Dynasty Fantasy Football Moves to Make Heading Into Week 9

Every week, I will break down a few moves to make to help you build the ultimate dynasty fantasy football roster and rule your leagues.

As we head into Week 9 of the fantasy season, it is starting to become clear whether your roster is destined for a deep run or in need of a major overhaul. With the fantasy playoffs right around the corner, some of us may also have a league that the trade deadline is also sneaking up. If so, time may be running out to solidify your dynasty roster until January. This makes the next few weeks critical. 

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

Rebuilding Moves 

Even amid a rebuild, there are in-season moves that can help you set yourself up for success. These moves don’t have to be massive either, the key to rebuilding is obtaining assets to set you up for long-term success. Little has changed in the landscape this week when it comes to dynasty, so remember it’s never a bad idea to acquire young assets and draft picks. 

Acquire Draft Picks

Now may be the best time to acquire draft picks in your dynasty leagues. As teams start to find their level in season, managers are getting a clearer idea of where their picks next year might fall, which makes them easier to identify value for and trade for. Teams that are set up for a high draft pick (i.e., teams that are bad this year) might be unwilling to move picks, btu the teams that are fringe contenders (or even legitimate contenders) are likely in position to sell future picks in order to maximize for 2022 for quality veterans, and if you have any of those, the picks will likely be there for you.

Obviously, do not sell cheap just to make a deal — picks are great assets, but acquiring a third-round pick for Keenan Allen, for example, may not be in your best interest. Players of Allen’s stature hold a better value even as a rental, optimizing their value now will only help you come draft day. Additionally, we have to factor in the likelihood that we hit on any if all of the draft picks come spring. For example, the 2021 quarterback class felt like a slam dunk in our rookie drafts, and just two short years later, it’s unsettling. However, the top-24 picks have a much higher hit rate than random third- or fourth-round fliers. So keep that in mind — one second-round pick holds more value to you than a pair of thirds or fourths and so forth. Go for a quality-over-quantity approach here. 

Add Potential at the End of Your Bench 

At this point in the season, you know your season may be over, but staying active on the waiver wire could help set you up for next year. That’s especially true if you make some moves that open up bench spots. Adding some younger players who are on the wire who could emerge as a potential producer late this year or next year could pay off in the long run. Now, this depends on your league’s format, as deeper leagues likely have limited players available. However, sometimes you can find a diamond in the rough a year early this way. Additionally, if they do not work out, they are easy drop candidates when the time to trim the roster arrives. Below are two players I am targeting: 

Denzel Mims, WR, New York Jets

25% rostered on Sleeper 

Denzel Mims is seeing an increased role with Elijah Moore currently buried on the depth chart, and he has flashed some of the high-end talent that he showed at Baylor. This past week Mims produced 9.6 PPR points on only 3 targets as he took 2 catches for 76 yards. 

Chigoziem Okonkwo, TE, Tennessee Titans

36% rostered on Sleeper 

After a slow start, Chigoziem Okonkwo is starting to see an increase in snap count, as he has had over 40 snaps in the last two contests. On the flip side, this usage has not resulted in significant targets as he has only had 3 in the last two weeks. Now, the reason I am in on stashing him, is the fact that he is an athletic tight end with only Geoff Swaim and Austin Hooper in his way to become the team’s top tight end. 

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 9, 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. 

Add Tyler Lockett

It has been an impressive season thus far for the Seahawks, and that has included a surprisingly good year from Tyler Lockett. So far, he is averaging 7.5 targets, 5.7 receptions and 66.73 yards and has scored 3 touchdowns. His 46 receptions for 531 yards both lead the Seahawks currently. As a result, he is a top-20 wide receiver in PPR scoring thus far and is averaging 14 PPR points a week. In the first eight games, he has finished as a top-36 option in six. This reliability cannot be overlooked, especially if you are planning on making a deep run this year. However, he usually has a fairly low market value and likely could be acquired from a rebuilding team for not much more than a second-round pick. 

On top of all of this, using the FTN Fantasy Points Against tool, it’s clear the Seahawks face one of the softer schedules in the fantasy playoffs. They face three teams that rank in the bottom half of the NFL in PPR points given up to wide receivers. They face Carolina (36.1 points per game allowed to WRs) in Week 14, San Francisco (34.1) in Week 15 and Kansas City (41.8) in Week 16. If your league has added a Week 17 game, they draw a much tougher matchup in the New York Jets, who rank top 10 in this category with only 29.7 points allowed per week. However, this playoff stretch and his safe floor being paired with his potential to boom week in and week out makes him a perfect flex player to sure up your roster in a playoff run.