By: Jay Pounds (@jaypoundsnfl)
Dynasty Owners! It is time to dig through the virtual bargain bin, although surprisingly there are quite a few players available who can be great depth/Bench players for your upcoming playoff push. Typically, we see production on this list dwindling at this point in the season, but the past two weeks have been just the opposite!
Before jumping into this week’s free agents, let’s take a look at a few of my highlights from Week 7. The biggest surprise for me this week is none other than Steve Van Tassell’s Patriots earning a victory over the Buffalo Bills. As of now I have come up with two logical answers for the outcome of this game. The first being Bill Belichick was pissed off about the reports of Robert Kraft being open to firing him, leaving old Bill no choice but to bully his opponent like he was the biggest kid on the playground. The second option is that Josh Allen ($43,005,667) is constantly in his head due to struggles against the Patriots early in his career. I personally hope it is the second option that is true. Do I feel bad for Steve this year? Yes, I do…. just kidding, I hate the Patriots and am enjoying watching them struggle. Sorry Steve, it had to happen eventually!
In other news, P.J. Walker ($2,075,000) is undefeated this season! I know we can’t technically call him 2-0 with Deshaun Watson ($46,000,000) playing three seconds on Sunday but either way, Walker has helped the Browns stay in the playoff hunt. A funny tidbit about the Browns, they could have saved $228 million and had better quarterback play had they kept Joshua Dobbs ($2,000,000) and traded Watson instead.
The last game I want to touch on from Week 7 was yesterday’s game between the 49ers and Vikings. Once again, the 49ers struggled and are now surprisingly on a 2-game losing streak with sophomore sensation, Brock Purdy ($934,252) struggling in both games. Do teams finally have enough tape on Purdy to slow him down, or is he just going through a sophomore slump? Let me know what you think on Twitter/X! Regardless of your answer it is going to be a lot of fun to watch it play out.
If you are new to this series of articles, there is a small list of requirements, with the main one being that the player must be 80% rostered or below in Dynasty Owner. The only other requirement I have is that I would like the player to have a salary of $8,000,000 or less, but I will put a higher salary player on the list if I feel they are worth it. Free Agent Auction bids will process on Wednesday at 5 AM (Eastern) for this upcoming week, so there’s still time to get your bids in for Week 8. The Bid listed below is my recommended amount to secure the player for your Dynasty Owner team in the Wednesday Free Agent Auction run in a typical Dynasty Owner league.
- Darrell Henderson (RB – LAR) – 1 year/$1,053,001 – 38.70% Rostered
Alright, to be honest did you see this coming? Talk about a blast from the past! The Rams brought Darrell Henderson back early last week in a move many thought was virtually emergency depth as the Rams had previously cut Henderson last year and let him walk for nothing. I am sure many of you, like myself, were hoping to see Zach Evans ($993,334) get a shot but it’s Sean McVay and I should have known better. I mean look at Cam Akers ($1,543,259). The good news about this situation is that Henderson is widely available for Dynasty Owners this week and we know he is going to see a bunch of touches over the coming weeks with Kyren Williams ($992,601) being placed on Injured Reserve. In Week 7, Henderson virtually came off the street and was able to rush for 61 yards on 18 carries plus a touchdown and reeled in a pass for 5 yards (13.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). I know those numbers won’t jump off of the page at you, but I am expecting them to get better as Henderson gets his legs back under him. I am sure you all know how thin the running back position is and I think you will see the results of that with the amount that Dynasty Owners are going to bid for Henderson tomorrow. One thing to keep an eye on is the fact the Rams moved Henderson back to the practice squad, but I am certain he will be active again come Sunday!
Bid – $9,000,000 – I know its high, but I believe this is what most will need to secure Henderson this week
2. P.J. Walker (QB – CLE) – 1 year/$2,075,000 – 31.03% Rostered
I am almost never one to knock a player for missing time because of injury but something fishy is happening between Deshaun Watson and head coach Kevin Stefanski. It may just be two guys with big egos, but it seems to be more than that. I have never witnessed a coach throw a star quarterback under the bus so openly before, which leads me to believe the Browns don’t believe Watson is as hurt as he says he is. It is starting to look like Watson got his huge payday and just doesn’t care as much anymore. Am I onto something here, or has Watson just been gone too long to get back to an elite level of play? All of that leads us to why we are here today and that is Watson’s backup, P.J. Walker. I know Walker has not looked good in the two games he has played in, but he is going to be a cheap starting quarterback and like I always say those are gold here on Dynasty Owner. Walker should also have the advantage of knowing he is going to play the entire week versus being thrown in at the last minute or even in the middle of a game. If Walker can come in and get 10-15 Dynasty Owner fantasy points each week he is the starter, he will be a great bye week option for your Bench. If you can’t tell I don’t think Watson will be back anytime soon.
