Dynasty Football: Oldies But Goodies

Anyone who has ever played in a Dynasty league knows it’s the ever-constant balancing act of infusing low floor, high ceiling young players with a high floor, low ceiling older players.

When it’s the offseason and rookie hype trains are running with the same amount of force as Terry Tate when people kill the joe but don’t make no mo’, proven veteran players can be had for pennies on the dollar – even though they still have a few years of sustainable production left in them.

From my experience, there’s just something about that 29-year old mark in Dynasty that makes owners start thinking about moving on from their veterans for younger pieces. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know why people do it. It’s just sort of the line in the sand for some owners.

If you’re one or two pieces away from making a legitimate run this year at your league’s championship, here are six guys that are 29-years old or older (in no particular order) that you can potentially acquire for a decently low price to give you depth or put you over the top.

Dez Bryant

Dallas Cowboys | Age 29

I keep a decent eye on Twitter trade polls thanks to my narcotic-like addiction to the platform, and one name that I keep seeing come up is Dez Bryant. Sure, you’re not going to get the elite-end WR1 production from him that you’re used to, but in a year that the Cowboys didn’t see much success on offense, Dez still finished as the WR24 in a full-PPR league and finished with the 16th most receptions amongst WRs this year.

You can look at the Dez debate in two different ways – are his numbers from last year a sign of things to come going forward, or does this make him a prime bounce-back candidate?

I’m going for the latter, which makes his current price tag very tolerable.

Using DynastyLeagueFootball.com’s trade finder, just within the past month, Dez went for 1.10 in one trade and 1.11 in another.

For that asking price, if I need a WR for the next couple years, I’m probably ponying up the pick here if it’s on the table.

Demaryius Thomas

Denver Broncos | Age 30

Yes. For all intents and purposes, DT had one of the worst years of his career and posted his lowest reception total and total yards since 2011, a season in which he only played 11 games. But think about this – according to PFF, Trevor Siemian graded out with a 53.2 overall grade, 36th in the NFL and just a hair higher than Drew freaking Stanton.

If the Broncos end up landing Kirk Cousins or go with their backup plan of AJ McCarron, DT could be in for a nice little rebound season.

Demaryius is another WR who, like Dez, can be had for a late 1st rounder or an early 2nd rounder according to trade polls and DLF, so if you’re WR needy and have a mid-2nd rounder to throw around on draft day, give it a shot and see if an owner would bite.

LeSean McCoy

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Buffalo Bills | Age 29

Shady is a polarizing layer for fantasy football analysts out there right now. On one hand, he had his lowest total rushing yards in a season where he’s played at least 15 games since 2010. On the other hand, he finished the year as the RB7 in full-PPR leagues, graded out as PFF’s 9th overall HB, and had the second highest total of runs of 15-plus yards for all running backs in 2017.

Buffalo really doesn’t have much of a choice other than to keep feeding him the rock, but at some point, all of these carries are going to catch up to him.

If you can find an owner who is scared of the wear and tear, I’d buy for a discount if you can.

Greg Olsen

Carolina Panthers | Age 32

Coming off an injury-shortened year, Greg Olsen is a little bit of a question mark going into next season. Is father time finally catching up to G-Reg, or, and I’m paraphrasing his lyrical genius from 2005, will this member of the 7th Floor Crew “let these chickens know” that he’s still got it?

The fact of the matter is before he got injured, he had Kelvin Benjamin lining up with him and Jonathon Stewart still being a major part of the offense. Now with Devin Funchess, Curtis Samuel, and Christian McCaffrey being the focal points of the offense for Cam, I wouldn’t be surprised if Olsen becomes Newton’s security blanket and racks up receptions next year.

This trade poll had Charles Clay and Lamar Miller for Olsen as a wash, and I know some guys are bigger on Miller than others, but that seems like a trade that would make Olsen owners at least consider it, and a trade that I’d chalk up as a win for the Olsen side.

Golden Tate

Detroit Lions | Age 29

Golden Tate is the model of consistency for a PPR league. Ever since he’s come to Detroit, all he’s done is put up at least 90 receptions every year, and in three of his four years, he’s topped 1,000 yards. His catch rate is insanely high, he led the league in broken tackles amongst WRs last year, and his overall PFF grade of 86.4 was a career high.

Did I mention he ranked second in yards gained from the slot (761) AND he’s in a contract year?

It’s widely assumed that the Lions will somehow address their RB situation this offseason either via free agency or the draft (Kiper actually has them taking Guice in the 1st) which will help open up Tate some more, so all signs are pointing to Tate potentially having a better year than this last year.

If you can grab him, do so. But that’s a big if.

Doug Baldwin

Seattle Seahawks | Age 29

After posting back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons, Baldwin *just* missed out on his third in a row by posting 991 receiving yards on 75 receptions this year. That’s not to say he had a bad year – PFF had him as their WR6, and he finished the season as the WR13 in PPR leagues, sandwiched between Tate and Davante Adams.

Perusing polls, this guy jumped out to me because it’s not a runaway, but it’s still something that an owner who is rebuilding that wants youth and values picks highly could pull the trigger on.

If you can get an owner to bite on a deal like this (young player plus a couple mid-level picks), take it and run.

What other oldies but goodies are you targeting in your dynasty leagues this offseason?

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