Welcome back to the Dynasty Vet Values series, where I cover veteran players who are excellent targets for your contending teams based on current Dynasty market value. We all know youth and longevity are essential to remain competitive in Dynasty and these guys can be some of the more important targets in Daily Fantasy NFL. But, at the end of the day, the ultimate goal is to win fantasy championships, and sometimes that means acquiring that “win-now” asset who may be past his prime. I put out a new article biweekly for this series, so be sure to stay tuned as the season progresses!
I’ll be using KeepTradeCut to determine each player’s current market value, as this is a crowdsourced Dynasty ranking site, so it gives us a great idea of where the community stands.
Jakobi Meyers (WR – LV)
KTC Rank: WR57
Given his situation in Las Vegas, Jakobi Meyers has never been a better value for contending rosters. Davante Adams was recently traded to the New York Jets to reunite with his old quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, leaving Jakobi Meyers as the only wide receiver with an actual NFL resume in Las Vegas. We saw the result of this lack of target competition in Week 9 against Cincinnati, as Meyers led the team with targets (11), receptions (8), and receiving yards (105), racking up 18.5 PPR points. Meyers earned .28 targets per route run this past weekend and has earned nine or more targets in four of his last five games.
Meyers is the type of player we can put in our flex with confidence for the rest of this season, as the target share he’ll demand gives him an extremely high floor. Meyers has WR2 upside ROS, making his WR57 Dynasty price tag an excellent value for those teams competing for a 2024 championship. Jakobi is valued right in line with a late 2026 2nd round pick, so the cost of entry is very affordable.
Rico Dowdle (RB – DAL)
KTC Rank: RB45
The Dallas Cowboys are in shambles this season, having lost their last three games and currently sitting at 3-5 overall (0-3 in the NFC East). To add to their struggles, Dak Prescott suffered a hamstring injury this past weekend and is a potential candidate for the IR. Cooper Rush is next in line, but expectations for this Dallas offense have to be low.
This feels like a great time to put some feelers out for starting RB Rico Dowdle. He is coming off an impressive 21.7 PPR performance in Week 9, so if the Dowdle owner plans to use this to price gouge you, I’d hold off. But for market price, Dowdle feels like an excellent buy. He’s currently listed as the Dynasty RB45, in line with an early 2025 3rd. Dowdle is essentially the only running back on this team that can be relied on, with the only other active RBs being Hunter Luepke, Deuce Vaughn, and a washed-up Ezekiel Elliott. Dalvin Cook has been sent back to the practice squad and is a non-factor regardless.
This is Rico’s backfield, and what excites me most is his role as a pass-catcher. Dowdle has seen six targets in each of the past two games and five or more targets in four of seven games. He should continue to be relied on heavily by Cooper Rush in the passing game moving forward, as Dallas projects to be in more negative game scripts. I wouldn’t spend a 2nd round pick on Dowdle, as he almost certainly won’t have a starting NFL role in 2025, but if you can get him for a 3rd on a contending team or even a 3rd and 4th, I’d be all for that.
T.J. Hockenson (TE- MIN)
KTC Rank: TE7
T.J. Hockenson officially returned to the field after his ACL and MCL tear in December. As expected, Hock was on a snap count in Week 9, seeing just 45% of the snaps. He finished the night with a modest four targets, three receptions, and 27 yards. Hockenson is currently valued as the TE7 on KTC, after Sam LaPorta, Kyle Pitts, George Kittle, and Dalton Kincaid. I’d prefer Hockenson over all of these guys in Dynasty, but if you can get a significant plus on top, that’s even better. We’ve seen Hockenson perform at a high level, finishing as the TE4 and TE2 from a PPG perspective in the past two seasons. He’s on an above-average offense, with the Vikings currently ranked 8th in PPG and 12th in pass yards per game.
You’ll still need some patience here; Hockenson probably won’t be back to his full workload until Week 11 or 12. But if you are looking for a league-winning tight end to enter into the fantasy playoffs with, Hock’s price tag is highly palatable. He’s currently valued around a late 2027 1st or an early 2025 2nd. If I can send a couple of 2nds on my contending rosters for Hockenson, I’m pulling the trigger. He’s a quality target for all roster types; I’d also be looking to acquire him on my rebuilding rosters.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I hope you got some valuable information you can use for your fantasy team! If you’d like additional insight into Dynasty Football news and analysis, please follow me on Twitter at @jim_DFF. Until next time, keep grinding out there, DFF family! #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding
