Flipping Fantasy: From Dumpster to Dynasty, Part One

Bobby Koch

Back in 2014, a fresh-faced young man set out an adventure so large he could never have imagined. You see, today was the day he chose his first Pok…. oh, whoops, wrong story. Today was the day his friend asked him to be a part of what he referred to as a “Dynasty Football League”. The young man had never heard of dynasty before but having got into fantasy football just a few years prior, he was looking to expand his horizons.

We’re going to drop the gimmick because I’m sure by now you’ve realized the “young man” was really me four years ago. You are probably wondering: is there any purpose to this article or is Bobby just looking for a way to live out his dreams of being a Pokémon master? Well, can’t it be both?

The purpose of this article is to look back at my very first dynasty roster from week one of the 2014 season, examine the important trades and what I learned from them- until 2017, at least. I’ll go into more detail on each trade in part two.

I’m hoping that by demonstrating some trades I’ve made and the thought process behind them at the time, you can see how to take a completely terrible roster like the one I’m about to show you and turn it into one that made the finals this past season.

Note: It’s probably important to mention that this is a 26-man roster with 1QB and .5 PPR scoring.

2014

Without further ado, here is my ever dynasty roster:

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Gross right? Want to take a guess how many players are still on my roster from this time? If you guessed two and named Brandin Cooks and Travis Kelce, you got it. Pretty easy considering they’re one of the few that still offer any kind of value.

Trades made during the 2014 season

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You may not believe that the latter two are all that important, but they become important in future years. Here is what my roster looked like at the end of that season:

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Still not great. I’m not sure I learned all that much in my first year of dynasty fantasy football, to be honest. I read plenty of Dynasty League Football, but nothing really sunk in until I had my first rookie draft. To this day, I still don’t think that many people understand how dynasty formats work until they’ve experienced it for at least two seasons.

2015

Speaking of the rookie draft, I made at least one notable trade during the 2015 draft. Luckily for me, Zach Wilkens fell in love with Chris Conley. I traded him a 2018 third during the draft for John Brown and Corey Brown. Here’s what my roster looked like entering that season:

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Trades made during the 2015 season

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The two stars by the Demaryius Thomas trade indicate a key trade for my team. Having been a middle-of-the-road team in the first season, I was going down that path again in our second season. However, enough was enough – I wanted to rebuild. I got a young asset I loved at the time in Sammy Watkins, and two firsts. Knowing what I know now, I can’t emphasize enough that when you’re a middling team, you eventually need to decide whether you’re only a few pieces away or you need a rebuild to get there. Indecision is the quickest way to ensure you’re stuck in dynasty purgatory.

You can see I still made the mistake of trading Davante Adams away, but my trade of Ryan Tannehill for a first was a big win even if that pick was two years away. That’s one of my biggest pieces of trade advice-people devalue picks that are at least two years out greatly. You can always flip those picks as the draft gets closer but acquiring picks early has been a winning strategy for me.

Here is my roster at the end of the 2015 season:

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2016

Trades made during the 2016 preseason

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It’s almost like I formed a strategy or something after two seasons of having no idea what I was doing. Imagine that! I thought trading a late 16 first for a chance at an earlier 17 first was key. I also knew I wanted to sell high on Jeremy Langford, especially since I didn’t quite feel ready to compete.

The shelf life of running backs is generally not long, and if you are not ready to compete in the next year or two you are likely better off selling them. If you’re rebuilding, you should also be taking shots on players who suddenly have an opportunity like Tyrell Williams, especially if you’re in the middle of a rebuild.

Here’s what my roster looked like at the start of the 2016 season:

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Trades made during the 2016 season

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I see at least one trade I somewhat regret in this grouping. However, when we get to the trades I made in 2017, it will make it look a whole better. Looking back, I can’t believe the Kelvin Benjamin deal for Keenan Allen happened. The advice there? Always look out for owners who are trying to “win now” and try to acquire their injured players.

Here is the final roster from the end of the 2016 season:

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This team finished in dead last, leaving me with the 1.01 for the next season. Combined with the 2017 firsts I had acquired in trades, my team was starting to be ready to compete. In part two, we will take an in-depth look at the moves I made to go from last place to losing in the finals of the playoffs.

Before you go, here’s a bulleted reminder of the key takeaways from part one:

Takeaways

  • Never be middle of the road. Indecision is a team killer.
  • Don’t give up on a player too early in their career like I did with Davante Adams if you think they may be talented.
  • Trading for picks at least two years away almost always returns value.
  • Sell your running backs if you don’t think you’ll be ready to compete the following season.
  • Swapping a late round first for a random shot at an earlier pick in next year’s draft is never a bad idea when you’re rebuilding.
  • Take fliers when you have the roster room for players who have an opportunity – not just athleticism.
  • Buy injured players from other teams if you’re not ready to compete now.

I look forward to getting into my trades and reasoning in more detail in part two. If you have any questions whatsoever, you can find me on Twitter @RekedFantasy.  Please just don’t ask me what my thought process was in trading Keenan Allen for Montee Ball. I’m not that person anymore, and I can’t begin to understand my own reasoning was there.

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