With the NFL trade deadline approaching, an underrated strategy, particular for rebuilding teams, is to target players who will see major increases in opportunity in the offseason as players retire or leaving in free agency.
In just a couple weeks, it will be many owners’ last chance to acquire players on the cheap before the league year rolls over and major changes in situation get rapidly priced in.
To that end, today we’re reviewing all the pending dynasty-relevant free agents in the AFC, as well as notable cut candidates, to get a sense of which players we should be targeting for spikes in value going into the summer of 2026.
AFC East
Buffalo Bills
No Notable Free Agents
While the Bills don’t have any notable dynasty-relevant pending free agents, it is worth noting that Dawson Knox’s contract becomes cuttable for the first time. In 2026, he’ll cost the Bills $17 million against the cap, but the Bills could save $10 million by cutting him.
If Knox were cut, there would be a massive Dalton Kincaid hype train, as he exploded his rookie season in the string of games missed by Knox.
My read on the situation is that the Bills at this point do not view Kincaid as a full-service tight end, with this position group turning into a three-player rotation including rookie Jackson Hawes. In this situation, Hawes would likely step in as the primary blocker on the team, with Kincaid remaining an efficient per-route fantasy asset who isn’t on the field enough to be a superstar.
Additionally, the Bills may just consider Knox an important part of their operation on a contending team, and they could find other means of reducing his cap hit while keeping him around.
Verdict: Sell high on Dalton Kincaid if Dawson Knox leaves.
Miami Dolphins
Notable free agents: Darren Waller
With the Dolphins hurtling towards a major reset after they officially hit rock bottom by getting blown out by my Cleveland Browns, there will likely be major changes coming with several veteran players not returning.
There will be so much flux here that there’s not a great way to prepare for this eventuality. Whoever the Dolphins do add at tight end will at least have a wide open path to playing time.
I don’t believe the Dolphins’ starting tight end in 2026 is currently on the roster.
Verdict: Any non-contender with Waller on their roster should sell him at any price at the deadline.
New England Patriots
Notable free agents: Austin Hooper
The Patriots could reset at tight end this offseason, with Austin Hooper hitting free agency and Hunter Henry’s contract being technically cuttable.
My best guess is that the Patriots keep Henry around, as he’s been a solid target for star quarterback Drake Maye and is making roughly as much as many teams’ TE2. If Hooper leaves and Henry stays, he would see a bump to his fantasy value, but he overall doesn’t have the upside and consistency to be worth proactively acquiring in the trade market.
However, any major swings they do take at pass catcher should become priority targets, as being tied to Drake Maye should be a productive situation for the long term.
Verdict: Investments are coming at pass catcher. Target whomever they bring in. Hold Hunter Henry as valuable depth.
New York Jets
Notable free agents: Breece Hall
The Jets are barreling towards a top-two pick in the NFL draft, and they’ll likely be adding a quarterback and WR2 to the roster. Consequently, they might decide they have bigger fish to fry than to bring back a running back to an expensive long-term contract while the rest of the team is transitioning. I honestly have no idea if they’d consider tagging him.
If the Jets allow Breece Hall to walk, he would instantly become the jewel of the 2026 running back free agent class. This would almost certainly mean an upgrade in Breece’s situation for two reasons.
First, he’d get to pick his destination, and would likely choose somewhere he could rebuild his value. Secondly, whichever team acquires him would likely be one that thinks they can get significantly more out of him than the Jets did, meaning they’ll be bought in and willing to lean on him.
This scenario would be so juicy for fantasy that it might be worth acquiring Hall before the NFL trade deadline to get ahead of this possibility. Similar to how Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley languished on awful teams before reminding us how good they were in a new situation, Breece Hall could absolutely explode on a functional team next year.
Granted, we can’t just assume he’s as good as those two backs, but he is one of the most gifted and talented backs in the league, and I’m absolutely willing to roll the dice that the Jets are obfuscating his true skill level.
At only 24 years old, Hall has a lot more to offer than what we’ve seen on the Jets. If it turns out he’s actually just not as good as we hoped, his value might still increase slightly simply from being the same due but in a better situation. If instead it turns out the problem really was the Jets’ offensive environment all along, he’ll instantly become a high-end RB1.
A sneakier approach to the Breece Hall free agency situation would also be to take a flier on Isaiah Davis. We shouldn’t have the highest expectations for him, but he would immediately be the healthy, tenured player in an ambiguous backfield. You could try re-rolling some roster fodder into him and waiting for the offseason to shake out.
Verdict: Buy Breece Hall before the NFL trade deadline
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens
Notable free agents: Keaton Mitchell (RFA), DeAndre Hopkins, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely
The Ravens have one of the major free agency decisions that dynasty owners will want to track, namely regarding their tight end situation. The best outcome for fantasy would be for the Ravens to move on from Mark Andrews and for them to pay Isaiah Likely. In that situation, Likely immediately becomes a presumed low-end TE1 with upside for more, considering the impact he’s had on the box score any time Andrews has been out of the lineup.
