11 Players to Buy in Dynasty Fantasy Football Leagues Right Now
In case you didn’t know, DLF has a YouTube channel! We post FREE video content over there at least five days a week covering dynasty trades, strategy, and player analysis.
For my videos specifically, I write out a script to read when I record, but I realized that script could be turned into written content for anyone who doesn’t want to watch YouTube to read too!
So, without further ado, here is an “article-ized” version of one of my recent videos covering some of the best players to buy in your leagues right now.
Kyler Murray, QB ARI
I was scrolling through KeepTradeCut the other day and I noticed a few players who present as massive buys at their values, starting with Murray at the low, low price of QB11. To me, this is insane if this is actually where his trade value is. Let me read you his fantasy points per game rankings after he entered the league in 2019: QB12, QB4, QB4, QB8.
This includes the game he tore his ACL, and he was the QB9 this past season coming off the ACL injury – that is five straight QB1 PPG seasons and four straight top-ten PPG finishes… and yet he’s valued as the QB11 on KTC… make that make sense to me.
And when you look at it from the lens of 2024 and on – this is year two after the ACL tear, year two in the post-Kliff Kingsbury offense under Jonathan Gannon and Drew Petzing, and even though Marquise Brown is a free agent, it’s entirely possible that he’s re-signed. Also, about every single 2024 NFL mock draft I’ve seen has the Cardinals taking Marvin Harrison Jr fourth overall.
So we’re talking about a young, very mobile quarterback who averages over 600 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns a season, throwing to a potential receiving cast of Harrison Jr, Brown, and Trey McBride, who has never finished outside the top 12 in QB fantasy points per game, and he’s currently valued at QB11 in dynasty… what am I missing? This shouldn’t be a hard sell at all.
Looking at the quarterbacks going around Murray on KTC, I would take him easily over Trevor Lawrence, Drake Maye, and Jordan Love. I would take him over Anthony Richardson, I would take him over Caleb Williams, and to be honest, I’m not in love with Justin Herbert being paired with Jim Harbaugh. Maybe that’s an overreaction right now, but I wouldn’t shy away from moving Herbert for Murray-plus. In fact, the DLF Trade Finder is littered with recent deals that I love to buy Murray, like:
- Lawrence/Terry McLaurin/Najee Harris/and Jaylen Warren for Murray and the 1.05
- Murray and a second for Baker Mayfield and Chris Olave
- Murray for a 2026 first and a couple of seconds
- And here’s an example of tiering down – from Herbert to get Murray and a 2025 first from a team that finished with the 1.07 this year
I truly don’t think there is a bigger buy in all of dynasty fantasy football right now than Kyler Murray and he needs to be on every single one of your teams at these prices.
Aaron Rodgers, QB NYJ
Now, if you’re looking for a cheap one-year rental at quarterback to push you over the edge in 2024 for that championship, take a look at Rodgers, who for some reason is being valued as the QB31 on KTC. That is behind JJ McCarthy, Michael Penix, and Bo Nix, all of whom may not even be first-round picks in the NFL Draft this year. That is also behind Geno Smith, one spot ahead of Russell Wilson, and two spots ahead of Derek Carr.
And look, I get it, he’s 40 years old and has flirted with retiring to host Jeopardy for like three years in a row and he’s coming off an Achilles injury, but it’s still Aaron Rodgers. This is a quarterback who has never finished below QB13 overall when he’s played a full season in his entire career, and his worst finish of QB13 was in 2022 in his first season without a legitimate WR1 throwing to Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson for half the season. Now he has Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, and the biggest chip on his shoulder to prove to everyone that his Achilles rehab science works and that he can succeed in New York.
It is wild to me that you can get Rodgers at QB31 overall. Even if it’s just for 2024 and he’s just a fantasy QB2, that’s completely worth it in and of itself, but imagine if he’s his old self and finishes in the top ten or even top five next year and you just bought him for pennies on the dollar. I’m talking:
- Rodgers for the 2.05
- Rodgers for Aidan O’Connell and a 2025 second
- Rodgers for Jaylen Warren and Ty Chandler (???)
What are we doing here? I get being concerned about the risk of a drop in production because of the Achilles injury, and concerned about his impending retirement, but all of that risk is baked into his current price of QB31, which I view as essentially free for a quarterback who could be a league-winner in 2024.
More Cheap Quarterbacks
There are four more quarterbacks who I think offer really good value if you’re strictly looking for those cheap QB2s or even QB3s for added depth or streaming options on a weekly basis: Matthew Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Kirk Cousins, and even Deshaun Watson. All four of them are currently valued outside the top 20 at the position, yet Mayfield actually finished inside the top 12, Stafford was the QB16, and Cousins was the QB6 in PPG before getting hurt and Watson had four top-15 finishes in the five complete games that he played last year, three of which were actually top ten.
They all have risk associated with them in some form, but they’re all cheap enough and with long enough track records of good to great fantasy production that I think they’re worth buying for less than a first-round pick in dynasty. I don’t really have a preference between the four: Watson and Baker are the youngest, Stafford is the oldest but at least right now has the best receiving corps of the four, but assuming Cousins stays in Minnesota, then he would have the best corps or at least the best WR1 by far. So if you need some added depth or that cheap QB2 or 3 option, try going after one of these guys and see which one you can get the cheapest.
