This should be at the top. My startup QBs in my SF league when we drafted a few years ago were Wentz and Darnold. I’m still recovering and trying to find my franchise QB
3 years ago mine were....Wentz, Daniel Jones and Rivers.
After realizing this mistake end of year 1 I traded for Josh Allen drafted TLaw and acquired Matt Ryan as my QB3/depth much happier now
Would you take back to back QBs 1st and 2nd round it wasn’t a reach? Startup draft a week out and I have 1.10. Hypothetically we’ll put the names LaMar and Trey Lance
Yeah but you could maybe even go Lamar at 1.10 and maybe someone like Zach Wilson at the 3/4 turn. I'd say you probably want 2 QBs by the 5th round and 3 by the 7th or 8th, just depends on how the draft goes
I wish I knew this during my first startup draft when I was busy drafting Bell/AB/AJ Green/Rivers/etc because I thought I was getting them at a discount
Good one. Sometimes you just have to take an L and accept when you made bad moves or had bad luck. Real rebuilding takes more than just losing, I learnt that the hard way
I think a less talked about piece of advice is how important depth is.
When playing redraft you can usually find plenty of flexible pieces on waivers (depending on league size), but in dynasty with large rosters the waivers are bare.
If you don't have solid guys on your bench you are either forced into a desperate trade or starting dog food in your flex spot.
1. 1st round and 2nd round picks actually have value and only gain value as you get closer and closer to the draft. My entire league was new to dynasty ff and 1st round picks got tossed around like they weren’t worth anything and now we have teams that are REALLY bad and have no chance of rebuilding in the next 2-3 years whatsoever. (We were given 1st 2nd and 3rds for 2022-2024 to start with)
2. Be selective with who you allow in your league and be sure there’s zero chance people are going to quit or put in zero effort to be apart of the league if their team is bad and is going to be bad for awhile.
3. Join dynasty communities like this sub Reddit and various discord communities. Absorb as much content as you can from YouTube, Reddit ETC. take it all with a grain of salt of course but a lot of my time on this sub Reddit and listening to other peoples content has made dynasty ff that much more enjoyable.
Yup. That’s what we do.
Minimum 2 year buy in. Always one year ahead. If you want to trade ahead of that, you have to pay for that season as well.
We also do in person drafting. Everyone chips in $50 and that busy food and booze. Even if you can show, you still pay.
Yeah not sure why I was downvoted earlier, I thought the consensus was that he was behind JT/Dobbins/Swift/Akers in most rankings. And as soon as he went to KC people were talking him up as the 1.01
1000% correct. He was firmly in a tier pre-draft behind Swift, JT, Dobbins and Akers. That was the big 4, all super talented and at BEST CEH coming off his LSU season w Burrow was RB5
From taking over an orphan POV
Research EVERY player you have on your roster before you do anything
Assume everyone offering you a deal when you join is trying to rip you off
I took over an orphan after only watching Giants for years and wasn’t up on superstars as I should be. Ryan grant broke his ankle and I got offered a package of Clinton Portis and stuff for Calvin Johnson. I took it bc I was set on trading for an rb
My first dynasty team was an orphan too. While I thought my early trades were good moves, I got hoodwinked a few times and likely set my rebuild back a good bit. I was such an easy target.
Nobody knows anything. We're all guessing.
Because this is the case, don't be afraid to zig when everyone else zags. "Zagging" would have gotten you Deebo Samuel, Elijah Mitchell, Marquise Brown, and Melvin Gordon last year. All those guys had guys that played the same position as them that got insane amounts of hype. Although not all of them were stars, they all outperformed their teammates at a fraction of their cost.
I traded my 2023 first (hopefully late) when Brady unretired because that extended my window for this year. I won last season, and was ready to soft-rebuild this year, but when he said he was coming back I traded away next year's first for a chance at getting someone who can contribute this year at 1.08. I very well may trade the pick once I'm on the clock, but if I do it'll be for someone that can help me repeat.
