Dynasty Startup Draft Picks Trading Advice (Fantasy Football 2024)

Trading can be very intimidating for dynasty managers, both new and old. It’s even more intimidating when you’re joining a new league. Here are some tips I give to managers who ask for help. There are many ways to trade and many ways to have fun with your league, but these are the general principles I try to use to make my team as good as possible as often as possible. Here’s advice on trading draft picks for fantasy football dynasty startups with a focus on maximizing your return on investment (ROI).

Dynasty Startup Draft Pick Trading Advice: Maximizing ROI

Trading activity will determine your path

If that dynasty startup league is a league with people you don’t know, you may have a hard time coming up with the best plan of attack. Ultimately, the ability to move up or trade back depends on how active your specific league is. Whether or not you want to trade, you’ll need a partner to trade with. Better yet, all 12 of you are active and want to trade on the field, but that may not always be the case.

The best way to determine how active a league will be is to follow the group chat. Ideally, you’ll post in the chat as often as possible and follow the conversation as the league gets going. You want to make sure everyone knows you’re open, engaged, and someone they want to talk to. If you don’t know your league mates yet, getting to know them better will help you a lot when you go into the draft room.

Trading should be based on levels

The best way to approach your draft is to create a list of players ranked from best to worst. This can either be a sheet someone else has created that you use as a guide, or you can create the list yourself. Once you have the list, you need to break it down into tiers. These tiers should be based on groups of players that you rate highly depending on league settings and your overall value of each player.

Size doesn’t matter when it comes to levels. Some levels are smaller and have only two or three players, others are larger and have as many players as you want. If you go through your list and find a gap in value, that’s a level change. Mark it on your sheet so you know where to make the moves that will benefit you the most.

As the draft gets closer to your pick, look at the players available and the ranks you have them ranked in. If you only see one or two players in the best remaining tier, it may make sense to stay and draft one of them. If you are at the beginning of a new tier, you may consider trading draft picks.

Trade back to gain value

There are two main types of trades in dynasty startups: trade back or upgrade. The more important of the two is the ability to trade back and gain additional value. If you have three players left in a tier that you value similarly, you could trade back two spots to take one of those players and add more value later, essentially for free. This may not always be possible, but that is the goal.

If there are still a lot of players left in your tier, it means you can go back even further and still add value to your team. If you can go back 10 places now and still take a player from the same tier, while moving up 10 places one round later, it’s a win-win situation. You get a player you would have taken anyway, and have the chance to get a better player later.

Trade to get your guy

When you start making these kinds of draft pick trades, you also give yourself more opportunities to move up and draft someone you really want. If you see a player on the board that you value highly, perhaps at the bottom of a certain tier, you can try to move up to take him and return some of the value you added by trading him back. This transfers that value from the pick to the player you like. You don’t lose the value, you just transform it.

In many cases, a draft will result in a player you want. He might be the last player in your tier or someone you value more than others. Trading up for that player will make your team better overall and make the trade worthwhile. That’s why you need to pay as much attention to the draft as possible to try to capitalize on those increases in value.

Trading should be fun

Overall, trading in your draft is a great way to maximize your return on investment (ROI) and improve your team. Additionally, trading is fun and one of the best ways to get to know your leaguemates. If you send offers and start conversations frequently, your league will feel more comfortable sending you offers and starting conversations with you. Trading is fun and a great way to pass the time, and it doesn’t have to wait until the draft is over.

Active leagues tend to have better competitive balance and are less likely to break down. As long as the trades are fair and balanced, there should be as many of them as possible. The best trades are those where both sides are happy. Everyone will value players differently. Getting a bad deal shouldn’t be taken as an insult, but as another data point. Ultimately, a good league is an active league. It starts with you. So have fun.

Advice on Dynasty Design

• Fitz’s Dynasty Draft Basics

Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice

• DBro’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Primers

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Andrew Hall is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, see his profile and follow him @AndrewHallFF.