Tornacl
Footballguy
As the fantasy football season winds down in the next couple of weeks, most dynasty leaguers will try to do the same thing: shed older players for young prospects and/or draft picks. Let's face it, everyone does it. We all want to have the perfect dynasty team of studs under the age of 25. So between the fantasy playoffs and next year's fantasy rookie drafts, most owners will obsess over youth. But as most successful dynasty owners know, a good mix of youth and veterans is often a better recipe for success, as many rookies don't pan out or take a long time to develop.
And there are some players that, for whatever reason, the fantasy football community never seems to value their production. I'm not talking about the typical "buy low" guys that you believe will produce much more in the future. I mean more of the guys that no one ever seems to value them as their production would merit. I'm also referring to guys that because of their age, their owners will often try to get rid of them when before they have no value.
Here are some guys that always seem to be under-appreciated to me. None of them are going to win your league for you by themselves, but when you compare their level of production for the price that it would take to acquire them, they provide nice depth or situational starts and allow you to use more resources to acquire studs at other positions.
QB:
Eli Manning: The Giants have had a down year, Eli included, but Eli has never been a guy that people would give a lot to acquire, even when he was putting up QB1 numbers. Now, because of him having a down year, you could probably get him for very little. Worst case, he'll probably remain as a high-end QB2, or a good QB to play matchups with as part of a rotation.
Andy Dalton: He seems to be the new Eli. Last year, he finished as a low-end QB1 in only his second year, yet I could hardly give him away in the off-season. This year, he's anywhere from a mid-range QB1 to a low-end QB1, depending on scoring. He's still only 26. Yes, he throws a lot of picks, and his arm isn't the strongest in the league. But the Bengals are winning with him, he has a load of young offensive talent on the team, and I don't see hm going away any time soon.
Alex Smith: I think that Andy Reid got exactly what he wanted in bringing in Smith, and he's responded with a good season, looking like he'll finish right around the QB1-QB2 border area - not bad for a guy that was on many waiver wires at the start of the season. I could see him putting up similar numbers for the next several years.
RB:
Pierre Thomas: He's always put up steady numbers, and many owners believed that he was more talented than Ingram. Still, because of the offense that he plays in, and because of the committee he's a part of, people didn't seem to value him. I picked him up in several leagues at the start of the season off the waiver wire, but looking back at the final results from last season, he was RB32 in one of my leagues. Even with the success he's had this year, I wouldn't expect his price to move up too much.
Danny Woodhead (PPR): Even when he was with the Patriots, he put up steady numbers in PPR. He's been even better this year in San Diego. But I expect that when the all of the shiny new toys (rookies) come around, he will be pretty easy to acquire at a discount.
Darren Sproles (PPR): He's had a down year this year, but he's still RB 20 in PPR. He's been a PPR monster over the years, yet no one would ever pay that kind of price. Now that he's reached the magical age of 30, most of his owners will want to get something for him. But let's face it, he doesn't play like a typical RB, more like a WR. So isn't there a good chance that he'll age more like a WR? I could see him producing at a similar level to this year for at least 2-3 more years, maybe more.
WR:
Larry Fitzgerald: He's been hampered the past couple of years by horrendous QB play, yet he's still produced in the WR2 range (except for last year). Now that he's 30, many owners will probably want to trade him in. But he's still the guy that other WRs go to work out with in the off-season to take their game to the next level. He's still in awesome shape, has awesome hands, and there's no reason why he won't continue to produce at his current level for the next 5 or 6 years IMO. He'll never go back to being the #1 dynasty WR, but he'll be a steady WR for the next several years.
Marques Colston: He has been one of the steadiest WRs since he joined the league. He's had the knee issues, so many people don't trust him. But many owners would be surprised to know that in eight seasons, he's only played fewer than 14 games once (11 games in 2008). He's hit 70+ catches and 1000+ yards every season other than the 2008 season. He's been down a bit this year, so he may not reach the 70/1000 mark, but he won't be that far off. He should continue to produce at this level for another 2-3 seasons, as long as Brees is still his QB.
Andre Johnson: He's a guy that just continue to put up strong WR1 numbers (in PPR), even though the TDs have never been there. He's not cheap, but he's another one of the players that because of his age, owners trade him for less than he's worth. I think he's got 2-3 more years left. I wouldn't say that he's been under-appreciated over the years, but because of his age, you can probably get him for less than what he's worth.
TE:
Jason Witten: Mr. Reliable. One thing that you can count on is that he's going to play every game, He's been a steady contributor over the years. He's not going to compete with Jimmy Graham, but he gives steady TE1 numbers, and should continue to do that for another couple of years at least.
