Unique spot - Champion to Nuclear Rebuild?

[Multiple Scorgasms]

So I finally won the Championship in my league after a couple years getting closer and closer with my core. It's a salary cap league where we mimic the NFL with contracts (1-5 years w/ a $ value), a franchise tag, a UFA period, rookie draft, etc. 16 teams, no PPR.

Basically, my entire team is on expiring deals. By using our rookie 5th year option and my franchise tag, I can keep Gurley and Antonio Brown respectively, and I have Hunter Henry. That is literally my team for 2019. I have two 1st round picks, but only 1.13 and 1.16. I will have something like $70,000 cap space out of a $125,000 salary cap, which is a reasonable amount but not nearly enough to build a solid roster. The truly elite UFAs go for 50-60k+ and last offseason, a guy like Kenyan Drake was getting 42k and Alex Collins got something similar. You go down to the 20-25k region and still only get a guy like Larry Fitzgerald (remember, non-PPR). One saving grace is that you typically can get a starting-level QB for 10-25k. Last offseason there were a bunch of guys like Newton, Jimmy G, Rivers who all went in this affordable bracket.

Anyway, Gurley would be signed for 1 year at like $11k and then I'd need to give HIM the franchise tag in 2020. Brown would then walk as a UFA in 2020. And Henry is on a 3-year, $500 rookie deal. So I'd really be just stringing this out, and in a pretty dire situation in 2020 as well unless I hit on some stud draft picks/lower key signings (the latter of which almost never works out - it's hard enough to sign anyone cheap, not to mention a young guy with upside).

So I guess the TL;DR is: are Gurley and Brown, essentially, elite enough as my RB1 and WR1 that it's worth trying to put some very middling-at-best pieces around them and hoping to sneak into the playoffs as a wildcard team (and then "anything can happen"), or shall I move them for draft picks and start the total rebuild immediately?

[moishetreats]

As a general rule, avoid this at all costs:

hoping to sneak into the playoffs as a wildcard team (and then "anything can happen")

Why spend a year hoping to get a team that might make playoffs and really is running for third? Meh. Sell off and stack the deck for the next year so that you can make a real run at first.

[dynastysports]

As a general rule, avoid this at all costs:

hoping to sneak into the playoffs as a wildcard team (and then "anything can happen")

Why spend a year hoping to get a team that might make playoffs and really is running for third? Meh. Sell off and stack the deck for the next year so that you can make a real run at first.

x2

I know this mentality hurts, but I'm sure a 1 year 11k contract for Gurley is going to look pretty enticing to just about the entire league. You should be able to get a lot for that contract. If you really don't think you will be able to put a contender around those two guys then you have to rebuild.