The 2023 NFL offseason has already begun, and it is time to talk dynasty fantasy football strategy. Dynasty offseason has also started, and if you are reading this, you probably have already joined at least one startup. We saw the question on Twitter asking, is there a draft bible for the dynasty offseason? We are not going to write the bible today, but we want to talk about the ten things you must do every offseason. These ten things will help you make sure that you have the best 2023 season.
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Dynasty Fantasy Football: 10 Commandments for the Offseason
Five Commandments to Become a Better Manager
1. Thou shalt not have too many leagues
Every offseason, you should make sure you have a manageable amount of leagues. This is the time to do it, and keeping the fun in fantasy is always important. We all know it’s hard to say no to a new league and get rid of old leagues. Having too many leagues can be unmanageable. This can take the fun out of the league and hurt your teams.
Leaving leagues is not always easy, but it can be done. First thing, find out which leagues you want to leave. I would start with any leagues you are not having fun in and any free leagues. Finding another manager to take over and talk to the commish is always best practice. You don’t want to burn bridges and leave the note on a bad note. Find a good manager. Paying for this year’s dues is always a good way to pay it forward.
2. Thou shalt do your homework
The offseason is usually when redrafting fantasy football players go dormant, and dynasty fantasy players all have Rookie Fever. Ensure you stay up to date with NFL news and trades, and get familiar with the rookies. There are a lot of great podcasts and other resources to help you with this. There are a lot of non-fantasy-related podcasts that I listen to during the off-season. We will be covering the offseason and will be doing our best to keep everyone up to date. Staying up to date with actual NFL news will help you as a fantasy player. Part of every dynasty fantasy football strategy starts with knowledge.
3. Thou shalt treat this like a business
Be active in your leagues and stay active in the group chat. Being a good league mate will only benefit you in the long run. Talking about off-season news, sharing memes, and keeping the chat active. Trading is all about timing and relationships. Build a good relationship with as many other managers as possible, so you have a lot of options.
Putting players on the trade block or randomly sending offers rarely gets the job done. Talk with your league mates and see what they need, and see if you can help them out. One thing I will do is work on a league for one week and rotate to
4. Thou shalt try something new
Try new formats. You won’t know what you like or don’t like until you try it. Try a best ball league or a superflex format if you have never tried it before. This will give you something to research and some new skills to develop. There are a lot of people that exclusively play IDP or Superflex that were opposed to it at some point. Dynasty included, some people are nervous to try it out. Try it out and remember, we all started playing for the fun.
5. Thou shalt mock and mock again
You should be mock drafting as often as you can. Looking at mock drafts and reviewing average draft positions (ADP) are great. But, the actual practice of mock drafting is very important before your drafts. Trying out different strategies and different builds and getting to see where the values are in a mock is valuable. It is also typically free.
There are some other sites that offer this using some tools that you have to pay for. These sites usually use high-stakes data and other specific data that could give you an edge. Mock drafting and research are critical commandments to success in dynasty fantasy football.
Five Commandments of Roster Management
1. Thou shalt evaluate your future one dynasty team at a time
The offseason is all about improving your roster. The problem is that most people are trying to do the same thing. Take a look at your teams and your league. Where did you finish, and where do you think you are going to finish the next two seasons? Sometimes it helps to go ask someone to help give you an unbiased opinion. Is this team a contender, a pretender, or a mess? If this team is a contender, you will have a totally different game plan. If you are in the middle of the pack, you are in the worst spot.
You either find a way to become a contender, or you start to rebuild. Side tip, before rebuilding, the first move is to acquire your future 1sts. It’s always easier to do the second. Tearing it down is fun and easier. Making an all-in move comes with a ton of risk. Regardless, it makes it easier to evaluate the other teams. Whatever direction you are going, create a blueprint and execute it.
2. Thou shalt get younger, not older
Regardless of where your team is, it’s important to get younger. Contenders need to find ways to inject youth into their rosters behind their superstars so they can have a true dynasty. The first step of a rebuild is to trade veterans for picks. There are a lot of great articles out there regarding age cliffs. We have some that we have written regarding age cliffs. Being a year ahead of a player falling off of the cliff is always better than being a year late. Trade Tip: Trading veterans after the draft is easier than during the draft.
We all want to get a bunch of picks for our vets, but you typically end up selling those veterans at a discount. People are more likely to trade veterans in Week 1 or during the season when they see those starting lineups or projections. Timing is everything in dynasty. It’s okay to be patient and not take the discount the player thinks they are entitled to. Wait for them to need an RB or need a win. They will be willing to pay up.
Age Cliff Ranges Based on the top 12 finishes at their position
QB – Age 24-36 (Peak 33)
RB – Age 22-28 (Peak 25)
WR – Age 23- Age 30 (Peak 28)
TE – Age 25-30 (Peak 27)
3. Thou shalt do your own rankings
Everyone should have their own rankings. You can start with our consensus rankings and then adjust from there. Move the players up and down during the offseason. Having your own rankings really helps on draft day and when making moves. You don’t have to do this for content or have to create content to have rankings. I like putting them in tiers for my drafts. Who are 12 QBs that I would be comfortable with, or maybe it is only 7 or 8 as my QB1 in superflex? Same with RB1 or WR1. Putting them in tiers allows you to look for values. If you have five players in the same tier and one player is going Round 4 in ADP, and the other has an ADP in Round 6, that is where you can find the values.
4. Thou shalt know my neighbor
Studying your opponent and knowing their tendencies allows you to navigate trades much easier. It is not hard to find out who their favorite team or players are. They will likely have a tendency to overvalue or at least properly certain players. It is the opposite. Knowing that they don’t like certain players can work to your benefit. You can also see the trade landscape to see who is most active or most difficult to work with. Evaluating your team needs to help you identify what you need. Identifying what your trade partners need is equally as important.
5. Thou shalt diversify
Dynasty fantasy football strategy can mean a lot of things, and there is no one right way. Try new builds, and diversify your dynasty portfolio. It’s great when you go all in on a player, and they pan out. But don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. We all have a lot of players we like, and it’s fun to have them on at least one roster. There are a lot of sites out there that help you like your rosters.
Personally, I use dynastyplanet.com, and it allows me to see all of my Sleeper and myfantasyleague teams. I can see that I have seven shares of this player and one or none of this player. Then you can go into each one of your leagues to shop for a player you have a lot of and shop for a player you don’t. I like to work on one league at a time, or if I like a player, I will send offers out in each league for that player. Other commandments apply to success in one dynasty league, this one will help you be dominant across every fantasy football league.
