The regular season for fantasy football is almost upon us, and dynasty managers want advice on how to handle the trade deadline. How can you tell if you’re a contender or a pretender? What kind of trades should we be offering? Is Cedric Tillman America’s sweetheart? Let’s get into it.
Dynasty Trade Deadline Advice
Evaluate Your Roster
Teams need to know where they stand before they can figure out where to head to. Sometimes, it’s fairly straightforward. If a team is 9-1 with the most points scored, yes they’re a contender. But what about that 6-4 team that has the seventh most points scored?
As a general rule of thumb, teams that are fifth or below in points scored should set their sights on the next year. There’s nothing worse than being stuck in the middle, and squeaking into the playoffs just to lose in the first round isn’t helping anyone (just ask Pittsburgh Steelers fans, author included).
If you’re not sure about your roster, honestly ask a friend or someone you can trust (these guys help). Too many times I’ve found myself with an in-between roster with a stud coming back from injury and needed a friend to help bring me back down to earth. Once the roster is evaluated, it should fit into one of three buckets – long-term rebuild, one-year retool, or contender.
Long-Term Rebuilding Tips
Sometimes a team is just bad. Maybe it’s an orphan you took over to help a buddy out. Maybe you drafted Trey Lance and Michael Thomas expecting to compete. When the roster stinks, it’s easy to get caught in a cycle of perpetual rebuilding and donating to the league pot. First and foremost, set a goal year. Whether it’s two or three years out, having a goal year will help lineup trade deals and make sure it’s all focused on the main goal, winning a championship.
It’s important to not set the goal year too far out, because fantasy football is unpredictable, and expecting a 21-year-old to have the cookie-cutter career arc to help you in 2029 isn’t ideal. Do your best to sell players who are approaching an age cliff before your goal year. If you value future dynasty picks correctly, you’ll be able to turn it around in time for the goal year.
Re-Tool Year Tips
A couple of unlucky bounces, some injury bugs, or poor start-sit decisions can have a good team on the outside looking in on the playoffs. These are the teams that buying low on injury is great for. Dak Prescott, Rashee Rice, and Chris Olave are all dipping in value for competing teams. But as soon as 2025 rolls around (suspension for Rice notwithstanding) they’ll be valuable parts of competing teams. Buy low on injury, sell high on players in murky situations scoring points now (looking at you Chase Brown), and get those rosters in a better place for 2025 and beyond.
Competing Dynasty Trade Deadline Tips
As Billy Napier once said, “Scared money don’t make money”. It’s easy to say never buy older running backs in dynasty. It’s harder to instead watch Derrick Henry and Alvin Kamara go to the four-seed who’s now a serious threat. While those older running backs are often crushing it, if a competing team can combine their first, second, and enticing bench stash for someone with more tread on the tires start there. In this dynasty trade database, Jonathan Taylor was traded for a first plus a young fun receiver more than once. Try and package for younger players before caving to the temptation to buy crusty veterans.
Main Photo Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
