5 Buy-Low Stars to Target in Dynasty Fantasy Football

As we've seen in recent weeks, the NFL is a turbulent league.

Rookie breakout stars can be sidelined for weeks. Rashee Rice was on track for a WR1 season before missing each of the Kansas City Chiefs' last 19 regular-season games. He's just now back.

Ideally, if you play dynasty fantasy football, your goal is to scoop up great players at their lowest points of value. When they ascend, you can consider a trade for other assets at this point. It's a continuous cycle of buying low or selling high.

2025 hasn't been kind to every player we know to be a "star." These five players will contend for No. 1 overall finishes at their positions in future seasons, but for one reason or another, this hasn't been their year. I'd consider scooping them up at this low point if you can.

Note: Rankings come from KeepTradeCut's superflex rankings, and the basis for this piece is 10-team leagues using half-PPR scoring.

Buy-Low Stars in Dynasty Fantasy Football

Joe Burrow, QB, Bengals

Put yourselves in the shoes of a Joe Burrow manager.

Burrow's career must be frustrating for superflex managers who potentially spent the top overall pick in 2020 on him. The quarterback has three top-eight positional finishes and, now, three season-wiping injuries after a toe issue in 2025. When he's been healthy, he's been dynamite. However, that's a lot of proverbial trade value sitting on your bench half the time, too.

Frankly, Burrow managers might be willing to move off the experience for a young quarterback and parts. The Cincinnati Bengals haven't fixed their offensive line in his entire tenure. However, I see a lot of good in Burrow's future because of this latest setback. Zac Taylor, who is now 0-4 without him as the starter again, might get the axe for an upgrade. Keeping Burrow upright should be the Bengals' top priority in the draft as Al Golden has stabilized this defense. A ton of money is committed in Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase to keep both of them in the fold.

There's a definitely argument on both sides of rostering the former LSU great, but QBs with Burrow's upside aren't typically available. There are a lot of QBs performing well right now that I don't trust in the long run -- like Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence, Bo Nix, and Daniel Jones -- who could make for an appealing starter in a package to send to Burrow's disgruntled managers.

Breece Hall, RB, Jets

Breece Hall's career trajectory might change even in the coming weeks.

The New York Jets are the lone winless team in the NFL, and plenty of contenders could use an upgrade at running back. Despite his wishes to stay in the Big Apple, we might see him in a renewed situation and the closest he's been to elite since an RB4 season (14.3 FPPG) in 2023.

In terms of individual talent, Hall is playing well this year. Next Gen Stats lists him at 0.56 rushing yards over expectation per carry (RYOE/c), and he's handled a 14.6% target share for the Jets that should probably be even higher if Justin Fields was given more designed short looks. He's an elite three-down running back.

At 24.3 years old, Hall has a lot of good football left in him. It's stunning to see him on KeepTradeCut (KTC) behind older backs who are already struggling in the efficiency department like Christian McCaffrey, Josh Jacobs, and Saquon Barkley.

Hall's situation feels eerily similar to Jonathan Taylor's last year, and serviceable QB play fixed J.T.'s fantasy production extremely quickly. Whether that's in or out of New York, it's not crazy to see for Breece in the next 12 months.

A.J. Brown, WR, Eagles

You kind of figured A.J. Brown would be here, right? He's just way too talented for his situation to stay like this for long.

As it stands, Brown still has a team-best 27.4% target share for this year's Philadelphia Eagles. Jalen Hurts' erratic play has disproportionately affected the quality of those targets when just 55.6% of them have been deemed catchable, per FantasyPros. That's a variance thing that typically evens out in the long run.

Nonetheless, if it doesn't, Brown has been quite noisy about a potential trade. The run-first Eagles might entertain one if it continues. He's got a history with Mike Vrabel, whose New England Patriots just so happen to need a true No. 1 receiver for Drake Maye.

Brown is still just 28.2 years old, so this is the true prime of his career, and I'd trend heavily toward a divorce from Philadelphia when the winning aspect doesn't seem to be that important in his formula. Averaging 9.9 yards per target for his career, he's a hyper-talented wideout who has never been in a pass-first offense. I don't think it's ridiculous to think he'd be valued like a CeeDee Lamb or Nico Collins in one.

Malik Nabers, WR, Giants

This one is pretty standard. If a contender with Malik Nabers doesn't want to punt the year waiting for their star player, see if the price isn't as steep as usual.

In my estimation, Nabers was arguably trending toward the WR1 overall in dynasty exiting the season. With an ascending quarterback in Jaxson Dart, Nabers was drawing 28.7% of the New York Giants' looks. He exploded for 33.2 fantasy points against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2. At just 22.2 years old, he was basically matching the weekly floor and ceiling of any wideout in fantasy.

Obviously, the ACL tear is a minor concern. Most players stumble in their first year back, and the turf at MetLife is a bit of an issue when we were right in this exact point with another LSU alum, Odell Beckham, and the ceiling never was quite as good after OBJ's initial injury.

This is exclusively a tier-up situation. Adding a part or two to a Brian Thomas Jr., Rashee Rice, or Ladd McConkey might be worth it to someone in the mix for a trophy this year, and it's hard to not be excited about acquiring Nabers even if it's a bit of time until the young wideout returns to top performance.

Brock Bowers, TE, Raiders

Brock Bowers' season couldn't be going much worse, and he's still been pretty good. There isn't any real competition for dynasty's TE1.

Off a campaign where he led the position in total points, the tight end has posted just 8.0 FPPG battling through a Week 1 knee injury that has now forced him out of consecutive contests. Given Michael Mayer is playing well, it doesn't sound like the Las Vegas Raiders are rushing him back anytime soon.

It's pretty crazy that he's still averaging 2.14 yards per route run (YPRR) and remains the TE14 in FPPG with a bum wheel the entire season. Plus, Bowers' Week 1 route rate (53.8%) was bizarrely low as Chip Kelly tried to reinvent the wheel.

Simply, he's a generational athletic prospect who put up a historic rookie season and has still delivered solid peripherals in a 2025 campaign where everything has gone wrong, and there's still so much upside left for his situation. Las Vegas might look to move off Geno Smith if his league-leading 10 interceptions don't stop coming. Other than Bowers, the team's pass-catchers are still pretty nightmarish when Tre Tucker (1.87 YPRR) has arguably been the team's top option.

What could future seasons for Bowers look like if Vegas lands a true franchise quarterback? In dynasty, the gap between him and the TE2, Trey McBride, has shrunk considerably since the knee injury, and there should still be a much, much wider projection between him and the next-best tight end in the NFL.

New to FanDuel Sportsbook? You’ll receive $300 in Bonus Bets if your first $5+ bet wins! See here for full terms and conditions. Learn about today’s other offers at FanDuel Sportsbook Promos.

Which NFL bets stand out to you? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest NFL betting odds to see the full menu of options.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.