Three Dynasty Players to Buy Now, Before Free Agency

It wouldn’t be dynasty fantasy football without a “Buys” article in February, BUT THAT’S WHY WE LOVE IT! We have already seen a significant shake-up in the coaching realm, with many mainstays of the league being kicked to the curb. With those changes come major shifts in team philosophy, and allows us to identify early value pre-free agency.

QB – Bryce Young – Carolina Panthers

There is no arguing that Bryce Young’s 2023 season was horrendous by every metric, especially when put in perspective that the Panthers could have snagged CJ Stroud who just led the league in passing yards per game on the new-look Texans. That said, there are still some glimmers of hope that give me the confidence to try and acquire Young at a discount. The first major change the Panthers have made going into the offseason is the signing of new head coach Dave Canales.

Canales has quite the track record with turning Quarterbacks thought to be dust into borderline all-pros. Most recently he was able to turn the flashes that Baker Mayfield has shown throughout his career into a season in which Mayfield was top 10 in both yards and TDs. Keep in mind that in July of last year, Baker was in a “QB competition” with Kyle Trask from the team’s starting spot. He was an afterthought, turned Pro Bowl QB. Canales was also the QB coach in Seattle when Geno had his miracle season, and what do you know, the season after he left, Geno went back to putting up pedestrian lines.

It is evident from the numbers that Canales is able to elevate his QB’s game. Young now gets a whole offseason to create that mind-meld with Canales and level up his game. The Panthers will also be in the market to sign a top-tier wideout this offseason, which only furthers Young’s potential.

WR – DJ Moore – Chicago Bears

Mr. Consistency. If producing 1,200 and 4 was the name of the game, Moore would be the logo. In his first season with the Bears, Moore posted career highs in yards, receptions, TD’s, and FPPG. More than anything, this season from Moore showed us that his production is inevitable (insert Thanos GIF). He is simply immune to mediocre/below-average QB play. Finishing the season at WR 6 is no small task whilst playing ⅓ of your games with rookie Tyler Bagent under center. No matter the QB, Fields, or Caleb, Moore will produce.

Both his contract and age alone make him an attractive buy, but add that to potentially being tied to Caleb Williams for the foreseeable future and this looks like a no-brainer. KTC currently has Moore valued at WR 17. He is currently ranked behind the likes of Drake London, Devonta Smith, and Tank Dell. Moore feels like a bargain at his current price. To add even more fuel to the fire, Chicago’s new OC Shane Waldron prides himself on opening up explosive down-field plays.

During his 3 years in Seattle the Seahawks ranked 3rd in the league in big passing plays. Moore seems primed to continue his run as “Mr. Consistent”, while also getting more downfield looks. We could see top 5 potential from him in Chicago for the foreseeable future.

TE – Juwan Johnson – New Orleans Saints

While Juwan Johnson may not be the sexiest buy at the position, his second half of the season can not be ignored. After doing nothing, and I mean literally nothing for almost the entire first 2/3rd parts of the season, Johnson put together an impressive 4-game stretch to end the season. During those games, Johnson put up 2 top-5 finishes at the position, as well as 1 top 12 finish.

While limited in size, Johnson showed some real potential in that stretch, the same potential most of us saw entering the 2023 season. Many of us, including myself, bought into Johnson as a speculative buy before this past season, with the hopes that Derek Carr could unlock Johnson, and have him potentially settle into a “Darren Waller lite” role. Many of Johnson’s shortcomings fall onto the shoulders of Carr and the entire New Orleans offense. We all expected more, and we may just get it this upcoming season, as the Saints have just hired former 49ers passing game specialist Klint Kubiak as their new OC.

Kubiak is fresh off a season in which the 49ers were fourth in passing offense and second in passing touchdowns. Bringing in an element of the Kyle Shanahan offense will surely expand the Saint’s playbook, adding in some more motion to open up favorable matches for Johnson. Before the likes of Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, it was George Kittles’ offense. The looks and matchups he would get in this system were extremely favorable and would oftentimes leave him in blatant mismatches with linebackers.

I’m not saying that I expect a George Kittle-esk season out of Johnson, but with his WR-like athletic ability, I do expect a major bounce back, and see him as a screaming buy at his current TE 31 price tag on Keep Trade Cut.

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