Dynasty Fantasy Football Buys: 4 Aging Players To Trade For (2026)

April 23, 2026

Aidin's dynasty fantasy football aging players to target in 2026. His top dynasty buys for 2026 fantasy football leagues, including Patrick Mahomes, Terry McLaurin, and more.

Buying aging players is the ultimate risky play in dynasty fantasy football. Sometimes, you trade for a player who declines quickly, but the opposite can happen, too.

It bears repeating thousands of times: you need to take risks in fantasy football. Aging veterans usually have a lower price tag in dynasty leagues compared to younger and unproven talent, and you can add the missing piece for your team if you buy low on a veteran who can play well into his 30s.

Without further ado, let's look at four aging players you should consider buying in dynasty fantasy football ahead of the 2026 season.

Patrick Mahomes - QB, Kansas City Chiefs

Easily the safest buy on this list. Remember when we were all enamored with a sophomore Mahomes? Back when we spent so much time projecting how his career would pan out?

It's safe to say that Mahomes has exceeded all expectations and is still on a GOAT-level trajectory despite a rocky 2025. Mahomes is already considered by many to be a top-five or even top-three quarterback of all time, and even though he'll turn 31 in September, he still has quite a bit of time left to add a few more accolades to his already incredible resume.

Let's compare Mahomes to some of the other "inner circle" greats to see how they performed from the age of 31 to the end of their careers: (per-season stats are based on a 17-game pace).

So on average, this "inner circle" legend past the age of 31 has seven top-10 finishes, four top-five finishes, three top-three finishes, and one overall QB1 finish.

He throws for around 4,500 yards and 33 TDs a year and plays 144 games right before he's 40, which is around nine seasons. So you can get arguably the best QB in the league, who can play for around nine more seasons and be your dynasty QB well into the 2030s for just an early-to-mid 2027 1st round pick? Sign me up.

Of course, the main concerns about Mahomes are his relatively weaker regular-season numbers over the past three years and his current recovery from an ACL injury.

Let's address the latter first. Recent medical advancements have helped quarterbacks make astonishing recoveries from ACL tears, as players such as Joe Burrow, Philip Rivers, and Tom Brady (who, like Mahomes, tore his ACL in his ninth season) have bounced back and looked even better after they recovered.

Although Mahomes is more of an improviser than those players, he doesn't rely on his legs nearly as much as someone like Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson, so he can still thrive as a pure pocket passer.

As for the former, Mahomes averaged over 18.3 fantasy points per game in 2023 and 2024 and was the overall QB2 last year until his injury, putting up 21.1 fantasy points per game.

So his decline is just relative to his own ridiculously high standards; compared to mere mortals, he's still absolutely elite. The Chiefs are also trying to help Mahomes in the second act of his career, as GM Brett Veach and HC Andy Reid are committed to adding weapons in this upcoming draft.

The Chiefs also made the most underrated move of the offseason, firing OC Matt Nagy and bringing back former OC Eric Bieniemy. Mahomes had the best seasons of his career with Bieniemy, and even without Tyreek Hill in 2022, he still won NFL MVP.

Last season, the running game failed to open up any opportunities for Mahomes in the passing game. "We're not getting enough reaction out of [the defense]," Reid said when asked about the Chiefs' play-action passes.

Bieniemy and fellow new addition, Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III, are here to change that. Bieniemy helped the Bears' running game reach new heights last year, as D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai racked up 1,870 yards on the ground.

With a superstar running back, his old play-caller, and a potential star new weapon in the draft, Mahomes could return to his peak in 2026 and stay there for quite a while.

Davante Adams - WR, Los Angeles Rams

After a few years on the dysfunctional Raiders and a turbulent half-season on the even more dysfunctional Jets, Adams needed to end up somewhere with stability.

We ranked Davante Adams 41st, and he's an excellent short-term pickup for contenders!

Players with 11+ receiving TDs from inside the 10-yard-line in a season (since 1978):

13 - Davante Adams, 2019
11 - Davante Adams, 2025

That's the list 🤯 https://t.co/LutKQZU11G

— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) April 17, 2026

Adams joined the Rams as their WR2, and he had one of the best seasons of his career. Despite only recording 789 yards, the lowest single-season mark of his career since 2015, he led the league with 14 receiving touchdowns, tied for the second-most of his career.

11 of Adams' 14 TDs were from inside the 10, which made him the first player to catch 11 TDs from inside the 10 in a season since...himself, when he scored 13 such touchdowns in 2019.

In fact, since red-zone tracking data began in 1978, Davante Adams is the only player in NFL history to catch 11 TDs from inside the 10-yard line in a season, and he's done it twice.

With Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua still by his side, Adams will still rack up TDs for as long as the Rams require him to, making him an excellent win-now dynasty pickup.

Derrick Henry - RB, Baltimore Ravens

Contrary to popular belief, "Father Time" is not undefeated. Tom Brady played at an elite level until he was 45, Jerry Rice had a 1,000-yard season at the age of 40, and the NBA's LeBron James can still score 30 with ease despite being 41.

King’s back at the Castle pic.twitter.com/l5F3sP1hVb

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 6, 2026

You have to be truly legendary to beat "Father Time", but it is technically possible. "Father Time" is especially more brutal when it comes to running backs, as only six RBs have recorded 1,000 rushing yards in their age-32 season. But Henry is no ordinary running back. He is truly legendary.

"King Henry" has run for 1,000 yards in each of the last eight seasons, except for 2021, when he missed significant time due to injury. He has also scored 10+ rushing TDs in all of those seasons, including 2021.

His 1,595 rushing yards last season rank third all-time amongst 31-year-old RBs, and his 1,921 yards in 2024 are the most that any 30-year-old running back has ever put up.

With Jackson either out injured or struggling from Week 6 to Week 18, Henry racked up 1,278 yards and 12 TDs on the ground (5.3 yards per carry) to drag the Ravens to a 7-5 record during that difficult stretch. Unless he gets injured, you should never bet against Henry.

Terry McLaurin - WR, Washington Commanders

Speaking of injuries, the 2025 season was an injury-riddled nightmare for the Washington Commanders. Both McLaurin and Jayden Daniels went down, amongst others.

"This thing's going to be built around, how do we get Terry 10 targets a game?"

Some insight into Blough's offense and the plan to get Terry McLaurin double digit opportunities to make a play. More in writing from @DHarrison82 here: https://t.co/rebWXvJmRk pic.twitter.com/C9pu408nnl

— John Doran (@JohnDoranTV) February 12, 2026

McLaurin put up 5,283 yards and 25 touchdowns in his first five seasons in Washington, despite subpar quarterback play. When he finally got a star QB in 2024 after the team drafted Daniels, McLaurin scored 13 touchdowns, was named a second-team All-Pro, and also finished the year as the standard-format WR5.

Unfortunately, the duo only played in two full games together last season. Despite OC Kliff Kingsbury's departure, new OC and former quarterbacks coach David Blough is optimistic that he can re-ignite Washington's once-explosive offense and get the best out of McLaurin as he enters his age-31 season.

"This thing's going to be built around, how do we get Terry 10 targets a game?" Blough said when talking about his offensive plans. The most targets per game that McLaurin has ever averaged in his career is his 8.93 mark in 2020, and with a healthy Daniels by his side, he can reach those heights once again and stay there for the foreseeable future.

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