While many might argue Likely is not the same style of player as Andrews, and they’d be right, the Ravens value the things Likely does do, and they know how to get the most out of him. He doesn’t have to be the next Mark Andrews to return value; he can just be himself.
Currently, my best guess is that the Ravens do in fact keep Likely and let Andrews leave, which makes Likely one of my top buys/stashes for dynasty owners.
There have been rumors on multiple occasions that Andrews might be available for trade. My read on this is that the Ravens are making it known he’s available, but nobody is offering anything that interests them.
I'll briefly mention that a DeAndre Hopkins departure would not make me more interested in other Ravens' receivers, and a Keaton Mitchell departure would mean the Ravens didn't even bother to tender him, implying he's not valued around the league and is not a dynasty asset.
Verdict: Buy and stash Isaiah Likely
Cincinatti Bengals
Notable free agents: Noah Fant
Wherever Fant goes, he remains more of a clogger or spot starter than anything else. Gesicki remains an inconsistent spot starter, albeit a highly valuable one in any games missed by either Ja’Marr Chase or Tee Higgins.
Free agent movement on this front will move Gesicki back from a clogger towards valuable depth, unless a major investment is made in the draft, in which case the newly drafted player is more interesting.
Verdict: No Action Required
Cleveland Browns
Notable free agents: David Njoku, Jerome Ford
If David Njoku were to leave in free agency, there would be a massive Harold Fannin Jr. hype train. While a Njoku departure would definitely help Fannin’s stock, I think there would be an overreaction in terms of Fannin’s projected role.
In Week 7 when David Njoku missed the Browns’ matchup with the Dolphins, Fannin’s snap share remained steady at an impressive 80%. While that’s great for Fannin, it wasn’t actually an increase. The major increase in snaps went to third-stringer Blake Whiteheart.
The lesson here is that Fannin’s role in the offense is actually not that similar to Njoku’s. He’s more of a chess piece and slot target than he is a full-service, in-line tight end. To that end, a Fannin breakout could definitely occur as the result of organic development and improvement in the Browns’ offense, but it is not directly tied to Njoku’s presence on the roster.
I also suspect the Browns may keep Njoku, or immediately pivot to a different Y tight end, because they want to run a lot of 12-personnel and like the division of labor between Fannin’s “move” tight end role and the Y tight end.
When Jerome Ford leaves, Dylan Sampson immediately becomes the 1B to Quinshon Judkins’ 1A, and while that’s an improvement in role, it may not be a valuable enough fantasy role to justify actively buying up Sampson shares.
Verdict: Don’t overreact to how a Njoku departure would affect Fannin
Pittsburgh Steelers
Notable free agents: Aaron Rodgers, Kenneth Gainwell, Calvin Austin
The Steelers will be in the hunt for a new quarterback when Aaron Rodgers leaves, but I don’t believe there is any trading opportunity in trying to predict how that search might go.
Kenneth Gainwell leaving wouldn’t necessarily signal more playing time for Kaleb Johnson. If the Steelers thought Johnson deserved playing time, Gainwell would not be blocking him. It’s completely up to Johnson whether he develops enough to earn trust. If he doesn’t improve, he’ll just be sitting behind the next journeyman.
Verdict: No Action Required
AFC South
Houston Texans
Notable free agents: Nick Chubb, Christian Kirk
While Woody Marks might collect a bit of a hype train once Chubb leaves, the most likely outcome is that he is viewed as a pass-catching back, and that an investment is made for a new 1A back.
Still, that would make this an ambiguous backfield, which means dynasty owners should be interested. If a new rookie is brought in, they could just outright suck and give Marks a chance to run away with the job.
Christian Kirk leaving would continue the upward trend of Jaylin Noel, who has already begun the process of earning more playing time. Though I would argue he controls his destiny enough that his value doesn’t hinge on Kirk leaving.
Verdict:
1. Rebuilders could buy and stash Marks immediately.
2. Other owners could wait for competition to be brought in and buy into an ambiguous backfield at the low point.
3. Test the waters on buying Jaylin Noel ASAP before his snap share breaches 70%
Indianapolis Cols
Notable free agents: Alec Pierce
Alec Pierce feels likely to leave, as he’ll command an inflated free agent contract due to his ability as a field stretcher, but the Colts may not be willing to meet that price given his lower standing in their pecking order of pass catchers.
The immediate effect of such a move would be for the Adonai Mitchell hype train to take off. In my opinion, this would be a great time to sell high on him.
One of my firmest beliefs is that wide receiver reliability is an undervalued skill in the dynasty community. Players like Mitchell are their own worst enemies because they don’t get the details right, and this is hard to see on television (except when you’re fumbling at the goal line), but it drives head coaches absolutely nuts, day after day in both practices and games.
If you’re a Mitchell owner who has been disappointed with the output so far, you have a golden opportunity to re-roll him once Pierce leaves this offseason.
Verdict: Wait for Pierce to leave, then sell high on Adonai Mitchell
Jacksonville Jaguars
Notable free agents: Travis Etienne
The running back situation in Jacksonville will be a huge inflection point for dynasty owners. As we saw with Bucky Irving last year and Travis Etienne this year, Liam Coen’s RB1 tends to make a good fantasy asset.
