BG – With Fantasy Football leagues that have multiple season implications, such as Dynasty and Keeper leagues, there really is no off season. Once the league concludes you can take a break, but you got to stay up on research as you get ready for your next draft. I’m in a Dynasty and Keeper league and my 2016 was a tale of two different stories with a Keeper Championship and the second overall pick in the Dynasty draft. We only keep two players in our Keeper League so I’ll be focusing on the Dynasty League where we keep 15 of 20 players.
     My Dynasty team took a big hit after the draft and free agency. My big move I made this off season was swapping Kelvin Benjamin for Mark Ingram. I loaded up on receivers with Allen Robinson, Keenan Allen, Benjamin and Sterling Shepard. Injuries and disappointing seasons derailed this position and were a big factor in me having the second pick. Runs on running backs left the options thin and so I swapped Benjamin, who I think has the lowest ceiling of my group, for Ingram. Mark was a disappointment but gave my team a boost. This trade looks worse for me now with Adrian Peterson heading to New Orleans and the Saints drafting Alvin Kamara, a speedy back who figures to be a factor on third down. Rumors are he could be traded, fingers crossed, but my running back depth chart needed a boost one way or the other.
That would be bad enough with me looking to improve an 11th place finish, but the draft took punches on the rest of my team. Sterling Shepard was one my few consistent contributors last season. He passed Victor Cruz and found plenty of targets even sharing the field with OBJ. Then the Giants signed Brandon Marshall and drafted TE Evan Ingram. Both will take targets and get looks in the red zone. I traded Benjamin hoping Shepard would take a step forward and the New York Giants did me no favors.
     Keenan Allen was a bust last season after going down again with injury and then the Chargers drafted Mike Williams. Tight end Cameron Brate was one of my surprising finds last year and got supplanted now by O. J. Howard. Reports are the Bucs could use two TE sets, but he goes from a bottom number one option to now a number two option. Tyler Boyd was one of my last picks in the initial Dynasty draft with the Bengals really lacking pass catching threats outside of A. J. Green and Tyler Eifert. Receivers take a bit to develop but now has first round pick John Ross to battle with. I was hoping Boyd could take a step forward in his sophomore year. Hopefully his size means he can at least be a consistent red zone threat.
     Two lower end guys I was hoping four bounce backs from were C. J. Anderson and Ty Montgomery. The Broncos offensive line was a mess last year but Anderson still managed to produce some before he got hurt. John Elway made some big additions to the offensive line which had me hopeful and then Jamal Charles came to town. I hope at this point Charles is relegated to more of a third down role. Ty Montgomery is the other guy I was hoping for a productive sophomore season. Ted Thompson didn’t dip into the RB market but did draft Devante Mays from Utah State, Jamaal Williams from BYU and Aaron Jones from UTEP. Montgomery was the only productive back in Green Bay last year and can catch the ball for the pass happy Packers and even with three backs being drafted he is being considered the unquestioned starter. After earning some trust last year I hope Ty can run with the starting job.
     The draft and free agency wasn’t all bad for me. The Eagles added some solid wide receiver options to help Carson Wentz in his sophomore season. I grabbed him last year as my young back up to Matthew Stafford and am hoping for him to be a piece of my team for the future. I also snagged Marshawn Lynch when the rumors of him going to the Raiders picked up. Oakland didn’t do anything at the RB position and, with that offensive line and passing game, I’m feeling confident I can get a solid season out of him.
     The rest of my 15 keepers at this point are Tyreek Hill, hoping for a big sophomore season, Jimmy Graham; still should be the top pass catcher in Seattle, the Eagles defense who was really solid last year, and Theo Riddick who I’m hoping can at least stay a flex option with the number of targets he receives. Duke Johnson was a higher pick of mine that is on the chopping block right now but is still someone I’m considering keeping after some productive games in our PPR league. There aren’t a ton of playmakers in Cleveland and RB is an incredibly thin position in our 12 team league.
     The other four players on my team are Dion Lewis, Marqise Lee, Malcom Mitchell and the Bills defense. I feel pretty comfortable dropping them, especially the Patriots players after all the running back additions they made and the Bradin Cooks trade. Lee was productive last season but I’m willing to mulligan the Jags receivers at this point, especially with me already keeping Allen Robinson. I only want to keep one defense and may actually keep Duke Johnson over either defense to load up.
     Leonard Fournette should be the unquestioned number one pick and so I’m working on who to take at number two. Corey Davis is considered the top rookie in Dynasty rankings but I can’t afford to pass on a potential stud running back for my team. My next picks are 23 and 26 and at this point I’m hoping that at least one semi-productive player for this season. A lot of running backs were taken and there are some top end WR and TE that could go early in dynasty drafts. There seems to be quite a bit of young talent this season available for drafts. After a botched season, and not a lot of talented YOUNG depth, I intend to load up on some young players.
     I of course intend to improve my team and work toward the playoffs, but selling is important aspect to keep in mind in a Dynasty League. At best I can hope to get one super impactful player and possibly two more semi-impactful players out of the draft. For a team that is struggling you really have to flip assets when you can. This past season for my struggling team I was able to flip LeGarrette Blount to a playoff team for Jimmy Graham. Graham, Stafford, Lynch and Riddick are aging vets that I will have at the top of my list to possibly sell if I’m out of it again. Losing is something I’m not used to in Fantasy Football, but I am looking forward to the challenge of taking a basement team to championship contention.