Is it that time already? We've reached the halfway point of the NFL season and are already beyond the halfway point of the fantasy football regular season. If you haven't done so already, this is the time of year to take stock and reassess your rosters. Whether you've decided to move all your chips in and push for a deep playoff run or blow up your team and conduct a fire sale ahead of the off-season, there is always time to plan for next year and start eyeballing buy-low candidates. I'm going to look at players meeting certain specific criteria who I think can represent prime buy-low opportunities now and into the earlier part of the off-season.
The Injured
If you're wrapping it up and calling it quits on the 2023 season, this is a great time to acquire injured players from contending teams. If someone lost, let's say, Mike Williams earlier in the year and they need a receiver to make a run at a championship, you might be able to send them an older veteran and get Williams on the cheap.
The oft-injured running back has only played 24 games in three seasons, and many owners have had enough. He has looked good when he's been on the field, but he hasn't been on the field. Looking at the DLF Trade Finder Tool, you'll find Dobbins has recently been traded straight up for DeAndre Hopkins, Brian Hoyer, and Elijah Mitchell. Dobbins will also be a free agent at the end of the season. Although a return to Baltimore would probably be ideal, there is a chance another team could bring him in as a feature back in 2024, and you'll probably never be able to get him at a cheaper price.
While only on short-term IR, Herbert still represents a buy-low value. I am an unapologetic Herbert fan, so take all this with a grain of salt, but he's been perfect when given the work in the Bears' backfield. He's got one more year on his rookie deal and might find himself on a better team in 2025, or he could return to a Bears team with a different quarterback and head coach. There are many question marks, but at 25 years old, he seems worth the gamble. In recent trades, Herbert hasn't been a "value" per se, but if he can reach his ceiling when he returns from injured reserve, the deals will look better in hindsight.
Nick Chubb is the best pure running back in football, and you'll never convince me of anything otherwise. After suffering another horrific knee injury, his future is unknown, but I'm willing to roll the dice on Chubb. If he returns to form and catches a few more balls, he has a legit shot at being THE overall RB1 on the field. Very few players are in that category. If, when, and where are all big question marks now. A look at his contract via Spotrac, you'll see the Browns have an out following this season, and if Chubb returns to Cleveland, he's only under contract for one more year anyway.
