The Undroppables - The Art of Dynasty

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.

Everyday a good day to make a dynasty trade. But it’s not just about making a trade, especially one that only helps you. The art of trading is about sending offers that are fair and will help all teams involved in the trade which will increase the chances that they will be accepted.

The Foundations of Effective Trading

Assessing Your Team Needs and Strengths

You need to make sure that the trade will actually help your trade partner. Don’t think selfishly about your own needs only. Do your homework. Assess your team needs and which positions you need to bolster. Then figure out what your team strengths are and where you might have surplus whether it’s positionally or in terms of draft capital. After you have assessed your team’s current state, check out your leaguemates’ roster needs and strengths. By building trade offers that solve your trade partner’s problems and looking to acquire from their surplus or strengths, you will inevitably increase the chances for a successful deal.

Conduct a Team Audit
- Identify Weaknesses: Evaluate your team’s weak points and identify which positions need bolstering.
- Analyze Strengths: Determine your team’s strengths, whether positionally or in terms of draft capital, to identify surplus assets.
Study Your Leaguemates
- Roster Analysis: Examine the rosters of your leaguemates to identify their needs and strengths.
- Tailored Offers: Build trade offers that solve your trade partner’s problems while leveraging their surplus. This increases the likelihood of a successful deal.

Crafting Fair and Mutually Beneficial Trades

In terms of fairness, this is dynasty and we need to consider the long game versus trying to rip off a leaguemate. You might pull one over someone but you’ll quickly be viewed as a sneaky (not savvy) trade partner. You also don’t want to insult someone. As Curtis advises, you can increase the chances that you can close a deal by sending a fair offer, one that makes you feel “uncomfortable if it’s accepted” and “mutually beneficial”. I’ll admit that I have been guilty of sending low ball offers to get the conversation started. The problem is that the conversation usually ends pretty quickly from there.

Fairness and Long-Term Relationships
- Uncomfortable Offers: Aim for offers that make both parties uncomfortable but are mutually beneficial.
- Maintain Reputation: Strive for fairness to build and maintain a good reputation as a trade partner. Attempting to rip off leaguemates can make future trading more difficult.
Balanced Approach
- Short and Long-Term Value: Consider both short-term gains and long-term value in your trade offers. Avoid sacrificing the future for immediate success unless you’re confident in your title chances.

Strategic Player Targets

Mastering the art of trading has a third component – knowing which players to trade for and those to trade away. Trade for players who are expected to turn things around in the short term. When you are looking to trade for players with depressed trade value, target young players who have exceptional talent profiles but have recently underperformed. Bet on the bounce back as history has shown us that situations change faster than talent. Great players usually don’t disappear or fall off the production cliff (barring age or serious career-threatening injuries).

Trading for Value

Other players to target in trades are those who are coming off season-ending injuries or a poor season but are still in their primes (see Saquon Barkley and Dak Prescott). I would also look at situations in free agency. Are there players who will be changing teams and seeing better opportunities like Stefon Diggs when he left Minnesota for Buffalo and became the undisputed alpha? Look to add proven veterans who you expect to have improved situations.

Targeting Depressed Assets
- Young Talents: Look for young players with exceptional talent profiles who have recently underperformed. These players are likely to bounce back as situations change faster than talent.
- Injured Stars: Trade for players coming off season-ending injuries or poor seasons but who are still in their primes, such as Saquon Barkley or Dak Prescott.
Identifying Free Agency Opportunities
- Team Changes: Focus on players who might change teams in free agency and land in better situations. An example is Stefon Diggs moving from Minnesota to Buffalo and becoming the undisputed alpha receiver.

Timing Your Trades

On the flip side, you also need to know when to trade way a player. Holding onto a player passing his prime and reaching the age apex (see A.J. Green and Todd Gurley) can be disastrous and result in you having roster cloggers. Building a successful dynasty team is a delicate balance of young and old. Consider trading away elite players who are reaching the age apex while they still hold top value for a combination of both young assets with upside and veterans with track records. You may be breaking up a dollar for 4 quarters but if you play your cards right some of those pieces should be appreciating in value in the next season or two. I have learned from Matt Kelley to sell aging superstars before their decline for a king’s ransom. You want to trade away players before their values take a dramatic hit, but keep in mind that selling high does not always mean you need to trade away all of your aging players.

Buying Low
- Seasonal Timing: Acquire players when their value is low, such as during the offseason or after a poor season. This allows you to buy low and potentially sell high later.
- Performance Slumps: Target players experiencing temporary slumps but who have strong career track records.
Selling High
- Aging Stars: Trade away players approaching or surpassing their age apex before their value declines significantly. Examples include A.J. Green and Todd Gurley.
- Overperforming Youngsters: Sell young players who have had a single strong season but lack high draft capital. These players often struggle to maintain consistent production.

Implementing Trade Strategies

Building Trade Proposals

Remember that an age-balanced roster is a key to success in dynasty fantasy football. In addition, trade away those who have exceeded expectations but may not be able to sustain in the long term. There will be young players who have put up a single strong season (in their first few years) but do not boast high draft capital. Check to see if these players are volume dependent and trade them away while you can for more stable, proven assets. If they are unproven players with less than 2 years of solid production and lack high draft capital, I’d strongly consider moving them as well as the odds of them producing consistently for the next several years are not high (see Jax’s anatomy series).

Addressing Needs
- Holistic Approach: Ensure that your trade proposals address not only your needs but also the needs of your trade partner. This increases the likelihood of acceptance.
- Surplus Utilization: Use your surplus assets to fill gaps in your trade partner’s roster.
Trade Conversations
- Opening Dialogue: Start trade conversations with reasonable offers that invite negotiation rather than shutting down talks.
- Negotiation Tactics: Be open to counteroffers and ready to adjust your proposal to find common ground.

Managing Your Roster

Age-Balanced Roster
- Youth and Experience: Maintain a balance between young prospects and proven veterans to ensure both immediate competitiveness and long-term sustainability.
- Developmental Spots: Allocate a few roster spots for developmental prospects to cultivate future stars.
Volume Dependent Players
- Evaluating Production: Be wary of players who have produced strong numbers due to volume but lack the pedigree or draft capital. Consider trading these players while their value is high.

Case Studies and Practical Examples

Example 1: Trading for a Bounce-Back Candidate

Scenario: A young player like Saquon Barkley is coming off an injury-riddled season but has shown elite talent when healthy.
Action: Trade for Barkley during the offseason when his value is depressed. If he returns to form, you have acquired a top-tier talent at a discount.

Example 2: Selling High on an Aging Veteran

Scenario: A player like A.J. Green is approaching the age apex and has shown signs of decline.
Action: Trade Green to a contender in need of a veteran receiver before his value plummets. Aim to receive younger assets or draft picks in return.

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The Art of Dynasty | Chapter 8 (Trading)