Halfway through the season, you should have a pretty good idea of where your team sits in relation to the others in the league. However, if you’re sitting pretty near the top, don’t get complacent. There are still things you can do to help push your team over the finish line and win that title.
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1. Find your trade targets
If you’re at the top of the standings, take a minute to see who is at the bottom in your league. Those teams are likely looking to rebuild and are aiming at next year. They are your prime targets to make trades with. See what players are scoring points who may not have a lot of dynasty value and try to acquire them at a discount. Some leagues take all points scored into effect when compiling final standings, so they may want to get rid of those points to earn a better draft pick. This makes you the ideal trading partner since you are looking for points to win this year.
2. Add cheap veterans for depth where possible
The fantasy season is a long one, and a title team can always use more depth. There are still bye weeks ahead, and injuries are always a threat to derail your title hopes as well. Like it or not, your stud team will still need bench players to win the whole thing. If your bench feels a little thin, see if you can send later-round rookie picks for players near the end of their careers. As I mentioned before, I’d be targeting players like Zach Ertz or Adam Thielen, especially if they’re on rosters near the bottom of the standings. Try to avoid sending away your younger players, but if you can add vets for pennies, that will almost always be worth doing.
3. Consider consolidating your starting lineup
Once you’ve added more depth, you can then use some of that to work on adding points to your starting lineup. While depth is important, having too much of it can also impact how well your team does. If you’ve got plenty of bench players worth starting, try trading two of them for an every-week stud to put in your lineup. Sending away Ezekiel Elliott and Antonio Gibson for Josh Jacobs might not be possible, but that’s the kind of trade I’m talking about. The Jacobs manager might need some depth if he just lost Breece Hall, and he’s starting AJ Dillon as his RB2 now. Look at the starting lineups of some of the middle teams to see who might be looking to make a big move like this so you can both leave the trade feeling like a winner.
4. Not every move is a good one, and timing is everything
On some contending teams, the best idea is to stand pat and not make any moves. Being able to sit with a great team can sometimes be the way to win it all. Don’t trade just to trade; definitely don’t trade if it doesn’t feel right. You built this team to win, and if you’re winning, why mess with it? You might be receiving offers for your rookie first-round pick from teams at the bottom, but hold off on sending that away until you absolutely need to. If you lost Hall or are struggling at WR, wait until your trade deadline to maximize the value of that pick. Ultimately, timing is everything and waiting to make the perfect move can be the determining factor between winning the title and coming up just short.
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Andrew Hall is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, follow him @AndrewHallFF.