DLF’s 2019 Predictions: Best Dynasty Buy

Ryan Finley Posted On August 31, 2019

It’s now been over 200 days since the Patriots defeated the Rams in Super Bowl LIII. That’s over 200 days of content including research, articles, podcasts and more getting ready for the next fantasy season.

Well, the wait is almost over, as the 2019 NFL Football season is right around the corner. That also means that it’s time for DLF’s 2019 Fantasy Predictions. As we do every year, we have several different prediction articles for you in the following categories:

Fantasy Comeback Player of the Year
Best Dynasty Sell
Best Dynasty Buy
Fantasy Sleeper
Bust of the Year
Sleeper Rookie of the Year (outside our top 24)
Fantasy Rookie of the Year
Fantasy MVP

Next up in the series, we give our advice around the Best Dynasty Buy:

Taylor Gabriel, WR CHI

Gabriel turned in a career year in 2018 with the Chicago Bears and has no reason why he can’t surpass the numbers he put up a year ago. While the fifth-year receiver only scored two touchdowns, there will be plenty to go around in 2019 with a healthy Mitchell Trubisky under center. He has an ADP of 237.83 – below Breshad Perriman. What!? Go buy him while you can. – Noah Ballweg

Corey Davis, WR TEN

My biggest buy all off-season has been Corey Davis. He has flashed his talent in his first two years but his situation has been one of the worst in the league during that span. Situations change all the time in the NFL so I am a big believer in buying low on talent at a depressed cost. – Kyle Holden

Royce Freeman, RB DEN

Freeman had one of the most complete and impressive college resumes when he entered the NFL draft. He is a physical specimen at 5’11”, 235 lbs, runs well and can also catch the football. Philip Lindsay went undrafted, is 5’8″, and weighs 190 lbs. I will side with history that undrafted running backs don’t have huge careers… especially small backs. Freeman should assume the short-yardage work, a larger workload this year, and even catch the ball more. Come next year, I could see their values flipping places. – Levi Chappell

Sony Michel, RB NEP

Is his knee a problem? Yes. Can he play for two years? Probably. Like every running back, the window is short. Take low ADPs based on fear. Michel is a 24-year-old first-round pick on a powerhouse offense being drafted outside the top 20 at the position. He had 150 expected points in 13 games based on his touches in 2018 per Rotoviz. Nick Chubb had 153 in 16 games and rose from running back 22 to eight. If Michel finishes in the top 24, he’ll be a dynasty steal. – Peter Howard

Anthony Miller, WR CHI

Miller is still cheap and I will continue to buy him wherever I can. He is the WR1 in Chicago and is going to get better. Miller causes mismatches in the slot and has the ability to take any short pass to the house – this is your last chance to buy low. – Dwight Peebles

Austin Hooper, TE ATL

You can keep Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz, and George Kittle as top-24 picks. I’ll wait until the ninth round (or later) and grab last year’s TE6. Hooper has improved each year as a pro and now has the mythical third-season behind him. At only 24 years old there is no reason he can’t be a perennial top-12 TE1 in fantasy for at least another five seasons and he’s is still relatively cheap. He may not be world-beating, league winner at the position, but he certainly isn’t going to hurt your team and it’s hard to beat his production at the cost to acquire him. – John Di Bari

Deon Cain, WR IND

After the Colts drafted Paris Campbell, many wrote off the once Twitter darling Deon Cain. But a new season and the Colts bullish remarks around the ex Clemson Tiger has many excited again for what could be for Cain. Buy him now on the cheap! – James Koutoulas

Rashard Higgins, WR CLE

Reports out of camp say he’s the lead dog in the WR3 race. Odell Beckham Jr. always does something to miss a couple of games, so the targets will be there. – Doug Green

Curtis Samuel, WR CAR

I’m acquiring him almost everywhere I can before he turns into a solid number one wide receiver. He’s received praise all training camp as the possible top dog in Carolina. Even a Buffalo Bills beat writer raved about Curtis Samuel during joint practice. When does that ever happen? – Mike Havens

