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Dynasty football league owners should be looking for buy-low trade values in the offseason. Aaron Schillinger looks at the wide receiver position to see which WR could be worth trading for ahead of the 2019 NFL season.
In this article on dynasty wide receivers to buy low for the 2019 season, I'm going to cover some players that struggled in 2018.
These players are either likely to step into larger roles in 2018 or potential breakout candidates. With free agency just around the corner, followed by the NFL Combine, and then the NFL Draft, this is the perfect time to buy low on some receivers before their value spikes.
Whether that be in the pre-season or in the 2019 season, here are some wide receivers I'll be buying before the 2019 season.
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Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants
Coming off what has been viewed by many as a 'down' season for Odell Beckham Jr., this is one of the few times that you'll be able to take advantage of his current price tag. Finishing as the WR14 in PPR scoring in 12 games last year is nothing to ignore. Whether the reason be Eli Manning or his flamboyant personality, many owners are down on him. I'm not counting on him being traded, but there have been rumors going around and it wouldn't be completely out of the question if it happened. This isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Since entering the league in 2014, only four players have posted 40+ touchdowns in the NFL. One of them is Beckham, and he's done it in 59 games. The next closest name on that list is Antonio Brown, who has put up 59 touchdowns over 76 games. According to RotoBaller's Dynasty rankings, he is still the consensus WR2 behind DeAndre Hopkins, but that doesn't do justice regarding value many owners have on him. If you spend much time on Twitter, you've probably seen him being compared to Tyreek Hill or JuJu Smith-Schuster as far as value in dynasty goes. As someone who has such a high price tag, it can be difficult to obtain him. However, if you're in a league that you don't own him, this is a great time to go out and see if you can't obtain him at a discount.
Tyrell Williams, Free Agent
The wide receiver position is far from interesting this year as far as free agency goes. One of the top names on the list of free agents is Tyrell Williams. The former Charger has been consistently taking a backseat to the rest of the skill players on the offense. His best season to date was in 2016 where Keenan Allen played in just one game and his only real competition at the wide receiver position was Travis Benjamin, who finished the year with 677 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Williams' 2016 season was the only one we've seen him as the WR1 on an NFL team and he finished with 69 grabs on 119 targets, with 1,059 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. It's safe to say, we've seen that he is more than serviceable and can fill in when needed.
As one of the top options at the wide receiver positions heading into free agency, Williams will likely end as the WR2 on whatever team signs him. I don't expect a big payday, as he really hasn't done a ton to prove himself outside of his 2016 season, even that wasn't anything to write home about. The point here is you should be buying him as someone who just turned 27, has plenty of football ahead of him, and will likely land somewhere where he can put up fantasy numbers. As someone who just finished as the WR48 in PPR scoring, this could be a great time to buy him for cheap. If your opponents have been on top of things, they may be well aware of the potential opportunity for Williams. There's still time to buy low on him before he signs somewhere and his price goes up.
Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
If you're in an active dynasty league, this one may be a little tougher to pull off. Chris Godwin is entering his third season in the league with the Buccaneers. With Bruce Arians coming into town, it sounds like the plan is to plug Godwin into the slot receiver role. This is great news for those of you who drafted him or own him. For those of you who don't, now is the time to grab him before his value goes up. I fully expect him to break out in 2019 as the slot role will give him enough targets and receptions to make him usable in fantasy.
With someone like Mike Evans opposite of Godwin, O.J. Howard, and potentially DeSean Jackson returning, you may be able to buy him with the idea that everyone on that offense can't be successful. As the WR34 in PPR scoring in 2018, some owners may also be getting impatient with Godwin. Entering his third season, he has an excellent opportunity in 2019 and beyond in that high-powered passing offense. Arians has a history of heavily utilizing his slot receivers, see Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona, and that's where Godwin fits. Some fantasy owners aren't crazy about Evans and if you're one of them, then Godwin is the much cheaper way of getting a piece of that offense.
Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks
Doug Baldwin is the least-likely player worth buying low while you can before the 2019 season. Finishing as the WR46 in PPR scoring in 2018 and dealing with injuries throughout the year, Baldwin has been getting a ton of disrespect lately. The Seahawks ran the ball an absurd amount in 2018 as well, which also didn't help him much as well as Tyler Lockett putting up 10 touchdowns.
Baldwin is 30 years old and will enter his ninth season in the NFL in 2019. If you're looking for someone to invest in as a long-term option for your dynasty teams, he isn't the answer. On the other hand, if you're a contender looking for some depth and upside at a low cost for a squad ready to win now, Baldwin is absolutely worth buying. As the WR32 in FantasyPros' dynasty rankings and the number 78 overall player, he's being seriously undervalued. For what it's worth, I've never been a huge fan of him and haven't owned many shares on my personal dynasty leagues. Any time a receiver of this caliber is being valued so low, it's worth looking into. I'd look to float some offers out there involving some later rookie draft picks if you aren't in the midst of a rebuild.
