Off-Season Advice: Rookie Draft Edition

Jeff Haverlack

I’ve been offering in-season lineup advice on DLF for many years now.  It’s one of our most popular recurring pieces and it allows DLF to interface with our members directly, something we are very much known for.  In fact, more than anything else in my opinion, that approach is what sets DLF apart from our competition – Individualized and personalized interaction with our community!

As interest and popularity of the in-season advice offering grew, I witnessed an ever-increasing volume of other questions related to trading, roster building, keepers, free agency, rookies and other generalized strategy questions.  If not for the increasing volume of lineup questions, I would have liked to have been able to spend even more time with our members answering these queries.  It got me thinking that the popularity and impact of a season-long advice series would be great enough to suggest it now be on the seasonal menu.

Dynasty players surely know, as DLF’s tag line also reinforces:  There is NO off-season!  In any given month, dynasty players are evaluating rookies, preparing for declaration day, preparing for the NFL Combine and NFL Draft, performing rookie drafts, following training camp(s), engaging in new league start-up drafts, or any number of other activities which help the engaged dynasty coach to prepare for kick-off in Sept. each year.  Commitment + Preparation = Long Term Success.  This equation is only slightly less known than any one of Professor Einstein’s popular offerings and certainly easier to understand.

Many other sites offer advice as well, but charge for each individual question or larger service such as draft preparation.  At DLF, our goal has always been to have a single price which yields everything we have to offer.  We always seek to increase our value proposition to you.  So, that said, here is the maiden voyage of our “off”-season advice offering.  I may quickly find out why others charge for the service or, having answered hundreds of lineup advice questions weekly during the season already, it’s quite possible the volume will be manageable.  Truth be told, I don’t know what to expect.  What I do know is our community is filled with engaged, committed and passionate dynasty players and sometimes you have questions or need a second opinion.

The service is reserved for our Premium Members. It is you who have helped build DLF with the hope of realizing greater success in your individual leagues. Many refuse to pay for anything on the web, especially when it comes to fantasy football information. We respect that position, too, but without our Premium Members, DLF doesn’t exist.  It really is that simple. Hopefully this series will be yet another arrow in your quiver as you build your dynasty teams.

To begin, I’m not putting many restrictions on the advice.  Ask what you will.  Include anything you think will help me in understand your situation.  Please do not post links to your leagues, etc.  Instead, add information about your scoring format, roster set-up, rules, etc. which I can use to help you with any decisions to be made.  We’ll start there and amend as needed.

Rookie Drafts

Many of you have already started and/or completed your 2019 rookie drafts.  Others are just getting underway.

This is one of the most interesting rookie classes I’ve seen in a long time.  It’s weak almost throughout the draft and even the receivers lost value following the NFL Draft, leaving a lot of risk in the early picks of the first round.  If you need a running back, you need to be in the top three or four selection to ensure you get one of Jacobs, Sanders or Montgomery.  I still believe most are too high on these backs but they are in serviceable situations and that’s about as much as you can ask for.  Following N’Keal Harry, who landed in New England, it’s a bit of a mosh pit of talent and so-so situations.  Truth be told, I’m not even excited about Harry in New England.  He’s rough in many areas of his game, New England hasn’t had a fine wide receiver option outside of Julian Edelman and Randy Moss and Tom Brady can’t have more than another year or two under center.  Just too much risk to garner excitement from me.

I have advocated picking up late first round selections and into the second round and I still do.  If I don’t need a running back, I’m trading back or out altogether, hopefully into 2020 to spin the wheel next year.  It’s always a risk to do that but if there is any year for it, it’s this year.  But, if you need tight end or have a competitive team, it’s a good draft between selections eight and fifteen or so.  Some intriguing options with decent risk-reward ratios.

Regardless of what situation you are in or what questions you may have, we’re here for you!

Let’s get this party started!  Just leave a comment below to ask your question.

jeff haverlack