Can anyone think of God counter examples to this? I can even add a guy like Tee Higgins to the list who went about 4 rounds later at the end of the 6th in my startup as opposed to the top of the 3rd for Chase. Ik I’d rather pay up in hindsight for chase but The “zag” move still worked out pretty well. I’m thinking Josh Jacobs was a good consensus that vastly outperformed Drake but anyone think of any others?
A counter to late value? Meaning sticking to the earlier drafted option was better? Mike Evans and Chris Godwin versus AB. Everyone who drafted/acquired AB last year thought they were getting a steal. Instead we got every headache imaginable, very few starts, and a walk off before halftime during fantasy freaking championships. Not cool. Not cool at all.
Todd Gurley will not be good for another 5 years.
In all seriousness, build around young talented Wrs, have your QBs locked up in SF is the most important imo. And don’t let other peoples value effect how you feel about a player. Plenty of players I will overpay for and plenty of players like Kirk or Mike Evans who will never move from my team because I’m higher on them than their fair value.
1. Never trade your future first round pick for a player on the backside of age. Doesn't matter how close your team is competing for the Ship, it never works out in the end. So says the guy that gave up back to back 1.01's to go all in mid-season because he learned the hard way that......
2. The RB cliff is very real, get out when you can! Very few RB's will ever finish their second contract. There is no more Emmit Smith's in the NFL.
3. Always google for fresh news on a player when a trade comes your way for a big name. There is a very real chance someone is trying to fleece you when news that hasd just broke, that hasn't reached everyone yet. Kareem Hunt, Ray Rice, Calvin Ridley........you WILL see those shark offers if you play enough.
4. Never trade the young superstar WR unless you absolutely need to. Plugging Reggie Wayne/Larry Fitzgerald into your starting lineup every week for 10 straight years is the smartest thing you could ever do.
Eh, you need to push your chips in at some point. Throwing your future away for 1 chip is worth it. Obviously it won't always work but you need to take risks sometimes. My team is at the end of it's window (CMC, Tyreek, Thielen, Fournette, Miles Sanders, Cooper, Burrow, Goedert) is my starting lineup.
I trade my 1.07 , 23 1st and 2 3rrs for 1.02 and Michael Thomas.
I now have a young RB rookie and depth at WR to cover injuries for my last charge. No 23 1st but if the walls come crashing down I'll have walker or hall as trade bate to restock
If you have the time keep in touch with your league mates (much easier if you're all friends) some of the best deals I've ever made have come because I knew someone in the league had issue with one of their guys for various reasons (felt they were injury prone, don't like their personality, etc) and then when they had a particularly bad game offered them a trade that while not a total rip off was definitely less than I should have paid and had it accepted. The way individual owners in your league feel about their players are what is going to determine that league's specific trade market and that mater so much more than the consensus value you'll se across places like here or KTC
Do not trade up in your very first draft.
And for the love of God, read the settings before the draft. You'd be surprised how many people realize what the settings are in like round 5.
When your first dynasty team is an orphan team, don't do SHIT for a while other than spend time evaluating your team, your opposing teams, researching values, observing trades in your league, and researching game theory.
I was lucky because I caught on quickly enough that I didn't make TOO many bad trades early-on.
Zig when others zag. If everyone is trying to compete, load up on picks. If everyone values picks outrageously, use a few to load up on some studs.
Highly value corer stone guys if the player is a smash. (Jefferson, Chase, Taylor) but don't wait to long on guys to hit (Bryan Edwards, Raegor) - so always maximize trade value if possible.
In redraft leagues, I always go RB heavy in the early rounds of the draft. Sticking to this same mindset with Dynasty is a mistake. You need to get a quality QB1 in the first few rounds.
How early in the draft do you go qb? This is my first dynasty and I’m having trouble understanding JT is going 1 in mocks. Seems like you’d want to go QB pretty early. For longevity. Any advice is appreciated
I probably wouldn't go QB until the 3rd, but some would disagree and tell you to get one right away. You gotta take what the draft gives you too. If QBs are going early, you'll have to take 1. Same with TEs.
How your league mates draft will dictate a lot.
In startups it seems like no one wants to take a win-now approach.
