How to rebuild

[JoshGordonsDealer]

Everyone rebuilds a little differently. I find myself going for high risk/high reward guys that I can get for whatever vetveteran pieces I have. How about you?

[BadgerYou]

I look in 1,2 and 3 year windows.

1 year out - I'm okay going for RBs
2 years out - I only go for WRs. Project QBs and TEs are okay.
3 years out - Bigger boom/bust guys are appealing (Mark Ingrams of the world with pending free agency)

Doesn't matter how talented the RB I have, if my rebuild project is 2+ years they are the first to be shipped out the door for picks/prospects.

[Reno McCoy]

I'm only in salary/auction leagues, so this might not help everyone. But for me, it's all about rookies and young guys. Even when I'm not rebuilding, I tend to snag plenty of rookies in the hopes that one or more of them take off. You can trade away veterans for current rookies or draft picks, and you can have many of them very cheap.

With that said, I still always have at least one stud to anchor my team. Even were I considering a rebuild strategy, I would (probably) never go full tilt. I'd always want to have that one stud I can plug into the lineup at all time to keep me competitive while the rookies are developing.

For what it's worth, I also focus primarily on WRs and TEs. I don't typically bother with the RB until I know I have a chance at the playoffs. For RBs, I might pick up a rookie the year before I'm very competitive, or try to pick up a guy in the FA auction draft.

[failblazer]

Everyone rebuilds a little differently. I find myself going for high risk/high reward guys that I can get for whatever vetveteran pieces I have. How about you?

I just aim to get younger and get value. In an ideal world you would want to aim to build around young WRs because they are easier to obtain than young RBs but it depends what's available in your league. As long as you're trading veterans for young promising players and draft picks and getting good value in trades then you're probably on the right track.

[HawkeyeState]

Move veteran producers for young players that have "underperformed" like most rookies do.
move veteran producers for injured studs
move veteran producers for 1st round rookie picks

[TommyL31]

Everyone rebuilds a little differently. I find myself going for high risk/high reward guys that I can get for whatever vetveteran pieces I have. How about you?

I just aim to get younger and get value. In an ideal world you would want to aim to build around young WRs because they are easier to obtain than young RBs but it depends what's available in your league. As long as you're trading veterans for young promising players and draft picks and getting good value in trades then you're probably on the right track.

I agree with this and one thing I'll note about the "build around young WRs" stuff that most of us believe in. I will say that this is more of a trading philosophy than a drafting philosophy.

What I mean by this is that if I'm rebuilding I'm not going to go pursue Carlos Hyde right now because I'd have to use current assets to acquire him that could be used to (theoretically) trade for any other player or position or you could hold your current assets. When you're drafting, you have to make a pick and there is no 'keep the pick' option. You can either make the pick or trade it. In this case you should always go best player available often with a skew toward higher upside players. If the best player is clearly a RB then take him and if his value does indeed go up you can flip him for more than you would be able to get for a lesser player. If there are multiple players in the same tier it often makes sense to pick the WR (or TE or QB) in a rebuild but it's all about value and acquiring assets that are going to go up in value.

[WashingtonFever]

Don't always look for draft picks in the future. Rather, get that draft equivalent now from something that occurred in the past draft or two. Some people have a much easier time moving a player they actually own, than a future prospect.

[sloth8u]

alot will depend on the league. some leagues are active and many trades happen, others owners hold tight to their picks and players. if its a tight league you might aswell sell off all your players and start building through the draft. if there is alot of trades, its much easier to play the value game and come out ahead in terms of both picks and players. its simply a matter of buy low and sell high until you get a team your comfortable with.

