After seven months without any real, hard data, Week 1 can hit like a head rush of validation — or acute disappointment.
I like going trade hunting this time of year. The season's first wave of box scores can generally be counted on to throw the dynasty economy into upheaval and quickly change the calculus of teams that had or hadn't intended to be contenders. It's a good time of year for a savvy fantasy football GM to be working the phones.
Whether you're trying to exploit the emotional swing of a league mate or just shopping for guys to include in larger swaps, here are some names that I think represent some value gain potential, either immediate or long-term.
Running Backs
Tony Pollard: In an offense everyone's been backing away from since really the open of training camp, Pollard is about as unsexy as it gets: Going on 30, terrible offense, and multiple running backs on rookie deals trying to leapfrog him. But the fact is that they probably won't, and this new Saleh-Daboll regime will likely realize making any progress on offense is going to mean leaning hard on their best players. Pollard is one of them, having quietly kicked in 2100 yards rushing and 75 receptions over his first two seasons in Nashville. Nice RB3 insulation to tack on if your team is poised to make a run.
Kimani Vidal: Adding running backs that can help you right now for cheap is always tough in dynasty, and almost always means going with an older one. On the field for a small handful of snaps in the season opener, Vidal clearly isn't helping anybody anytime soon. But injuries to either of the two running backs ahead of him would get him back in the rotation in a hurry. This one's definitely about the future: Vidal's been pretty decent when given the opportunity, and good players have a way of finding more of those.
Rico Dowdle: Surprisingly poor first showing for Dowdle, who averaged less than 2 yards per carry and was outgained by running mate Jaylen Warren 73-21 in his Steelers debut. This disparity seems to have thrown a bigger shock into the market than I expected, so I think Dowdle can be scooped from some spooked owners out there. I'm not close to backing down on Dowdle being the main guy here.
Tank Bigsby: A guy who should have had a real crack at being a starter somewhere for more than a week or two by now, Bigsby's just had bad luck: Drafted into the tail end of the Trent Baalke era in Jacksonville behind the established Travis Etienne, then shipped to Philly to be Saquon insurance. In the final year of his rookie contract, Bigsby is a great candidate to be in the mix to start somewhere next summer. Going to be hard to pry away if he's in the possession of your league's Barkley owner, but if you've got a thin and/or aging situation at running back Bigsby is the right kind of bet to place.
Kendre Miller: Speaking of Etienne backups, Miller's another one whose rookie deal will be up in the spring. Injuries have obviously been a constant and serious problem for Miller, but he's only freshly 24 and has flashed as both a tackle breaker and a receiver. He ran Zach Evans completely out of town for the Horned Frogs as a 19-year-old. Point blank, get him rostered and cross those fingers his injury luck finally turns.
Jordan James: 'Buy the cheapest 49er running back' is a strategy with a low success rate — but when it does hit, hits hard. With all the clamoring and waiver wire bidding wars over Kaelon Black, James has quickly fallen by the wayside in people's minds and rosters. But the 49ers are as fickle as the breeze with running backs not named McCaffrey — and Black just had the dreaded mid-week injury report appearance. Hanging out on the waiver wire in some leagues, throw an add or a trade offer at this kid and see what happens. He's 22 and the 49ers were rumored to be pleased with him heading into 2026.
Wide Receivers
Malik Washington: Kind of a similar effect at play for Washington, who's suddenly veteran non grata with Caleb Douglas sucking up absolutely all the oxygen. The Douglas lovefest is enough to make a lot of people ignore the fact that Washington drew a whopping 30 percent target share last weekend, on top of his strong work as Miami's kick and punt returner. Still only 25, this Washington has a real path to being something like the Parker Washington of 2026: An overlooked special teams ace who finally forces the issue in year 3 with a new coaching staff.
Rashod Bateman: Look, I don't like it any more than you do. It feels like Rashod Bateman has been around for at least a decade already, and we're well past the point where there's any real hope of a breakthrough. But the circumstances here are hard to overlook: Baltimore looks like they could once again field a top offense, and they just lost youngster Ja'Kobi Lane for several weeks, with Zay Flowers no sure thing to play again in September. A dirt-cheap buy in this offense that is now staring upwards of a half dozen targets per week in the face for any period of time is noteworthy for the receiver-strapped.
Marvin Harrison: Time to go big game hunting. Kicking off year 3 with a dud seems to finally have some Harrison holders ready to cut their losses and ship him out. If your dynasty roster is in rebuild mode and you have a 'win now' type of guy to offer for him (Mike Evans and DJ Moore come to mind), Harrison is a great bet for long-term value recovery.
Jordyn Tyson: Nobody likes trading for hurt players, particularly ones that have earned the 'injury prone' label like has Tyson. But if somebody is spooked and will give you Tyson for Caleb Douglas and an add-on, don't commit the sin of overthinking.
Jerry Jeudy: Another groan-inducing name here, but those are the kinds you're going to see in a 'buy low' list. Few players in fantasy football are less coveted than Jeudy at this point: In a year and change he's been reduced from Cleveland's clear WR1 to an afterthought. But Jeudy is a bonafide route eater that will undoubtedly be on the move between now and the NFL trade deadline. No way to know where he'll be shipped, but does it matter? Anywhere is better than being a forgotten man in the Cleveland offense.
Roman Wilson: I'm looking to buy on Steelers, as you'll see again before we're through here. When Pittsburgh drafted Germie Bernard that was plug-pulling time for Wilson owners all over this great land, and rightfully so. But despite some preseason gaffes Wilson (who has since swapped the number 10 in the above image for 14, worn last year by Kenneth Gainwell) clearly won Pittsburgh's No. 3 receiver job out of camp, playing 55 percent of Pittsburgh's plays against Atlanta (Bernard: 4 percent). Moreover, his 6 targets were second on the team and included a 50-yard pass into his belly in the endzone. The catch did not survive the ground; more bad luck for Wilson, but had he caught it the buy low window here might already be sliding closed.
