. Fortunately for dynasty managers, he had a big week last weekend. He caught four passes for 61 yards and two touchdowns on eight targets in the 27-24 overtime victory against the Vikings. Outside of that game, he has not helped out managers this season, with injuries derailing his year. Now, looking ahead to free agency, Higgins has been a hot name for analysts to talk about potentially heading to Houston or Carolina. Still, it's becoming more likely that Higgins will be franchise-tagged. If he is tagged, I don't see a scenario where Higgins will gain much value, and he becomes more of a hold heading into next season. However, when he does move on to another team, that would be the time I would be looking to offload him to another fantasy team in my league.

Kirk Cousins (KTC Value - QB22) Age: 35.3

Cousins was well on his way to having the best season of his career until an Achilles injury knocked him out for the season. The Minnesota quarterback is an unrestricted free agent this off-season but has said publicly that he wants to stay in Minnesota, which makes him an intriguing dynasty buy considering the Vikings have Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and will undoubtedly add more weapons this offseason. Brad Spielberger from PFF thinks Cousins could demand at least a two-year, $60 million dollar contract, and the Vikings are in a position where bringing Cousins back for the next two years is probably their best chance at competing. With the influx of quarterback injuries across dynasty leagues, depth has become increasingly important. If your league doesn't have a deadline and Cousins is on a roster that needs a quarterback or another asset down the stretch of the playoffs, try to get him thrown into a deal. He looks to be a solid asset for the next two seasons.

Veteran Running Backs

This offseason will be known as the land of the veteran running backs. The following backs could be on the move: Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley, Tony Pollard, Austin Ekeler, D'Andre Swift, J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and AJ Dillon. What makes them valuable is the incoming 2024 class has some serious questions at the running back position, and if you are a contending team, adding these veterans for cheap could be your best option as you build out your dynasty roster. One player that has helped contenders this season has been Joe Mixon. Mixon was in a similar position as some of these veteran running backs and is a perfect example of buying low on veterans. If I had to rank them in order of players, I would target them based on expected price and their return on investment, my top four would be: Ekeler, Jacobs, Henry, and Barkley.

Other Players To Monitor

Big-Board Watchlist

  • QB Jordan Travis (Sr - Florida State): 6-foot-1, 212 lbs*
  • RB Ja'Quinden Jackson (Jr - Utah): 6-foot-2, 228 lbs
  • RB Carson Steele (Jr - UCLA): 6-foot-1, 225 lbs
  • RB Kendall Milton (Sr - Georgia): 6-foot-1, 220 lbs
  • RB Jonathon Brooks (Jr - Texas): 6-foot-0, 207*
  • WR Dominic Lovett (Jr - Georgia): 5-foot-10, 179 lbs
  • WR Dont'e Thornton (Jr - Tennessee): 6-foot-5, 214 lbs
  • WR Colbie Young (Jr - Miami): 6-foot-5, 215 lbs
  • WR J. Michael Sturdivant (Jr - UCLA) 6-foot-3, 205 lbs
  • WR Roman Wilson (Sr - Michigan): 6-foot-0, 192 lbs
  • WR Keandre Lambert-Smith (Jr - Penn State): 6-foot-1, 188 lbs
  • WR Tez Johnson(Jr - Oregon): 5-foot-10, 160 lbs
  • TE Michael Trigg (Jr - Ole Miss): 6-foot-3, 240 lbs
  • TE Brevyn Spann-Ford (Sr - Minnesota): 6-foot-6, 265 lbs
  • TE Cade Stover (Sr - Ohio State): 6-foot-4, 251 lbs

*Suffered a season-ending injury

Thank you for reading! Follow me on Twitter @Daboys_22 and check out my archive with Footballguys!

Already a subscriber?

Continue reading this content with a ELITE subscription.

An ELITE subscription is required to access content for Dynasty leagues. If this league is not a Dynasty league, you can edit your leagues here.

Photos provided by Imagn Images