in general i will vary rarely have a fire sale. i will always look for the best value of a draft pick. buying lynch or foster for a late 1st last year was a heck of a bargain for a rebuild team. i bought both and have already flipped them both for young wr prosects and a 1st next year. essentialy turning that late 1st in 2014 into a 2014 1st rd player and 2015 1st just by grabbing an established player that i felt held better value overall than the pick. i prefer to pay the price for a young established qb to get that position out of the way so i am not chasing qb's via the draft. this past offseason i traded romo and 1.3 (sankey) for russ wilson. dont really like it short term, but now i wont ever have to worry about qb again for several years. i could have kept romo and would have likely taken cooks myself, but i would be looking for that qb very soon. i dont have to worry about it now. i will echo the build wr's first thought with the longevity of their careers. often times i look to 2nd and 3rd year guys rather than rookies in hopes that they are ready to break out and i wont have to wait a few years. i felt cp was way overvalued, and sold him this past offseason for a kings ransom. this season and next offseason i will be trying to buy him while his value will presumably deflate. timing is key here. no matter how you rebuild, the most important thing imo is acquiring more assets that have value. so many teams get stuck with only a player or 3 that anyone wants. you want to be that team that has a roster full of guys that owners have interest in. i sold calvin, marshall, and fitz on a team that i wanted to rebuild. i turned those 3 pieces into 8 desireable pieces which is much easier to get value from, rather than having to ask someone to give the farm for just one of those guys. each deal i lost in terms of value, but overall i made it alot easier to move pieces or hold and see what happens.

[JoshGordonsDealer]

I have also found that selling high on guys and not getting "greedy" helps a lot.

1. I inherited a team with Flacco and started him the whole season (ouch) before his "miracle" run. I then flipped him for Russ Wilson in the offseason.
2. Russ started getting all his hype (which he did live up to) so I flipped him for a future first and Alshon (pre-blowup).
3. After his sophomore season, I flipped Alshon for Percy Harvin (who had just spent a year injured) and Randall Cobb.
4. Flipped the two of them after hot starts this season for Eric Berry, Jimmy Graham, and Kiko Alonso (Berry and Kiko both injured, it is a TEs-Are-WRs league so graham is a bit less valued.)

[Swampdonkey17]

Value. Youth, upside. PATIENCE. Best analogy would be the stock market.

Value I agree with the WR/TE philosophy, but for a rebuild keep in mind you are admitting that you're 2-3 years from competing. For instance I just traded for AP for a fantastic offer. Does AP, a 29 year old RB, really fit my mold for a rebuild? No. However I believe I can flip him for alot more than what I paid next year, therefore making it worth it to me. Im years away and can afford to make the move. Buy low, sell high. But you need the patience to sit on him until his value goes up. Usually difficult for first timers, that wanna win ASAP.

Youth- This requires enormous patience, ask any CMike owner. Cmike can be had pretty easily now, preseason he was practically untouchable. If you believe in a player, like truly believe he has potential, do not trade him based on a 6 week period etc. If he sucks, yeah you mightve passed on a 2nd rd pick (crapshoot as well), if you hit, jackpot.

Trade your studs to rebuild after a huge week. Even though everyone knows he had a huge week, its just presentation. Trade for studs that are having down weeks/months (ex McCoy before last Sunday). you can grab for less, and then flip when they go off. Everyone knows McCoy is a stud, but owners WILL panic and want to jump ship. This is when you pounce.

Find the guy with injury/suspension troubles or a serious contender- Cruz,Green,AP,Rice etc. Im sure theres a couple guys on your roster that are just kinda there. Theyre not great investments for your plan, but not exactly droppable. Find these owners and try to make a deal. Picks players, whatever. Kirck Cousins for example. Before RG3 injury, no value really. Afterwards and he went off, SELL! Cousins is not a part of your plan, but a panicked/desperate owner will want him.

Picks- trade FOR picks in season, trade picks AWAY ONLY just before draft. Picks right now are just picks. Once season is over those picks =players to owners minds and are worth alot more. Everyone will get rookie hype as they do their offseason homework, peg this RB as the next AP, and pay you their first born to pick Gurley. Dont be afraid to trade back and get more picks/players. You need them at this point. But you gotta do youre homework to make this successful.

[failblazer]

Value. Youth, upside. PATIENCE. Best analogy would be the stock market.

Value I agree with the WR/TE philosophy, but for a rebuild keep in mind you are admitting that you're 2-3 years from competing. For instance I just traded for AP for a fantastic offer. Does AP, a 29 year old RB, really fit my mold for a rebuild? No. However I believe I can flip him for alot more than what I paid next year, therefore making it worth it to me. Im years away and can afford to make the move. Buy low, sell high. But you need the patience to sit on him until his value goes up. Usually difficult for first timers, that wanna win ASAP.

