Veteran Dynasty Players to Buy Now, Before Free Agency (2023)
It’s that time of year again dynasty managers. The season is over, officially, and now we start looking at our rosters and what we need to do to improve them. The next big NFL event of course is free agency, and, as we all know, a lot of players will gain value with an equal amount likely to lose value. Savvy dynasty players like yourself can look at some of these players that could gain value during free agency and try to buy them now before their value goes up. Here are a few that the GoingFor2 writers like…
RB Kareem Hunt (FA)
Cleveland reportedly couldn’t get a 4th round pick for Hunt at the trade deadline then proceeded to use him much less than we might expect in the running back’s apparent last season with a team. Hunt’s value and ranking dipped, and he was not of much use to fantasy managers. So why buy now? Isn’t he a soon-to-be 28-year-old running back entering a deep free-agent class that is competing with what appears to be a deep class of rookie running backs for a finite number of jobs?
Yes… which is why he’s a buy. First, as the offseason begins and rookie fever is on the rise, vets become cheaper. Second, running backs may be a risky buy this time of year, but that deflates the price further. And third, he probably has a better chance than most of the free-agent running backs to come out on the other side with a decent role when the music stops.
Hunt has a desirable skillset and could sign a shorter, cheaper deal and be a PPR-friendly complementary back — one who would be better suited to spot start in the case of an injury than many players in a similar role. Will Hunt’s value skyrocket? No. Am I predicting an RB1 finish? No.
What I am saying is: 1. the price is low; 2. it likely won’t be this low again for a while, and 3; he has a good chance to pay off that price and gain value. If I’m right, you’ll have your contender’s RB4 and occasional flex starter and/or a chip you can flip for more than you paid. If I’m wrong, you blew maybe two 3rds? a late 2nd and a 4th? It’s worth looking into. Brian Ford @ffjunkie_
Embed from Getty ImagesWR Josh Palmer (LAC)
Anyone catching passes on the regular from Justin Herbert is worth rostering, and Palmer did just that in 2022 (72 receptions). Keenan Allen may prove to be a salary cap casualty in early 2023 giving Palmer the chance to move into the top 2 of the LAC WR depth chart along with Mike Williams…And honestly, even if Allen sticks around, Josh P would only be 1 injury away from a starting spot and it’s not like either of the guys ahead of him ever get hurt, right? Riiiiiiiiiight. Palmer could likely be had for a reasonable price right now with a great chance to net you a significant profit in 2023 and for years to come. James “Doc” Ferretti @TFSDoc
RB Khalil Herbert (CHI)
In 2022, Herbert rushed for 731 yards, 4 touchdowns, and one TD through the air. He was very efficient with the ball in his hands when given the opportunity. His efficiency highlights his upside for his future, yards per touch he was top 7, yards created per touch top 9, and top 5 in true yards per carry. Herbert finished with five double-digit fantasy games this past year. He played lights out in week 3, finishing as the #1 overall running back while carrying the ball 20 times.
He ended that week with 30.9 fantasy points, playing 60.3% snaps share. The following week he played 77.8% of snaps and carried the ball for over 100 yards. Now here’s the kicker, he had 11 RedZone carries in just those two games. In the other 11 games he played, Herbert only averaged 31% of snaps with 10 more RedZone carries. Give him the opportunity, he will produce quality fantasy points. Jamie Perog @JamiePerog
QB Trey Lance (SF)
I’ve been on the Trey Lance train and defending him ever since the “who should be the 2023 week 1 starter” question was first asked. So I might as well make him my veteran buy-low candidate. The truth is, there’s a whole army of Purdy truthers that think he’s the guy so Lance can probably be had at a discount. Lance has a total of 4 starts under his belt. I’m not making any excuses for him but one was his first career start, one was 11 weeks later after he was relegated back to the bench, one was in a week 1 monsoon this season and one was when he got hurt after 3 total pass attempts.
There is simply not enough work to determine that he’s not an NFL-caliber QB. The 49ers have a 3rd overall draft pick invested into Lance and have surrounded him with enough weapons for any QB to succeed. He is also one of a handful of QBs that has 1,000 rushing yards and 10 rushing TD potential. And that’s where my argument is important. At the end of the day, we want fantasy production. One way or another, Lance will start games in 2023. Whether it’s a true camp competition with Purdy or he’s the starter outright, Lance will have fantasy production. Jerry Wilke @JerryWilkeFM
WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (CLE)
Ok, so he isn’t the veteran we think of when analyzing dynasty targets, but with Watson getting real one-on-one time with his wideouts this off-season, I expect his stock to rise even more. DPJ was WR2 behind Cooper in a Browns season that had its ups and downs, but now with Watson cemented under center, the rapport will build. Last season, he had 61 receptions for 839 yards and 3 touchdowns. This was almost 300 more yards than the previous year, and think what he can do in 2023 with a full-time QB.
Cooper will be 30 this year and his production could slip, opening up the door for DPJ to soar. I own him in a few leagues and plan on throwing him into a package deal to receive him in return in a few more. He can easily be your WR2 or 3 next season and yield 10 points per game which is what you want in that WR range. Within a year or two, I see him as WR1 and unless David Bell gets faster in the off-season, he won’t surpass DPJ. Courtney Burrows @luvtractor3
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WR Courtland Sutton (DEN)
It was hard to choose between Jeudy and Sutton here, but Jeudy’s value is already very high. Sutton coming off of a down year where the Broncos’ offense struggled as a whole, is someone to buy low on. With Sean Payton around they should score a lot more touchdowns on offense, which will only help Sutton’s positive TD regression. Buy the talent on the offense that we were all a year early on. Joe Puerschner @JoePuersch22
TE Mike Gesicki (FA)
Coming into the 2022 season, I was pretty high on the Dolphins’ tight end, Mike Gesicki. With McDaniels coming in as a sharp offensive mind and adding extra weapons for Tua to throw to, I was all in on almost all Dolphins players. Anyone else who took a shot on Gesicki was rewarded with career lows in targets, yards, yards per catch, and touchdowns. In the three seasons prior, Gesicki averaged 59 catches, 684 yards, and roughly 4 touchdowns.
There is talk post-Superbowl of NFL GMs raving about Gesicki becoming a free agent, saying “he’s a 70-80 catch player when schemed correctly.” I fully expect Gesicki to get moved to a team that needs a productive veteran tight end who can line up wide like a wide receiver, and return to his former self where he was a perennial TE1. Given the landscape at the tight-end position, I think it’s a good idea to send out some offers for Gesicki in dynasty leagues while he’s at his complete floor in price. Favorite landing spots: Lions, Jaguars, Giants, Buccaneers. Josh Walker @Rotonaut
RB Jerome Ford (CLE)
Kareem Hunt and D’Ernest Johnson are almost guaranteed to be gone next season, leaving Ford to be the incumbent No.2 behind Nick Chubb in 2023. We all know how much the Browns like to use a two-back committee, with Chubb as the between-the-tackles runner and a second RB to do the receiving work. Ford hasn’t shown yet that he can play that receiving down role, as he only had 31 total catches in college and was rarely used for anything more than a kick returner last year as a rookie. But, he hasn’t shown us that he can’t play that role either.
Ford excelled as a kick returner last season, finishing the season with the third-most kick return yards and return yard average, showing that he has some explosion and elusiveness. Most important, he’s basically free. Try to get him as a throw-in to a larger trade. The worst case is he doesn’t pan out and you got him for peanuts — the best case is he takes over that role in the Browns’ offense and you have a flex/spot starter in 2023. Geoff Lambert @GeoffLambert77
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