By: Jay Pounds (@jaypoundsnfl)
Dynasty Owners, can you believe we are just a couple of weeks away from playoff time? In a perfect world, everyone would have already secured their playoff berth but unfortunately for Dynasty Owners, this isn’t fantasy land, and the reality is we have 11 losers per league every season. If you are worried that your team is going to be one of those 11 losers, have no fear as there is still production available in the Free Agent Auction!
Before I give all of you some of the (hopefully) best advice you will ever receive let’s review some of my takeaways from Week 12. If you had to pick today who would be your Super Bowl matchup? In all honesty, I don’t know how you can pick anything other than a rematch from last season. The Eagles and Chiefs both have fairly glaring weaknesses on their roster, but both have looked dominant and even when they haven’t, they have found ways to win football games this season. I know I have been a big advocate for C.J. Stroud ($9,069,811) to receive MVP votes this season and I still stand firm on that, but I believe the award is clearly Jalen Hurts’ ($1,506,293) to lose at this point. In Week 12, Hurts magic was on full display once again as he led the Eagles to an overtime win against the now 6-6 Buffalo Bills.
What has happened to the Buffalo Bills? The Bills were a popular pick to win the Super Bowl this season and they now find themselves sitting in 10th place in the AFC and outside of a Miami Dolphins collapse, they will be fighting for a wild card spot. A huge disappointment no matter how you look at it. At this point I believe Sean McDermott needs a deep playoff run and possibly a Super Bowl appearance to see another season in Buffalo.
In other news, the Panthers fired head coach Frank Reich. Reich now becomes the second coach to be let go during the 2023 season and I have a feeling we will see one or two more before Week 18 arrives.
The last team I would like to talk about is the Lions, who started out hot and have struggled quite a bit over the past few weeks against below average competition. The Lions are still sitting pretty in their division, but they must start playing better if they want to have a shot at making a deep playoff run this season, which I am hoping for. It would be a really cool moment to see the Lions in a Super Bowl.
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 13. 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.
- Jake Browning (QB – CIN) – 1 year/$750,000 – 73.56% Rostered
I must say I was rather impressed with Browning in his first ever NFL start against a tough Steelers’ defense. After watching the game, I became so intrigued that I started doing some digging on Browning and I came away extremely impressed. Browning was a highly coveted recruit coming out of high school where he won multiple state titles, two Gatorade Player of the Year awards, set state and national records for touchdowns scored in a career at 229, and set the record for the most single season passing yards in California state history at 5,790 yards while also setting the touchdown record with 91 in his senior season. Browning committed to Washington, was the starting QB as a true freshman, and led them to the College Football Playoff in his sophomore season. Injuries would set him back for years leading him to go undrafted, but his hard work has paid off and I would not be surprised to see him play at an above average level the rest of the season. If Browning can realize his true potential, he could quickly become a viable fantasy option with the supporting cast he has at his disposal in Cincinnati.
Bid – $5,000,000
- Tommy DeVito (QB – NYG) – 1 year/$901,667 – 82.76% Rostered
I know I know; I am cheating on this one. Crucify me if you will, but the quarterback position is in a bad place right now and some Dynasty Owners likely need all the help they can get. In Week 12, DeVito did not have a glamorous game, but he finished with 12.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (191 passing yards, 6 rushing yards, 1 TD, 2 fumbles – 1 lost) against a Bill Belichick coached defense. I know the Belichick mystique doesn’t carry the same weight these days, but I assure you it is no small feat to win a game as a rookie quarterback against The Hoodie! DeVito has been surprisingly benchable (is that even a word?) since Week 10 against the Cowboys. I say benchable because DeVito is the perfect Dynasty Owner Bench option for anyone who has lost depth at the quarterback position and cannot afford another big name. In my opinion, DeVito is an excellent option as he has an extremely cheap salary, only one year remaining on his contract leaving you with great flexibility, and has scored double digit Dynasty Owner fantasy points in each of the past four weeks. What I am trying to say here is that Tommy DeVito should be much closer to 100% rostered here on Dynasty Owner. He may even be better than Daniel Jones ($40,000,000) already!
Bid – $5,000,000
- Greg Dortch (WR – ARI) – 1 year/$1,010,000 – 70.5% Rostered
I am not sure why people are still sleeping on Greg Dortch! Dortch has been fantastic more times than not when he is on the field with quarterback Kyler Murray ($46,100,000). With his quarterback back at his side, Dortch has posted back-to-back double-digit Dynasty Owner fantasy point games and found the end zone in Week 12 despite the Cardinals struggling most of the game. Dortch was once again one of the target leaders for the Cardinals with 9, and trailed only Marquise Brown ($13,413,000) who received a whopping 12 targets. The Cardinals and more specifically Greg Dortch will see easier competition the rest of the way. I don’t say that because the Rams have an elite defense these days, I say that because no matter who the Rams have on the field, they always seem to dominate the Red Birds. I highly recommend grabbing Dortch now, he is one big game or injury away from being rostered in most Dynasty Owner leagues.
Bid – $3,000,000
- Royce Freeman (RB – LAR) – 1 year/$1,080,000 – 73.95% Rostered
The last two spots on this list were definitely tough, but easy decisions. Allow me to explain, I always try to put at least one player from each position on my Free Agent Auction targets list and while there are no better options than Freeman available at running back, it still feels gross putting him on here simply because of the game script the Rams found themselves in. With that said the Rams used Freeman’s teammate, Kyren Williams ($992,601), a ton and I am not so sure Williams will hold up long while getting 20 plus touches per game. Even with Williams seeing a total of 22 touches in Week 12, the Rams still found a way to get Freeman involved to the tune of 13 carries for 77 yards and 1 touchdown (13.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). It appears the Rams have a ton of faith in Freeman and apparently you should too. At worst, Freeman is someone you want to stash on your practice squad and hope for the best. Freeman is a cheap handcuff who will see some type of volume each and every week. You can never have enough of these players on your roster with the fantasy football playoffs right around the corner.
Bid – $3,000,000
- Tyler Conklin (TE – NYJ) – 2 years/$6,750,000 – 58.62% Rostered
Another week, another Tyler Conklin appearance. Tyler Conklin has slowly worked his way into the top 20 tight ends this season and he has done that despite having a slow start, missing a game to injury, and already having his bye week. He has also worked with high school level quarterback play for all but a couple of snaps this season. I am sure all of you have heard the rumors about Aaron Rodgers ($37,500,000) possibly returning in Week 14, just in time for the Dynasty Owner playoffs. I read somewhere (sorry no link) that Rodgers was feeling bad about letting the Dynasty Owners down who drafted Garrett Wilson ($5,138,502) in the first round (ADP 9.1). According to Rodgers, this is what has fueled his goal to return this season instead of waiting for 2024! Hey those are Aaron Rodgers’ words not mine, don’t shoot the messenger. The only thing I can take away from all of this is that if Tyler Conklin can play well with a combination of Zach Wilson ($8,787,670) and Tim Boyle ($1,155,000) at quarterback, I like his chances when/if Rodgers returns. If Rodgers does not return, Conklin is still a great depth/Bench option if you have the salary cap space.
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 weekly Dynasty Owner Livestream. Stay safe out there and good luck on your 2023 Chase for the Ring!