No league format has grown more over the past few years than dynasty leagues. An argument can be made for best ball as well, but there has been an explosion of dynasty leagues, sites, and folks on Twitter all of a sudden. To me, dynasty is one of the more fun and challenging formats, as you have to try to balance winning this year, as well as the future. This really will separate the contenders from the pretenders in fantasy football leagues as you really have to pay attention to your league 365 days a year. Here are a handful of tips and tricks for winning your dynasty league as well as some players to like if you are starting up a league in 2019.
How To Value Rookies
Remember talking a minute ago about balancing trying to win this year and keeping an eye on the future? Many people think when they get into dynasty drafts that the key is to get as many rookies as you can. I am here to tell you that rookies 
should not be your sole focus. That’s not to say to stay away from rookies, because obviously players like Baker Mayfield , Nick Chubb , Phillip Lindsay , Calvin Ridley and more had fantastic rookie seasons. What is being said is just not to reach too far for them. There is no one in the 2019 rookie class who is as much of a sure thing as Saquon Barkley was last year. Depending on how your draft plays out, taking a member of the 2019 draft class until the fourth or fifth round could be the earliest a rookie goes. It is important to keep your team young and to populate your team with some first year players, but if your roster is dominated with rookies it will be a few years before you might compete. The first five or so rounds should be focused on the best talent available, assuming the players aren’t 35 years old, and then you can start making more of a focus on youth being more a part of the decision making process on who you select with your picks.
Positional Focus
The next thing people think about after the age of their players is what positions are important to focus on. When it comes to quarterbacks, obviously they have the longest careers. Not everyone will be Tom Brady and play until they are in their early 40s, but clearly quarterbacks generally have long careers. Focusing on one or two younger guys that you like and want to target as a franchise quarterback (Watson, Wentz, Goff, etc) is a preferred strategy. Get a grizzled vet that has talent like a Philip Rivers type that goes late because of his age and fill out the position towards the end with an unproven young guy who might be a backup like Daniel Jones, Drew Lock or Will Grier that could improve someday and be a starter.
The running back position is complicated because the shelf life of running backs is generally short. Obviously if you have a top five or six pick you will want to take one of the elite young backs. If your pick is towards the back end of the first round, it might make sense going wide receiver. Every year there are a number of running backs that come out of nowhere to have fantasy value. Last year’s surprises included James Conner , Damien Williams , Phillip Lindsay and more that not many were thinking about in August and are now picks in the first four rounds this season. I’m not saying forget about running backs all together by any means, but there will be a handful of guys again this year that we weren’t expecting that will have great seasons.
Wide receivers are a very stable position. They may not play until their 40s like quarterbacks, but they tend to have long, productive careers. Every year the rules get more strict on the defense so that wide receivers don’t take hard hits which will only prolong their careers. Be sure when you draft wide receivers that you try to pick guys 26 and younger for your first two or three on your roster, and then after that you can fill in with vets that might not have a long shelf life but can help you in the short term.
Tight end is a bit of a crap shoot. Try to be sure you get one of the top seven or eight, although I generally don’t spend quite enough to get Travis Kelce , Zach Ertz , or George Kittle . However, it is important to get a player that you feel confident will be successful, like an O.J. Howard , David Njoku , or Evan Engram type. Grabbing one of this year’s rookies would be a nice way to round out the position. First year tight ends don’t always have success, but there are some good ones this year who should have nice NFL careers. So while I don’t love any of this year’s guys to have a major impact, you always have to be looking towards the future.
Players To Like For Dynasty
Jared Goff , QB LAR - Currently being drafted as around the 12th quarterback off the board, Goff is awesome. He is coming off a 4,600+-yard, 32-touchdown season and won’t turn 25 until October. He has great weapons, runs an explosive offense, and should be great for at least a decade. For some reason, he isn’t talked about among the elite at the position, but he should be and comes at somewhat of a discount.
Josh Jacobs, RB OAK - Not digging deep on this one, but if you’re going to take a rookie in the second or third round, it might be Jacobs. Of all of the rookie running backs this season, Jacobs has the least competition for carries. I hear you say “Ryan, but Doug Martin and Jalen Richard can catch the ball.” And at that I laugh. Martin finished the season with back to back 100 yard games, but he hasn’t been a viable fantasy option in years. And Richard will catch some passes, but Jacobs will be a three-down back for the most part.
