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With the 2020 NFL Draft in the books and many dynasty rookie drafts already completed as well, now can be a good time of year to buy and sell players. Whether you’re looking at targeting dirt cheap players or more expensive players who aren’t quite being valued where they should be, there are plenty of names worth buying right now. Not all of these names are necessarily ‘buy low’ candidates, but regardless, you’re paying less right now than what they could/should be priced at moving forward. For many of these names, there’s a chance that their value may never be lower. For full rankings, be sure to check out our expert consensus dynasty rankings.
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Sam Darnold (QB – NYJ)
Dynasty/Keeper League Ranking – QB17
First up is the third-year quarterback of the New York Jets, Sam Darnold. With two seasons under his belt, the Jets have been a bit of a mess over the last few seasons, and haven’t had a winning season since 2015. With Adam Gase as their head coach, things weren’t much better in 2019 as they finished 7-9. Darnold improved in just about every single category last year from his rookie campaign, and the Jets are clearly invested and moving forward with him as the potential franchise quarterback of their future.
Despite playing under a new offensive system last year and arguably the worst offensive line in the NFL, Darnold did look good when he played, after missing three games towards the beginning of the 2019 season. The Jets didn’t have many offensive weapons for Darnold to work with, but for 2020 they’re set to have Jamison Crowder, Breshad Perriman, and rookie Denzel Mims. He’ll also have what should be a fully healthy Chris Herndon at tight end, who has shown a lot of promise when he’s on the field. There’s some uncertainty about the future of Le’Veon Bell with the Jets, and they’ve also recently brought on veteran Frank Gore to pair with Bell and rookie Lamical Perine.
There’s definitely a lot of uncertainty surrounding this offense, but as the 17th ranked quarterback according to our FantasyPros dynasty and keeper league ADP, there’s a chance we’ll never see Darnold ranked this low again. With new weapons on this offense in Perriman, Mims, and hopefully a healthy Herndon, Darnold is set up to succeed. He’s shown a good amount of promise over his first few seasons in the NFL, and the real reason for his struggle is more so from the Jets just not being very good than anything else.
Sony Michel (RB – NE)
Dynasty/Keeper League Ranking – RB34
One of the quiet winners following the 2020 NFL Draft is the third-year running back in New England, Sony Michel. It wasn’t long ago that we saw the Patriots use a first-round draft pick on former Georgia running back and many fantasy owners had high hopes for him. Many dynasty owners and fantasy football fans even had Michel ranked ahead of his teammate, Nick Chubb who is now far and away more valuable for fantasy purposes. The Patriots are without Tom Brady and this offense is going to be a very interesting one to watch moving forward. Michel is a talented back whose only competition now is James White, who is just the third-down back or option in the passing game for the Patriots, and Damien Harris is the only other real competition in that backfield. Michel is still the clear-cut most talented running back for New England, and they haven’t done anything to show that he isn’t their running back of the future. Michel has had just under 1,000 rushing yards in each of his first two seasons in the NFL and hasn’t been very involved in the passing game thanks to White.
Michel will enter the season as the lead back in New England, and we’ll see an offense like we haven’t seen in a long time from the Patriots without Brady. With an ADP making him a low-end RB3 for fantasy purposes, this is absolutely a nice time to make some offers for Michel. Michel has finished as the RB31 and RB35 in his first two NFL seasons in PPR scoring, and while this ADP is right on with his production, he did miss three games in 2018. Michel’s upside is definitely higher than an RB3 in fantasy, and I’d be actively looking to make some offers for him before the season gets too close.
Tyler Lockett (WR – SEA)
Dynasty/Keeper League Ranking – WR26
The next guy that I’m looking to buy low before the 2020 NFL season is Tyler Lockett of the Seattle Seahawks. Lockett has taken a backseat as the majority of the hype is focused on the second-year wide receiver and freak of an athlete, DK Metcalf. One thing that I like to do when looking at buying low on players, is finding the cheaper of two options on the same offense. Another example of this right now would be considering buying low on someone like Mike Evans while all of the hype is surrounding his teammate Chris Godwin. Don’t get me wrong, I love Godwin and the upside in an offense with Brady from a slot receiver like Godwin is tough to ignore. However, when most dynasty owners are paying up for the current value of Godwin, it can be worth looking at buying Evans who is much cheaper and has proven himself plenty, consistently. Regardless of your thoughts on the Buccaneers receivers, this situation with Lockett and Metcalf is similar, but on a lower scale.
Metcalf is being ranked as the WR16 as Lockett is ten spots later as the WR26. Lockett is currently 27 years old and has five seasons under his belt. Over the last two seasons, he’s finished as the WR16 and WR13 in PPR scoring in each year, respectively. While the hype continues to surround Metcalf, I’d use this time to make some offers for Lockett. He’ll likely still have several more seasons of fantasy production ahead of him, and he’s established his role as a weapon and favorite target for Russell Wilson to lean on. As someone being valued as a WR3, this is a nice opportunity to buy low on Lockett.
Jack Doyle (TE – IND)
Dynasty/Keeper League Ranking – TE26
The last name that I’m looking to buy low on during this off-season is the veteran tight end in Indianapolis, Jack Doyle. Doyle is an interesting name that has popped up periodically over the years, and as a 30-year-old veteran, he’s someone that you can likely buy for dirt cheap. If you’re in a TE-Premium league it may a little more difficult to acquire him, but in normal leagues where you are in need of a tight end, I’d happily invest in Doyle. Whether it be for just a year, or possibly a bit more, now that Eric Ebron is with Pittsburgh, the Colts will have Doyle as their starting tight end. With Philip Rivers leading this offense, we can expect him to lean on his tight end as he’s done so heavily in the past with the Chargers. The Colts are lacking offensive pass-catchers, which is part of the reason why they invested in Michael Pittman fairly early, and in Parris Campbell just a year ago. Veteran TY Hilton will be back, but whether or not he’ll be healthy or just a shell of his former self is up in the air. Doyle has been a solid option when given the opportunity and has played in 14 or more games in every season since entering the league in 2013, except for just one in 2018. Ebron played in 11 games last year with the Colts, and Doyle still finished better, as the TE15 overall in PPR scoring.
As the starting tight end on an offense that should utilize the position, Doyle is a very cheap option who has TE1 upside for at least the 2020 season. Depending on what happens with Rivers and if the Colts bring in another tight end next year or not, there’s a realistic scenario where Doyle is a solid option for fantasy for the next couple of seasons. As the TE26 overall, you can likely acquire him for very cheap and get some solid fantasy production out of him.
Other Players to Buy
JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR – PIT)
Darius Slayton (WR – NYG)
Jordan Howard (RB – MIA)
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Aaron Schillinger is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Aaron, check out his profile and follow him @aaron_schill.
