Dynasty Blueprint: 5 Takeaways From Week 15

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 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.

The Rookie WR1?

In Week 15, Jaguars rookie receiver Brian Thomas had another WR1-level performance. Facing the Jets' typically stellar defense, Thomas caught ten passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. And that was with Mac Jones as his quarterback. Thomas was the fourth receiver selected in the spring Draft, but was typically the fifth wideout taken in dynasty rookie drafts, often falling behind Xavier Worthy. Thomas was a bit of a one-year wonder in college, but there was little else to worry about when it comes to his prospect profile.

Thomas has been a consistent and high-level producer all season. He almost immediately established himself as the top option in Jacksonville, despite the presence of productive veterans Christian Kirk and Evan Engram. Thomas has finished outside of the top 30 fantasy receivers just four times this season. Pre-season rookie WR1 Marvin Harrison, Jr. has done this eight times in his rookie campaign.

While Harrison and Bears rookie Rome Odunze have shown flashes of their long-term upside, Thomas has clearly overtaken each of them in dynasty value. The debate now lies between Thomas and Giants rookie Malik Nabers. The LSU product quickly rose to an elite dynasty value after a hot start to his career, being valued among the elite of the elite wideouts including Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. It can be argued that was a case of “too much, too soon” for Nabers, but given the production of each rookie receiver, along with their long-term outlook and quarterback situation, wherever Nabers is ranked, Thomas should not be far behind. Or maybe not far ahead.

Allen on Fire

A week ago, Josh Allen set the all-time single-game fantasy point record for a quarterback, logging 51.9 fantasy points. Allen accounted for six total touchdowns and added 82 rushing yards to his 342 passing yards. All he did for an encore in Week Fifteen was lead his Bills team to a convincing win over the NFC favorite Lions, totaling four more touchdowns and passing for 362 yards. Allen is still not the QB1 on the season, which just goes to show how great Lamar Jackson has also played this season. Allen has totaled nine QB1 performances this season, including three as the overall top-scorer. Adding to his impressive season is that he’s done this after losing last season’s starting wideouts Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. Although the Bills did draft Keon Coleman and trade for Amari Cooper, neither have been all that impactful for the Bills offense, and expected breakout star Dalton Kincaid has been among the season’s biggest disappointments.

Allen is the current QB1 in our just-released December dynasty ADP and despite the strong push by Jackson, Jalen Hurts and rookie Jayden Daniels, that top spot should belong to Allen for the foreseeable future.

Here’s a look at Allen’s dominance over the years, using our Player Scoring History App,