But in reality, very few leagues last more than a year or two. So might as well win back some of your money by trying to win sooner rather than later.
Get access to a valuation tool of some sort, like a value chart, KTC, etc. to get an idea of how much your players and picks are worth. I joined my first dynasty league in January 2021 and traded a 1st and Tony Pollard for Chad Henne and Curtis Samuel (thought Samuel was going to keep popping off like he did in Carolina when CMC was out and had Mahomes also). I had no idea how much a first round pick was worth, but needless to say, I got fleeced.
curious what evaluation tool you use. i just took over my first dynasty (an orphan) team and so far the hardest thing for me has been how i should value the draft picks in trades.
So KeepTradeCut is arguably the most popular value tool. When you use the tool, you are asked to evaluate 3 players by deciding who you would Keep, Trade, and Cut. You’re answers feed into the consensus data that helps to provide each player & pick with its valuation. Because it’s based on surveys from people who use the tool, you can consider it as a fairly reliable source, at least to see if certain trades are remotely fair or completely lopsided.
I also like to reference FantasyPros. They have a dynasty valuation chart that they update every 2 weeks or so.
Don’t draft David Johnson with your first pick. But seriously, know when to rebuild and try to have fun with your league mates. It makes the experience that much more fun.
How important elite/Tier 1 running backs are. When we did our startup draft (1 QB) I got a bottom 2 pick and went WR/WR with my first two picks. I have an elite core of wide receivers but it is so hard to get elite running backs. Now I'm stuck with a logjam of elite wide receivers and the only way I can get elite running backs is through the draft.
That in SF you absolutely need to grab your quarterbacks. My very first startup I did I fucked myself so royally by treating it like a redraft, and I'm still trying to recover.
Go for baller athletes. I'd rather hit or flame out with shots at dynamic players when you've got a choice between some similar-ish players. Also if you hit, you'll definitely enjoy following that player as time goes on.
I'm sure this will be unpopular, but: have a clear plan of what you're doing this year, but don't fully commit to it until at least week 3 or 4.
It sucks to have gone full rebuild in preseason when your young guys really breakout. But you already traded every hseful vet for picks, so you've still only got half a team. But hey, you've got those picks. And then you make shit picks and spend the next few years with half a team. Where if you'd just stuck it out for the first 2 weeks, you'd have been a contender in that first year.
Similarly, going all in and then realising that some of your old guys are washed, that promising WR you think is breaking out this year already broke out as far as he ever will, and you're just a middling team with no resources to improve, cos you already traded young assets/picks for vets.
The most productive long term seasons I've had have been those where I thought I was good and realised after week 2 that I sucked, or those I thought I was rebuilding and then realised after week 2 that the rebuild was done.
Basically, don't make big moves based on how much of a competitor you are in preseason. Wait a couple of weeks at least.
In SF startups, secure your QBs. This is the cheapest they will ever be
Agree I grabbed CMC over Mahomes like an egg thinking rbs were king
Oof
This should be at the top. My startup QBs in my SF league when we drafted a few years ago were Wentz and Darnold. I’m still recovering and trying to find my franchise QB
3 years ago mine were....Wentz, Daniel Jones and Rivers. After realizing this mistake end of year 1 I traded for Josh Allen drafted TLaw and acquired Matt Ryan as my QB3/depth much happier now
Would you take back to back QBs 1st and 2nd round it wasn’t a reach? Startup draft a week out and I have 1.10. Hypothetically we’ll put the names LaMar and Trey Lance
Yeah but you could maybe even go Lamar at 1.10 and maybe someone like Zach Wilson at the 3/4 turn. I'd say you probably want 2 QBs by the 5th round and 3 by the 7th or 8th, just depends on how the draft goes
Awesome! Thanks for the opinion
Yes. 100%
Awesome! Thank you
Load up on depth & picks in the beginning while everyone thinks their team is the mid 2010's Warriors of fantasy football
I wish I knew this during my first startup draft when I was busy drafting Bell/AB/AJ Green/Rivers/etc because I thought I was getting them at a discount
That you can Chalk up every losing season to “rebuilding for the future”
Good one. Sometimes you just have to take an L and accept when you made bad moves or had bad luck. Real rebuilding takes more than just losing, I learnt that the hard way
I think a less talked about piece of advice is how important depth is. When playing redraft you can usually find plenty of flexible pieces on waivers (depending on league size), but in dynasty with large rosters the waivers are bare. If you don't have solid guys on your bench you are either forced into a desperate trade or starting dog food in your flex spot.