DK Metcalf, WR SEA
Moving to wide receiver, I will continue to talk about Metcalf as a tremendous buy-low candidate for 2024, especially when he’s going as the WR26 on KeepTradeCut. This is honestly a pretty similar argument as Murray because since entering the league in 2019, Metcalf’s fantasy finishes have been WR30, WR6, WR15, WR14, and WR21. We have seen four straight seasons of top-24 production since Metcalf’s rookie year, three of which were top-15, and yet Metcalf is going as the WR26.
Tyler Lockett can be cut this off-season to save $8m or he could be a post-June 1st cut like what happened to Dalvin Cook last year, and Seattle saves $18m this year. If you remove Lockett from the equation, Seattle’s passing offense is now funneled through Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, which opens the door for both of them to see more targets, which not only raises each of their floors for fantasy, but also their ceilings. If we can get back to the 8.5 targets per game he averaged in 2022 if Lockett is gone, then that’s more opportunities every week for those monster plays, while also elevating his floor and making him a more consistent option on a weekly basis.
I would take Metcalf straight up over Zay Flowers, Jordan Addison, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba right now. I think you can easily make the argument for him over Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman, DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, and even DJ Moore, especially if you believe the Bears are adding a Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze with their second top-ten pick, but Metcalf is going behind every single one of those guys. You can get Metcalf right now for:
- Isiah Pacheco and a couple of seconds
- James Cook and a second
- A 2025 first and second
- Or the 1.08 straight up or apparently even the 1.11 straight up in superflex leagues
I think it’s insane that we are looking at a high-upside NFL WR1 and valuing him outside the top 25 in dynasty, despite him finishing higher than that in four straight years. Plus, he quite possibly could be in the best situation of his career in 2024.
Chris Godwin, WR TB
Speaking of the best situation of his career in 2024, we need to talk about Godwin, who is currently being valued as the WR40, which again is insane for a player who’s finished ahead of that mark six years in a row, including the year he missed four games. But there are a couple of key points that are trending up for Godwin’s 2024 year to be the best he’s had in a couple of years:
1. As we all know, Mike Evans is a free agent and the reports are that the two sides are very far apart on numbers and it seems like Evans will test the free agent market and potentially sign somewhere else. That alone would move Godwin to the de facto WR1 on the team with very little target competition on the roster currently.
2. There was a coaching change in Tampa with OC Dave Canales leaving for the Panthers job, and the Bucs then hired Liam Coen from Kentucky, who also previously was the OC for the Rams under Sean McVay. Coen’s history with wide receivers has been pretty interesting. He was very successful in 2021 at Kentucky, utilizing Wan’Dale Robinson to the tune of 1,300 yards and seven touchdowns, and then with the Rams the year after Cooper Kupp’s triple crown season in 2022. And in a recent press conference at the beginning of February, Coen said he sees Chris Godwin working as the “F” receiver in their offense, the same role that Cooper Kupp plays in the Rams offense, which is Godwin’s strength as a volume-based receiver.
3. And just to speak to Godwin’s insane consistency, he has scored 10+ PPR points in 62 of 88 games played since the start of 2018. That’s 15th-most among all wide receivers who played at least 40 games over that stretch. Coincidentally, DK Metcalf is 14th on that list with 72% of games over 10 PPR points. Godwin has been the model of consistency for six straight years and like I said at the beginning, 2024 could be the best year he’s had in a while.
You can get Godwin right now for:
- Cole Kmet straight up
- Or the 2.09 straight up
- Jerry Jeudy and Tyler Lockett
- Or Kendre Miller and Khalil Shakir
- Or Godwin and Deebo Samuel for Jordan Addison
These trades are so horrendously cheap that there’s no excuse not to have Godwin on your roster by the end of the week.
Javonte Williams, RB DEN
The running back position is tricky at this point in the off-season because so much can change between now and the start of the season that it’s difficult to fully trust buying most running backs in February. However, Williams offers a very specific combination of plausible job security, fantasy upside, and current cost that makes him very intriguing to acquire as what I would like to call a “discount Breece Hall”.
I think we can all admit that Williams is a pretty good running back who was set back by the ACL injury in 2022 that led to a very pedestrian 2023 season. But as we all know, year two after an ACL injury is usually THE year for players to return to form. It’s one of the big reasons why I love Breece Hall so much this year, and another reason why I’m really in on Williams too.
And when you look at the situation, it’s really strong for Williams in 2024: Russell Wilson is gone – he’s getting cut in a month. The Broncos have been linked to a number of rookie quarterbacks already, whether they trade up for one or grab JJ McCarthy or Bo Nix or whoever, but more than likely it seems like it’s a rookie QB for 2024. Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy are one of the worst WR duos in the league and Marvin Mims can’t even get on the field for whatever reason.
