So, it’s come to this. You’re a Dynasty manager, and you thought you knew what you were doing. You felt great about where things were headed. Suddenly, you look up and see that you’re nowhere near a championship. Even worse, you’re stuck in the middle of the standings-good enough to maybe make the playoffs, but not realistically capable of taking the Chip. Maybe your roster was built on players aging out of their roles. Perhaps you had terrible injury luck with formerly big names. Maybe Andrew Luck retired on you and Deshaun Watson went for a massage (every 15 minutes, apparently.) Either way, your roster and draft status are lacking and the future looks farther away than ever before. You’re no quitter, but it’s time to hit the “Reset” button. Here, we’ll discuss some Dynasty rebuild wide receiver targets to get you back on track sooner rather than later.

Note: All fantasy point totals and rankings are PPR unless otherwise noted.

Dynasty Rebuild Wide Receiver Target: Jaylen Waddle

Last year’s overall WR13 as a rookie, Jaylen Waddle looked poised for a hostile takeover of the AFC East for years to come. He garnered almost twice as many targets (141) as the second leading wideout in Miami (Devante Parker-73) and ranked 10th in the league among wide receivers in that category. Waddle had 104 receptions for over 1,000 yards and added seven touchdowns to boot. There was every reason to believe he would be Tua Tagovailoa‘s top target for as long as Tua could hang on to the gig. Then, the Dolphins shocked the world by trading for Tyreek Hill. Waddle went from sure-fire WR1 candidate to the presumed second option on his own team.

Hill’s presence isn’t necessarily ideal for Waddle’s immediate fantasy prospects. But it doesn’t kill them by default, either. Teams will have to decide which of the two to cover, and the smart money is on Hill, He of the other-worldly speed. Waddle one-on-one should thrill the Dolphins and fantasy managers. If Tua can just not muck the whole thing up, Waddle could (should) thrive alongside Hill. Either way, Waddle is a young stud. Dynasty rebuilds are about acquiring young, up-and-coming talent alongside established upside star players. In Waddle, you get both. Hill’s presence, along with an interesting injury situation this preseason, may mean you can get Waddle for a relative discount in trades. It’s worth floating an idea to the Waddle owner in your league to get the ball rolling.

Dynasty Rebuild Target: Josh Palmer

Josh Palmer is a perfect Dynasty target. He’s young (only 22) and in a great situation. His quarterback is also young, so they can grow together, and it’s a high-volume passing offense. He’s currently third on the depth chart behind two top-20 Dynasty options in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Allen is 30, and the Chargers can save a ton of cap space for relatively little dead cap hit after this season. Williams is not as easily discarded and is still young enough to have several years left in Los Angeles. But you’re looking at a player who could step into a starting role as early as next season for an offense with two WR1 fantasy options. That’s ignoring the possibility of an injury thrusting him into the role sooner. A look at his underlying numbers and his measurables gives one the impression of a young Allen.

Palmer has been a bit of a preseason darling in fantasy circles among those in the know. Now you’re one of those. Here’s hoping the Palmer manager in your league isn’t. You may have to pay more of a price for him than most third-string NFL wideouts, but I expect Palmer to pay that off in spades going forward. Try floating a third round rookie pick for him. A running back like Damien Harris or Melvin Gordon or an older wideout like Robert Woods could get the conversation started as well. Remember, in a rebuild, you’re looking for young pass-catchers and quarterbacks first. Use your running back names and older pass-catchers to get them.

Bonus Tip: Many of these same arguments can be made for Palmer’s teammate Jalen Guyton at an even better price. Giggity.

Dynasty Rebuild Wide Receiver Target: D.K. Metcalf

Here’s a name that may seem unrealistic at first. Metcalf is an established star in the league and may seem unreachable in trade talks. Here’s where your skills as a negotiator come into play. Getting Metcalf is going to cost you. Embrace that, but understand this is a player worth the cost. Rebuilding is about gaining assets, which means draft capital, youth and talent. But it’s not about youth at all costs. Metcalf is young talent and a known commodity. Don’t shy away from using some of your precious draft capital to acquire him. We don’t know who you’ll get with that pick, but we do know who and what you’re getting in D.K. The difficulty is that the Metcalf manager in your league probably knows that as well.