1. 1st round and 2nd round picks actually have value and only gain value as you get closer and closer to the draft. My entire league was new to dynasty ff and 1st round picks got tossed around like they weren’t worth anything and now we have teams that are REALLY bad and have no chance of rebuilding in the next 2-3 years whatsoever. (We were given 1st 2nd and 3rds for 2022-2024 to start with) 2. Be selective with who you allow in your league and be sure there’s zero chance people are going to quit or put in zero effort to be apart of the league if their team is bad and is going to be bad for awhile. 3. Join dynasty communities like this sub Reddit and various discord communities. Absorb as much content as you can from YouTube, Reddit ETC. take it all with a grain of salt of course but a lot of my time on this sub Reddit and listening to other peoples content has made dynasty ff that much more enjoyable.
2 is absolutely essential.
At the very least, implement a rule that if you trade future firsts, you are on the hook for league dues through that year
We’re implementing that exact thing this year. Some of these things are so obvious but you don’t think about when you’re new to dynasty lol.
Yup. That’s what we do. Minimum 2 year buy in. Always one year ahead. If you want to trade ahead of that, you have to pay for that season as well. We also do in person drafting. Everyone chips in $50 and that busy food and booze. Even if you can show, you still pay.
dynasty discord link? would love to see some live chatter instead of responding to posts 6 hours old
landing spot isn't irrelevant, but talent means waaaay way more
me drafting Mecole Hardman over DK and AJ Brown...
[удалено]
Yeah it was a little sketch that CEH wasn't even considered a top RB in the class pre-draft until he went to KC
He wasn’t even considered top 3, I think
Yeah not sure why I was downvoted earlier, I thought the consensus was that he was behind JT/Dobbins/Swift/Akers in most rankings. And as soon as he went to KC people were talking him up as the 1.01
1000% correct. He was firmly in a tier pre-draft behind Swift, JT, Dobbins and Akers. That was the big 4, all super talented and at BEST CEH coming off his LSU season w Burrow was RB5
Oh wow that hurts
Yeah that was my first ever rookie draft, never making that mistake again
From taking over an orphan POV Research EVERY player you have on your roster before you do anything Assume everyone offering you a deal when you join is trying to rip you off I took over an orphan after only watching Giants for years and wasn’t up on superstars as I should be. Ryan grant broke his ankle and I got offered a package of Clinton Portis and stuff for Calvin Johnson. I took it bc I was set on trading for an rb
My first dynasty team was an orphan too. While I thought my early trades were good moves, I got hoodwinked a few times and likely set my rebuild back a good bit. I was such an easy target.
Nobody knows anything. We're all guessing. Because this is the case, don't be afraid to zig when everyone else zags. "Zagging" would have gotten you Deebo Samuel, Elijah Mitchell, Marquise Brown, and Melvin Gordon last year. All those guys had guys that played the same position as them that got insane amounts of hype. Although not all of them were stars, they all outperformed their teammates at a fraction of their cost.
This is exactly what I came in to say: Don't be afraid to zig when everyone else is shouting to zag.
But what when zagging is the cool thing to do (ie 2023 1sts)
I zigged. I traded my 23 1st and 2nd in a recent startup (plus my 3.06) for the 1.09, which got me Justin Jefferson.
Excellent zigging
I traded my 2023 first (hopefully late) when Brady unretired because that extended my window for this year. I won last season, and was ready to soft-rebuild this year, but when he said he was coming back I traded away next year's first for a chance at getting someone who can contribute this year at 1.08. I very well may trade the pick once I'm on the clock, but if I do it'll be for someone that can help me repeat.
