In dynasty leagues, knowing whether you’re in a position to contend for a title is one of the most important things when evaluating your team. This single difference can help guide you in almost everything you do in the offseason. But knowing whether you’re contending or not can be tricky, and once you know, what other decisions could it impact? Let’s dive in.

Knowing if you’re contending or not

First, you need to know your realistic chances of winning in the upcoming season. That isn’t as simple as “I have the best team” or “I won last year.” More often than not, just having the best overall team doesn’t mean you will win. In that same vein, just because you won last year doesn’t mean you’re in the best position to win again. There is a lot more to it than that.

I like to look at the starting lineups for every team in the league. You can do this deliberately by listing every team’s players and comparing them to yours, but that’s a lot of work. I like to use FantasyPros ECR for dynasty and redraft and see how your team stacks up. I use the My Playbook feature for this. It helps compare my players to each team individually and shows me where I might be more potent than most of the league faster and easier than doing it manually.

Injuries can change a team drastically, as we all know. They can take a top team and send them straight to the bottom. Even if your team is stacked, injuries are bound to occur. You could go from contending to rebuilding faster than you might think if one or two of your starters get hurt in the offseason. Therefore depth is critical to look at too.

I am a huge proponent of not worrying about your starting lineup in April, and this isn’t saying you should worry about it much. Use the lineups to see where your team stacks up and find out where you stand. If you’re contending, your team should be in the top 3 of a 12-team league. In some cases, you just need to be in the top half if we’re looking at it this far out. There’s no hard and fast rule, but doing a little research now can help you a lot as you go forward.

If you’re contending, try to have the best lineup possible

While lineups shouldn’t matter much, they do matter some. Look for trades you can make to improve your lineup without giving up too much depth. That often means making two for one trades to consolidate your value to be more toward the top. Depth is essential, but lineups ultimately win you titles.

For example, if you think your team is contending, you should constantly be looking for ways to trade your WR3 and a bench player for a WR2 option. Trade your picks and younger players for more proven studs that will be more likely to score points this season. Don’t look too far ahead; worry about this year and how you can improve.

I prefer sending offers to rebuilding teams as they’re more likely to be accepted. That means that you need to know what teams are your top competitors and look for teams that you think are near the bottom of the league. Target players that don’t make sense for the long haul on those bottom teams. Those managers might be more willing and able to move studs for upside with a longer future. That should help bolster your team as we head into the season.

If you’re rebuilding, it’s better to have more upside options

If you look at your league and you’re one of those lower-tier teams, you should try your best to move one of your top players for two or more upside options. You want to increase your exposure to players who are more likely to rise in value over the next 12 months than players who will score you points in September.

Rebuilding isn’t always easy, but I usually enjoy the process myself. It would be best to break up your more expensive assets for equal value now since they have a higher chance of helping you later. I’m not saying you need to trade every player of value, but it’s an excellent place to start. Rebuilding is not always a long process, especially if done right, so don’t look at it as giving up. You’re just playing the long game more.

Some trade examples

For instance, if I’m contending, I’m more likely to send away a 2nd round pick and a player like Michael Pittman (WR – IND)  or Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR – DET) for someone like Diontae Johnson (WR – PIT)  or Tyreek Hill (WR – MIA). As we head into draft season, I want to make my lineup as top-heavy as possible and consolidate my roster value into actual points.

Here, the thought is to take as much of your player value and turn it into production value. You want to put as many points on the board as possible. Use a trade calculator to see what trades someone on the other end might agree to make. See if there is a player on a lower-tier roster that doesn’t make sense and offer something for them before your draft kicks off. You never know.

On the other end, if I’m rebuilding, I might be looking to send a player like DeAndre Hopkins (WR – ARI) or Mike Evans (WR-TB) for a 1st round pick and a bench player with upside like DJ Chark (WR – DET) or Nico Collins (WR – HOU). If you’re not contending, you’re better off sending away all of your production value for ascending value players.

Conclusion

How you manage your roster in the months between December and September is the difference between a good dynasty manager and a lazy one. The basic idea is that if you’re contending, you’re better off consolidating as much as possible, and if you’re rebuilding, you’re better off adding more lottery tickets. Be one of the active ones, and your team will thank you eventually. And if you make a terrible trade, make another one to make up for it. Never stop trying, and you’ll have a lot more fun too.

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If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – that allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.

Andrew Hall is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his profile and follow him @AndrewHallFF.