Dynasty startup drafts can be daunting if you’re not properly prepared. This is especially true in Superflex leagues where you have the option to play not one, but two quarterbacks in your starting lineup.
Superflex is a growing format which, successfully, attempts to solve the issue of quarterbacks being devalued in comparison to other positions, merely because other positions comprise more starting spots in your roster. In standard leagues, you can get away with waiting until the later rounds to grab your starting quarterback. Do this in Superflex leagues, however, and you’ll get left in the dust.
Before we get into your draft strategy, let’s introduce the idea of a roster construction strategy. In Dynasty, you’re not just prepping for the upcoming season, you’re building a franchise that needs to be able to compete year after year. A dynasty, if you will. When building said franchise, there are three routes you can go, win-now, rebuild, or neutral.
Note: For the complete guide to Dynasty Dominance, check out The Podfather’s Dynasty Dominator book.
Win Now
This strategy is fairly self-explanatory. You’re going-for-gold right away, looking to be competing for a championship for the next three seasons. With this strategy, proven veterans who are on the wrong side of the age-curve are much more valuable than unproven and undeveloped youth. You’ll likely trade up at points in the startup draft to secure additional talent. Do not do this haphazardly. Even with win-now rosters, rookie draft picks are the most valuable thing in Dynasty.
Draft Strategy: Age is Just a Number
There’s not much difference between drafting a redraft and a win-now dynasty roster. Both are playing for short-term success and, as long as the player isn’t showing signs of slowing down, the age hardly matters. In fact, you can take advantage of aging ADPs from Davante Adams to Nick Chubb to build a short-term super-team. You’re not fully fading youth, but you are fading youthful assets who carry more risk in the short-term.
A major key in building a win-now squad in Superflex leagues is to have a dominant QB duo. It’s a tall task to compete, let alone excel, in Superflex leagues without at least one elite option at the position. The stability and upside provided to your lineup by having two rock-solid options can carry you to a championship. Other than securing your quarterbacks, the world is your oyster with this strategy. You simply make any moves that add to your probability of winning a championship in the next 1-3 seasons.
Early Round Check-List
Consider the following a check list of archetypes to target in rounds 1-6:
- Two top-24 Quarterbacks
- Two alpha WRs
- A stable, high-upside Running Back
- Wildcard (RB2/WR3/TE1)
Rebuild
In a rebuild, you’re looking to focus on youth and compiling additional picks in your future rookie drafts. Grabbing young cornerstones at each position is key. In Superflex leagues, your first step is to try and get a future 1st round pick by trading back in the 1st round of your startup draft. Your championship window starts in about 2-3 seasons, depending on how you play your cards.
Draft Strategy: Young Core with Longevity
If you’re in a rebuild, you’re shooting to put together a youthful squad with a wide production window. Here, we’re straying from veterans past their age apex like Stefon Diggs in favor of rising alphas such as Garrett Wilson or Chris Olave. With the goal of competing in the next few seasons, there must be a focus on the positions with year-over-year stability (quarterback and receiver). In Superflex drafts, there’s the obvious premium on the quarterback position. Ideally, you’re drafting a top-10 and a top-24 QB to stabilize your lineup both now and in the future.
Running backs come and go, and if you invest in an early-round running back as a rebuild team, there’s a solid chance that back loses value by the time you’re competing. Rebuilding teams who spent significant capital on Alvin Kamara back in 2019/2020 are probably not too happy right now (unless they managed to trade him). Shooting for youthful upside like Rachaad White later on in drafts is the preferred route for building your running back core as a rebuilder. You can bolster your RB-room with future drafts picks.
Early Round Check-List
Consider the following a check list of archetypes to target in rounds 1-6:
- Two Quarterbacks under the age of 28
- Two young, alpha WRs
- A stable RB2 (or better) with upside
- A future 1st or 2nd round rookie pick
Neutral
The neutral build is potentially the most dangerous of the three. In a neutral build, if the youthful core you invest in doesn’t pan out, you’re forced to turn your heel and rebuild, only without the plethora of rookie picks your rebuilding competitors have already gathered. Playing both sides of the fence could leave your roster burned for years to come.
If your neutral build fails, you likely won’t be competing until year 4 or 5. If you succeed, you could be a championship contender for the next 5-7 seasons. Keep these strategies in mind as I go over the optimal roster structure for Superflex Dynasty squads. Because the ideal strategy can drastically shift depending on your draft position, I’ll split up the article between picks in the first half and second half of the order.
Draft Strategy: Age Apexed-Core with Stability and Upside
Executing the neutral build is like walking a tightrope. Carry too much youthful risk, and you end up forced to rebuild after lost seasons. Bet on the wrong veterans, and you turn into a productive struggle. Your early-draft targets will consist of mostly players at-or-near their respective age apex. This is because you’re hitting the optimal point on a player’s age-production curve. Wielding at-or-near career-high production for a string of seasons across a majority of your roster is the recipe for true long-term dynasty dominance.
Early Round Check-List
Consider the following a check list of archetypes to target in rounds 1-6:
- Two high-upside quarterbacks under the age of 28
- Two young, alpha WRs
- A young, cheat-code RB
- Wildcard (RB2/WR3/Future rookie pick)
Mid-to-Late Rounds
The mid-to-late rounds are for building up positional depth and bolstering the rest of your lineup. No matter your strategy, you’re looking to target a mixture of:
- Aging veterans with value
- Age-apexed veterans with stable roles in their offenses
- High-upside rookies
- Future draft capital
The order of which you attack these groups will depend on your first few rounds, but once you’re here the hard part is over. Many of these later round picks are not going to pan out. You’ll have some hits, and you’ll have some misses. If you secure a good mixture of those groups, you’ll be set up well for both the short-term and the long-term.