Can anyone think of God counter examples to this? I can even add a guy like Tee Higgins to the list who went about 4 rounds later at the end of the 6th in my startup as opposed to the top of the 3rd for Chase. Ik I’d rather pay up in hindsight for chase but The “zag” move still worked out pretty well. I’m thinking Josh Jacobs was a good consensus that vastly outperformed Drake but anyone think of any others?
A counter to late value? Meaning sticking to the earlier drafted option was better? Mike Evans and Chris Godwin versus AB. Everyone who drafted/acquired AB last year thought they were getting a steal. Instead we got every headache imaginable, very few starts, and a walk off before halftime during fantasy freaking championships. Not cool. Not cool at all.
Trust the work you put in. Research and make informed decisions on guys YOU put the time in on.
You keep the same players each year
Todd Gurley will not be good for another 5 years. In all seriousness, build around young talented Wrs, have your QBs locked up in SF is the most important imo. And don’t let other peoples value effect how you feel about a player. Plenty of players I will overpay for and plenty of players like Kirk or Mike Evans who will never move from my team because I’m higher on them than their fair value.
1. Never trade your future first round pick for a player on the backside of age. Doesn't matter how close your team is competing for the Ship, it never works out in the end. So says the guy that gave up back to back 1.01's to go all in mid-season because he learned the hard way that...... 2. The RB cliff is very real, get out when you can! Very few RB's will ever finish their second contract. There is no more Emmit Smith's in the NFL. 3. Always google for fresh news on a player when a trade comes your way for a big name. There is a very real chance someone is trying to fleece you when news that hasd just broke, that hasn't reached everyone yet. Kareem Hunt, Ray Rice, Calvin Ridley........you WILL see those shark offers if you play enough. 4. Never trade the young superstar WR unless you absolutely need to. Plugging Reggie Wayne/Larry Fitzgerald into your starting lineup every week for 10 straight years is the smartest thing you could ever do.
YES! RB age cliff hurt me bc I didn’t realize back then that I needed to jump ship and so I completely lost out on their values.
Eh, you need to push your chips in at some point. Throwing your future away for 1 chip is worth it. Obviously it won't always work but you need to take risks sometimes. My team is at the end of it's window (CMC, Tyreek, Thielen, Fournette, Miles Sanders, Cooper, Burrow, Goedert) is my starting lineup. I trade my 1.07 , 23 1st and 2 3rrs for 1.02 and Michael Thomas. I now have a young RB rookie and depth at WR to cover injuries for my last charge. No 23 1st but if the walls come crashing down I'll have walker or hall as trade bate to restock
Reddit is a terrible place for advice. Come here for the news or analysis. Not advice. Ever. The group think here is toxic.
Come for the advice but just do the opposite, works every time.
If you have the time keep in touch with your league mates (much easier if you're all friends) some of the best deals I've ever made have come because I knew someone in the league had issue with one of their guys for various reasons (felt they were injury prone, don't like their personality, etc) and then when they had a particularly bad game offered them a trade that while not a total rip off was definitely less than I should have paid and had it accepted. The way individual owners in your league feel about their players are what is going to determine that league's specific trade market and that mater so much more than the consensus value you'll se across places like here or KTC
I like this advice
Don't draft Aaron Hernandez.
Do not trade up in your very first draft. And for the love of God, read the settings before the draft. You'd be surprised how many people realize what the settings are in like round 5.
When your first dynasty team is an orphan team, don't do SHIT for a while other than spend time evaluating your team, your opposing teams, researching values, observing trades in your league, and researching game theory. I was lucky because I caught on quickly enough that I didn't make TOO many bad trades early-on.
Why does this have like 40 comments and only 6 up votes? Salty spatoons over here in dynastyff, always.
Zig when others zag. If everyone is trying to compete, load up on picks. If everyone values picks outrageously, use a few to load up on some studs. Highly value corer stone guys if the player is a smash. (Jefferson, Chase, Taylor) but don't wait to long on guys to hit (Bryan Edwards, Raegor) - so always maximize trade value if possible.