All of this is spelling out an offense that flows through the ground game and a situation where Williams is the best player on the offense, to the tune of possibly 14-15 carries and another 3-4 receptions per game, and that volume alone is enough to make him a top-15 back in fantasy on just average efficiency. If he were to total 1,400 yards or score double-digit touchdowns, we’re looking at a fantasy RB1. That’s essentially what Joe Mixon and Bijan Robinson did last year as top-ten backs.
And just to address this – because I’ve seen it talked about a lot against Williams – Sean Payton did not really have a committee backfield last year. It was as normal as any other backfield in the league. Williams accounted for 62% of the Broncos rush attempts last year and that’s including the game he missed. That’s the same percentage as Josh Jacobs, Kenneth Walker, Najee Harris, Isiah Pacheco, and James Cook. And if you look at the numbers from week eight on, after Williams started getting back into the swing of things from his ACL injury, that 62% jumps up to 68%, which was 11th in the league last year over the second half of the season, right there with Tony Pollard, D’Andre Swift, Travis Etienne, and Austin Ekeler.
And you can see that from his game log too, I mean from weeks 8-17, Williams was on pace for 275 carries and 50 receptions – 325 total touches. That would’ve been the third most touches by all running backs in 2023, so I don’t want to hear about Sean Payton’s committee backfields in Denver. It didn’t exist in 2023, and there’s no reason to assume it would exist in 2024 with an even healthier Williams two years removed from his knee injury.
If you have other running backs like David Montgomery, Rhamondre Stevenson, D’Andre Swift, and Brian Robinson, I would be actively trying to trade them and pivot over to Williams, even adding up to a mid-late second to make that move. In the Trade Finder we can see trades like:
- Cedric Tillman and the 2.02 for Williams
- Terry McLaurin and the 2.11 for Williams
- And there were multiple deals done around a late first for Williams – I would pay anything after the 1.10 in superflex or the 1.07 in 1QB
Antonio Gibson, RB FA
One other running back I want to give a shoutout to for the price of essentially free is Gibson, strictly because he’s a free agent this year and could sign somewhere else and be in a better situation in 2024. We’re still not that far removed from when Gibson was producing as a fantasy RB1 back in 2021 and then he was a top-15 running back for the first 75% of 2022 before he got hurt.
He’s the RB50 on KeepTradeCut, which is in a big mess of other handcuffs like Tyler Allgeier, Ty Chandler, Tank Bigsby, Zack Moss, and Elijah Mitchell, but the difference between Gibson and all of those guys is he has an actual opportunity to be a starter in 2024 without needing an injury ahead of him to get that role. There is upside here at RB50 prices where worst-case scenario, he’s a really good handcuff who you bought at handcuff prices, but best-case scenario, you have an actual starter for a decent portion of the 2024 season that you got for a random third-round rookie pick.
Evan Engram, TE JAC
The final player for today at the tight end position is Engram, who for some reason is valued all the way down at TE14 despite finishing the year as the TE2 overall and TE4 in PPG. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw him down at TE14. That is an unbelievable value for an every-week starter at the position.
Fun fact: Engram was fourth among all pass-catchers in receptions in 2023. He had five fewer receptions than Tyreek Hill and Amon-Ra St. Brown, and more receptions than Puka Nacua, Stefon Diggs, Ja’Marr Chase, DJ Moore, Davante Adams, more than everyone in the league not named CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill, or Amon-Ra St. Brown. And yet he’s valued as the TE14. Usually when a player has a career year, their price increases – usually by a lot – but Engram fell two spots from TE12 this time last year to TE14 now, and the only rookie ahead of him is Brock Bowers… I really just… I don’t understand why he lost value?
Maybe it’s because he’s turning 30 this year, but that’s not until September. It’s not his contract situation – he signed a three-year deal with the Jaguars last off-season, so he still has two years to go. Nothing situational happened. In fact, I could argue his situation might actually improve for 2024 if the Jags don’t re-sign Calvin Ridley, which they’re actually disincentivized to do based on the trade details with Atlanta, so the Jags offense could be Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and Evan Engram, just like it was in 2022 when he finished as the TE5 overall.
I just don’t know what I could be missing here that’s driving Engram’s value down. This is a player who just put up almost 1,000 yards at the tight end position, paced Sam LaPorta over the entire season in PPG, and out-produced Trey McBride over the second half of the season.
I would take Engram right now over Dallas Goedert, Luke Musgrave, Cole Kmet, Michael Mayer, Jake Ferguson, David Njoku, George Kittle, and Kyle Pitts. Not to mention that there are strong arguments to advise trading down from Travis Kelce, Dalton Kincaid, and TJ Hockenson right now to get Engram plus something really good. In the Trade Finder, you could get Engram for:
- Rhamondre Stevenson straight up
- Cade Otton and a third
- Calvin Ridley straight up (Engram out-produced Ridley last year and is playing a more valuable position for fantasy)
- Or even just a mid-late second-round pick this year
And if you’re curious as to what you could get to trade down from Kincaid or Hockenson, you could get Godwin and Engram for just Kincaid and possibly even Metcalf and Engram for Hockenson, both of which I would easily do right now.
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