The NFL Draft has come and gone. Several players stand out as strong trade targets based on talent, draft capital, landing spot, and long-term upside. These rookies may not be immediate stars, but their skill sets and roles make them worthwhile acquisitions. Whether you’re rebuilding or reinforcing a contender, this rookie trade advice can lead to foundational assets or future trade chips.
Wide Receivers | Rookie Trade Advice
Travis Hunter | Jacksonville Jaguars | Age 22
The Jacksonville Jaguars shocked everyone trading up for the second overall pick to select Travis Hunter. Hunter has made it clear that he wants to play both sides of the ball. Per Adam Schefter, the Jaguars are expected to play Travis Hunter on offense and defense. They will on-board him by giving him a heavy dose of the wide receiver position while still playing him at his more natural position on defense.
Hunter is not going to be easy to acquire and in IDP leagues, I would look heavily at Hunter at the 1.01 depending on my league scoring. In non IDP leagues, Hunter is my third overall rookie and my 16th overall ranked wide receiver in dynasty. Hunter is a player I am actively looking at acquiring. If I had a mid-to-late 1st, I would have no issues adding a 2026 1st in hopes of getting the deal done. In terms of a player to package with my 2025 1st, look at names such as Chris Olave, D.J. Moore, or Brandon Aiyuk.
Tet McMillan | Carolina Panthers | Age 22
The Carolina Panthers invested heavily in Tet McMillan when they selected him at 8th overall. At 6’4’’, McMillan is a big body receiver for Bryce Young. McMillan has a massive catch radius and is a mismatch for defensive backs.
In rookie drafts, McMillan is going in the middle of the 1st round. I am lower on McMillan than most in the fantasy community as he is currently my WR19. I would look to aggressively shop this pick if I was on the clock and McMillan was still available. I would attempt to trade down for a later 1st and possibly pick up additional picks. As far as player wise, I would target wide receivers like Rome Odunze or Rashee Rice-plus.
Emeka Egbuka | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Age 22
Many in the fantasy community were not thrilled when Tampa Bay drafted Emeka Egbuka. However, for me this was a great landing spot. While the immediate return in Egbuka will not be there, I view this as a very similar situation to Rome Odunze when he was drafted by the Chicago Bears.
Egbuka is an extremely polished wide receiver with an excellent football IQ. Earlier, I spoke about trading down from Tet McMillan and this would be the player that I would target if I needed a wide receiver as I have Egbuka as my WR2 in this draft class.
Jack Bech | Las Vegas Raiders | Age 22
Trust me, I understand the TCU wide receiver narrative with Jack Bech. I still have PTSD from Josh Doctson, Jalen Reagor, and Quentin Johnston. Bech is different to me because his game is different from his predecessors. Bech is a good route runner with reliable hands. He has shown to be productive at LSU where he lead the team in receptions as a true freshman and also was the Senior Bowl MVP.
Bech is another trade down target in a deal for Tet McMillan. I would love a scenario where I could trade down and acquire two 2nd round selections where I could turn Tet McMillan for a duo of Jack Bech, Cam Skattebo, Kaleb Johnson, or RJ Harvey.
Matthew Golden | Green Bay Packers | Age 21
After a 23-year-long streak, the Green Bay Packers finally selected a 1st Round receiver in Matthew Golden. For the NFL and Green Bay, I understand why Matthew Golden was a 1st Round pick. What better place to break the streak than in Green Bay, who was the host site for the NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, I did not see a 1st round receiver when I was evaluating Matthew Golden. Currently in our receiver ranks, Golden is the WR36 ahead of names like Jack Bech, Ricky Pearsall, and Bryce Young. There would be no hesitation from me to flip Golden for any of those names.
Get More Trade Advice!
Rookie tight end trade advice is on its way. Check back soon for the top TEs to target and which ones you should look to trade away. In the meantime, browse our Rookie Draft App and find out all the best targets for each round of your rookie drafts this offseason.