I’ve said before that I think Metcalf’s skill set is a bit “quarterback-proof” in that he’s big, fast, and strong. He wins routes and beats defensive backs for the ball. But he’ll be catching passes from Geno Smith and possibly Drew Lock for at least this season. Use that to your advantage in trade talks. I don’t know the rosters or managers in your league. Hopefully you do. If Metcalf is on a contending or middling-level team, try to talk that owner into a veteran you have who could help them “win now”. If you’re in a SuperFlex league, see if Metcalf’s manager would take an older quarterback (Tom Brady? Aaron Rodgers?) and a second round pick for him. You may have better luck with this if you give it some time this season. Let the Metcalf manager sweat a couple of less-than-stellar Geno Smith-led games, then pounce.

Dynasty Rebuild Target: Donovan Peoples-Jones

The Cleveland Browns are no one’s idea of a feared passing attack. Possessed of one of the league’s deepest and most effective running back corps, as well as an elite offensive line, the Browns are content to run the ball down just about everyone’s throats and take their chances. Of course, that was before the Deshaun Watson trade. Whatever else they may have in Watson, the Browns now have a legitimate elite player at the quarterback position, capable of taking their passing game from afterthought to deadly weapon status. Shortly before the Watson trade, Cleveland acquired star wideout Amari Cooper in a separate trade with the Dallas Cowboys. Coach Kevin Stefanski and General Manager Andrew Berry appear serious about revamping the Browns’ pass attack into an actual attack. One player who stands to benefit in that retooling is third-year wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones.

DPJ has had a modest start to his NFL career, and as such, is not on a lot of fantasy managers’ radars as a potential difference maker. But he’s been pretty efficient from a fantasy-scoring standpoint. He makes catches downfield and finds the endzone even with heretofore limited opportunities. Now, he brings his 18.8 Yards Per Reception career average to the number two role on a team that will (eventually) have Watson slinging the rock. His output to this point and status as a number two wideout on a running team should make him very gettable. Yes, the team drafted David Bell this year. But the two bring different skillsets to Cleveland and should actually complement each other. Peoples-Jones may be the cheapest player on this list, and that could make for great value down the line. Like Palmer, his timeline matches up perfectly with a Dynasty rebuild.

Dynasty Rebuild Wide Receiver Target: Nico Collins

Davis Mills looks like a guy. Not especially highly-touted coming out of college, the Stanford product and third round pick brought a beautiful stability to the quarterback situation for the Texans last season. Houston looks like they’ve lucked into a quarterback who could hold the position for awhile. Taken 22 picks later in that same 2021 third round, wideout Nico Collins also looks to have the juice. A bit of a preseason darling last season, Collins then underwhelmed most of the fantasy community by scoring just a single touchdown in his rookie season. Fast forward to the present, and Collins again is a bit of a pet project with fantasy sharps.

Big, fast, and more than capable after the catch, Collins is a perfect player to target in Dynasty. He’ll have opportunity to grow with his quarterback. His “weakness”- route running- is coachable. The Texans’ run game may actually be a threat going forward with Dameon Pierce. And the criminally underrated and under-appreciated Brandin Cooks assures Collins won’t see a ton of bracket coverage. Add to that the expectation that the Texans will still be trailing most weeks (and thus, throwing late into games,) and Collins is poised for a breakout. Snag him before he’s completely cost-prohibitive.

Dynasty Rebuild Target: Tyquan Thornton

Listen, I get it. Trust me, I’m as nervous as you are about the prospect of counting on a Bill Belichick skill-position player. His running back committees make Congress look efficient. He’s been absolutely abysmal at identifying talent at the wide receiver position for a long time now. And now, the Patriot offense is a ship without a rudder, searching for a captain. Seeing Tyquan Thornton’s name in this article (full disclosure: no relation) may fill you with the same kind of apprehension you’d feel taking your stoner friend’s advice on gas station sushi. Justified, dude. Completely. Justified.

But we’re looking for available youth with attainable upside. Thornton’s status as essentially the fifth Patriot receiver and his injury situation should make him eminently available. Especially if your league allows IR slots, you can find room for Thornton on your roster. He’s the one receiver on the roster who can blow the top off the defense. Mac Jones isn’t seen as a great deep-ball quarterback yet at the NFL level, but he had very good downfield stats at Alabama, and didn’t exactly have a deep-ball receiver corps last season. He and Thornton will have opportunity to grow together and could be a productive partnership for many years. If you’re looking for affordable, reasonable bets at wide receiver, you can do worse than Tyquan Thornton.

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