Youth- This requires enormous patience, ask any CMike owner. Cmike can be had pretty easily now, preseason he was practically untouchable. If you believe in a player, like truly believe he has potential, do not trade him based on a 6 week period etc. If he sucks, yeah you mightve passed on a 2nd rd pick (crapshoot as well), if you hit, jackpot.

Trade your studs to rebuild after a huge week. Even though everyone knows he had a huge week, its just presentation. Trade for studs that are having down weeks/months (ex McCoy before last Sunday). you can grab for less, and then flip when they go off. Everyone knows McCoy is a stud, but owners WILL panic and want to jump ship. This is when you pounce.

Find the guy with injury/suspension troubles or a serious contender- Cruz,Green,AP,Rice etc. Im sure theres a couple guys on your roster that are just kinda there. Theyre not great investments for your plan, but not exactly droppable. Find these owners and try to make a deal. Picks players, whatever. Kirck Cousins for example. Before RG3 injury, no value really. Afterwards and he went off, SELL! Cousins is not a part of your plan, but a panicked/desperate owner will want him.

Picks- trade FOR picks in season, trade picks AWAY ONLY just before draft. Picks right now are just picks. Once season is over those picks =players to owners minds and are worth alot more. Everyone will get rookie hype as they do their offseason homework, peg this RB as the next AP, and pay you their first born to pick Gurley. Dont be afraid to trade back and get more picks/players. You need them at this point. But you gotta do youre homework to make this successful.

Great advice. I especially love the AP nugget as I think it is sometimes overlooked in rebuilds. Owners think their only mission is to stockpile young prospects. It's also important to try and stock up on assets that will increase in value, regardless of age. When you don't have a lot you need to find ways to gain value wherever you can. Do if a QB in a good situation goes down then grab the backup and try to flip them. Ryan Mallett is a prime example. Right now, he's worth next to nothing. When (not if, in my opinion) Fitzpatrick goes to the bench or the trainer's table, Mallett (with Andre Johnson and Deandre Hopkins to throw to) will go up in value a lot. Flip him for a pick or a prospect and you've made yourself profit on guy you got for nothing.

Also, consider that no matter how good a team is or how good their record is, their owner is probably analyzing every single starting position looking to maximize his/her chance to win. Take advantage of that fact and lock in on the weaknesses in contending teams. Louis Murphy or Mohammed Sanu might not figure in your long term plans but that owner that just lost Victor Cruz or has been stuck starting Jeremy Kerley as their WR3 might be very glad to have one of them from you. As long as you don't get greedy and start asking exoberant prices then you can flip short term players for things that will help you team in the long run.

[philosophy]

I rebuild by winning. There is no reason to rebuild unless you take over an orphan that has no pieces whatsoever.

What's this 2 and 3 year away talk? Look to win this year, next year and every year after that.

[Swampdonkey17]

I rebuild by winning. There is no reason to rebuild unless you take over an orphan that has no pieces whatsoever.

What's this 2 and 3 year away talk? Look to win this year, next year and every year after that.

Yeah I wanna win, but if im left with a team that has aging rbs, crap qb, no wrs, what are you supposed to do? Waiver wire yourself to the championship? Besides its fun to make my team the way I want it from orphan ( rb heavy, wr youth, TE premium etc.)

[philosophy]

I rebuild by winning. There is no reason to rebuild unless you take over an orphan that has no pieces whatsoever.

What's this 2 and 3 year away talk? Look to win this year, next year and every year after that.

Yeah I wanna win, but if im left with a team that has aging rbs, crap qb, no wrs, what are you supposed to do? Waiver wire yourself to the championship? Besides its fun to make my team the way I want it from orphan ( rb heavy, wr youth, TE premium etc.)

Like I said, "unless you take over an orphan that has no pieces whatsoever."

[Cult of Dionysus]

Just picked up Brandon LaFell off waivers, with the idea to move him in 2-5 weeks if he continues to put up points. Hate owning NE players long-term, but if I can get a high 2nd for him in November, I will do that happily.