Dynasty Buys for Rebuilding Teams
4 min read
Tua Tagovailoa
Dillion Meaney: @DMeaney9688
Tua should be a guy that you are looking to buy if you are a rebuilding team. He is only 24 years old and entering his 3rd season. He finally has an offensive minded coach that should get the best out of him. Tua put up great numbers at Alabama and was viewed by many as the better option over Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert.
The Dolphins have been doing everything they can to supply him with top tier talent also. They already had one of the best young wide receivers in the league in Jaylen Waddle they just traded for star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, while signing Cowboys breakout wide receiver last year, Cedrick Wilson. They also brought back their tight end Mike Gesicki. They brought in Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert to help solidify the running back room and signed star offensive tackle Terron Armstead to help the offensive line keep him upright.
You can probably get Tua for cheap right now, as I have been seeing him going for a mid-late 2022 1st. I have been seeing many people say that Tyreek Hill’s value should go down because Tua can’t throw the ball farther than 15 yards. That should change this year. Expect big things from Tua and the Dolphins moving forward!
D.J. Moore
If anyone in the league deserves a trial by his peers – its D.J. Moore – due to how criminal his qb play has been the last few seasons. Despite the revolving door at quarterback, Moore has been a consistent yardage producer, and flashes as one of the elite YAC WRs in today’s game. He is also, most likely, the cheapest fringe WR1 you can get in dynasty. Now I know what you’re thinking – “Gross”, right? WRONG::buzzer sounds::..here’s what we know.
The Panthers desperately need a QB, and seemingly have more reason than ever to stop settling for sub-par talent at the NFLs most critical position. D.J. Moore is one of the 10 most athletically talented WRs in the league, and the Panther’s offense in general is chock full of talent making it hard to key in on one guy. Moore has finished as a top 21 WR each season since he has come into the league, and is still only 25 years old. He had a ‘mehh’ season in 2021, but the underlying numbers give us hope. Moore ranked 6th in targets during the this season at 9.5p/g and was 5th in the league with a 28.4% target share. He had 1632 air yards, and a 40% share of his teams air yards – both ranking 5th in the league. Not only that, but he ranks 4th in UNREALIZED air yards. All this goes to say there was a ton of meat left on the bone last year for Moore, and even slightly more competent qb play could vault him into the top 8 at the position.
Trevor Lawrence
Emerson Beery: @dynasty_analyst ECR: QB12 My Rank: QB8
For my rebuilding dynasty buy of the off-season, I’m highlighting 2021 number one overall pick Trevor Lawrence. When I’m acquiring assets for a rebuilding team there are a few qualities I’m looking for. First, I want a player in the first few years of their career. Maybe a player whose value is slightly depreciated based on their immediate situation. Additionally, I want someone who is an ascending asset, who likely won’t lose value for a few seasons. This brings us to Trevor Lawrence, who had an absolutely disastrous start to his career last year. Trevor Lawrence threw merely 12 touchdowns, with 17 interceptions, and had a 33.5 QBR. He ranked near the bottom of the league in almost every statistical category. If any other rookie Quarterback had this type of season, there is a good chance they wouldn’t have gotten another chance. This however is Trevor Lawrence, who came into the league as one of the greatest Quarterback prospects of all time.
What is the reason to be optimistic? Urban Meyer will go down as one of the worst coaches in NFL history. This went from how he treated players, to not knowing who Aaron Donald was (per The Athletic), to behaving inappropriately in bars after losses. Report after report highlighted a coach who was absolutely inept. There are no positive takeaways from Lawrence’s first season as a pro other than a few nice throws. I’m willing to disregard his whole rookie season based on how awful of a coach Urban Meyer was. He was thought to be a John Elway or Peyton Manning like QB prospect. I’m not a pro scout, but I’m willing to bet an early dynasty pick that we aren’t seeing the next Ryan Leaf. Nearly every single evaluator was in awe of Trevor Lawrence just a year ago. Doug Pederson isn’t a “sexy” hire, but he is a Super Bowl winning head coach. He knows how an organization should run, which will give Lawrence the structure he needs to grow. The Jaguars surrounded Lawrence with new, albeit overpaid, free agents this off-season in Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, and Zay Jones. I think we see a vastly improved Trevor Lawrence this year, and I’m buying in leagues I’m not necessarily looking at making a championship run in 2022. The best is yet to come, and a likely mediocre fantasy total this season will help you seal that early 2023 rookie pick.