Dynasty Fantasy Football Strategies: The Win Now Approach

The win now approach in dynasty league fantasy football starts during the start-up draft. The first round of the draft you are trying to draft the elite players who have long-term value like Julio Jones, Dez Bryant, Le’Veon Bell, and Odell Beckham Jr. The win now method takes full effect around rounds 2-3, where you come to a cross-road. Do you draft the young talents like Sammy Watkins? Or do you draft older players you know that will produce for your team right away, like Jordy Nelson.

Also, during the early rounds you will be more willing to draft running backs because you are going to want high-end running back production now. Players like DeMarco Murray, Matt Forte, and Marshawn Lynch will also be in high consideration. A lot of these running backs have shorter shelf lives, but you will be more concentrated for the current season that’s up ahead. The mid to later rounds of the start-up draft would consist of reliable players like Eric Decker, Roddy White, LeGarrette Blount, and Reggie Bush. You should have a team that would be a juggernaut compared to a re-draft type league at the end of the draft. Reason being, you have less competition for the veterans that are currently producing in the NFL. Most of the teams in your league are drafting young talents that might take a few years for them to develop, which is allowing some of the older “studs” who have a little bit of gas left in the tank to fall to you in your draft.

More from Fantasy Football

The Positives

You are in it to win it from the get go. You will be considered a contender from the beginning because your team will not have any holes or insecurities at any position on your roster, barring an injury. A good portion of the league is not built to compete for the current season, or they don’t have enough quality depth to get past injuries and bye weeks. It’s not guaranteed that you will win the league, but the odds of you winning the league are a little higher than the average re-draft team because there will be less competition. The fun part of fantasy football is winning championships, and getting the cold hard cash at the end of the season. With this technique you are in position to win money from the beginning.

The Negatives

Unless you encounter a lot of injuries, you should be very competitive during the first couple seasons. The negative to an older team is that your team is filled with depreciating assets. Your team will lose a lot of its gusto starting in year two or three. Players get older, situations change, and some players just fall off a cliff when they hit a certain age. Take DeMarco Murray for instance; he’s 27 years old, and say he produces very well this year. Next year he will be 28 years old with a lot of wear on the tires. There’s a good possibility that he could be at the age where his body decides to break down on him. Next thing you know you have a player whose value is decreasing on the trade market, and you are playing Russian roulette with his long-term player value. Does he hold up well into his 30’s or does he bottom out at 28 to 29 years old? The scary part about this is that your entire team will depreciate at the same time, and the odds of you being able to trade away your older players and getting any pieces that would help you rebuild for the future are almost impossible. Most owners don’t want to pay a premium for a player that won’t be a benefit to their roster in the next couple years. The problem with this strategy is that you risk having a disaster down the road, which will cause you to blow up your team, and build it back up from scratch. Building a team up from scratch takes years.

Owner Type

I believe dynasty strategies are like shoes. Some of them fit, and some of them don’t. This strategy is great for owners who are new to dynasty because newer owners are a little bit behind the curve due to not having the experience of building a team that’s built for the long-term. My first ever dynasty league was built a lot like a re-draft team, and I won the league the first year, and went to the playoffs the 2^nd year. What the owner has to be good at to be successful long-term is learning when to sell on some of the aging vets to get pieces that will help the team for the future. The players are old to begin with, which will be hard to do in a lot of circumstances, but it can be done if you are constantly evaluating your team while playing the “dynasty stock market”.

In order to be successful at constantly churning your roster so your team can still compete for the long-term, the owner has to be willing to trade. Honestly, if you’re playing dynasty and you’re not working the trade market you will be left behind. It’s very hard to build a team with just rookie picks and the players you originally obtained during the start-up draft. I’ve seen owners like this and they stay middle of the road to being cellar dwellers during their career with their franchise. If you are an owner who doesn’t have any patience then this will be the strategy for you, because you are going to experience results right away and you won’t have to wait for players to develop.

I have done this approach in some of my leagues, and I have been successful. The hard part about drafting to win now is year 2 or 3 because your team is depreciating and it’s hard to acquire the young assets to help build for the future. Older players are less liquid on the trade market. Just because this strategy worked for me doesn’t mean that it will work for you. The best strategy in all of fantasy sports is to pick the right guys, and the best dynasty strategy is the one that fits your style of play. I will be doing more write ups on dynasty strategies to help you decide what style fits how you want to construct your dynasty team.

Need Help with your dynasty team? Contact me on Twitter @bmatz08 and I will give you the guidance you need to make the best decisions on trades, drafts, and the waiver wire.

Next: Dynasty League Rookie Prospect: UCF WR Breshad Perriman

More from FanSided

Home/Fantasy Football