My favorite strategy in dynasty startups is to build a team that can win now and later, as I detailed in a previous article on the Superflex startup strategy. However, suppose the choice is between drafting a short-term contender or a team that will struggle in year one before eventually developing into a perennial contender. In that case, I’ll go for the delayed gratification every time.
Depending on how competitive your league members are, you may determine that it’s simply not feasible to win right away and in the long run. Perhaps the beginning of the startup draft doesn’t play out like you were hoping, and you’re forced to choose between aging stars and unproven youngsters sooner than you were anticipating. At that point, it’s wise to fully embrace the youth movement and decisively shift to what DLF’s Ryan McDowell has coined the “Productive Struggle.”
My favorite strategy in dynasty startups is to build a team that can win now and later, as I detailed in a previous article on the Superflex startup strategy. However, suppose the choice is between drafting a short-term contender or a team that will struggle in year one before eventually developing into a perennial contender. In that case, I’ll go for the delayed gratification every time.
Depending on how competitive your league members are, you may determine that it’s simply not feasible to win right away and in the long run. Perhaps the beginning of the startup draft doesn’t play out like you were hoping, and you’re forced to choose between aging stars and unproven youngsters sooner than you were anticipating. At that point, it’s wise to fully embrace the youth movement and decisively shift to what DLF’s Ryan McDowell has coined the “Productive Struggle.”
“Productive Struggle” Dynasty Startup Strategy (2023 Fantasy Football)
FantasyPros Dynasty Football Podcast 
What Is the Productive Struggle?
In dynasty fantasy football, it’s critical to have a well-thought-out strategy and to embrace it fully. The last thing you want to do is constantly shift between going all in and rebuilding and end up with a team that finishes in the middle of the standings year after year.
When you adopt the Productive Struggle strategy in your startup draft, you willingly write off competing for a championship in the first season. Anytime during your startup draft that there’s a choice to be made between winning immediately or winning in the long run, you should decisively prioritize the long run.
That’s not to say you should purposefully tank in order to get the No. 1 pick in the following year’s rookie draft. In fact, one common mistake is to go so overboard on unproven players that you lose focus on making the optimal picks to build a foundation for long-term success.
Of course, more often than not, this strategy will result in you getting a high draft pick in the following year’s rookie draft, which is certainly a tangible benefit. If you somehow happen to catch a bunch of breaks and sneak into the playoffs in the first year, great! However, if you lose a bunch of games, you’ll know that it is serving a greater purpose.
Putting the Productive Struggle into Practice: Avoid RBs
When it comes to the relative value of different positions, the Productive Struggle strategy is similar to the strategy I outlined in the Superflex article, at least in the early rounds.
You should still prioritize quarterbacks, aiming to have one young, high-end starter in single-QB formats and two of them in Superflex. Wide receivers are also much more appealing than running backs, and young tight ends get a big bump since they usually take two to three years to develop into fantasy mainstays. In a single-QB format, I would likely spend my first three to four picks on young WRs and/or TEs. In Superflex, I’d heavily target WRs and TEs as soon as I’ve addressed QB.
The argument for avoiding RBs in the early rounds is especially strong when you’re employing the Productive Struggle. The typical high-end running back only has a shelf life of two to three years, and you’ll essentially be wasting one of those years while losing in year one. If you take a running back who has already been good for a year or two at the time of your startup draft, there’s a good chance he will already be in decline — or off the fantasy radar entirely — by the time your contention window opens.
Other Key Productive Struggle Strategies
If your league allows you to make trades during your startup draft, this is a great way to enhance your Productive Struggle. For example, if the consensus best player available when your pick comes up is a running back or an older receiver, see if you can trade back to get an additional startup pick or, better yet, an early (Round 1 or 2) rookie pick for the following year.
You’ll also want to make sure to target players who are particularly valuable for the Productive Struggle. Specifically, players who are roughly a year away from breaking out.
One example is young players who will need a year to develop their skills and/or get a chance to start. Think Drake London or Kenneth Walker heading into last season. First and second-year tight ends generally fall into this category, as do raw, athletic wide receivers.
Then there are players who are being discounted because they are likely to miss time due to suspension or injury. Last year, Deshaun Watson, Calvin Ridley, DeAndre Hopkins, Michael Gallup and Jameson Williams all would have fit the bill perfectly. This year, it could be Kyler Murray, Brock Purdy, Javonte Williams, Breece Hall or Alvin Kamara.
Finally, take a look at which players are scheduled to become free agents after the season. A player currently buried on the depth chart could suddenly be staring at a lot of opportunity if he signs with another team. Similarly, a player could get a big boost in touches/targets if the star player in front of him departs in free agency.
Think of it like investing in the stock market. Every pick should be spent on players who will be more valuable in 12 months than they are today.
One final piece of advice is to value talent over situation. This is always the right move in dynasty, no matter which strategy you choose, but it is particularly wise for the Productive Struggle, where you can afford to be patient.
Talent is simply a better long-term predictor of fantasy value than current team context. Situations can change quickly, whereas pure, natural ability is something you either have or you don’t.
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Andrew Seifter is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrew_seifter.
