The most important priority to building a winning dynasty team is to use your draft picks efficiently. In dynasty fantasy football, draft picks are the only team assets that are guaranteed to appreciate in value.
Prior to my draft, I analyzed historical data to figure out how to get the most value for my draft picks and I documented my findings in these articles:
- How To Add A QB1 To Your Dynasty Team - '24
- How To Add An RB1 To Your Dynasty Team - '24
- How To Add A WR1 To Your Dynasty Team - '24
- How To Add A TE1 To Your Dynasty Team - '24
Your dynasty draft is the time of year that draft picks have the most value. Most fantasy managers are only focused on one thing, drafting rookies. But this is a mistake. Your draft picks have the most value this time of year because of rookie player hype and the excitement of adding new players to the roster.
The most efficient action you can take with your draft picks is to trade them forward for more or higher draft picks. It is hard to do. It is hard to let go of that player you want to pick up so you can have more draft power in the future. But if the opportunity is there, it is always the best action to take if you are building a dynasty.
Another action you can take is to trade for players that are still developing and might be undervalued. The rookie shine wears off quickly, and there might be some sophomore or 3rd-year players that are on their way to being a stud. These players are finally developing and will get volume opportunity this year.
I reviewed all the 2nd and 3rd year players in the above articles to try to get one below value because draft picks on draft day are overvalued due to both hype and excitement.
Here was my roster heading into the draft:
- QB: Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson
- RB: James Cook, Jerome Ford, Brian Robinson and Tyler Allgeier
- WR: Tyreek Hill, Deebo Samuel, Brandin Cooks, Michael Wilson and Kyle Phillips
- TE: Evan Engram, Dalton Kincaid
- K: Cairo Santos
And here were my 2024 draft picks: 1.06, 1.09, 2.02, 2.04, 2.11, 3.02, 3.04, 3.07, 3.11 and 3.12. And I came in 2nd last year. If I didn't employ this draft pick management strategy I would only have the 1.11, 2.11 and 3.11 picks. I would then be depending on my great knowledge alone to pick undervalued NFL prospects in the rookie draft - something I doubt I would be good at. As you consider the draft moves mentioned below, you should also consider what the alternative might look like if I only had the 1.11, 2.11 and 3.11 picks.
Additionally, I was stacked pretty well for the future: 2025: 1 1st, 3 2nds, 2 3rds and 2026: 2 1sts, 2 2nds and 2 3rds. Ideally I want three of each future draft pick (e.g. 2025: 3 1sts, 3 2nds, 3 3rds, or 9 picks for each future year, 3x the norm.) Thus, based on draft picks, my team grows in value at a rate three times higher than an average team in the league.
So, here is what I did with my picks:
1.06: Traded for two future mid-1st round picks. I really wanted Trey Benson or Ladd McConkey, but by being patient I can get the equivalent of both of them in the future.
1.09: Selected Brian Thomas Jr (WR). Before selecting Thomas Jr, I tried to pick up a rising sophomore or 3rd year player. I made offers for Drake London, Jahmyr Gibbs (combined with my 2.11), and De'Von Achane. I had no takers. I had a lot of trade offers back, but nothing materialized. I am quite satisfied with getting Thomas Jr, but the point is I tried to leverage draft hype to do even better and get a steal of a deal.
2.02: Selected Ricky Pearsall (WR). Before selecting Pearsall, I tried to trade for a future 1st. It worked last year, but not this year.
2.04: Traded for two future mid-2nd round picks. There were several guys on the board that I was interested in: Adonai Mitchell, Roman Wilson, Blake Corum, Xavier Legette. However, I am definitely happier getting two future 2nds.
2.11: Selected Malachi Corley (WR). First I tried to trade for various sophomore and 3rd year players. I mixed some of my 3rd round picks into my offers for some of the more valuable players. I tried to get one of Garrett Wilson, Tank Dell, Chris Olave, Zach Charbonnet, Kendre Miller or Tyjae Spears, again trying to get a steal of a deal based on rookies typically being overhyped. I also tried to trade for a future 2nd and 3rd round pick. Normally I would try to trade a low 2nd round pick for just any future 2nd round pick on the odds that I would be moving up in the draft. However, since I am close to being fully loaded with future picks, I decided to ask for more. I had no takers on my trade offers, so I happily took Corley.
