Dynasty 101: Five Tips for Beginners – Part Two (Fantasy Football)
Welcome back to Dynasty 101 with Five Tips for Beginners – Part Two!
By making this leap into dynasty, you are actively making the choice to become a better fantasy football player. By the end of season one, you will have a profound new outlook on the world of fantasy and the NFL itself. You will be more detailed, more nuanced, and more skilled as a player. You will have deeper roster knowledge, a superior understanding of the game, and be introduced to analytics that I can tell you firsthand had never crossed my mind until I joined my first dynasty league.
Today, we dive a little deeper into dynasty leagues and how you can avoid the common rookie season mistakes (unlike me). This is the tip of the iceberg, my friend. We are pumped to help you build your dynasty!
Before we begin, I’d highly recommend checking out the following articles by Parker Hagen and myself:
Not All Draft Classes are Created Equal
The dynasty community has been spoiled recently, with an influx of “generational talent” and “bonafide studs” at almost every position. Over the past two seasons, we’ve been introduced to the likes of Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Anthony Richardson, CJ Stroud, Bryce Young (?), Dalton Kincaid, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Marvin Harrison Jr. Malik Nabers, Brock Bowers, and many more that we all want shares of.
Specifically, the 2024 draft class was absurd, with eight skill players drafted in the top 10, and 14 total in round one. This means that if you’re playing in a 12-team league, you could still be drafting first-round NFL talent at pick 2.02, while the first RB (Jonathon Brooks) wasn’t coming off the board until mid-round two in most leagues. This felt like an outlier of a year, even compared to a stacked ‘23 class, which boasted four skill players in the top 10, and 10 total in round one.
If you’re new to dynasty, this is not the norm.
The community has been aware of these names for years. Nobody was surprised to see Bijan Robinson, Caleb Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Brock Bowers‘ names called, as they all have been touted as top-15 NFL draft picks since they were just 18-19 years old.
But before that, we had the ‘22 class – where one fantasy-relevant player was taken in the top 10 (Drake London), the first QB was drafted at pick 20 (Kenny Pickett), and only seven skill players were drafted in the first round. If you’re doing the math, that’s half of what we saw in ’24.
This year still produced top-tier talent, and we’re happy with players like London, Breece Hall, and Garrett Wilson – but most walked away with first-round dynasty picks like Treylon Burks, Kenny Pickett, Skyy Moore, and Jahan Dotson. Excluding Brock Purdy (who was literally on no one’s radar), there are zero QBs from ’22 who are currently NFL starters.
The point is – don’t trade away a valuable commodity thinking “I’ll just draft a (insert position here) next year,” because there may not be a (insert position here) for you to draft. And even if there is, you may end up with Kenny Pickett, Mac Jones, Trey Lance, or any number of players who have already lost their starting job.
There is a reason why six QBs were taken in the top 12 picks this year. It’s because this year’s class had an outstanding level of talent, and many teams don’t have the same confidence in next year’s class. Meanwhile, there were only four RBs taken in the first three rounds this year (none in the first), compared to seven in ’23, with two of them being top-12 picks. The 2025 running back class is already mocking several potential studs, potentially even in round one.
You don’t need in-depth knowledge of college football, but doing your research will help you understand the value of your picks even more. I start familiarizing myself early with mock drafts, but what I’d recommend today are these incredible resources from our very own Marvin Eloquin:
- Dynasty Report: An Early Look at the 2025 Running Back Class
- Dynasty Report: An Early Look at the 2025 Wide Receiver Class
- Dynasty Report: An Early Look at the 2025 Tight End Class
“One AFC exec said he believes Caleb Williams and Drake Maye would’ve been the first and second quarterbacks taken in 2023 and ’22, in addition to this year, and they would’ve been the second and third guys to go in ’21, behind only Trevor Lawrence. An NFC exec went a step further, texting that, based on film, he’d have Williams and Maye “definitely above them all other than Lawrence,” then said he’d go, in order, “Caleb, Trevor, Drake.” An AFC college director added he sees this year’s top two as the “best since Trevor Lawrence.” – Sports Illustrated
🚨🚨WILD FOOTAGE🚨🚨 #Falcons GM Terry Fontenot trying to explain himself to owner Arthur Blank on why they selected Michael Penix Jr.
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) April 26, 2024
There Is More Than One Way to Win a Championship (Youth Is Not Always King)
In my hometown league, there are three of us who are competing for the strongest, most youthful team.
There is one team considered far in the lead in KeepTradeCut‘s power rankings, and while another team and I have solid rosters, we are still far below the number one team.
*It’s worth noting that the first gentleman had been playing dynasty for a few years before we held our initial draft, and understood the game on a far different level than the rest of us did at the time. This is why it’s good you’re here. We want you to be the one your league fears.
But then there’s a fourth team, who despite being ranked toward the bottom of the league in the same rankings, has won the league for two straight years. This is because they realized an opportunity, and took advantage of it.
He zigged while the rest of us zagged.