Whereas the Tomlin-Arthur Smith regime seemed bound and determined not to use the former Wolverine, this new coaching staff seems to feel quite differently. If you once had room in your heart for Wilson, consider making room on your bench one last time. Small bonus: Michael Pittman is already dealing with a foot injury that will likely cost him at least one game.
Tight Ends
George Kittle: Returning from an Achilles rupture and soon to be 33 years old, there are plenty of Kittle owners out there that are ready to call it a day. While it is true that it's better to get out a year too early than a year too late, I'm personally willing to make an exception for Kittle: We tend to discount the longer shelf lives of tight ends in fantasy, and Kittle in particular strikes me as a good bet to withstand the wane in athleticism that comes with age longer than most. The next few weeks could certainly be rocky, but if Kittle returns to form for the stretch run and continues being a difference maker for another 2-3 seasons I won't be the least bit surprised.
Hunter Henry: With the buzz around big youngster Eli Raridon, what enthusiasm there was for Henry in dynasty has largely dried up. It's enough to make you forget that New England just gave him a pretty decent contract extension; sure looks like Henry's the guy here for another couple years. With A.J. Brown now laid up, probably some red zone opportunities are now heading back Henry's way for the next little while — an added bonus for buying now.
Brock Bowers: Extreme wishful thinking here, but somewhere out there is a small handful of Bowers owners that would trade him for Dalton Kincaid straight up right now if they could. Who's to say one of them isn't in your league? Better check, just in case.
Quarterbacks
Aaron Rodgers: Our Steelers' triple play is complete with Rodgers, whose pedestrian 221 yards passing and 1 TD against Atlanta completely bely what actually happened in this game. Rodgers lost easily another 150 yards on drops, narrow misses and a couple of really irritating offensive pass interference penalties from DK Metcalf. He should have hung close to 400 yards on the still crummy Falcons' secondary.
I thought it all summer, I still think it now: This offense should exceed expectations, and an artificially weak first showing creates a lot of opportunity to bet on them to do exactly that. At 43 years old, there probably isn't a cheaper starting quarterback in superflex this side of 'Kirko Chainz'. If you're shorthanded at quarterback, pony up the 3rd round pick or hype-y rookie it takes to peel him off and enjoy what should be steady QB2 production.
Jayden Daniels: Some more big game hunting, especially in superflex/2-QB formats. The mood has been pretty tepid on JD5 this summer; partially because of his cringe-inducing protest of LSU not retiring his number, partially because the Commanders looked terrible in the preseason. But Daniels market is down pretty significantly from where it sat just 21 months ago, when he had rocketed all the way to dynasty QB1 status on the strength of his Rookie of the Year 2024. He still ain't cheap, but having slid out of the top tier of dynasty quarterbacks he's currently a good deal cheaper than Lamar Jackson — despite being several years younger. Classic 'he may never be this cheap again' buy window.
Cam Ward: Now we arrive at a true riverboat gambler proposition. After a dismal preseason for the whole team and a deeply concerning Week 1 performance, just about every soul in dynasty is walking sideways on Ward at market. But that market price is also eroding fast: He's being moved for names like Kyler Murray, Bryce Young, DK Metcalf — Chris Rodriguez! Panic selling is afoot, which means those willing to subject themselves to the risk can score a potentially screaming deal on the sophomore that Tennessee still hopes is their franchise quarterback. For now.
Jordan Love: Love is currently regarded as a true QB2 in fantasy, but the Packers are signaling the kind of offensive shift that could change that fact. With a lot of buzz in fantasy circles for all three of his primary pass catchers, it stands to reason there should be some for Love as well. He's not cheap, so the value gain may not be huge here, but the risk is also super low.
Michael Penix: Cam Ward not quite risky enough for ya? You want a player who could approach near-zero value before New Year's? I've got just the guy for you.
Simply put, things are messed up in Atlanta right now. Tua Tagovailoa is basically pulling a Milton from Office Space, where Atlanta has functionally already fired him but hasn't made it official because... well, they're the Falcons, so it may be as simple as a payroll glitch. With Penix apparently still skittish about returning from his third(!) ACL tear before he's absolutely sure he's ready, Atlanta marches into battle with the (injured, great!) Cooper Rush this weekend. Futility will surely follow.
It certainly feels like this marriage is already doomed, but if Penix finally decides to take the field in the next couple of weeks there is still a chance that he stabilizes enough for Atlanta to not use their first pick in next year's draft on a quarterback. It is of course a very small chance, but in dynasty sometimes the longshot is the right bet to place. If your league's Penix owner is ready to be done with this nightmare and you've got the roster elasticity to take him on, in superflex formats it's not the worst lottery ticket in the world.
Kirk Cousins: He's the cheapest 'real' starting quarterback in football (don't talk to me about Rush, Drew Lock or Carson Wentz), and that alone is enough to hold a certain charm in 2-QB leagues. Scoring is way up to start 2026, and one of the main reasons is a renaissance in quarterbacks taking snaps from under center. Cousins' comfort operating with his mitts in the center's undercarriage is why Kubiak couldn't justify breaking camp with Mendoza as the starter, and it could keep Cousins on the field for a month or two. Obviously you aren't going to make it far in life with him in your starting lineup even in superflex leagues, but he can be a cheap bridge for teams that started hotter than expected while they figure out if they're for real or not.
—Luke Wilson