Bid – $6,000,000
3. Kendrick Bourne (WR – NE) – 1 year/$5,000,000 – 77.01% Rostered; Demario Douglas (WR – NE) – 4 years/$993,333 – 49.43% Rostered
Alright, as much as I hate doing it, I had to combine these two players together this week. I have had Patriots occupying too many spots on this list in 2023, but I truly believe both of these guys deserve a spot and the youngster Demario Douglas is a player that needs to be 100% rostered immediately. Douglas is in his rookie season, has produced every time he has been on the field, and has one of the cheaper salaries on the Dynasty Owner platform. If Douglas is able to stay healthy the rest of the fantasy season, he is going to be a steal for whatever Dynasty Owners end up bidding enough to roster him. The second Patriot on this list is our free agent mainstay of the year, Kendrick Bourne. As sad as it is, I believe this will be the last time I am going to be able to write about Bourne as he won’t be eligible for the list next week as he should definitely finally pass the 80% roster threshold when Free Agent Auction bids run. It has been a fun two seasons trying to convince you folks to pick Bourne up and it finally worked. Jokes on you! I am kidding. If the Patriots’ offense can find some consistency, Bourne and Douglas will be solid options moving forward. In Week 7, Bourne finished the day with 7 catches for 63 yards and a touchdown plus a lost fumble (15.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points), while Douglas finished the game with 4 receptions for 54 yards while also carrying the ball once for 20 yards and adding in a 25-yard punt return (12.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points).
Bid – $4,000,000 (Both)
4.Chris Rodriguez (RB – WAS) – 4 years/$1,004,422 – 77.01% Rostered
I am sure Chris Rodriguez making the list last week was a massive surprise to most of you, but nobody listened ,and his roster percentage actually went down slightly. I believe that if you read last week’s article and listened to yours truly, you would be a step ahead of some other Dynasty Owners and happy with Rodriguez by the season’s end. If you remember back a year or two ago, we had this exact situation play out in the Nation’s Capital with current starter Brian Robinson ($1,261,227) and Antonio Gibson ($1,233,159) who just about everyone in the fantasy community was high on. All I am trying to do here is remind everyone that Ron Rivera does not care about a name, he cares about who is most productive and with the Commanders on a losing skid right now it would not surprise me if we saw Rodriguez become the starting running back in the next couple of weeks. In Week 7, Rodriguez had one less carry than Robinson (7 for Rodriguez vs. 8 for Robinson) but gained more yards (31 yards for Rodriguez vs. 23 yards for Robinson) and looked to be the better back. The only worry I have with Rodriguez is the fact I have not seen him used in the passing game much just yet, but that should come with time. As I keep saying the running back position is brutal meaning you must take these types of chances!
Bid – $2,000,000
5.Jauan Jennings (WR – SF) – 1 year/$940,000 – 56.32% Rostered
At this point I don’t know a whole lot about the injury to Deebo Samuel ($23,850,000) but even if he is slated to return soon, I would not trust it. What happens when a star player misses time? Someone else must step up and that player is none other than Jauan Jennings. Jennings has been in the Bay Area for a few years now and seems to be a player who is trusted by his teammates, and it shows anytime he earns a big role. The latest example of this was W 7’s Monday night game between the 49ers and Vikings. In the loss, Jennings stepped up big time earning 9 targets, catching 5 of them for 54 yards (10.4 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). Should Samuel miss any more time, I am expecting Jennings to see numerous targets making him a solid option for a Bench player during bye weeks. As I hinted at earlier, you can likely get away with playing Jennings on your Bench even if Samuel is slated to return in the coming weeks.
Bid – $2,000,000
Thank you all for reading! Be sure to check out all of the upcoming articles from me and Steve plus the Dynasty Owner Livestream, now every Thursday afternoon at 4:00 PM (Eastern). Stay safe out there and good luck on your 2023 Chase for the Ring!