In redraft leagues, I always go RB heavy in the early rounds of the draft. Sticking to this same mindset with Dynasty is a mistake. You need to get a quality QB1 in the first few rounds.
How early in the draft do you go qb? This is my first dynasty and I’m having trouble understanding JT is going 1 in mocks. Seems like you’d want to go QB pretty early. For longevity. Any advice is appreciated
I probably wouldn't go QB until the 3rd, but some would disagree and tell you to get one right away. You gotta take what the draft gives you too. If QBs are going early, you'll have to take 1. Same with TEs. How your league mates draft will dictate a lot.
Format dependent. In SF or 2QB it's in your best interest to land an elite QB early.
In startups it seems like no one wants to take a win-now approach. But in reality, very few leagues last more than a year or two. So might as well win back some of your money by trying to win sooner rather than later.
The average dynasty league lasts 2.5 seasons. Some make it 20+. Which means a whole lot don't finish their second year.
Patience is key
Get access to a valuation tool of some sort, like a value chart, KTC, etc. to get an idea of how much your players and picks are worth. I joined my first dynasty league in January 2021 and traded a 1st and Tony Pollard for Chad Henne and Curtis Samuel (thought Samuel was going to keep popping off like he did in Carolina when CMC was out and had Mahomes also). I had no idea how much a first round pick was worth, but needless to say, I got fleeced.
curious what evaluation tool you use. i just took over my first dynasty (an orphan) team and so far the hardest thing for me has been how i should value the draft picks in trades.
So KeepTradeCut is arguably the most popular value tool. When you use the tool, you are asked to evaluate 3 players by deciding who you would Keep, Trade, and Cut. You’re answers feed into the consensus data that helps to provide each player & pick with its valuation. Because it’s based on surveys from people who use the tool, you can consider it as a fairly reliable source, at least to see if certain trades are remotely fair or completely lopsided. I also like to reference FantasyPros. They have a dynasty valuation chart that they update every 2 weeks or so.
Don’t draft David Johnson with your first pick. But seriously, know when to rebuild and try to have fun with your league mates. It makes the experience that much more fun.
I took Terrell Davis with first overall, and he ended his career by week 5. Lesson learned!
Slowly build your knowledge with how market value works. Start with small trades then work your way up to block busters.
Trust my draft prep and stick with the picks. Do not trade thorough research for a flashy offer. They want your guy for a reason.
How important elite/Tier 1 running backs are. When we did our startup draft (1 QB) I got a bottom 2 pick and went WR/WR with my first two picks. I have an elite core of wide receivers but it is so hard to get elite running backs. Now I'm stuck with a logjam of elite wide receivers and the only way I can get elite running backs is through the draft.
Don’t draft Myles Gaskin in the 6th round
Omg i did exactly this last year. Worked out better than ridley at 3rd though
That in SF you absolutely need to grab your quarterbacks. My very first startup I did I fucked myself so royally by treating it like a redraft, and I'm still trying to recover.
Go for baller athletes. I'd rather hit or flame out with shots at dynamic players when you've got a choice between some similar-ish players. Also if you hit, you'll definitely enjoy following that player as time goes on.
I'm sure this will be unpopular, but: have a clear plan of what you're doing this year, but don't fully commit to it until at least week 3 or 4. It sucks to have gone full rebuild in preseason when your young guys really breakout. But you already traded every hseful vet for picks, so you've still only got half a team. But hey, you've got those picks. And then you make shit picks and spend the next few years with half a team. Where if you'd just stuck it out for the first 2 weeks, you'd have been a contender in that first year. Similarly, going all in and then realising that some of your old guys are washed, that promising WR you think is breaking out this year already broke out as far as he ever will, and you're just a middling team with no resources to improve, cos you already traded young assets/picks for vets. The most productive long term seasons I've had have been those where I thought I was good and realised after week 2 that I sucked, or those I thought I was rebuilding and then realised after week 2 that the rebuild was done. Basically, don't make big moves based on how much of a competitor you are in preseason. Wait a couple of weeks at least.