I like many others enjoy playing the role of arm chair General Manager. This is why I love playing dynasty league formats. The thrill of building your squad and competing for a championship gets me amped up every season. We all know that a good draft can set you up for a great season. Which is why I’m writing a series on draft strategies for the differing league formats. In this paper I will focus on the dynasty league format and will be giving tips on how to build your juggernaut for the next 5-10 years. I’ll be focusing on how variables such as: age, position and league scoring and how you create your best team. So here’s my draft strategy for your dynasty league, enjoy and happy drafting.

Age

Age is a critical factor when building a dynasty team. Think about your first 5 picks in a draft, they are usually guys that have played consistently well for years. The problem with this approach in dynasty is that you’re building a team for the long term, so players that are on the downturn of their prime may not be the guys you turn to to be cornerstones of your roster. Now I’m not saying don’t go after more experienced players, but maybe look into how old you want your roster to be going forward. Do you want an average roster age of 27-30 years old going forward or a roster that is 23-27 years old going into the next 5 years?

There are pros and cons to having either type of roster. If you want to go older, you generally get a contender and a team that should compete for a few seasons. The cons to an older roster is that you usually have to rebuild sooner, or have to trade players to get younger…it can sometimes be a process. With a younger roster you tend to have a solid foundation for years to come…barring any setbacks. The cons could be that your players are more prone to mistakes such as interceptions and fumbles, or be less consistent in their performances. So, when you’re making your roster this year think about how you want to set up your team for the future. Do you want to win now and build later or build now and dominate later?

Player Position

The top positions that are drafted during dynasty drafts are usually quarterback and running back. You may be asking yourself, “A quarterback? I can get one of those guys in the 3rd-4th round.” You’re not wrong, but dynasty is building your team for years to come and quarterbacks are the top scoring players. So ideally you want to grab a young QB who can potentially play 10-15 years of high level football or get an elite level guy (i.e. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Kirk Cousins) for the next 5 years.

My theory on dynasty running backs is get them while they are young and get them in large amounts because they are heavily used throughout the season. Heavy usage leads to injuries, which is why drafting a handcuff (back up running back) or a lesser starting running back can help you later on in the season. Wide receivers/tight ends for me are the last position I fill.

My problem with going wide receiver is that there are few wide outs that consistently stay in the top 15 of fantasy football. Another thing to ponder with the wide receiver group is there are multiple starters on a team and a lot of the Lower tier number ones/number 2 receivers will have a good or possibly great year. Which to me validates not taking one with my first pick in any draft. Overall, I like to go after the quarterbacks and running backs early and bet on the wide receivers/tight ends in the later rounds.

League Scoring

Every league has its own set of rules, some use the standard scoring rules, while others manually increase the points on certain stat (i.e. receptions, touchdowns, etc.). A good strategy for constructing your team would be to look into how the league’s point system could benefit you. One of the well known systems of scoring is Point Per Reception (PPR). In PPR leagues, every time a player gets a reception they get a point which benefits receivers who catch 90+ balls a year (i.e. Michael Thomas) which also makes dual threat running backs a hot commodity (i.e. Christian McCaffrey). In Dynasty your always trying to one up the rest of the league. So get to know your league scoring system and make a list of players that meet the criteria. Knowing this can be a game changing strategy for new and old dynasty players alike.

Conclusion

I hope these tips can help you win your league this year, as well as help with future drafts. My last piece of advice for you guys would be to integrate these tips and make decisions based on what you know about the player. The reality is that we wont know how well we do until the NFL is back, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start playing GM of our own dynasty teams.

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