Decoding the Dynasty Calendar: Inseason

Dynasty players are ill.

Frustratingly, stubbornly, irreparably ill.

We're probably the illest, although not in a cool way like Biggie. Nope. We wear it like the stench of a Matt Millen draft pick. Like that feeling when the can't-miss prospect you draft everywhere fails so spectacularly that his career becomes a proper noun. Like the losses you can't forget and the wins you can't remember.

The illest.

This series aims to explore how the NFL calendar affects my dynasty rosters. Because, folks, when your friends start getting too good at this game, you must get creative to find advantages. 

This is just a foundation, though. Keep it flexible and adjust it as needed for you and your league. Or, to paraphrase the Good Dr. HST, "I hate to advocate roster obsession in the winter, overdosing on data in the spring, maniacal roster management in the summer and fall, or insanity all year round to anyone, but they've always worked for me."

Summer is quickly speeding toward fall and dynasty managers are quickly speeding toward titles or troubles. Today, we'll look at what we do while players are sweating it out in July, running out of the tunnel in September, and, for the teams that make the cut, revving up for championship runs through the holiday season.

That's right: We are officially "inseason."

RELATED: See Part 1: Self-Evaluation Season here.
RELATED: See Part 2: Draft Season here.
RELATED: See Part 3: The Preseason here.

August Through December: The Inseason

Now we're just playing fantasy football…right? We bought the ticket — now it's time we take the ride. It's report card time. If I'm a contender, am I actually, well, contending? If I'm a rebuilder, am I squeezing every last drop of value out of anything on my roster that isn't nailed down?

What You Do as a Contender

If you've read the other parts of this series, then you know that by this point in the year, we have already evaluated our rosters to decide whether we are entering the season as true contenders. Ideally, you are not still trying to figure this out in July and, for sure, by the time real games begin.

For my rotation, I switch into a mostly redraft mindset. I'm still turning over the end of my bench with an eye toward dynasty strategy, but if I am a contender, my head is in the weekly work of lineup setting and moves that can best position me to win it all. There are a ton of decisions to be made here for the typical dynasty manager. What pieces might you need to put you over the top? What teams out there might hold those pieces and might be rebuilding such that they'd let them go? What kind of future capital -- draft picks and young players -- are you willing to part with to get the piece you need today?

I like to identify a core group of players that I will roll with as the foundation of my dynasty lineup. These are the "untradeables," although I don't really like that word because I'll trade anyone if the price is right. But they are at least the players I expect to carry me to contention. This is usually a starting lineup and a few key backups. Players not in that group, no matter how much I like them, are trade bait to make the core deeper and stronger for a title run.

This, right here, working your roster while you try to win a title, is where our redraft history overlaps with our foray into dynasty. This is where you feel comfortable, because this is what you've been doing all these years. The difference is that while you are doing it, you also have to be keeping one eye on the future. Your league doesn't end when you or a fellow manager lift the trophy in December. You can sell the farm for it if you want to, but come January, you'll still need a place to live.

What You Do as a Rebuilder

I continually assess the roster throughout the season. Sometimes, you enter a season knowing you are in rebuild mode, and sometimes injuries, suspensions, and other uncontrollable factors put you there. I don't want to be impatient, but the sooner I can admit that I am not a true contender, the better. If I am going to become a seller, I want to do it when as many teams as possible think they can still win it all. It pays to be decisive here.

My goal when I find my teams in rebuild mode is to get out of rebuild mode as fast as possible. To me, that means trying to collect young players and draft picks with the potential to join my core roster group and help me transition from a rebuilder to a contender. 

There aren't many ways to do this during the season. Contenders often wait until the trade deadline to fortify their rosters, and I have to work on their timeline. From a weekly standpoint, though, there are a couple of things I can do. 

I am working to add players off the waiver wire who suddenly find themselves with real-life volume, particularly at RB or QB, the two positions that tend to run out the fastest. I don't want them for my lineup — but someone might, and that could mean free draft capital for me. Don't misunderstand: you are unlikely to pull someone off waivers and turn him into a first-round rookie pick, but it does happen. More likely, these are players a contender will need to fortify their lineup for a title run. If I can get my hands on a few through waivers, then I might be able to score a free mid-round rookie pick or a young player I like who is already on someone's roster but maybe hasn't had a chance to develop yet.

You can also look for trades centered around guys you like but who might be underperforming or frustrating for their managers. For example, Jameson Williams was iffy in his first couple of years. Between injury and suspension, it took him a little while to get going. I liked him coming out, though, and I knew the Lions liked him too and seemed to be willing to take a patient approach with him. When it was still unclear whether he would ever figure it out, I was able to acquire him cheaply for a team I was building, but that wasn't quite ready. He didn't pay off right away, but last season, he was a key contributor to the core of a title team for me. The price? In October 2023, I traded Rachaad White, Jaylen Warren, and Amari Cooper to a contending team that needed running back depth for Williams, George Kittle, and a 2024 second-round rookie pick.

My leagues are set up so that tanking games weekly does not improve your draft stock. My goal if I'm rebuilding is to move players who hold current weekly value but aren't part of my core rebuild on and off my roster as quickly as possible to collect future draft picks and/or young players. After all, you can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket.

What You Do Whether You Are a Contender or a Rebuilder