Dynasty Off-Season Tips

Unlike redraft leagues, dynasty leagues are 365 days a year, and there’s really no off-season. When a season ends and a champion is crowned, the work for the next season begins. Championships are not just won during the season so if you want to put yourself in the best position to win then the off-season is not the time to relax. Advantages can be gained or lost during the off-season. There are several phases to the off-season that you need to focus on: the NFL Combine, NFL Free Agency, the NFL Draft, and your dynasty rookie drafts. I am going to discuss each one give some tips on how you can win your off-season.

– Dynasty Home –

Understanding Values

You want to learn and understand how the values of players and draft picks differ in the off-season from the regular season. The value of rookie picks will usually increase as your rookie draft approaches. As everyone watches the rookies perform in the NFL Combine and get selected in the NFL Draft rookie fever grows. It’s the “Shiny New Toy Syndrome.”

The value of players particularly aging players can be affected as well. Aging players may see a dip in value at this time due to the thinking that a player may be approaching the age cliff as well as the hype of the incoming rookies. Some owners may be looking to rebuild and sell off some of their aging players while they still have value. This can sometimes provide a good buy opportunity for teams that are contending. Also, NFL Free Agency can affect a player’s value causing it to increase or decrease. We see that in the increase in value of Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton with the addition of Russell Wilson in Denver. That is why it is key to stay up to date on the NFL Free Agency and understand how it will affect a player’s value and more importantly pay attention to how others in your league view any moves in free agency.

NFL Combine

The NFL Combine gives us a chance to see how these players will measure and weigh coming into the NFL and how they perform in individual drills compared to others at their position. While the Combine is fun to watch and helps evaluate the rookies it is just a piece of the puzzle and shouldn’t be weighed too heavily in the rookie evaluation process. Over the years there have been many players tearing it up at the Combine only to later get drafted and bust in the NFL. Darrius Heyward-Bey, Stephen Hill, and more recently John Ross just to name a few. It shows that even NFL GMs and coaches make the mistake of falling in love with Combine performances and overlooking flaws or red flags. It’s probably best to just make sure players meet certain criteria such as a 40 time under 4.60 for running backs and wide receivers or a minimum BMI for each position.

Learn all about how the NFL Combine can predict future NFL success here. 

NFL Draft

The NFL Draft tells us a couple of things: Where the rookies will play and what teams think about them based on what round in the actual NFL Draft they went in. However, one thing you need to be careful about doing is falling in love with players landing spots and I will get into that more in the rookie draft. No matter what, you’re going to see some players increase or decrease in value after the actual NFL Draft. It’s inevitable. That’s where getting to know rookies before the NFL Draft can really help you, as opposed to the fantasy managers in your leagues who just wait to see where players go in the NFL Draft.

Sign up for PrizePicks with the promo code FACEOFF for a 100% match up to $100!

Rookie Draft

Stay up to date on the latest rookie ADP here.

When it comes to your dynasty rookie drafts, here are a few tips:

#1. Know Your Leaguemates – Pay attention to any draft habits of your league mates. Do they favor certain positions or certain player styles within a position? Are they active traders during the draft? Do they put too much value into the situation rather than talent? Do they often reach on players because of a positional need? During or after the rookie draft write down any notes about your league mates that you think might be useful in the future. This has helped me figure out what owners in my league will do in the draft.

#2. Talent Vs. Situation – Don’t put too much into the situation and overlook a more talented player. A recent example of that is Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Leading up to the NFL Draft most people were debating Jonathan Taylor vs. D’Andre Swift for the 1.01. Then the draft day comes and Helaire is taken in the 1st round by the Chiefs ahead of Taylor and Swift. Helaire shot up rookie drafts and even went 1.01 in many drafts when he wasn’t even ranked in the top 6 before the NFL Draft. This was a huge mistake that many have regretted. This is not to say that situation has zero impact or value.  It is just better used as a tie-breaker between two players.

Before the NFL Draft most people were going back and forth between Taylor and Swift so had you used the situation to break the tie between them it would have been more reasonable. Another example is A.J. Brown who before the NFL Draft was a top 3 rookie wide receiver if not top 3 overall rookie who went to the Titans, a run-first team with an above-average quarterback in the NFL Draft and because of this, he fell significantly in many rookie drafts.

#3. Best Player Available (BPA) – Don’t take a lesser talented player because of a need at a particular position. I had to learn this the hard way. In 2019 I wanted to get a running back in the draft and with my late 1st round pick I drafted Justice Hill, gross I know. He was drafted by the Ravens in a run-first offense so I thought it was a good pick. Who was still available? Oh, just A.J. Brown and Deebo Samuel. Yeah, I threw up in my mouth a little while writing this, lol.

So when approaching the off-season, remember these tips and they will help you avoid some common mistakes that many if not all fantasy managers have made at some point and don’t underestimate the importance of being active and up to date on what is going on in the NFL and your league during the off-season. Stay up to date on the latest ADP throughout the off-season and make sure you know how these rookies are being valued before heading into your own dynasty rookie drafts.

– Dynasty Home –

Sportsbooks Bonuses

Free NFL Picks

Player Prop Bets

Sign up for BetUS today with the promo code FACEOFF and get a 125% match on your first deposit! Join here.