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.

1. Startup Drafts
2. Roster Construction
3. Ideal Archetypes
4. Ship Chasing
5. Iron Bank
6. Rookie Pick Values
7. Rookie Drafts
8. Trading
9. Roster Management
10. Bayesian Inference
11. Startup Supreme
12. Roster Crunch
13. Trade Assessment
14. Productive Struggle
15. Game Theory
16. Startup Trades & Pick Swaps
17. Winning the Offseason
18. Rebuild Roadmap
19. Revanche
20. Kingdom Come

One of the biggest advantages that an experienced dynasty player has over his/her competition is the understanding of the nuances of constructing a roster that is strong from top to bottom. Fantasy football is a lot like chess in that your players should be viewed as having specific roles on your team – high ceiling and elite upside, high floor, consistency, durability. This means you need to know the type of players to target and those to avoid when turning your roster over from season to season.

As mentioned previously, you want to build a balanced team with young players boasting elite upside alongside proven performers who may be aging but still have a few years left in the tank. Several of the tenets above (ideal archetypes, trading, rookie drafts) are key in this process but having the ability to evaluate players and discern the best values is critical. In terms of positional players, it is important to understand not only the ideal archetypes but also the characteristics of a solid player to make an evaluation of the best value players.

Anchor & Konami QBs

An elite anchor QB is usually a big advantage in Superflex leagues. It has been argued that you can win without elite QBs and that is probably true, although I’m not a proponent of that. In my opinion, you want at least one elite QB in a good offense lead by an intelligent playcaller. There’s not many of them. This is why I am generally not a fan of late round QB strategy in Superflex.

Add on top the fact that you will want to find at least one Konami QB to build around and the selection becomes even smaller. Therein lies the distinct advantage in Superflex. Mike Liu dropped science about Konami QBs and their value in fantasy football. As Mike noted, 1 rushing yard = 2.5 passing yards and a rushing TD = 1.5 passing TDs. This is an immense difference in value, especially when compounding with volume.

A team built around a QB who can and will run provides a solid floor at the position while boosting the position’s ceiling. Look at the top QBs in fantasy football and you will notice they have one thing in common – the Konami Code.

On the downside, we must consider whether Konami QBs have a higher injury risk than what Scott Barrett calls “statue QBs”. The short answer is ‘maybe’. When the QB becomes a ball carrier, he is inevitably exposed to a higher rate of hits. In the professional opinion of DPT’s in our community, increasing the exposure to contact puts the player at a higher risk of injury. From this, I gather that although we should target Konami QBs, you will want depth at the position (especially in Superflex). Make sure to roster more than one serviceable backup QB to protect your roster from injury risk. Personally, I prefer to have at least startable QBs on my roster in Superflex dynasty leagues.

This article explains more about the injury risk of Konami QBs.

High Ceiling WRs

To the extent possible, target WRs who are tied to elite QBs who have at least 2-5 years left in their primes. Why? Consistent QB play is usually critical to a WR’s success and elevates a WR’s ceiling. Even if the QB is nearing the end of his respective prime (see Tom Brady), getting a WR tethered to that signal-caller will reap dividends at least in the short term. You should also look to roster WRs are in pass-happy offenses that play at a high pace, allowing for more plays called and more opportunities for targets.

Young, stud receivers are not the only WRs you want to consider for your dynasty teams. In fact, aging WRs generally deliver the best value as they can provide multiple years of production at a (significant) discount. And if/when you are deciding between 2 aging WRs, select the smaller player as they will likely have a play style that will sustain as they get older.

Finally, you want to make sure to have a couple of target hogs on your dynasty rosters. The elite WRs all have several attributes in common and one of the most important is volume. The fact is that WRs can’t score points without targets. Never forget that volume is king.

Elite Bellcow & Workhorse RBs

Tom Kislingbury has provided the criteria for a bellcow RB (not to be confused with a workhorse). A bellow RB:

• Plays 75% of team snaps
• Gets 75% of total RB carries
• Gets 75% of total RB targets

This ultimately means that there are very few elite bellcows in the NFL, especially where timeshares are common. Where possible (and practicable), look to secure those elite bellcows for your rosters such as Christian McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook, and Saquon Barkley.

In terms of elite bellcows and high floor RBs, as Graham Barfield put it, targets are worth 3x more fantasy points than carries. An RB who is projected for 165 carries + 80 targets has much more value fantasy-wise than an RB who projected for 250 carries + 30 targets. This tells us that we need to target pass-catching RBs who get a healthy mix of carries and targets as much as possible.

As true bellcows are a rarity, an alternative is to target workhorse RBs who will see the majority of their team’s carries in a 2-down role which provides a decent floor and predictability as to their usage. A workhorse RB does not see the targets and receiving opportunity of a true 3-down back. But there will always be workhorses (Derrick Henry, Nick Chubb) that can produce just as much as a bellcow (if not more), although I will always prefer a bellcow due to the elite ceiling they provide based on targets and receptions.

If you are looking at workhorses, make sure they have volume on their side. This will provide a nice solid floor and dependability. A workhorse is preferred over a satellite RB who is dependent on negative game scripts and seeing a high volume of targets which is not common among RBs. Avoid satellite/scat backs unless they have potential at a starting role in the event of injury to the #1 back on the team (see Nyheim Hines). In general, satellite/scat backs do not possess a safe floor.

If you are in a rebuild or Productive Struggle situation, elite bellcows won’t do you any good. You are likely better off trading them away for a treasure trove of assets and stockpiling the Iron Bank. Rookie drafts are a great time to stock up on highly graded rookies with high draft capital. You can also trade away your stockpiled rookie picks for a premium bellcow when you are ready to contend for a title.

Injury Risk Players

You want to fill out your roster with durable players as the best ability is availability. Players with checkered injury histories should be avoided even though it has been said that ‘injury prone’ is a myth. There will always be freak injuries so those shouldn’t be factored here, but pay attention to a player’s health and whether they have a history of knee issues. You want to avoid the Todd Gurleys and Sony Michels. This is not to say you shouldn’t buy the dip and target a young, solid player coming off an injury. Just pay attention to the situation.

In summary, build a team core with an anchor QB and target hog WRs in a productive, stable offense. Then you put your team over the top to make a championship run by adding elite premium bellcow (or workhorse) RBs when you are ready to chase the ship. And of course, if you see red flags around a player’s health and durability, do your best to avoid rostering them.

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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.

1. Startup Drafts
2. Roster Construction
3. Ideal Archetypes
4. Ship Chasing
5. Iron Bank
6. Rookie Pick Values
7. Rookie Drafts
8. Trading
9. Roster Management
10. Bayesian Inference
11. Startup Supreme
12. Roster Crunch
13. Trade Assessment
14. Productive Struggle
15. Game Theory
16. Startup Trades & Pick Swaps
17. Winning the Offseason
18. Rebuild Roadmap
19. Revanche
20. Kingdom Come

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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).

1. 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.
2. 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

1. 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.
2. 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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