Dynasty Fantasy Football Moves to Make Heading Into Week 13

Every week from now till the end of the season I will break down a few moves to help you build the ultimate dynasty and rule your leagues.

As we head into Week 13 of the fantasy season and some of us may be in a win-or-go-home situation this week. This can make this week a critical week for many, if your league still allows trading it may be time to make that move to push your team over the edge or set it up for the future. 

Below, I have broken down a few moves to improve a contending or rebuilding roster. 

Rebuilding Moves 

If you are rebuilding, the rest of the season may become less exciting, especially if your trade deadline has passed. If so, keep your eye open for some deep stash players to add to the end of your roster. On the flip side, if your league doesn’t have a trade deadline now is the time to make a few trades to set you up for the offseason and long-term success. Little has changed in the landscape this week regarding dynasty, so remember it’s always a good idea to acquire young assets and draft picks. 

Move On from Adam Thielen 

Adam Thielen has slowly been on the decline when it comes to fantasy production for a few years now, this season is no different. At the age of 32, Thielen is currently the WR35 in PPR scoring and has only had five performances of double-digit fantasy points this season. Additionally, he has only produced more than 70 yards receiving once this year and hasn’t topped 100 receiving yards since Week 6 of last year. On top of this, Thielen has only scored three touchdowns this year, compared to last season at this time when he had ten touchdowns. However, he is coming off an impressive WR9 performance in which he scored 21.1 PPR points. His 10 targets and 9 receptions were season-highs – he took advantage of them and produced 61 yards and a touchdown.

As a result, it is likely that a playoff contender may want to buy into his potential. Use this ceiling-type performance to make a deal and move on from this aging asset. There is a chance that Thielen does have a solid playoff stretch but come next season there is a high chance that he is no longer relevant, so adding a few assets is a smart move to build a strong future. 

Contending Rosters

As a contender, we know by now that the name of the game is – What can you do for me now? This is the mindset you should have as we head into Week 13, especially, if your roster can handle a deep run. The waiver wire can be your best friend, but with the state of most dynasty leagues, the waiver wire is likely barren. With this in mind, remember that a rebuilding roster could be a great way to acquire winnow assets.

Zay Jones Is Quietly a Solid Option

As the secondary option of the passing game in Duval, Zay Jones has quietly been a solid flex option. Jones has finished as a top 48 wide receiver in seven of 10 games played and is currently the WR44 on the season. Additionally, Jones has produced two top-five finishes this year including this week when he finished as the WR4 with 27.5 PPR points. He did this on 14 targets, catching 11 for 145 yards, but he failed to score. This was the fourth time that Jones has seen double-digit targets this season and has only seen under 5 targets twice this year. As a result, he has seen a total of 79 targets thus far and posted a respectable 562 yards but frustratingly has only found the end zone once. This leaves me wondering what could be if he starts to find the end zone now that it appears the offense is starting to click. 

As we head into the fantasy playoffs, Zay Jones has one of the better schedules as the Jaguars face Detroit, Tennessee, Dallas, New York Jets and Houston. Only two of these teams rank in the bottom 10 in points per game allowed to wide receivers (New York Jets and Houston). Due to this quality season sliding under the radar there is a real possibility that Jones is very affordable on the trade market to help you secure our flex position. 

Nick Chubb Is a League Winner 

If you have a league where Nick Chubb is on a roster that is not playoff bound, you need to try and acquire him if possible. Nick Chubb is currently the RB5 in PPR scoring with 187.9 points and is averaging 18.8 points per week. This is in large part due to the fact he has scored at least one touchdown in eight of 11 games this year and has rushed for over 100 yards six times. All while facing one of the highest stack box rates in the league as he has the third-most rushes in the NFL against stack boxes, via the FTN Fantasy Stats Hub. This is all while the Browns have had Jacoby Brissett at the helm. They are getting Deshaun Watson back this week. With this, we should expect defenses to respect the passing game more which will soften the box even more for Chubb to dominate. Additionally, we should expect this Browns offense to move the ball at a higher rate, which will result in even more opportunities for Chubb in the red zone to score even more touchdowns. 

Now, this is a consensus view, so I would expect the cost to be quite high, but at the age of 26, we should expect at least one more year of high-end production. So not only are you acquiring a rental, but you also are getting a long-term asset as well. Don’t overpay, but paying market price will be worth it if you’re a contending team – especially when you win the championship.