Fantasy Football: Two RB Dynasty Trade Targets to Buy Low
Dynasty leagues are a completely different animal than redraft leagues. There’s an advanced level of strategy, competition, and commitment that is hard to come by in a typical workplace fantasy football league.
If you’ve ever played Dynasty Fantasy Football, you know what I’m talking about. Your time in the offseason is spent researching incoming rookies, listening to as many podcasts as you can and doing whatever you can to get a “leg up” on your league mates.
One of the most crucial parts to succeeding in Dynasty though is to know how to trade. The key is to not only know how to find the right players for your roster, but how to capitalize on value. When you’re able to secure a player on another roster for minimal cost before they breakout, you stand a very good chance at setting your roster up for success for years to come.
With that in mind, here are two running backs to consider targeting in Dynasty leagues this offseason.
Nyheim Hines – Indianapolis Colts, RB
If you play in any sort of PPR format, you know how much of an advantage receiving backs can be in fantasy football. Whether that was Darren Sproles in his hay-day or guys like Tarik Cohen now, there’s a place for them in the NFL and in your fantasy lineups.
One of those players that are not being talked about enough is Nyheim Hines.
5-9 rookie RB on a 5-9 Pro-Bowl DB
The RB Nyheim Hines won against Tyrann Mathieu pic.twitter.com/VmPBWUrZ2B
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 30, 2018
Hines displayed his athleticism at the NFL Combine last year by running a 4.38 40-Yard Dash. His speed and athleticism translated to the field consistently as Hines put up respectable numbers week in and week out for the Colts.
As a rookie, Hines hauled in 63 receptions on 81 targets and was an integral part of the offense. He was such an integral part of the offense that, despite having over $100 million in cap room this offseason, the Colts didn’t go after any big name free agent running backs. They feel comfortable moving forward with Hines and Marlon Mack in that backfield, which is a huge vote of confidence for us as fantasy owners.
Hines is in a dynamic and powerful offense there in Indianapolis and his involvement should only increase as he becomes more and more comfortable with another offseason under his belt. Also, the Colts brought in other options in the receiving game that should only help to open things up and make that offense even more explosive. There’s reason to believe that Hines could see even more than the 81 targets he received last season…
Hines has his role and he’ll be on the field consistently. Building depth on your Dynasty rosters is crucial and Hines is a perfect depth piece that you can feel comfortable rolling out each week as a safe option with scoring upside in the Colts’ offense.
Rashaad Penny – Seattle Seahawks, RB
While Penny is certainly not going to be the cheapest asset to acquire, he is a “buy low” candidate. Last season, Penny was involved in an RBBC (Running Back By Committee) with Chris Carson and Mike Davis. This put a cap on his ceiling due to the number of touches he was going to receive in that offense.
However, we need to remember that the Seahawks invested 1st round draft capital in Penny and he was an extremely productive back at San Diego State University.
#SanDiegoState RB Rashaad Penny showing off his run power. pic.twitter.com/fcFgPgQ8yG
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) October 30, 2017
Penny never fully got the opportunity to shine last season, but that has all changed going into 2019. Penny now shares that backfield with only Chris Carson and oft-injured players like C.J. Prosise and J.D. McKissic. The Seahawks ran the ball a stunning 534 times in 2018 and I expect that number to be around the same this season as well.
This leads to an incredible workload for Penny, even with Chris Carson heavily involved as well. This doesn’t even highlight the fact that Carson has dealt with injuries in the past and could again this season. This would push Penny into top-10 RB consideration on workload alone.
While Penny was a top-five pick in most Dynasty rookie drafts last season, many owners may have soured on him based on the lack of quick return on their investment. There’s a possibility you can acquire Penny cheap before he becomes a steady fantasy contributor in 2019 and beyond.