One of the most difficult things to do in dynasty format fantasy football is taking over an orphaned team and rebuilding it. As a general rule, most managers don’t abandon good teams, so chances are you are in for a major overhaul. It can be intimidating at first; overwhelming even. It can seem like an impossible task that is going to take you years to make your team relevant. That doesn’t have to be the case. Let’s walk through some simple first steps you can take to make your roster better and more competitive right off the bat.
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Adopt A Win-Now Mindset
I’ve seen far too many dynasty managers take over an orphaned squad and immediately wave the white flag for the coming season. I cannot say I’m immune to that feeling when setting my eyes upon a newly obtained team. It’s easy to feel instant defeat when you see your quarterback room consists of Carson Wentz, Drew Lock, and Sam Darnold. You might have one viable QB2 out of those three in Wentz. The most important thing to remember is this: your roster now will not be your roster in September. You have an entire off-season to change your fortunes for the campaign ahead. If you think you’re chances are bleak now, there’s little hope of that changing. If you think win-now and make moves to get there, you never know what might happen.
Target “Older” Veterans in Trades
One way to take a limping orphan team from the basement to the dance floor sooner rather than later is to target solid, consistent veterans in free agency and trades. Not only will they provide immediate upside, but they can also be somewhat cheap to acquire. Think guys like Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr. He isn’t flashy like Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes. He will be 31 years old at the start of the 2021 season. The chance he turns into anything more than what we’ve seen so far in his career is pretty slim. But, that’s okay.
Being realistic about what you can attain through trades while still keeping key pieces of your roster is important. Would it be a much sexier trade to sell the farm for a Lamar Jackson or Justin Herbert? Absolutely. But a quarterback alone cannot win you championships. Carr can be acquired cheaply – I’d be offering a Wentz-level quarterback and a 3rd or 4th round rookie pick – and still has very solid upside. In a 2021 season that saw the Raiders organization in upheaval and with very little consistency on the field, Carr still finished the season as the overall QB13.
This strategy applies to every position on your dynasty roster. There are veterans with a solid value that can be rostered for a reasonable price. A few more targets I’m looking at include Rashaad Penny (RB – FA), Allen Robinson (WR – FA), C.J. Uzomah (TE – CIN), and Baker Mayfield (QB – CLE). Every single one of these men could fill in nicely and help you make that orphan shine.
Don’t Sell The Farm for Draft Picks
Many managers’ immediate instinct is to start trading for draft picks when taking over an orphan. It’s understandable given the youth movement going on in dynasty format fantasy football these days.
We all know that dynasty manager that hoards rookie draft picks like they’re gold. While it’s an understandable take given the nature of the game, allowing one factor to determine your roster construction is a sure-fire way to lose consistently. I’m not saying youth isn’t a factor here because it certainly is. However, if you want to compete with your new squad in year one, this is not the way.
Youth has its place on your team. Let’s get that out of the way. That said, giving up solid veteran pieces for unproven talent yet to play in an NFL game is something unlikely to pay off quickly. When strategizing for a rookie draft, whether it’s an orphan or a team you’ve had established previously, there are going to be very few players that are worth trading up into the first two rounds to acquire. Outside of maybe eight players in the 2021 rookie drafts, there wasn’t anyone that made a significant impact in year one.
Instead of loading up on early and expensive rookie draft picks, target a few 3rd-round, or later, picks. You’re going to land players like Brevin Jordan, Khalil Herbert, or Hunter Long who can sit on your taxi squad for the first few seasons as they develop. You get a long-term value that isn’t clogging up your bench and didn’t cost much to acquire. Sometimes you can even strike gold in those later rounds with guys like Elijah Mitchell and Davis Mills. You can hold your early picks and see what value you can get early as well, or use those early picks to acquire a higher-end veteran with proven upside.
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Nate Polvogt is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Nate, check out his archive and follow him @NatePolvogt.
