Fantasy Football Draft Strategy- Startup Dynasty

Now that the NFL Draft season is finished way too early, the Fantasy Football draft season has begun. If you are new to the Dynasty format or want to improve your drafting game plan, I have some simple advice that goes slightly against the grain. Beating the consensus is all you need to do for a player to win in fantasy football. These tips will achieve the goal of beating that consensus. 

Age Matters but Not as Much as You Think 

Most Fantasy Football players in the Dynasty format are obsessed with age. Studies done by Professor John Bush here at Science of Fantasy Football prove that Father Time is undefeated. Still, they also show that the “Survivors” who outrun him can be robust options in Fantasy Football for several more years. When starting up a new league draft, I am not afraid to draft players in their prime ages or even slightly older. Here is my idea of the ages acceptable in the early rounds by position. 

QB: 35 or Younger

RB: 28 or Younger

WR: 30 or Younger

TE: 32 or Younger

The early round of a Dynasty startup draft extends to about round ten in a Superflex league and round eight in a 1QB league. The later you go in the draft, the more upside you want, so I am willing to accept older players the farther you go in the draft. If you can manage to layer your ages at each position, your team won’t grow old all at once. 

Elite Players Matter More Than Ordinary QBs in Superflex

Drafting in the second half of a Superflex Dynasty startup can be an adventure. It’s almost like you end up playing a game of Chicken with the QB position. That’s because elite players matter more than rostering 2 or 3 ordinary QBs by chasing an average QB too early. My ideal build to a startup team would be 1 elite QB, 1 elite WR, and either an elite TE or RB. Some players force the QBs too early, which means you miss out on the elite players in open positions. Here is an example of a startup Dynasty Superflex team from last season, round by round, for my picks, with me drafting 11th in a 12-team Superflex with a 3rd-round reversal. This was highly reckless and built most of the Dynasty draft logic as an experiment. Let’s look at my first 15 picks in a league that starts 3 WR and has 11 players. 

1.11 Travis Kelce, 

2.2 Christian McCaffrey, 

3.2 Tyreek Hill, 

4.11 Kirk Cousins, 

5.2 TJ Hockenson, 

6.11 Jordan Love, 

7.2 Michael Pittman, 

8.11 Kennan Allen, 

9.2 Aaron Jones, 

10.11 Jameson Williams, 

11.2 Alvin Kamara, 

12.11 Damien Harris, 

13.2 Matthew Stafford, 

14.11 Ryan Tannehill, 

15.2 Will Levis. 

There were some bad misses among my first 15 picks, but I threw caution to the wind on age while attempting to layer my ages at each position. In this league, we also played against the median league scoring every week in addition to a head-to-head matchup. This league also uses Scott Fish Bowl scoring, which changes every season, so it’s impossible to draft specifically for the scoring rules since they change every season. My team finished 27-1 and lost in the Championship to the only team to beat me in the regular season. My later picks in the draft were younger players, so I enter the 2024 season with my ages layered to make a nice run again for another 1-3 seasons. 

More Traditional Superflex Draft Strategy

Let’s look at a more traditional Superflex draft strategy with the 4th pick in a 12-team Superflex with a TE Premium of 1-point PPR with ½ point PPR for WR and ¼ point PPR for RBs. This draft also has a 3rd round reversal. This league only starts 2 WR and a total of 10 players. 

1.04 Patrick Mahomes, 

2.10 Dak Prescott, 

3.10 Mark Andrews, 

4.3 Tee Higgins, 

5.10 Deebo Samuel, 

6.3 DeAndre Swift, 

7.10 Quentin Johnson, 

8.3 Chris Godwin, 

9.10 Keenan Allen, 

10.3 James Cook, 

11.10 Brian Robinson, 

12.3 Chiggy Okonkwo, 

13.10 Tank Bigsby, 

14.3 John Metchie, 

15.10 Michael Wilson. 

Once again, I took some swings and came up empty on a few of the picks but once again built a solid lineup with a good layering of ages. This team would finish 4th place in the regular season with a record of 20-8 and win the championship. 

One Final Dynasty Startup from Last Season

Let’s take a look at one final Dynasty startup from last season. This is a 12-team league that starts only 1 QB with only 8 starters each week. That format, with fewer players scoring for you every week, emphasizes having more elite players. I was drafting from the fourth draft slot. 

1.4 Christian McCaffrey, 

2.9 Travis Kelce, 

3.4 Justin Herbert, 

4.9 Rhamondre Stevenson, 

5.4 DeAndre Swift, 

6.9 Chris Godwin, 

7.4 Michael Pittman, 

8.9 Tua Tagliovoa, 

9.4 Jameson Williams, 

10.9 Jonathon Mingo, 

11.4 Rashee Rice, 

12.9 Chase Brown, 

13.4 John Metchie, 

14.9 Marvin Mims, 

15.4 Isiah Likely, 

16.4 Derek Carr, 

17.4 Malik Davis, 

18.9 Justyn Ross, 

19.4 Puka Nacua, 

20.9 Jelani Woods. 

This draft was earlier in the year (Mid-May), and we knew Cooper Kupp would miss time. Still rolled the dice with Nacua in the 19th round, which earned some comments in the chat room. Even though this was a 1QB league, because it’s a Dynasty league I wanted several starters to consider over the multiple seasons ahead. After securing my starters regardless of age, I then concentrated on young players most of the way. This team finished 20-6 in first place during the regular season and won the championship. 

Conclusion

Never be afraid to swim against the current in the startup draft of a new Dynasty league. Since I play this format with more of a Redraft League mentality than my league mates, I can win in year one. If I layer my ages at each position and don’t squander my future draft picks by trading for more old guys, I should have good longevity to have a contender in the coming seasons. These were my only three startups last year, and I had success with 2 different strategies in Superflex and success in my 1QB league, too. As you saw in the 3 drafts shown above, you can have plenty of mistakes in the draft and still build winning teams, so don’t be afraid to be bold.