My take on the Jags’ backfield during the previous offseason was to just have as many shares of the ambiguous situation as possible, throw your hands up, and pray.
If Etienne were to leave, I’d take exactly the same approach. The first reaction to news of Etienne leaving would be for the Bhayshul Tuten hype train to explode. While I don’t exactly love what I’ve seen out of Tuten this season, I will *not* be suggesting for anybody to sell high on him.
Like before, this is an ambiguous situation where the best move is to hoard the pieces and let everything shake out. However, I also doubt there is a clear preemptive buy opportunity for Tuten, as Tuten owners are likely in it for the long haul.
Verdict: Just hoard as many shares as possible of everybody who ends up in this backfield, and pray.
Tennessee Titans
Notable free agents: Chig Okonkwo
With Okonkwo hitting free agency and Tony Pollard’s contract becoming cuttable, there are some potential moves to make with this Titans skill group.
At tight end, dynasty owners should see if they can re-roll a player or two and get back Gunnar Helm, a promising rookie tight end who could become a firm starter in year two.
At running back, it might be worth kicking the tires on Tyjae Spears, who will get another chance to show himself worthy of being the RB1 in Tennessee after the Titans signed Tony Pollard in the 2024 offseason. Don’t get me wrong, I think the chances of Spears entering the 2026 season without any competition are essentially zero, but he is at least getting a second chance to win an ambiguous backfield competition.
If the Titans bring in a rookie, like always people will underestimate the chances the rookie just sucks and hands a large role to Spears, who for his part is an elusive runner with great pass-catching ability.
Considering cost, I’d rather try to get Helm on the cheap than pay a draft pick for Spears.
Verdict: Buy Gunnar Helm
AFC West
Denver Broncos
Notable free agents: J.K. Dobbins
While a Dobbins departure would likely result in more playing time for R.J. Harvey, I don’t think there are Harvey owners looking to sell him quite yet. If you’re a rebuilder, you could try offering a contending owner a win-now player in exchange for Harvey, but your trade partner would have to be pretty committed to going all-in.
In case you were wondering, the Broncos would only save $4 million against the cap, and incur $10 million in dead cap, if they were to cut Evan Engram, so he probably stays.
Verdict: Kick the tires on Harvey, but he’s probably not for sale
Kansas City Chiefs
Notable free agents: Isaiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, Marquise Brown, Juju Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, Travis Kelce
It’ll be very interesting to see if the Chiefs’ offense gets more concentrated next year, as the brigade of mediocre stopgap players will be due to leave in free agency.
The Chiefs RB1 in 2026 is likely not yet on the roster. I do like Brashard Smith’s chances of being locked into a pass-catching role, but I don’t think he’s quite valuable enough to proactively go out and buy.
At wide receiver, Jalen Royals will have a chance to eke out a role in the offense behind Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy, but like before, I think that’s more of a hold than a buy.
At tight end, Travis Kelce may well be retiring. At risk of pissing off every owner who steadfastly held Noah Gray for three years, this would be your sell-high window for Noah Gray.
As I covered at length in a previous article, nobody is stepping into “the Travis Kelce role” because they aren’t Travis Kelce.
Instead, this would become your usual ambiguous position group, and while you could feel free to hold as many pieces of that situation as possible, I’d be more than willing to sell Gray if he got some serious steam for his potential in “the Travis Kelce role”.
Verdict: A Kelce retirement is a sell-high window for Noah Gray
Las Vegas Raiders
Notable free agents: Jakobi Meyers
With Jakobi Meyers potentially leaving Vegas at the trade deadline, and otherwise definitely leaving in the offseason, Jack Bech is one of my favorite trade targets in dynasty.
Despite putting out really good tape at TCU and earning second round draft capital, Bech has started off slow in large part because he hasn’t managed to step into the flanker-slot role occupied by Meyers. In year two, with a coach and regime that believes in him, coupled with a clearer path to playing time, Bech could establish himself on the WR2 radar for fantasy.
Verdict: Buy Jack Bech before the NFL trade deadline
Los Angeles Chargers
Notable free agents: Najee Harris, Keenan Allen
While a Najee Harris departure is of course good for Omarion Hampton, Harris is already out for the season, so Hampton’s trade value no longer depends on him in any capacity. Any rebuilders should go ahead and see if his ankle sprain created a buy opportunity regardless.
Moving on, Ladd McConkey is one of my favorite buy-lows for rebuilding teams. With Allen leaving, and with how inconsistent Quentin Johnston can be, Ladd could easily reassert himself as Justin Herbert’s favorite target in 2026.
In order to trade for McConkey, you would need to dangle a seriously good veteran piece, and McConkey would have to be on a competing team that needs points now. If those conditions are met, rebuilders should be proactive about turning their best oldies into McConkey.
(Note: This section was written before Thursday Night Football when McConkey had a big game. He is likely harder to acquire now, even from a contender)
Verdict: Buy Ladd McConkey