Greg Olson: Another guy that continues to put up decent numbers. Carolina seems to be a good fit for him, so he should continue to produce at this level.
These are just some of the guys I had in mind. I'd love to hear others' opinions.
And there are some players that, for whatever reason, the fantasy football community never seems to value their production. I'm not talking about the typical "buy low" guys that you believe will produce much more in the future. I mean more of the guys that no one ever seems to value them as their production would merit. I'm also referring to guys that because of their age, their owners will often try to get rid of them when before they have no value.
Here are some guys that always seem to be under-appreciated to me. None of them are going to win your league for you by themselves, but when you compare their level of production for the price that it would take to acquire them, they provide nice depth or situational starts and allow you to use more resources to acquire studs at other positions.
QB:
Eli Manning: The Giants have had a down year, Eli included, but Eli has never been a guy that people would give a lot to acquire, even when he was putting up QB1 numbers. Now, because of him having a down year, you could probably get him for very little. Worst case, he'll probably remain as a high-end QB2, or a good QB to play matchups with as part of a rotation.
Andy Dalton: He seems to be the new Eli. Last year, he finished as a low-end QB1 in only his second year, yet I could hardly give him away in the off-season. This year, he's anywhere from a mid-range QB1 to a low-end QB1, depending on scoring. He's still only 26. Yes, he throws a lot of picks, and his arm isn't the strongest in the league. But the Bengals are winning with him, he has a load of young offensive talent on the team, and I don't see hm going away any time soon.
Alex Smith: I think that Andy Reid got exactly what he wanted in bringing in Smith, and he's responded with a good season, looking like he'll finish right around the QB1-QB2 border area - not bad for a guy that was on many waiver wires at the start of the season. I could see him putting up similar numbers for the next several years.
RB:
Pierre Thomas: He's always put up steady numbers, and many owners believed that he was more talented than Ingram. Still, because of the offense that he plays in, and because of the committee he's a part of, people didn't seem to value him. I picked him up in several leagues at the start of the season off the waiver wire, but looking back at the final results from last season, he was RB32 in one of my leagues. Even with the success he's had this year, I wouldn't expect his price to move up too much.
Danny Woodhead (PPR): Even when he was with the Patriots, he put up steady numbers in PPR. He's been even better this year in San Diego. But I expect that when the all of the shiny new toys (rookies) come around, he will be pretty easy to acquire at a discount.
Darren Sproles (PPR): He's had a down year this year, but he's still RB 20 in PPR. He's been a PPR monster over the years, yet no one would ever pay that kind of price. Now that he's reached the magical age of 30, most of his owners will want to get something for him. But let's face it, he doesn't play like a typical RB, more like a WR. So isn't there a good chance that he'll age more like a WR? I could see him producing at a similar level to this year for at least 2-3 more years, maybe more.
WR:
Larry Fitzgerald: He's been hampered the past couple of years by horrendous QB play, yet he's still produced in the WR2 range (except for last year). Now that he's 30, many owners will probably want to trade him in. But he's still the guy that other WRs go to work out with in the off-season to take their game to the next level. He's still in awesome shape, has awesome hands, and there's no reason why he won't continue to produce at his current level for the next 5 or 6 years IMO. He'll never go back to being the #1 dynasty WR, but he'll be a steady WR for the next several years.
Marques Colston: He has been one of the steadiest WRs since he joined the league. He's had the knee issues, so many people don't trust him. But many owners would be surprised to know that in eight seasons, he's only played fewer than 14 games once (11 games in 2008). He's hit 70+ catches and 1000+ yards every season other than the 2008 season. He's been down a bit this year, so he may not reach the 70/1000 mark, but he won't be that far off. He should continue to produce at this level for another 2-3 seasons, as long as Brees is still his QB.
Andre Johnson: He's a guy that just continue to put up strong WR1 numbers (in PPR), even though the TDs have never been there. He's not cheap, but he's another one of the players that because of his age, owners trade him for less than he's worth. I think he's got 2-3 more years left. I wouldn't say that he's been under-appreciated over the years, but because of his age, you can probably get him for less than what he's worth.
TE:
Jason Witten: Mr. Reliable. One thing that you can count on is that he's going to play every game, He's been a steady contributor over the years. He's not going to compete with Jimmy Graham, but he gives steady TE1 numbers, and should continue to do that for another couple of years at least.
Greg Olson: Another guy that continues to put up decent numbers. Carolina seems to be a good fit for him, so he should continue to produce at this level.
These are just some of the guys I had in mind. I'd love to hear others' opinions.