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Finding the right 2024 dynasty startup draft strategy for fantasy football can be challenging. There are so many paths to take, and it’s so different from seasonal leagues that normal rules don’t apply.
The draft lays the foundation for your team’s success for years to come. If you screw up the draft, you’ll likely be left trading picks and players for one year (if you’re good and lucky) or 2-3 (in most cases) to rebuild.
So let’s run through some of the top dynasty startup draft strategies you can use for 2024.
You absolutely need a strategy. Otherwise your team will have no direction and will not be well put together. Trust me on this. It’s OK if you don’t go crazy mapping out every round and every possible player, but you need some semblance of where you’re going.
If there’s one thing to take away: Hodgepodges can win the league in a random year, but they will not become dynasty dynasties.
Here is a brief overview of some of the most popular strategies:
This strategy focuses on drafting the youngest players with the most potential for future growth. The idea is to build a team that will dominate in a few years once these young players hit their prime.
In this strategy, you might exclusively draft first- and second-year players. Maybe you add third-year players to your draft pool, but make sure you stick to the plan.
You will probably not win this year, but that’s okay. You’re trying to build a dynasty.
An even more extreme twist to “Draft Young” is … to not draft at all. At least not this year. OK, not literally “don’t draft” — but forgo a good roster in 2024 (and probably 2025) for a dominant one in 2026.
This has the potential to make your team both exceedingly overpowered and self-replenishing if you have the patience. It can be self-replenishing because if you delay long enough, you’ll always have excess rookie picks this year to trade for even more next year.
(Obviously, only do this in leagues you know will be around for a while.)
If you’re doing this, try to find teammates that are focused on winning now. They will be more likely to trade away future picks. And if you trade current assets at the right time of year (like immediately after the NFL draft or during the preseason when hype for this year is at its peak), you can maximize your return and end up with some awfully lopsided trades in your favor.
Not all rookie picks will pan out. There is always the risk that the highly anticipated rookies you draft may not live up to expectations. But if you stockpile enough ammo, it would be difficult not to build a good team with this strategy within a few years.
OK, we got the exciting strategies out of the way. Now onto the more boring, but more manageable, strategy: Just draft a good mix. This strategy reduces the risks associated with relying solely on unproven rookies or aging veterans.
The “Win Now” strategy focuses on drafting players who can help you win in the short term, often at the expense of long-term potential. There are two primary paths to this strategy:
This strategy gives you an immediate competitive edge and likely makes your team one of the best in the league right out of the gate. You’re maximizing your chance at a league championship within the first few years.
The risk, obviously, is that vets can quickly fall off a cliff (see Austin Ekeler in 2023). And it goes without saying that this strategy hurts you in the future too if you trade away future rookie picks.
For example, drafting players like Derrick Henry, Davante Adams and Travis Kelce can give you a strong chance to win now, but if you had to trade away picks to do it, you might be hurting in 1-2 years.
My suggestion if you go with this strategy: Only trade future picks for youth. If you want to go vet-heavy for a win-now chance, that’s fine, but don’t mortgage the future on it. You should be able to draft a solid win-now vet team with your startup picks anyway without having to spend future draft capital on top of it.