Dynasty StartUp Breakdown: 12 Team Superflex TE Premium
In my last article I discussed the key steps to a successful dynasty startup draft. Now I am going to discuss my most recent dynasty startup, how I utilized those steps, and what I walked away with post-draft.
Related | Dynasty StartUp Strategy
First Step: Scoring
Luckily for us Sleeper highlights any scoring settings that are not normal. In this league there is an extra point per reception for tight ends and a passing TD is now worth six points rather than four. Normally in a league with six point passing TD you would see minus two for a pass intercepted so that is something to note as well.
Based on these scoring settings we know we need to adjust our rankings to reflect the impact of a tight end. As for the higher point values of passing TDs, I will adjust by looking at quarterbacks who I had ranked highly due to their rushing prowess. In a standard setting the rushing TD would be worth six points and the passing would be worth four but since they are the same it does not give the rushing TD as much benefit. We do not want to knock them down too much though since they still give us the bonus yardage points. This is a way to equalize the values between rushing adept quarterbacks and a more traditional pocket passer.
Second Step: Roster
Once again Sleeper makes it nice and easy for us to see exactly what we need to fill our roster. The first thing I notice is that this is a super flex league, meaning we want to find a second quarterback to start. Another thing to note is that it is a total of start twelve personnel. This means we need to make sure we have good enough depth to fill those flex spots with meaningful starters. Remembering that we are not drafting to fill out the roster but rather best player available, we still want to be cognizant of this during the draft. We do this to ensure we are valuing the mid-level players accordingly and by possibly trading up when they are getting scarce.
Third Step: Rookies
In this league the rookies are in the draft, as players and not placeholders. If you would like to learn more about what this will mean during the draft, I recommend you check out my previous article.
Fourth Step: Draft board
This is a process I am still fine tuning but in general I will take my rankings for each position and then stack them against each other. I wait to do this until after I have looked at all of the other steps and then I slot players in. For example, Justin Jefferson is my WR1 but I would take Jonathan Taylor (my RB1) over him. This is due to many reasons but the key point being that an elite running back is worth more than an elite wide receiver, in general. Something to note is that both players are considered cornerstone players and are arguably the top two in the category. When looking for a cornerstone player age is the biggest factor: the longevity of elite-ness that is possible.
Fifth Step: Trading back
Now I will begin to show you my draft and how I navigated it.
This is not the best draft I have ever been a part of, nor the worst, but it is the most recent. The draft started on February 28th (right in the middle of the Free Agency peak) and has yet to end but we are in the last round.
So, to start out I was given the #3 spot of the draft, but as I said in my previous article, I prefer to not pick in the first round. The trade I ended up making was my 1.03, 8.10, and 12.10 for the 2.03, 5.10, 8.03, and 12.03. So, I was able to move up in the 8th and 12th round as well as acquire the 2nd and 5th for my 1st.
If we take this trade and look at the players, I ended up moving McCaffrey, Will Fuller, and Curtis Samuel for Dak Prescott, Javonte Williams, Kenny Golladay, and Brandin Cooks. On paper this is great already, but I actually traded away the 2.03 that I acquired earlier for the 2.08 and the 8.08. Which translates loosely to Prescott for Mark Andrews (I did not make this selection, nor do I approve of it) and Rondale Moore. So now let’s look at what the 2.08 turned into since I did not make that selection either: 3.12 and 7.12. This ended up translating to Ceedee Lamb and Trey Lance for Mark Andrews. We are still not done though as you can see, I did not make any selections in the 1st or 2nd round; I traded the 2.10 for the 4.06 and the 7.07.
This turned out to be Davante Adams for Edwards-Helaire and Stafford, but I did not make the selection for CEH. Instead of making the selection of CEH (Which I probably would have also done) I traded the 4.06 back to its original owner for the 12.06 as well as his 2022 1st and 2nd as well as his 2023 1st and 2nd. That whole pile of trades can be confusing so I’m going to split apart everything I walked away with vs. what I gave away.
If we plug this into DLF’s Trade Analyzer, it shows that I gave away 1723.6 points and received 2745.9 points. I do not use trade analyzers as the end all be all, but they do serve a purpose in determining general value.
Sixth Step: Trading up
I know that I preached that trading back is vital, but I also highly recommend trading up. I traded my 14.10 and 18.10 to secure Rhamondre Stevenson with pick 13.07. I felt inclined to do this because his ADP was beginning to creep up and I did not want to miss out. I do want to shout out a good friend of my @ParkerJamesFF who put me on to Stevenson and you should definitely check him out. I do not recommend blinding moving up to acquire someone because their ADP is getting closer, but if there is a player that you really want, then you should get him.
It is important to remember that the best part about fantasy football is having fun and winning; I find it easier to do both when I have my guys. I ended up trading for my 14.10 pick afterwards to secure Kylin Hill. Hill is another player I want to own in all of my leagues, so I gave away my 15.03 and 20.10 while also securing the 22.11 in return.
This concludes my trades during the draft but let’s look at the values again through the DLF resource again: 61.2 points given away and 52.7 acquired. As expected, it is very difficult to not lose value when trading up, but I did my best to salvage it.
Final Product:
Those highlighted are my projected starters. It is important to remember that in this extra point per reception for tight ends that they will often outscore the wide receiver who is of equal value in a normal league. I did select Hunter Henry before his signing with the Patriots, but I was planning on him being a weekly starter as well. He should still perform, especially if Jonnu Smith is ever out, but it was poor timing.
You can check out the whole draft board here!
