So you don’t think you’ll be able to make the playoffs. Or even if you can, despite the fact that anything can happen on any week, you know the chances of winning the title are slim. If that’s the case, it may be time to give up on the year and rebuild for next year or the one after that. Losing value on win-now assets, only to fall short, can cause major setbacks to your dynasty team. Here are some tips for rebuilding in dynasty.

Target Appreciating Assets

Because you’re not competing for this year, don’t focus on who can give you the most fantasy points now. Just like with stocks, you want to make sure your assets will increase in value, or at least maintain their value. Draft picks are the safest investment. They won’t get injured and they almost always grow in value until your league’s rookie draft. Additionally, young players before or at the early stages of their prime are good assets to have. They help you to compete now, while also contributing in the long term.

That being said, know player values. Don’t give up veterans just for the sake of getting younger. For example, don’t give up Davante Adams for one late first-round pick. Sure, he’s probably a depreciating asset, but he’s still worth more than a late first-rounder. Ask for more or look elsewhere. Also, buy-low and sell-high. If a player is injured, that can be a good time to trade for them. Additionally, if you have a player who has a temporary boost due to their situation, trade him high. If in doubt, using dynasty trade calculators can help, but always make sure to take those numbers with a grain of salt. Just like with stocks, the goal is to increase the overall value of your team until you feel like you’re at a point where you can cash out. That’s when you can consider selling youth and picks for proven studs.

Study the Prospects

Having an idea of who’s coming down the pipeline can help you in your build. For example, many experts claim 2022 is going to be strong at wide receiver but relatively weak everywhere else. So maybe don’t sell that startable veteran quarterback for a 2022 first expecting an upgrade at that position.

Know the Cycle

The values of draft picks change throughout the year. In general, they’re most valuable near their draft and least valuable near the trade deadline. A great time to increase the value of your team is right before the trade deadline. You can trade veterans to competing teams for their draft picks. You can then consider trading those picks back to people desperate to get back into the draft in April.

Don’t Value Players at Their Ceiling

Don’t get caught up in the hype. Sure some rookies and young prospects hit and become studs like Justin Jefferson and Jonathan Taylor, but most of the rookies don’t end up being all that great, like Jalen Reagor or Ke’Shawn Vaughn. Don’t be afraid to trade away young rookies to managers who value them at their ceiling. If someone offers me Dak Prescott for my 2022 early first because they think one of those rookie QBs will be the next dual-threat fantasy cheat code like Kyler Murray or Lamar Jackson, I’ll easily take that deal.

Don’t be Afraid to Tank

If you have your own draft picks, it can help to tank. Trading away your older studs so your team sucks for this year, in order to guarantee a high pick is a legitimate strategy. Don’t let your league say otherwise. Even real sports teams do it. I wouldn’t recommend tanking through not setting your lineups properly though. We’ve seen the NBA try to crack down on tanking through sitting starters and I’d say that’s a dirty move in fantasy too.

Build a Core

Don’t trade away all your studs. There can be cornerstone pieces that can give you value now and later. Franchise QBs are hard to find. Don’t let go of those easily. The same can be said of top six TEs. It’s extremely unlikely you’ll find one of those in a draft, especially since they can take so long to develop. WRs can also take time to develop, though it is also generally a much deeper position. Even though RBs are arguably the most valuable fantasy assets, they also don’t last long. In a rebuild, I don’t bother trying to get good RBs. They have a lot of value to contending teams so I often trade good ones away. They also often get injured or pass their prime quickly, so they are risky assets to hold onto. They’re easier to find in drafts since draft capital is often very telling of what their fantasy value will be like. I mostly try to get my starting RBs through the draft or by getting handcuffs who rise to the occasion when an injury occurs.

Wrap-Up

Rebuilding in dynasty leagues is very different from the way one plays in redraft leagues. It can be very difficult to give up winning now in order to win later, but delayed gratification is a key factor in this format.

It also takes a lot of planning. Figure out how bad your team is, figure out how long the rebuild will take, figure out what roster you’ll eventually want and how you’ll get those pieces, figure out who has the pieces you want, figure out who’s in win-now mode so you can trade with them, figure out who will have high draft picks and who will have low ones, and figure out which college athletes you may be able to get in the draft with those picks.

It will also take a lot of work to keep increasing the value of your team. Though you may be able to do that through the waiver wire, because dynasty leagues tend to be deep, this will be largely done through trades. Don’t be afraid to send a bunch of them. It can also help to have a messaging system so you can negotiate through words rather than only using trade offers.

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