“Dumpster Diving” is a new series at Dynasty Football Factory that will help you find late-round hidden gems. These players are far from perfect but they are “free” and who doesn’t love free stuff? If something breaks right these players can have a measurable impact on your team(s) and you’ll be the GM with those gems stashed on your bench. If not, you cut bait and move on. You want assets on your team that will appreciate in value and that is the goal with this series. All of these players will be rostered in less than 50% of Sleeper leagues.
Lynn Bowden (Rostered in 18% of Sleeper Leagues)
Bowden is the epitome of this dumpster diving exercise. He is currently being drafted in the 25th round of Dynasty startup leagues. Bowden has solid draft capital as he was selected with the 16th pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Raiders. He had the dreaded “gadget player” label as a prospect. The Raiders couldn’t figure out how best to utilize him in their offense so they traded him to the Dolphins. Now, I need you to do me a favor. Please look at the comp he has on the Player Profiler card below:
Then recall who the Miami Dolphins hired as their new head coach, Mike McDaniel. As the offensive coordinator for the 49ers, McDaniel assisted in Deebo Samuel’s WR3 overall season. Like Bowden, Samuel came into the NFL with the “gadget player” label. McDaniel has been a key architect in designing creative ways to get his playmakers the ball that led to the ascension of Deebo this past season.
Jaylen Waddle is the obvious primary beneficiary of the Dolphins hiring McDaniel. McDaniel has been vocal in his support of Waddle.
Waddle is currently the WR5 on KeepTradeCut.
Waddle will also cost you multiple first-round rookie draft picks to acquire.
Lynn Bowden, on the other hand, is currently the WR124 on KeepTradeCut.
He is available in 82% of Sleeper leagues. If by chance he is not available in your league he costs less than a fourth-rounder to acquire right now.
Bowden had a productive sophomore season for Kentucky with 67 receptions for 745 yards and five touchdowns. During his junior season, he started the first five games of the season as a wide receiver before Kentucky switched him to quarterback. Bowden went on to lead the SEC in rushing posting these gaudy statistics over his last eight games.
| Rushes | Yards | Yards Per Rush | TDs |
| 24 | 196 | 8.2 | 2 |
| 17 | 99 | 5.8 | 0 |
| 21 | 204 | 9.7 | 2 |
| 26 | 114 | 4.4 | 0 |
| 17 | 110 | 6.5 | 1 |
| 11 | 129 | 11.7 | 2 |
| 22 | 284 | 12.9 | 4 |
| 34 | 233 | 6.9 | 2 |
Simply put, Bowden is a playmaker. He can be used in a variety of different positions and formations. McDaniels will be able to line him up in the Wildcat Formation or use him on Jet Sweeps, Screens, and End-Arounds. If you find ways to get the ball in his hands, good things will happen.
In limited action with the Dolphins in 2020, he flashed towards the end of the season being used primarily as a wide receiver. Bowden’s last five games’ statistics are below. Unfortunately, his 2021 campaign was derailed by a hamstring injury that put him on the injured reserve for the entire season.
| Receptions | Targets | Yards | Rushes | Yards |
| 8 | 12 | 44 | 1 | -7 |
| 2 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| 6 | 7 | 37 | 1 | 9 |
| 7 | 9 | 82 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | 4 | 41 | 1 | 11 |
The path to touches is wide open in Miami. If it’s not as a wide receiver, recall that Bowden also has a proven record of success as a rusher. He has similar measurables to McDaniels’ running back last year, Elijah Mitchell. Bowden is 5’11”, 204 lbs., and runs a 4.4 forty-yard dash. Mitchell is 5’10”, 210 lbs., and runs a 4.4 forty-yard dash. The zone scheme McDaniels runs relies on a running back who can make explosive runs and Bowden is more electric than Myles Gaskin or Duke Johnson.
Per NFL.com’s Urban Legend, a personnel executive for an AFC team stated. “A creative coordinator can do a lot with him. If you just line him up at one receiver spot and tell him to learn nine routes, he’s going to struggle some. But if you move him around and feed him a little, find a way to get him some easy touches, he could make a difference right away.”
In summary, I don’t know what Bowden’s role might be. I do know that he is still only 24 years old and is a dynamic playmaker. McDaniel just might be the key to unlocking Bowden’s potential.
I hope you enjoyed reading my article. My goal is to provide actionable advice you can utilize to improve your dynasty team. You can follow me on Twitter @force_fantasy.
