The combine is now over and done with and the dynasty off season is in full swing. Now is a great time to gain a significant advantage over your league-mates while they may be heading towards their springtime fantasy hibernation. Rookie picks now have great value as the draft hype builds, whilst the expectation around experienced vets begins to tail off. In this short series I will highlight a few players at each position that I believe are a dynasty buy right now. You could be targeting these players to improve your roster regardless of whether you feel you’re in a win now or a rebuild situation.

Win now

Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers

Away from trying to acquire the likes of Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. Aaron Rodgers could offer very good value for production if you are looking at having a tilt for the title in the year ahead.

In every season Rodgers has remained healthy, he has finished as a top 10 QB (11 times) with seven of those seeing him finish as QB1 or QB2 on the year. In those eleven years he has also consistently thrown over 4000 yards eight times.

Now that Rodgers has re-signed with the Packers, there really is no doubt that these previous performances will continue. Talk of main target Davante Adams not playing on a tag or trying to negotiate a new deal may provide enough uncertainty to make Rodgers an acquirable asset.

At 38 years old Rodgers will certainly have at least 2-4 more years of top level production in him and he is more than likely to still put up numbers worthy of a QB1 on your roster.

Possible trade value – 2x 1st round rookie picks

Jalen Hurts – Philadelphia Eagles

Hurts had many question marks over him and his longevity in the role in 2022. However he has done enough to warrant a fair shot at the role and all the time he is a starter he will have the potential for good fantasy upside.

Hurts finished as the QB9 in 2022 and took the Eagles to the playoffs whilst leading the league in both QB rush yards (784) and QB rush TDs(10). If he retains his starting role, there is no reason why he cannot at least match that top 10 finish. At just 23 years old, he could prove a useful addition to your roster for the future too.
Some league mates however may feel he cannot match last year’s performance and may even question his future as an NFL starter. Use this to try and get Hurts at a decent acquirable price.

Possible trade value – 2x 1st round rookie picks

Rebuild

Trevor Lawrence – Jacksonville Jaguars

Hailed as a generational talent coming into and out of the 2022 draft, many will feel the Jaguars star didn’t quite live up to the expectations. However, let’s drill down into the numbers.

Lawrence finished as QB23 on the year, so just passable as a QB2 on your roster. Lawrence amassed 3641 passing yards in the season making him QB17 in that field and he also added 334 rushing yards, good enough to finish as QB8 on that stat. Therefore, whilst these are not “generational talent” numbers, they are perfectly serviceable as a QB2 on your roster.

Also, let’s not forget that by being drafted with the 1.01 in the 2022 draft, means Lawrence joined a poor side, this was then compounded by the apparent ineptitude of Urban Meyer’s head coaching ability. With a new coaching set up, further early picks for the Jaguars and available cap space to use in free agency, the Jaguars are well positioned to bolster their side. This can in turn only help Lawrence out.

Let’s not discredit Lawrence’s undoubted ability because, with the above in place, he will only develop into a better NFL quarterback and therefore perform better for your dynasty roster in the years ahead.

Potential trade value – 2x 1st round rookie picks

Zach Wilson – New York Jets

Similarly to Lawrence above, Wilson was highly regarded coming out of last year’s draft and perhaps under-delivered against expectations. Finishing the year as QB29 and falling outside what you would expect from a QB2 on your roster, this was with only thirteen games played, so he would have finished marginally higher if he had been healthy.

However, for me Wilson showed signs of promise throughout the year. The Jets also will benefit from multiple first round draft picks in 2023, allowing them to add potential future stars to the roster to assist Wilson. Whether that will be a receiver or offensive lineman to buy him time. For many, the jury will still be out on his performance both on the field and from a fantasy perspective. However, use this to your advantage and acquire him at a reasonable value with both the hope and expectation that last year’s performance should really be his floor. The only way is up.

Potential trade value – 1x 1st round rookie pick

Wildcard

Jameis Winston – Unrestricted Free Agent

A true wildcard acquisition this off season would be Winston. A player whose future is uncertain both in terms of where he will be playing next year and his return from injury in 2021.

When healthy and playing, Winston has shown he can be a useful player to roster. He has demonstrated he can throw for more than 4,000 yards on multiple occasions through this career. He started 2021 as the named starter for the Saints before injury sadly cut his season short. The little over six games Winston was able to play in 2021, saw him come in with a QB13 finish in PPG. If he returns as starter for the Saints in 2022 there is no reason why that kind of productivity cannot continue, especially if the Saints are able to bring back their star WR in Michael Thomas.

Should he be offered a starting role elsewhere, It will not adversely affect his output and viability as a starting QB on your roster. However, this truly would be a gamble pick up, but one You should look to make.

Potential trade value – 1x 2nd round rookie pick

That’s all for this entrance into Dan’s Dynasty Buy series. You can follow Dan on Twitter @danhughes99. Keep your eyes peeled for more articles from our great Dynasty team, coming soon. Remember to tune into the5 Yard Dynasty livestream every Tuesday at 8pm (GMT).