Dynasty Blueprint: 5 Takeaways From Week Five

Editor’s Note: Ryan debuted the Dynasty Blueprint term all the way back in 2014, focusing on his personal dynasty strategy and philosophy. He introduced ideas like punting running backs and the now-common productive struggle. This series expands on the original, providing an in-depth look inside his dynasty mind. 

This is my personal weekly Dynasty Blueprint. This article and all of the content on DLF is for you, the reader. The goal is to make you a better dynasty player and bring home some titles. Hopefully, this will help you reach that goal.

DYNASTY FIVE

Here are the five dynasty related stories that have my attention coming off another week of NFL action.

A Runaway Tank

Maybe it’s an injury or maybe we have a changing of the guard in Jacksonville. For the second straight week and the third time in the first five games, second-year man Tank Bigsby outgained top-12 dynasty back Travis Etienne. Despite the massive value gap between the two players, their fantasy and on-field production has been very close through five weeks of play.

Bigsby entered his rookie season with many projecting an eventual time-share between the two backs. Instead, Bigsby was one of the least efficient runners in the league, losing his backup job and causing many believers, including me, to simply give up on him. Now, Bigsby looks like a completely different player, breaking off long runs and shedding tacklers along the way. Among backs with at least ten carries, Bigsby leads the league with a ridiculous 8.03 yards per carry.

Etienne is not simply going away. He’s obviously still very talented and is the preferred pass-catcher out of the backfield, drawing 22 targets to just one for Bigsby. In our latest October dynasty ADP, Etienne was drafted as the 43rd overall player while Bigsby was down at 139 overall. Expect that gap to continue to close in the coming weeks.

Disappointing RBs

For most of the past year, you could find young running backs Bijan Robinson and Breece Hall holding down the top two spots in most rankings or ADP lists, including our latest October ADP data set. While the value is there for these two, the production has been lacking. Through five weeks, Robinson hasn’t finished higher than RB15 in any week and Hall’s season-high in rushing yards is just 62, back in Week Two.

The disappointing performances of both players can partially be traced to their respective teammates, Tyler Allgeier and rookie Braelon Allen. Both backfields have turned into committee attacks, much to the chagrin of fantasy managers.

Neither player has reached buy-low status yet, but that could happen with another week or two of subpar performances. The Dynasty Trade Finder reveals that both Hall and Robinson still require a future first-round rookie pick, along with a young receiver.

He’s Krafty

@RyanMc23 is Kraft a top 5 dynasty te?

— Garret Lane (@Garret_Lane) October 6, 2024

I got this question on Twitter soon after the completion of Sunday’s Packers game. My first thought was “no way!” but the more I considered the idea, the more I liked it.

In a year in which dynasty managers are desperate for production from the tight end position, it won’t take much to get our attention. Tucker Kraft has now finished as the overall TE1 in each of the past two weeks, totaling ten receptions for 141 yards and three scores over that span. It was clear from Week One that Kraft had earned the starting tight end role over the more-hyped and higher-drafted Luke Musgrave.

Now, with other tight ends massively struggling through the first five weeks of the year, it’s fair to wonder how highly we can rank the second-year Kraft. Let’s lock in Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, Sam LaPorta, and Dalton Kincaid as the top-four dynasty tight ends. Things are wide open after that and while Kraft is far from a lock for that TE5 spot, he’s put himself in the conversation.

It’s not just a strong two weeks either. Following the rookie season injury to Musgrave, Kraft actually served as a better fantasy asset once he took over and the Packers clearly saw enough that even an off-season shoulder injury didn’t stop Kraft from winning the camp battle.

Bengals are Back

It was a seriously slow start for the Cincinnati Bengals offense as the familiar faces struggled in the first few weeks of the season. In Week One, Cincy was a dud, missing Tee Higgins, and with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase both falling flat. A Week Two close loss to the Chiefs included Burrow waking up with over 250 passing yards and two scores, though Chase struggled and Higgins missed another game. Week Three was not only another shut-out, but the season debut for Higgins and a monster game for Chase.

After that slow start, Chase is now second in the league with 493 receiving yards and leads the way with five touchdowns. Chase is also the overall WR1 despite two slow weeks to start the season. The Bengals’ defense is banged up and was already struggling. This should be the perfect combination, allowing for weekly shootouts. The Bengals are one of five teams scoring at least 28 points per game on the season and are also giving up the second-most points in the league.

BTJ Breakout

Brian Thomas, Jr. He’s been somewhat overlooked thanks to a ridiculous start for fellow-rookie Malik Nabers, not to mention the poor start to the season for the Jaguars, but Thomas has announced his arrival. A sure-thing future dynasty WR1, Thomas teased us with fantasy finishes of WR20 and WR29 in the first two weeks before back-to-back top-ten fantasy performances the past two weeks.

Thomas is sixth among all receivers with 397 receiving yards and is the WR9 on the young season. Our October ADP places Thomas as the WR18 and 27 overall, which is a huge leap from his WR26/41 numbers last month.

For Your Eyes Only

I’ve already referenced that brand-new October ADP data and while it’s not quite ready for a full release, I’m ready to share a preview. Let’s take a look at the top 12 players at each position…

QUARTERBACK

Rank	Name	Team
QB1	Josh Allen	BUF
QB2	Jayden Daniels	WAS
QB3	Lamar Jackson	BAL
QB4	Jordan Love	GB
QB5	Jalen Hurts	PHI
QB6	Patrick Mahomes	KC
QB7	CJ Stroud	HOU
QB8	Kyler Murray	ARI
QB9	Joe Burrow	CIN
QB10	Dak Prescott	DAL
QB11	Caleb Williams	CHI
QB12	Brock Purdy	SF

 

RUNNING BACK

Rank	Name	Team
RB1	Breece Hall	NYJ
RB2	Bijan Robinson	ATL
RB3	Jahmyr Gibbs	DET
RB4	Saquon Barkley	PHI
RB5	Kyren Williams	LAR
RB6	De’Von Achane	MIA
RB7	Jonathan Taylor	IND
RB8	Kenneth Walker	SEA
RB9	James Cook	BUF
RB10	Travis Etienne	JAX
RB11	Christian McCaffrey	SF
RB12	Brian Robinson	WAS

 

WIDE RECEIVER

Rank	Name	Team
WR1	Justin Jefferson	MIN
WR2	Malik Nabers	NYG
WR3	CeeDee Lamb	DAL
WR4	Ja’Marr Chase	CIN
WR5	Amon-Ra St. Brown	DET
WR6	Marvin Harrison, Jr.	ARI
WR7	Nico Collins	HOU
WR8	AJ Brown	PHI
WR9	Chris Olave	NO
WR10	Puka Nacua	LAR
WR11	DK Metcalf	SEA
WR12	Rashee Rice	KC

 

TIGHT END

Rank	Name	Team
TE1	Brock Bowers	LV
TE2	Trey McBride	ARI
TE3	Sam LaPorta	DET
TE4	Dalton Kincaid	BUF
TE5	TJ Hockenson	MIN
TE6	Travis Kelce	KC
TE7	George Kittle	SF
TE8	Jake Ferguson	DAL
TE9	Kyle Pitts	ATL
TE10	Dallas Goedert	PHI
TE11	Cole Kmet	CHI
TE12	Evan Engram	JAX

Dynasty Blueprint: 5 Takeaways From Week Five