Dynasty Tactics | 7 Ways to DOMINATE Your Dynasty Offseason

by Seth Diewold · Dynasty Leagues
Dynasty Tactics

It’s the offseason for Dynasty fantasy football. That means it’s time to make some trades and acquire value. And it’s startup season. Some sickos will be engaging in startup drafts pre-NFL Draft, and in just a few short months, Dynasty startups will really get rolling. If you’ve never been involved in a Dynasty league and are interested, or if you are a Dynasty veteran looking to sharpen your strategies, here are seven Dynasty Tactics to DOMINATE the offseason.

1. Be Honest with Your Roster (Team Audit) And Plan Your Strategy

The first step to owning your Dynasty league is looking back at last season. How did your team do? If it did well, what players contributed to that success? Is it a roster full of veterans, or is it a youthful roster built to last? If your team did not do so well, what happened? Did you simply get unlucky? (I had a team that was No. 2 in points scored, and still missed the playoffs.) What players let you down? What ultimately led to your lack of success and what should your strategy be going forward?

It may be that you need to re-tool or even rebuild. That’s okay. The first step is to be honest with where your roster is so you can best assess the right course of action going forward. If you decide you need to rebuild or re-tool, make an inventory of your team’s most valuable assets to see if it’s wise to trade or keep them. It’s always best to keep all options on the table, especially if the team is in a rebuild.

2. Don’t Be in a Rush to Make Trades – Take Your Time and Assess the Market

A fantasy gamer might be in a rush to trade away veteran players or to acquire rookie picks in preparation for the league’s rookie draft. However, it’s important to enter into all negotiations with a level head and the knowledge of what your Dynasty assets are worth. It’s rarely ever a good idea to sell low on a player even if that player is an aging veteran and won’t help your Dynasty team’s rebuild.

There is no shame in walking away from trade negotiations if the value doesn’t meet what you believe is fair. The season doesn’t kickoff until September, so there is plenty of time and hopefully 11 other leaguemates that are interested in trading with you. There is simply no need to rush a trade in January/February.

3. Learn Your Leaguemates – Make Contact with Other Managers/Don’t Be a Jerk –

A new league year is an opportunity to reach out to some of your leaguemates. Sleeper has a great DM feature in their app. My suggestion would be to send each league member a message stating that you are an active owner and will be looking to make moves in the offseason. Sometimes this can spark up trade negotiations right away. Other times, you may not get a response back. However, it can’t hurt to open a conversation and make contact with all your leaguemates. Also, be nice and don’t alienate yourself from any trade partners. Getting on the bad side of potential trade partners hurts your chances of winning the league.

There are some Dynasty gamers who make the mistake of alienating themselves from the league because of a league dispute. Speaking from personal experience, I’ve seen a few league feuds in my day, and many of them could have been avoided. If there is ever a dispute, whether it be over an unfair trade or otherwise, it is wise to contact the league commissioner and let them deal with the situation. The last thing to do is drop a “chat bomb” by calling out the trade or the potential collusion in the chat.

4. Acquire Value, Not Specific Positions

There is no need to fill positional needs in February or March. Trust me, I’ve fallen into that trap a time or two, and it is rarely wise to acquire specific positions or players in an attempt to fill lineup spots in the dead of the offseason. Instead, it is wise to keep all options on the table. Focus on acquiring value wherever you find it. Be water, be flexible and find the best deals wherever you can.

5. Be Careful Acquiring Veterans too Soon

As mentioned in the section above, it’s rarely a good idea to fill specific positions too early. By extension, it’s playing with fire to acquire a veteran player, no matter how talented, early in the Dynasty offseason. There is simply no need to take that risk, especially if it requires giving up significant draft capital or other resources to do so.

It is wise to wait until close to the start of the regular season to acquire veterans if you can help it. I understand some deals are too good to pass up, but in general, it’s not a great idea to acquire veterans early. There are simply too many horror stories that involve Dynasty gamers trading for veteran players in March just to see them suffer an injury in training camp.

6. Hold on to your Rookie Picks Unless You Get a Deal You Just Can’t Pass Up

I rarely advocate trading rookie picks during the offseason, especially first round rookie picks. Trust me, I’ve made the mistake, early in my Dynasty playing days, thinking my Dynasty team was destined for a championship run in May, after the rookie draft. I thought there was no way my team would miss the playoffs, and I traded my first round rookie pick for a veteran I thought could put my team over the top.

Sometimes it works out, and other times, the team you thought was a Super Team takes on some injuries and isn’t as good as you thought. There are always deals that are too good to pass up, but in general, I would advise against trading your rookie draft picks in the offseason unless the deal is really sweet. Once the move is made to trade a first rounder, there is no going back, and it is harder than ever to trade for rookie picks.

7. Stay Plugged in to NFL News and Notes – Follow a Trusted Content Source for Offseason Waiver Wire Adds

Throughout the offseason, it is wise to stay plugged in. Oftentimes, Dynasty gamers can add players off waivers while other leaguemates aren’t paying attention. If news breaks, whether a free agent signing or a trade, that opens up a role for another player. Player values can change dramatically in a short amount of time. Use the news to maximize the value return in a trade if there is buzz around a player you don’t think is worthy of it.

On the other side of the coin, if a player is balling out in training camp and is receiving little to no buzz, it may be wise to add that player to your roster. Simply put, there is no downside to staying up on current events in Dynasty. Luckily, PlayerProfiler News has you covered all year long. Be sure to subscribe to get the latest updates from around the NFL!

If you aren’t sure which players to pick up off the waiver wire, PlayerProfiler has you covered there as well. PlayerProfiler News is going to be your go to source for Dynasty content all offseason long. But, as we all know, there is no offseason in Dynasty, so be sure to subscribe to get the latest news and notes from around the league, so you can crush your opponents and accomplish your Dynasty goals in 2024!