Early September is obviously redraft season, right?
What’s the deal with dynasty content landing in Week 1.
Well … it’s always dynasty season
So I jumped into a $250 superflex dynasty league on FFPC and am sharing the full startup draft below …
The lineup and scoring follow most of the usual FFPC rules. It’s PPR scoring for all but the TEs, who get 1.5 points per reception (TE premium).
The starting lineup:
It’s a 20-round draft, with annual rookie drafts to follow. And if you’re interested in adding one more league (or two) before the season kicks off, you can still find available teams in the FFPC dynasty lobby – starting at $100.
Note that this draft began in late July – right around the start of training camp. It completed by mid-August.
Perhaps it would have been nicer for me to get this together earlier. But now you can see just how quickly perceived player values change – even in dynasty.
Note how long Brock Purdy stays on the board. And how many RBs got drafted that have since failed to make an active roster.
And see whether you think my selection of a certain since-traded QB was a mistake …
I used my Dynasty Draft War Room for this draft
Let’s put these first two rounds together, because they certainly worked in tandem to decide my picks.
I knew I wanted at least one QB at this turn. Should I have paired Dak Prescott with his No. 1 WR instead? Maybe. But I expect that Watson still has more fantasy upside than Prescott. And I’m not especially interested in stacking teammates for a lineup-setting single league.
I wouldn’t say I’m avoiding QB-WR stacks, just not targeting them the way I would in a tournament or best ball setup.
This is a good spot to say that I treat the FFPC dynasty format more like a “keeper” league.
What’s the difference? We could quibble over the details, but here’s my view:
Dynasty signals to me carrying over a large roster year to year. There’s incentive to stashing players you don’t expect to help right away – and who might never pay off – just in case they do hit in a year or two.
Keeper signals carrying fewer players year to year. There’s at least a bit more focus on succeeding this season vs. projecting each player’s long-term value.
The FFPC cuts rosters down to 16 between seasons, and you’re required to include a kicker and a defense among those 16.
So that’s 14 players rolling year to year. And then there are the payouts.
Cash prizes go to the top two seeds at the end of the regular season, and then the top three finishers at the end of the playoffs. So there’s even more incentive to fielding a good team in any given season vs. trying to rebuild – at least in my mind.
I bring that up here because it helps explain why I’d favor Kupp over some younger wideouts still available. I’m focused more on year-to-year success than ultimate long-term value.
That said, being 30 doesn’t mean Kupp is bumping up against retirement. His contract runs through 2026, and that final season is currently the first time the Rams could get out without taking on at least $17 million in dead cap.
Don’t let Kupp’s current hamstring injury disguise the likelihood that he remains helpful (and maybe excellent) for at least a couple more years.
Kupp aside, FFPC “rookie” drafts also include any veterans not on rosters. So it’s easier here to restock a roster than what you’ll find in a more typical dynasty league.
Knowing that I could get the younger Higgins around the same turn made it even easier to draft Kupp.
I thought about a second QB at this stage and might draft it differently today. Kenny Pickett and Jordan Love, for example, have generated buzz and played well in preseason since this draft happened.
Both left the board before my next turn.
I traded out of Round 5. You can see the full details at the bottom of this article. In short: Someone offered me a significant move up later for minimal moves down here.
I’m not excited about Wilson, but I also don’t see much separation between him and the rest of the QBs around the 5-6 turn. So I was fine taking whichever guy fell.
Dobbins felt like a shot worth taking as my RB1 at this stage.
No pick in Round 7 and another slight move down in Round 8 via the second – and final – trade I made in this startup draft.
I’ll gladly buy the dynasty discount right now on Burks, who hasn’t had a chance to show his real NFL upside. He arrived off a dynamic college career and via a Round 1 pick the Titans traded A.J. Brown to acquire.
Elsewhere in this round: Note that Brock Purdy came off the board as the 26th QB. He’s not getting close to that level if you draft today. And he probably shouldn’t have even then.
I’d rather have him than Russell Wilson, in hindsight.