Todd Gurley, RB LAR

Maybe the name cache of Gurley is enough to keep him afloat in dynasty rankings. But many are balking at investing heavily in him due to ongoing concerns over his knee. While I’ll admit the close to the 2018 season was bizarre, I am not too worried that his knee issues are anything more than par for the course with players who have gone under the knife. I’d still treat Gurley as an RB1 in dynasty leagues and there are plenty of leagues where you could buy him at a lower price. – Rob Willette

Mecole Hardman, WR KCC

Hardman has had a wild ride this off-season in terms of dynasty ADP. Before the NFL Draft, his ADP was 230, by June it was as high as 90 because of the Tyreek Hill debacle and now it has gone back down to 137 since Hill is playing. The truth of the matter is, this actually opens a window for dynasty players to acquire the speedster. His ADP may never be lower because I actually believe playing with Tyreek Hill will make things easier for him because defenses are not going to be able to play four deep to cover the top of Hill and Hardman without Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the running backs destroying them underneath. Plus, we’re one TMZ report away from Hill being suspended indefinitely. – Eric Olinger

Mike Evans, WR TB

Evans might have had the quietest 1,500-yard season in NFL or fantasy history. Case in point – he’s still ranked outside the top five when it comes to dynasty rankings on DLF. But he’s only 26 and has, presumably, the best coach he’s ever had coming in. Chris Godwin may have gotten all the hype this off-season, but Evans is still the man to own and you should be ok paying that price. – Michael Moore

Terry McLaurin, WR WAS

He’d be my pick for rookie sleeper, but he came just inside the top 24. He has the speed, size and route running to be a faster version of what we wanted Vincent Brown to be years ago, on a team with a barren depth chart, with his college quarterback likely to start before the year’s end. It’s one of the best combinations of situation and talent we’ve seen in years, and as such it would not surprise me to see him as a top 60-75 startup pick next year. – Eric Hardter

Dede Westbrook, WR JAX

Everything stated here has held true since my debut article was posted, and his dynasty ADP has only moved up one round. He is still a screaming dynasty value at his current ninth/tenth round startup price. – Ryan Miller

Ian Thomas, TE CAR

Even though Greg Olsen claims to be 100% healthy, the writing is on the wall for Ian Thomas to move up the Panther depth chart sooner rather than later. After overcoming some early-season struggles, Thomas caught 20 of 27 targets for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns over the final five games of the season with the former Hurricane on the shelf. This analyst believes Olsen’s next serious injury sends him to the announcer’s booth, making the Indiana product a strong buy candidate at the current moment. – Josh Brickner

Corey Davis, WR TEN

Patience is a virtue. Davis was beloved by many (myself included) during the 2017 draft process, but his career has followed a more traditional path than expected. After all, we had to wait an entire second season to see him put up a breakout year. But now, Davis is coming off of a very quiet 891-yard season, AJ Brown adds a badly-needed dimension to the passing game, and Marcus Mariota may even be healthy. If the 24-year-old continues on his upward trajectory, which appears likely, he should see his value shoot up from his 51st spot in DLF’s current ranks. – Stephen Gill

Allen Robinson, WR CHI

Need I remind you of 2015? Now he’s fully recovered from that ACL tear and has a year under his belt in Chicago. I doubt he returns to 2015 form, but 2018 may have been his floor. – Austin DeWitt

JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR PIT

By this time next year, JuJu will be the consensus number one overall dynasty pick. He’s young, he’s mega-talented, and now he’s set to be the focal point of the offense. Buy now, as you might not be able to later on. – Jacob Wolf

Duke Johnson, RB HOU

Keep in mind that since I’m editing these articles, I had knowledge of the Lamar Miller injury that not everyone else had. Still, I’m not sure there’s a bigger fan of Duke out there than me (just ask Nick Whalen), and this is a great opportunity for my guy. I believe he can be much more than a third-down back. – Ryan Finley

There you have it. Who are you targeting as a buy this year? Comment below!