Rookie drafts may be winding down, but it’s important to not completely switch off from your dynasty league in the offseason. Now is a perfect time to take an honest appraisal of your dynasty team and consider its strengths and weaknesses ahead of the season. In this series of division-by-division Dynasty Primers, we’ll look at how each NFL team stacks up and what buying and selling opportunities might be appropriate.
- Dynasty Roundup & Trade Advice: NFC North | AFC North | AFC South | AFC West
- Dynasty Trade Value Chart
- Dynasty Rookie Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
- Dynasty Rookie Draft Sleepers: QB | RB | WR | TE
- Latest Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft
Dynasty Draft Strategy & Trade Advice
Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes is still the dynasty QB1 for many, and while there are arguments to be had in favor of Jalen Hurts or Josh Allen, who possess greater ability in the running game, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would argue strongly that Mahomes shouldn’t be the QB1. Mahomes has finished as a top-six quarterback in each of the last five years, with 32 top-five weekly performances in that time, averaging 4,606 passing yards per season and 37 touchdowns per year.
There is simply no reason to think Mahomes will fall off a cliff with his production, particularly after seeing him maintain it after the team traded away Tyreek Hill. Most trade value charts would tell you Mahomes’ value is the equivalent of two very high picks in rookie drafts, but you’d be hard-pushed to find anyone selling for less than three firsts plus another quarterback.
The Chiefs money-balled their way through 2022 at wide receiver, with no individual standing out, but periodically one of JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, Kadarius Toney or Skyy Moore popped up for useful weeks. Smith-Schuster is no longer with the team, and despite the team making very little in the way of additions, they say they are content and expect Toney to be the defacto WR1 behind Travis Kelce. Toney played six games in the regular season, flashing at times with 19.0 PPR points in his second game but only amassing a total of 23.6 in the other five games. Most dynasty managers who roster Toney believe in the upside enough that it’s difficult to pry him from them, and you’d be forced to give up an early second or higher to do so.
Valdez-Scantling averaged 41.3 yards per game but rarely flashed big play upside and, at best, should be considered a depth option for your bench. Skyy Moore never flashed any of the promise many hoped for, but with Smith-Schuster no longer on the team, there are opportunities to be had as Moore goes into his second year. Rashee Rice was drafted by the Chiefs in the second round, and that capital is noteworthy, but he is far from a finished prospect and likely needs a season to develop. With Valdez-Scantling likely on a different team in 2024, it might be worth playing the long game and rostering Rice with an eye for the future.
Isiah Pacheco will enter the season as the favorite for the RB1 role, with Clyde Edwards-Helaire falling out of favor having never delivered on his first-round status. Jerick McKinnon was brought back by the Chiefs and will no doubt have a pass-catching role at times, with the Chiefs having talked about how much they trust him, but at 31 years old, McKinnon is no spring chicken. Fantasy managers find it hard to trust running backs without much draft capital invested in them, but right now, Pacheco looks locked into that role for 2023, at the very least.
Travis Kelce is still a top-three dynasty tight end, no matter where you look at rankings, and there are no better options for win-now teams. If you can pry Kelce away for any less than a mid-first-round pick, then you’ve done well. Over the last three seasons, Kelce has averaged 11.0 top-five weekly performances per season, and there are few signs he’s slowing down.
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