While the three of us loaded up on ‘23 and ‘24 picks, fighting for the Garrett Wilsons and Breece Halls of the world, this fourth member went out of his way to trade for players like Derrick Henry, Mike Evans, Keenan Allen, and Baker Mayfield at discounts. He recognized our obsession with youth and capitalized on a weak veteran market, taking him to two straight championships.
He has little left for picks and has missed out on two great draft classes (as mentioned above), but he has covered the cost of our league for the next 25 years, which feels like a worthy sacrifice at the end of the day.
The bottom is going to fall out eventually, but as a wise man once said: If you ain’t first, you’re last.
trying to package two bad players together to trade for a good player pic.twitter.com/FNuNppJUjy
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) September 20, 2023
You Can Always Get Picks Back
There is something heartbreaking about giving up a pick.
What could that pick be? I had plans for it. I was going to nurture it, water it, feed it, tell it bedtime stories, watch it learn through hardship, and then it would grow and mature into a fine young pick. How could I give up on it so soon?
Well, don’t worry, friend. There is still reason for hope.
First of all, if you’re giving up a pick, it’s likely for a player you believe is going to help your team now, and one that you’ve likely already seen perform at an NFL level. That has worth on its own.
And second, there are always opportunities to get picks back.
The greatest part of dynasty is that there is no offseason. The trade deadline is often set way later than redraft leagues (if there is one at all), and if you’re a degenerate like me, you’re still sending and receiving offers in April and May.
For some reason, losing a pick feels so dang permanent, but it’s important to remember it’s not. You could trade away several picks for a shot at the title, and if your team is not contending, trade those same players elsewhere in the offseason. With each passing year, you’ll get a better feel for all of the people in your league, their level of investment, and the appropriate times to buy and sell assets.
"NO DAYS OFF" – Bill Belichick #PatriotsParade pic.twitter.com/GmEw0hiIjP
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) February 7, 2017
Show Me the Money
The salary cap is confusing and honestly seems made up half the time, but becoming familiar with player and team salary situations can help you think like a GM, and (sometimes) help predict the future.
I like to use Spotrac as my reference tool. Let’s use Brandon Aiyuk’s new contract for example:
Along the top of the page, you’ll see the “Contract Terms” reading four years, $120m, however, it’s the finer details that can give you an advantage.
Following to the right, you’ll see the “Signing Bonus” of $23m, the “GTD at Sign” of $45m, and the “Total GTD” at $76m. A nice payday after a long, drawn-out saga from Aiyuk’s camp.
Next, I look for the “Potential Out” row. As you can see from this chart, the (likely) soonest that the 49ers can get out from this contract would be 2027, Aiyuk’s age-29 season. At that time, his base salary jumps from approximately $1.2m/year to $27.2m in 2027 and $29.1m in 2028, giving them (potential) incentive to trade, release, or extend him; but no matter what they do, they’re going to be paying him a minimum of $76m. If you have Aiyuk in dynasty, you can feel confident that he is now locked into the 49ers’ system for a minimum of the next three years.
Now let’s look at Saquon Barkley’s new contract:
Right away, you’ll notice that of the $37.5m contract, Saquon is guaranteed to make $26m. That is a hefty sum for an aging RB who is already at the dreaded age-27 “cliff.”
Many are scared off by Saquon right now. Are there too many other weapons? How many touchdowns can he score in this high-powered offense? Will Jalen Hurts take away his goal-line carries?
These are all legitimate questions, but when I look at this contract, I think: “They are not paying him $26m to not score touchdowns.”
The Eagles learned last season that they need to keep their star QB healthy, and one way of doing that is having him run less and take fewer hits. What better way to do that than to sign an absolute stud RB?
You’ll notice Saquon’s “Potential Out” in 2026, meaning he is on this team for at least the next two years. This is a player with an elite three-down skill set, going from (arguably) the league’s worst offensive line to (arguably) the best. If you’re a contender and there is any glimmer of nervousness from the Saquon manager, I would be happily buying.
At the end of the day, the NFL is a business, and businesses don’t pay people to do nothing.
Unless you’re Russell Wilson.
Saquon Barkley is absolutely going to remind people to “put some respect on his name!” Call him Birdman because this Eagles RB is ready to soar to new heights! Career year incoming! 🦅 pic.twitter.com/HyokoEtcXS
— Joshua Cho (@jbchoknows) August 21, 2024
Draft Picks Will Only Increase in Value
Draft picks will gain value every moment of every day, and they will never be worth more than during your rookie draft.
This is helpful to remember when looking at trade calculators, understanding that although you may be “losing” a trade today, by the time that 2026 pick is actually on the clock, it’s going to be worth more than it’s showing right now.
Picks are like magical investments that never lose value, and you should never feel rushed to move them. As the rookie draft nears, your league mates are going to fall in love with players, and the desperation will never be higher than when that pick finally says: “On the clock.”
Me hitting DRAFT as fast as possible if Malik Nabers is still there in Round 3 pic.twitter.com/sihMjoucCY
— Jody Smith (@JodySmithNFL) September 2, 2024
Comments
How did this gem of article slip through the cracks?? Just now reading and so glad I did! Really enjoyed it!