Anthony Miller , WR CHI - Looking for a receiver later in the draft with great upside? Surprise your draft mates when you pick Anthony Miller . He had seven touchdowns in his rookie season, and that was on only 33 receptions. He is coming off shoulder surgery, but so far all reports are clean. Allen Robinson may not ever be the guy we saw the one year in Jacksonville, and expect Miller to take a big step forward this season. He’s just 24 and has a solid quarterback in Mitch Trubisky. Look for him in about the ninth round and enjoy the production.
Ian Thomas , TE CAR - Again, not suggesting selecting him as your first or starting tight end, but remember this is dynasty so we are looking to the future. Greg Olsen is a shell of his former self, and unfortunately can’t stay healthy; he broke his foot twice last year! Thomas is just 23 years old, and showed flashes of what he is capable of when given the opportunity last season. He finished the season with a touchdown in back-to-back games, and also had a nine-catch, 77-yard game in Week 14 against the Browns. As your second tight end who could end up being your weekly starter if/when Olsen goes down again, Thomas is looking like a dynasty steal later in drafts.
Player News
Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews converted to tight end a few years ago and hasn’t made much noise at the position. The change has, however, likely kept him in the league for a few more seasons. He appeared in four games with the Panthers last year but didn’t record any stats on offense. The Panthers also released or waived WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, and TE Colin Granger.
Dolphins released LS Blake Ferguson.
The team also waived CB Ryan Cooper Jr., DT Neil Farrell and OL Chasen Hines. Ferguson has been the team’s long snapper for five seasons and earned a three-year contract extension just before the 2023 season. He should be able to find work snapping footballs farther than the average snap elsewhere in the league.
DetroitLions.com’s Tim Twentyman believes rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa “could make his earliest impact on special teams.”
It’s not much of a surprise, as most rookies cut their teeth with special teams duties. Twentyman mentioned return duties as a possibility, though the former Razorback never returned kicks or punts in college. At 6'4/212 with 4.43 wheels, TeSlaa is an explosive athlete who never translated his physical traits to on-field production at Arkansas. The Lions clearly saw potential for him to do so in the pros and traded two future third-round picks to move up to No. 70 overall for him. It’s going to be a slow burn for TeSlaa in the pros, making him a dynasty-only fantasy option.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said the team does not “have any feelings on competition” when asked about the quarterback room.
O’Connell was asked about a potential quarterback competition on the Rich Eisen Show Wednesday and was unclear on whether J.J. McCarthy would have to compete to start. He said, “we’ve got an obligation as coaches to put our players in position to attack that competition phase.” O’Connell discussed first putting Brett Rypien and the newly acquired Sam Howell in a position to play before any competition would occur. He continued that McCarthy is “owning it” this offseason and is taking snaps from starting center Ryan Kelly. After missing last season with a torn meniscus, McCarthy has been ramping up workouts in the offseason and is the front-runner to start for the Vikings in 2025. As of now, Howell looks to be reinforcement at the backup spot in case it turns out McCarthy is not ready to start.
Texans re-signed DT Foley Fatukasi.
Fatukasi initially joined the Texans last offseason on a one-year contract. The 30-year-old was a rotational defensive lineman, tallying four tackles for loss and one sack. He returns to Houston for 2025, where he will be a part of a deep Texans front seven.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports Tyreek Hill’s second wrist surgery was part of the original plan and his timeline remains unchanged.
Hill announced the second surgery on social media and Pelissero quickly added some context to the situation. The speedy receiver suffered the wrist injury just before the start of the season and it lingered throughout the year, though he never missed a game because of it. If the second surgery truly is a non-story, an offseason to recover might be what Hill needs to return to form after a down 2024 season. On the other hand, Hill is 31 years old, played his worst football last year, and his offense prioritized targets for Jonnu Smith and De’Von Achane. As it stands, Hill might have the highest risk-reward split in fantasy drafts.