In dynasty leagues with open waiver wires, offseason is a relative term. On any given day I can scour the free agent listings to see if there's one player out there who can make my 26-player roster better. Here are the 10 players available in my league, but who -- if the mood strikes me -- can join the good fight.
(I'm also including a couple of players I've added recently, but otherwise fit the profile: young, lightly regarded guys who might develop into something. If not in 2018, than beyond.)
Trey Quinn, Washington. It's not often that Mr. Irrelevant becomes relevant, especially in fantasy leagues. But Washington's seventh-rounder, the last pick of the April's draft, has been drawing praise at OTAs. He actually had better numbers last year than his way more highly regarded Southern Methodist teammate, Courtland Sutton. Doesn't make him better, but makes him a guy worth watching in what should be a good passing game without a lot of sure things at wideout.
Elijah McGuire, Jets. Just a sixth-round pick, McGuire didn't do a lot last year in New York's three-man committee with Matt Forte and Bilal Powell. And maybe he won't do much this year, in another three-man committee with Powell and Isaiah Crowell. But there was a report last week than McGuire is looking good (enough so that the running backs coach compared him to LaDainian Tomlinson, for whatever that's worth). Speculation that the Jets could use McGuire as their main third-down back and dump Powell (who makes a lot more money).
Boston Scott, New Orleans. I already had Scott on my roster, dropping him for either Quinn or McGuire last week. New Orleans' sixth-round pick is small but has drawn some Darren Sproles comparisons, and we know Mark Ingram will miss the first four games and is in a contract year, so maybe Scott can claim a share of a committee with Alvin Kamara. Problem is that's also true of Trey Edmunds, Jonathan Williams and the recently signed Terrance West. I don't have room for Scott, but there's a lot of upside, potentially.
Corey Grant, Jacksonville. Grant probably shouldn't be available, as he is the likely No. 2 in Jacksonville behind Leonard Fournette. Oh sure, there's T.J. Yeldon, but he's in a contract year and has never stood out. If I give up on one of my other sleepers, Grant will be the add.
Jordan Leggett, Jets. New York has a number of potential starting tight ends, including Clive Walford and rookie Chris Herndon. But a beat writer named second-year pass catcher Leggett as his favorite, and there's some potential if he wins the job. Herndon had a DUI arrest recently that might earn him a league suspension.
John Kelly, Rams. Kelly is a virtual lock to backup Todd Gurley this season; Malcolm Brown and Justin Davis ahead of him. Kelly may have slipped to the sixth round due to a misdemeanor marijuana arrest. Should the heavily-used Gurley miss time, the Rams are one of the teams that seems to prefer a full-time back to a committee.
Joe Williams, San Francisco. I drafted Williams a year ago, only to watch him do nothing of note in the preseason, then land on IR with an injury that didn't seem particularly severe. But if you have any reservations about Jerick McKinnon, the only thing standing between Williams and a significant role is Matt Breida. It's not totally far-fetched that he could be a factor in this backfield.
C.J. Prosise, Seattle. Prosise has been added or dropped enough times lately that I'm not sure if he's available today. But he should be on a roster, since he's the favorite for passing downs work and maybe a little more in Seattle. That's unless you believe Pete Carroll's talk about Rashaad Penny being a three-down back, which you probably shouldn't. Because he's Pete Carroll, and he says lots of stuff that can generally be disregarded when the season rolls around.
Jordan Akins, Houston. Another guy I had on my roster briefly. Just maybe he'll be the starting tight end in Houston, with Deshaun Watson out there putting up huge numbers. Or maybe he'll be part of a committee, or the No. 3 and not even get on the field. But what I'm saying is that there's a chance.
Chad Williams, Arizona. The Cardinals will have Larry Fitzgerald as their No. 1 for this year and maybe beyond, the way he's talking lately. But there are a whole bunch of candidates for the No. 2, and nobody should just be handing the job to second-rounder Christian Kirk. Williams was the team's third-rounder a year ago, and although he did zip as a rookie, the team viewed him as the heir apparent to Fitzgerald at the time.
Maybe none of these guys will amount to anything. But more likely, a couple of them will, and you'll be glad to have them on your roster, rather than fighting to claim them, if they do.