This move down comes as part of the previous trade, with Pick 9.12 becoming 10.02. And I made a bad selection – right before a good one.
Njoku felt like a win as the TE12 in this draft. It still feels that way. And I like pairing the TE with my top QB, because that’s a more TD-reliant position for fantasy scoring than WR is.
At the time, I figured Lance:
A month later: Neither has happened.
That Dallas was able to get him for just a fourth-round pick says the entire league shrugged at Lance’s availability.
No team (apparently) thought it was worth a third-round pick to pay the cheaper half of Lance’s rookie contract, get a fifth-year option, and see if he could develop into a starter.
That tells me he’s not likely to become any team’s “guy.” At any point.
I’ll hope for an opportunity to sell Lance at some point in this superflex league.
I reached this turn with two RBs rostered (Rachaad White via trade) and all other starting spots covered. If I were drafting today, I’d have probably taken Luke Musgrave at this turn. Of course, he probably wouldn’t make it this far anymore.
The upside of Spears, though, looks very enticing – for however long his knee holds up. And Gibson works as a temporary lineup option. We’ll see if he can earn a meaningful second NFL contract.
This was a fun turn, at which I made three straight Jared Smola picks. All three are upside athletes. Toney and Moore are hurt by disappointing 2022 campaigns. Woods will get a delayed start to his second season, thanks to a hamstring injury that has landed him on IR.
Back-to-back TEs give me four on this TE-premium roster.
I like Fant quite a bit as a dynasty buy right now. The former first-round pick is in the final year of his rookie contract, freeing him to leave Seattle’s frustrating TE rotation in March.
He’ll be just 26 at that point and still the guy who was an electric prospect for the position.
Hurst is at least a decent lineup option over the next two years. Nothing exciting.
I have no strong feelings about any of the picks in this range. Obviously had to fill my kicker and DST slots, and I’d recommend saving those until the very end.
It’s worth noting here that FFPC rules won’t let you take more than three QBs in your startup draft. I get the motivation, but I also wish that limit weren’t in place for a superflex draft.
Honestly, I forgot about that setting until after I had selected Lance as my QB3 – and might not have drafted him had I remembered.
Let my folly remind you to make sure you know your league’s rules before you draft.
This league made 27 trades before the end of the startup draft, often including at least one of three particularly active managers.
I’m not huge on trading during a startup draft but am always open to offers. Here are the two I accepted …
Give:
Get:
I knew I wanted my second QB as the end of Round 5 approached. But there wasn’t much separating a group that included Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, Geno Smith, Russell Wilson. I also didn’t have a specific target for 6.01.
Knowing I’d still get one of those QBs, I had little trouble accepting the modest move down for a four-round climb later in the draft.
Give:
Get:
As you saw above, White went at Pick 7.06. It was an autopick that I’m not sure the other manager actually wanted. Diontae Johnson wound up going 7.12. He and White currently hold exactly the same value in our PPR dynasty trade value chart.
Same deal with the picks. There’s obviously some value loss in moving down two spots on each pick involved here. But it’s no meaningful loss.
With three WRs, two QBs, and one RB already rostered when this offer arrived, I decided to take a shot on White’s upside as my RB2 in a format that starts as many RBs as WRs. I felt good about the WRs and TEs I’d still have access to later (and each worked out).
If our 2023 Breakout Player hits, he’ll look like a steal by the end of this season.
Here’s what I’ve got heading into the season:
Deshaun Watson
Russell Wilson
Trey Lance
J.K. Dobbins
Rachaad White
Tyjae Spears
Antonio Gibson
Eric Gray
CeeDee Lamb
Cooper Kupp
Tee Higgins
Treylon Burks
Kadarius Toney
Rondale Moore
David Njoku
Jelani Woods
Noah Fant
Hayden Hurst
Who cares
Are you new to dynasty fantasy football? Experienced but looking to sharpen your skills?
Check out this short video for some keys to dynasty victory. And you can dig even deeper with this guide to Dynasty Strategy.