Stuck in no man's land...help!

[JAC5505]

I'm not as experienced as this forum, so I'm calling on your wisdom and expertise! I won our league's inaugural season last year (my first year of dynasty) on the backs of Winston and Drake. My team is old, but not sure how to proceed. I'm currently in 5th place with a chance to make playoffs...but it's small. I have to win out and I still don't control my own destiny. I need the 4th place guy (my younger brother, lol) to lose 2 of his next 4 games. I've outscored him 3pts on average, but he does have Henry, Jones, Mahomes, Tyreek. He has Taysom Hill, but lost Burrow. It's possible...but a small percentage.

My team and league details are below. I welcome any advice. Do I hold out hope to sneak into the round-robin of playoffs? (I'm 4th in points). Or, call it a season and move assets for picks? It's been an injury-riddled year. I'm super weak at WR....deep and average at RB and QB. Do I get less attached to players and move big names?

I have to cut 1 player to make room for Ertz..and a 2nd for Conner. I'd love to trade them for future picks, but is there any value in a future 4th or 5th rounder? I figure that's all I can get for some of the junk on my team. Thanks!

[Mike11]

Easy answer is, let other people in your league make this decision for you. Looking at your roster it’s unlikely it has the juice you need but you have a solid core to build around. My suggestion, put these players on the block:

-Drake (He’s suddenly hot again but we have no idea where he ends up, could you get a first or Will Fuller+ or maybe another wr?)
-Mostert (Maybe you get a second)
-Connor (I got a first mid season, I think an early second might be the best you get now)
-Hines (Maybe a second that’s late if you’re lucky, maybe a receiver like Hollywood that’s having a bad year is a good target)
-Ertz (Sell on the hype of him returning and use Waller)
- Brady (This is tricky, in superflex I know you don’t want to be left hanging. Can you Approach the Dak or Burrow owner and give them a massive haul if they’re competing for Dak/Burrow?)

Your priorities need to be cementing QB long term, you have guys for now but in superflex QBs are gold and your best QB is Tanny if you factor age/production.
-Any of those RBs above that you get nibbles on I’d also look to turn into younger wide receivers plus picks if you can’t get a good pick outright. Post back here if you take this approach with the nibbles you get, I’ll try to continue monitoring to offer any feedback if you want it!

[Gator Sens]

Looks like you are in a very tough spot to sneak into the playoffs. I would make literally every player available outside of Akers and Gibson and see what offers come. You have some decent to solid pieces at every position which is helpful. I would not give any piece away and wait for the right deals to come. I think you are looking at a multi year retooling through smart trades and drafts. Show patience with retooling and dont force anything, your roster wont change over night.

[Pac_Eddy]

Looks like you are in a very tough spot to sneak into the playoffs. I would make literally every player available outside of Akers and Gibson and see what offers come. You have some decent to solid pieces at every position which is helpful. I would not give any piece away and wait for the right deals to come. I think you are looking at a multi year retooling through smart trades and drafts. Show patience with retooling and dont force anything, your roster wont change over night.

Agree with this. Not trying to be mean, but I do no like this team for a 10 team league. You need stars, and you have one right now in Gibson.

I'd blow it up, get draft picks and/or young guys that have yet to blow up but could. Don't worry about this years playoffs at all.

[joeday]

I disagree about Gibson (not the star part but the not moving him part)...if you get a killer offer for him that can springboard a rebuild I would do it. No matter how good or young an RB is I hardly ever use them as a centerpiece for my rebuilds.

[Prison_Mike]

Have you tried offering your younger brother $5 to throw his games?

I had a similar situation in a 10tm league where I won the champion ship 1st season (last year) and I'm in 8th place this year due to injuries and underperforming assets. That's fantasy football.

I agree that you probably don't have the juice this year and you have a lot of guys with question marks.

Offer those players (Drake, Conner, Mostert, Ertz, etc.) to see what you can get in return. Look for players who might have depleted value such as DJM (for some reason), maybe Wentz since it's SF. Try to capitalize on that value while getting younger at the same time

[killer_of_giants]

Have you tried offering your younger brother $5 to throw his games?

why pay your younger brother when you can bully him??

[Prison_Mike]

Have you tried offering your younger brother $5 to throw his games?

why pay your younger brother when you can bully him??

This is true, have you considered giving him a swirlie?

[JAC5505]

Thanks everyone for your help! As a start, I've put out some offers of Conner/Drake to try and secure a younger stud WR. Also discussing a QB+RB pairing to the 1st place guy for Dak.

Lol, if only younger was young enough to do that... One of my friends in the league adopted a team that is now reaping rewards. Some of his WRs are...DK, Lamb, AJB, Keenan, Diggs, Kirk. His only real RBs are Kamara and Chubb. I've tried negotiating with him, but his values are way off. For example, during our June rookie draft. He offered me 4.01 for Drake after his big finish to 2019. He sends offers like Perriman, Berrios, 2021 late 1st for Akers, Drake, Patrick.