3.02: Selected Luke McCaffrey (WR). I first tried to trade for a future 2nd round pick. I had no takers, so I was content with taking McCaffrey.
3.04 Selected Bo Nix (QB). I like Michael Penix Jr better over the long term, but took Nix because I was looking for a QB that I could start this year due to possible injury and/or bye weeks to Hurts or Richardson. Nix also has decent upside.
3.07: Selected Rasheen Ali (RB). I stopped trying to trade for future picks at this point. I am excited to add Ali who I believe has decent skills and is playing behind an aging Derrick Henry.
3.11: Selected Isaac Guerendo (RB). I am also excited to get Guerendo, who I think has decent skills and is playing behind an aging Christian McCaffrey. These last two selections are very efficient picks to try to get an RB1 without competing head-to-head for the most expensive players in the league. I covered this strategy in How I Got My RB1.
3.12: Selected Houston Texans (Def). At the time of our draft, we weren't allowed to make any new pick-ups until after Week 1. However, my league voted after the draft to allow pick-ups before Week 1. If the rule had been changed prior to the draft, I might have done something different with this pick. However, I needed a Defense for the beginning of the season, so I took the best available.
After the rule change, we opened up first-come-first-served (FCFS) add/drops and here is what I did:
- Added Demarcus Robinson (WR). He finished last year hot. I know he is expected to come back down to earth this year, with Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua healthy. However, Robinson didn't only just get a lot of volume due to their injuries the last half of the season, but he also showed that without Kupp and Nacua to pull coverage away he was still a very efficient and effective receiver. After last year's performance, I believe he will be worked into the game plan more this season even with both a healthy Kupp and Nacua. I also needed some depth at WR that I could stuff into my lineup this year while my rookies develop.
- Added Elijah Mitchell (RB). I know Christian McCaffrey is still a hot fantasy football commodity, even in dynasty leagues, but he has to slow down eventually. He is in his 8th year, which is a year past when the average RB really starts to drop off. Also, McCaffrey's stardom is in part based on being on a great team. With Mitchell and Guerendo on my roster, if McCaffrey gets injured or starts to fade, I might have a rising RB1. 49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan has already indicated he expects to reduce McCaffrey's work load this year now that Mitchell is healthy.
- Added Malik Washington (WR). I have Tyreek Hill on my team. Since Washington and Hill are both playing for Miami, I thought Washington might be a nice insurance policy if and when the 30-year-old Hill slows down or gets hurt. Washington gets dismissed a lot because of his smaller size, but he is only an inch shorter than Tyreek Hill and has exceptional receiver skills.
- Added Ka'imi Fairbain (K)
- Dropped Kyle Phillips and Cairo Santos.
Now my roster is:
- QB: Jalen Hurts, Anthony Richardson and Bo Nix (R)
- RB: James Cook, Jerome Ford, Brian Robinson , Tyler Allgeier, Rasheen Ali (R) and Isaac Guerendo (R)
- WR: Tyreek Hill, Deebo Samuel, Brandin Cooks, Michael Wilson, Demarcus Robinson, Brian Thomas Jr (R), Ricky Pearsall (R), Malachi Corley (R), Luke McCaffrey (R) and Malik Washington (R)
- TE: Evan Engram, Dalton Kincaid
- K: Ka'imi Fairbain
- Def: Houston Texans
And I added two 1sts and two 2nds for 2025 and 2026.
I feel I did well in my draft. However, my plan to use draft-hype to steal developing 2nd and 3rd year players didn't work, and I will give this more thought for next year.
Nevertheless, I believe that my team is okay overall. I need to hope one of my rookie WRs pops this year and that my RB-corps hangs in the middle of the pack for me to be a contender. However, I have the draft capital to give my team some mid-to-end of season boosts if necessary, and my team has a lot of promise for future years.
Let me know how you think I did. What would you have done differently? Was this article interesting/helpful? You can write to me at
If you liked this article, these are some other articles you might find helpful:
Dynasty NFL: Who To Drop And How To Sell
