Building a dynasty fantasy football team requires strategic thinking and football acumen similar to planning a long military campaign. You must intimately understand your leaguemates’ rosters and tendencies, diligently prepare for the rookie draft and waiver wire, and thoughtfully craft a balanced yet versatile roster aligned to your vision. Knowing when to push all chips to the table for a title run or temporarily rebuild for sustained excellence is equally critical. The finest dynasty owners combine sharp situational analysis with statistical rigor and old-fashioned football study to construct juggernauts that dominate their leagues for years.
This guide outlines core tenets to help you architect a formidable roster poised for both immediate and enduring success. By internalizing essential dynasty strategies around planning, preparation, roster construction, and pivoting between competing goals, you too can rule over your leaguemates year after year like a battle-tested emperor of old.
- Startup Drafts
- Roster Construction
- Ideal Archetypes
- Ship Chasing
- Iron Bank
- Rookie Pick Values
- Rookie Drafts
- Trading
- Roster Management
- Bayesian Inference
- Startup Supreme
- Roster Crunch
- Trade Assessment
- Productive Struggle
- Game Theory
- Startup Trades & Pick Swaps
- Winning the Offseason
- Rebuild Roadmap
- Revanche
- Kingdom Come
If you executed the Startup Supreme strategy or loaded up the Iron Bank, then you likely face a roster crunch.
A roster crunch is simply when you have too many players and picks to fit onto your roster. For example, you may have rosters set at 26 players and have 10 picks in the current draft class. This leaves you with a situation where you need to drop at least 10 players from your team to make the rookies fit. I’ve talked about leverage often, and in these situations, you undoubtedly lack the advantage and sharp leaguemates will notice. Here’s how to strategically navigate a roster crunch and turn it into a position of strength:
Trade Up
This is the most basic trick in the book. Packaging multiple picks to move up to nab the best in the rookie class. This works best if the rebuilding teams lack draft picks and have several areas of need. The selling point to them is that you are helping them fill holes. Pitch this as an opportunity for them to move back and gain draft capital.
- Identify Targets: Focus on teams that are in clear rebuild mode. They are often more willing to trade down for quantity over quality.
- Craft Your Offer: Package late first-round picks with second and third-round picks to move into the top tier of the draft. The aim is to secure elite talent that can provide immediate impact or high future upside.
- Negotiation Strategy: Emphasize the value of quantity for the rebuilding team. Highlight how your offer provides them with more shots at acquiring multiple foundational pieces.
Target the Weak
There’s always going to be teams in your league that are bottom feeders, lacking any semblance of a competitive squad. Those are your first targets. Look at their rosters and identify productive players you can pick off using mid-round draft capital. If you can package a few 2nd and 3rd round picks for RB2 or WR2 veterans, then that’s an easy move to make. If you have several 1sts and play in a Superflex league, then target elite QB options by tossing out offers that include 2-3 1sts plus some 2nds.
- Scout Bottom Feeders: Evaluate teams that have been consistently underperforming. Look for productive veterans who can still contribute but are of little use to a rebuilding squad.
- Mid-Round Capital: Use your excess 2nd and 3rd round picks to acquire these veterans. This can often be enough to tempt rebuilding teams looking to gather draft assets.
- Elite Targets in Superflex: In Superflex leagues, prioritize acquiring elite QBs by bundling multiple first-round picks and a few second-round picks. These trades can dramatically shift your team’s competitive edge.
Get Ahead of the Cliff
Look at your own roster and see if you have players, particularly RBs, who are nearing the age cliff. It might be worth packaging some of your older players and sending them off to contenders (if you’re not very competitive). If you can move these aging players for younger options and/or future picks, then you can create space for this year’s rookies.
- Age Analysis: Regularly assess the age and performance trajectory of your players, focusing on those nearing the age cliff, particularly running backs who typically decline faster.
- Sell High: Identify contenders in need of experienced players and propose trades that offer them immediate value in exchange for younger talent or future picks.
- Maximize Returns: Aim to trade aging stars while their market value remains high, ensuring you get maximum return before their performance drops significantly.
Unclog the Roster
It is very rare for a dynasty team to not have any roster cloggers. Take a hard look at your team and be honest with the evaluation of the players you don’t want to drop in fear of missing out. Chances are that WR5 option you’ve been holding out hope for or the RB bench warmer you hope will find a way onto the field will never amount to anything. Let go of those pipe dreams and let someone else waste their FAB to pick them up off waivers. This will let you make room for rookies who have much more upside.
- Roster Evaluation: Conduct a thorough evaluation of your roster, identifying players who are unlikely to have significant roles or upside.
- Tough Decisions: Be ruthless in cutting players who are not contributing meaningfully. This frees up valuable roster spots for incoming rookies with higher potential.
- Monitor Waivers: Keep an eye on the waiver wire post-cuts to potentially reacquire valuable players who were dropped by other teams facing similar roster crunches.
Lie In Wait
Every league has stagnant periods before rookie drafts but things tend to pick up dramatically after the NFL Draft and draft capital is settled. Stay patient and capitalize on the rookie fever when picks go on the clock. Often times, you are able to move a current year’s draft picks for future picks which help you stockpile into the future without losing value. You should look to add a kicker like an additional 3rd or 4th round pick, or even a 2nd, depending on the pick you’re sending away.
- Patience: Exercise patience leading up to and during the draft, knowing that trade activity often spikes when picks are on the clock.
- Future Capital: Look to trade current-year picks for future-year picks, adding value to your future drafts without losing immediate potential.
- Leverage Rookie Fever: Exploit rookie fever by selling picks when the demand is highest, typically during the draft itself. Add sweeteners like additional mid-round picks to maximize returns.
Maximize Options
If the above options aren’t working out, then you smash the best players available during the rookie draft. Make a push to swap late 3rds and 4ths for picks next year. There are usually a few teams that will want them. Patience is key. Hopefully, the league allows you some time during camp to watch the dust settle so you can decide who to keep. Regardless, there’s probably a decent chance you will have a few players to drop. Scrutinize players at the end of your bench. When will you ever play them?
- Draft Best Available: When all else fails, draft the best players available, focusing on those with the highest upside and trade potential.
- Future Swap: Actively seek opportunities to trade late-round picks for future-year picks, thereby continually replenishing your draft capital.
- Final Cuts: As training camp progresses, closely monitor player performances and be prepared to make final cuts to ensure your roster is optimized for the season.
Having a roster crunch is one of my favorite problems to have in dynasty. It means you’ve been building the right way so don’t change your approach and keep stacking value. By strategically managing your roster, leveraging trades, and making informed decisions, you can turn a potential problem into a powerful advantage for your dynasty team.
