The season isn’t entirely done for those in a fantasy football keeper league. Part of the strategy of a keeper league is figuring out what players to hang onto and which ones to put back in the draft pool. Here are three players to hang onto in your fantasy football keeper league.
Fantasy Football Keeper League
A quick caveat to this article. This depends on what the rules are for your keeper league. My league allows us to protect anyone in the fourth round or later for a pick one round ahead of where we took them in 2023. Your rules may be different. Take that into account when choosing who to hang onto. I will also not be choosing some of the obvious ones. If you can protect Puka Nacua cheaply, do it.
Dalton Kincaid, TE Buffalo Bills
In my fantasy football keeper league, I am one hundred percent keeping Kincaid. The tight end position is feast or famine. If you do not get one of the top five, you spend the rest of the season with a rotating cast of players in the tight-end slot. Kincaid has a top-five tight-end upside you can probably get with a cheap pick. It also gives you the advantage of having the starting tight end spot locked up, allowing you to focus on other positions.
Josh Allen looked for Kincaid later in the season. He saw an uptick in targets in the second half of the season. In ten out of 17 games, he saw 5+ targets. Some of the lower ones were due to Kincaid leaving the game with an injury. His counting stats weren’t stellar, as he only caught two touchdowns. However, his 673 receiving yards are good for a rookie tight end. If you can get Kincaid for cheap, lock him down.
Josh Downs, WR Indianapolis Colts
Rookies are often the ones to target in a fantasy football keeper league. Downs was an under-the-radar rookie wide receiver in 2023. The Colts weren’t among the most-watched teams in 2023, so many didn’t see Downs play. With Gardner Minshew at quarterback for most of the season, the rookie out of North Carolina had 68 receptions (98 targets), 771 yards, and two touchdowns. These stats were put up being the third wide receiver behind Michael Pittman Jr. and Alec Pierce. With Pittman heading into free agency, Downs might move up the depth chart in 2024.
The only wild card for Downs is Anthony Richardson. While Richardson is a dynamic quarterback, his sample size is small, and we really don’t know who he will target in the offense. The knock on Richardson coming out of college was his accuracy. Downs could see some numbers go down if he struggles in his second season. However, I think it is worth the risk. Shane Steichen has proven he can put together a great offense, and with a full offseason, Downs could be a 1,000-yard receiver in 2024.
Terry McLaurin, WR Washington Commanders
This is my favorite player to protect in a fantasy football keeper league. McLaurin has four straight seasons of 1,000 receiving yards. This may not seem impressive, but here is the list of quarterbacks McLaurin had during his time in Washington.
2019: Case Keenum, Dwayne Haskins, and Colt McCoy
2020: Alex Smith, Dwayne Haskins, and Kyle Allen
2021: Taylor Heinicke, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Garrett Gilbert
2022: Taylor Heinicke, Carson Wentz, and Sam Howell
2023: Sam Howell, Jacoby Brissett
That is quite a group. Alex Smith is likely the best of the bunch and was not a top-ten quarterback. Things are about to change in Washington, and it could benefit McLaurin.
The Commanders will get either Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. Unless something crazy happens in the pre-draft process, they will get one of those two. Even as a rookie, that quarterback might be the best McLaurin has played with in his five-year career. If he is able to put up 1,000 yards with those quarterbacks, imagine what he could do with Maye or Williams under center.
Those are my best players to protect in your fantasy football keeper league. Stay tuned to Total Apex Fantasy Sports for all your fantasy sports needs!
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Matt has been following sports since he was a kid. While football is his primary focus, Matt can talk about any sport anytime. He is a banker in Wisconsin and hosts two podcasts, Beers and Ears & Discontinued on Display.
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