Also, @Prison_Mike...you'll appreciate this. The league is Dunder-Mifflin and all team names, etc are references to The Office.

Hopefully, this is the start of a great rebuilding journey!

[Mike11]

Thanks everyone for your help! As a start, I've put out some offers of Conner/Drake to try and secure a younger stud WR. Also discussing a QB+RB pairing to the 1st place guy for Dak.

Lol, if only younger was young enough to do that... One of my friends in the league adopted a team that is now reaping rewards. Some of his WRs are...DK, Lamb, AJB, Keenan, Diggs, Kirk. His only real RBs are Kamara and Chubb. I've tried negotiating with him, but his values are way off. For example, during our June rookie draft. He offered me 4.01 for Drake after his big finish to 2019. He sends offers like Perriman, Berrios, 2021 late 1st for Akers, Drake, Patrick.

Also, @Prison_Mike...you'll appreciate this. The league is Dunder-Mifflin and all team names, etc are references to The Office.

Hopefully, this is the start of a great rebuilding journey!

It's a tricky situation, I think for the valuations discussed before that's partially why a second for guys like Connor and Drake are possibilities. Drake + something on your end for a late first would be solid. I just took the dive on Dak. Traded Rodgers and Keenan for him in a 2QB league and while some consider it an "overpay" you sometimes have to for a future QB. If you can anchor your QBs and build around them first you give yourself some really nice long term stability. I was able to pair Dak and Burrow so now I know I should be set there for a long time.

[JAC5505]

I'm learning the anchor QB lesson in SF is necessary to any sustained success. I should have listened to my older brother...he is stacked...but he got us into dynasty so he's got a head start.

An update.... I traded Conner, Drake, and James White to my friend in 3rd place for Lamb and his 2021 1st (likely 2.08). He's stacked at WR (as mentioned earlier), but I was able to sell the trade.

Now, I'm trying to move Brady and Mostert for Dak. The guy was essentially happy with it, then read the trade calculator and backpedaled...so we'll see how that shakes out. He wants Gibson, but I'm trying to build around Akers, Gibson, Ronald Jones. With Lindsay and Hines as depth pieces.

Thanks everyone for your help! I'll keep updating here.

[stigskol]

Looks like you are in a very tough spot to sneak into the playoffs. I would make literally every player available outside of Akers and Gibson and see what offers come. You have some decent to solid pieces at every position which is helpful. I would not give any piece away and wait for the right deals to come. I think you are looking at a multi year retooling through smart trades and drafts. Show patience with retooling and dont force anything, your roster wont change over night.

I agree with this!

[JAC5505]

UPDATE...and more advice needed

I traded away Conner, Drake, and James White for Lamb and a late 2021 1st.

As expected, I barely missed playoffs. My brother made playoffs but only has Taysom Hill and Chase Daniel to pair with Mahomes (SF) since Burrow is out. I've offered my QBs, but should I be stingy since it's SF? He's interested in Tannehill, but I'm a little hesitant to give him up since my QBs aren't great and he's the best one.

He has: his 2021 1st and a mid-2021 1st, plus his 2nd and 3rd. Players on his team that are worth considering are...Henry, Aaron Jones, Gaskin, Moss, Boyd, Hill, Ruggs, MVS, James Washington, Mack. He has a few TEs, but nothing great (Dissly, Doyle, Njoku, Sample, Schultz).

I'm not too interested in Henry (mileage) or Jones (uncertain future). I like Aiyuk. Trying to think if there's a package of Brady/Ertz/Hilton I could get for Aiyuk and picks. I'm lost on what to do with Ertz.

We also have to cut our rosters down to 25 in the offseason before they expand for the draft, so I'm trying to see how I can cull some players wisely through trading.

[Yarnith]

I would plan on Tannehill and Eason for your future QB's. I think don't be greedy just grab what ya can. Brady/ertz/hilton maybe the worst 1st, Schultz and Boyd. It may seem light but sometimes I think its better to move pieces for perceived loss than just lose them. Schultz looks like a long term answer in Dallas. Boyd is a young WR that looks to be a major part of the new Bengals offense. Upside youth is what you want. Washington would be better but I am sure he wants more for him or Aiyuk so aim lower on players they arent invested in and get more.

Roster cuts is another buyers situation. If I am making hard choices I will often sell players a round cheaper over cutting them. I would focus on unloading Patrick, Agholor, OBJ and Moore. There some people who value them higher than their history, situation or performance really warrants.

Enjoy the game win or lose, good trade or bad. Sometimes years later the bad trades the one memory you love talking about regardless how it hurts your fantasy team.

[CGW]

Great trade for Lamb. I love the idea of going after Aiyuk. I'd also look at Higgins and Claypool who have quieted down since their hot starts. Both are probably the cheapest they will be.

I usually try to build around WR and QB first. Rbs have such a short window of production I wait until everything is in place to draft or trade for them. That's why I wouldn't be scared to trade off a hyped up Gibson or Akers now even though they are young. Gibson could easily fetch a top flight WR without much added.