There is no wrong way to play fantasy football, and that is even more true when drafting. For every draft strategy that you’ve heard of, there are 10 that you probably haven’t. With dynasty startup season coming to a close, let’s look at the three main dynasty roster build strategies and go over some of the pros and cons of each.

• Snake Draft Pick Strategy: Early | Middle | Late
• Draft Targets for Every Round: Early | Middle | Late
• Fitz’s Draft Primers: QB | RB | WR | TE
• 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit

Dynasty Startup Draft Strategies

All in or Win-Now

One of my favorite strategies when approaching a dynasty startup is the win-now team build. Basically, as the name implies, you go for players who are poised to win right now and hopefully get you to the title game in Year 1. You can almost think of this method as similar to drafting a redraft team. All you care about is this year. You don’t worry about contracts, injuries, age or anything. You just draft players who will score you points immediately.

Going all in on a method like this can feel really awkward to some dynasty managers. Aren’t we supposed to be building a team to last at least a few years? I thought that was the whole point of dynasty. Well, sure, but we can worry about next year next year. Let’s worry about winning this year before we even get there.

On top of that, with the way this game goes, we can barely predict what this season will look like, let alone future ones. Going all in for players who can score you points should also make it a lot more fun to set those lineups and scour those waivers as your first season goes along.

I also find myself getting into this team build more by default than by choice. In most drafts, the younger players will go earlier, leaving a lot of value on the board in veteran players and running backs in general. If everyone is reaching for youth, I’m fine pivoting to a win-now build after the first few rounds are done. If I can win now and pay for next year’s buy-in, why not?

Also, not all leagues will be around forever, so getting in and immediately winning is something to consider whenever you start out. Better to win and have the league fold than to plan for Year 3 and then be upset when the league falls apart early.

Punting or Build for the Future

On the opposite end of a win-now strategy is the punting strategy. In this one, you basically draft a team that should eventually become a winner but is likely set to struggle in Year 1. This oftentimes means taking younger players with upside over older players poised to score points now. In some leagues, rookie picks are included in the startup draft.

Punting teams that are building for the future tend to prefer picks over players, largely because they don’t want points now, and those picks are likely to accrue in value more.

The one problem I tend to have with an immediate rebuild type of team is that I’m not patient enough to wait for the team to grow into what it should be. I often find myself frustrated at the lineups I have to set and worry that I’m missing out on sure points for potential ones. Obviously, that’s not always the case, but that’s how it can feel sometimes. Losing on purpose is still losing and can be tough for people to fully embrace.

Overall, going into a draft with this mindset can be a little tough to pull off. If one or two other managers are also trying to punt in Year 1, that makes it tougher for all of you to really punt effectively. Much like the win-now strategy, I’ve moved into rebuild mode at the draft largely because I adjusted to my competition. If everyone is grabbing players, and it looks like no one’s planning for next year, it might be good to be the first one to make that move.

Whoever is the first one to turn into the rebuild is likely going to benefit the most. You can get discounts on young players and picks while everyone else is trying to get points for Year 1. If you can do it right, this method can lead to a true juggernaut, but it takes time and patience. Not every dynasty manager has the patience it takes to do it, but if you do, more power to you.

Balanced or Hybrid

In between these two extremes is by far my favorite strategy for building a dynasty roster. I tend to call this a balanced approach or a hybrid build. Drafting a balanced team is exactly what it sounds like — you draft a few players to win now and a few players to win later. When you do this right, you’re able to contend in Year 1 and potentially get that title out of the way, but you can also plan ahead and build that long-term team of your dreams.

Going into the draft, I’m almost always shooting for balance. I prefer a team that could win now but isn’t too top-heavy, where I’m hurting my chances next year, and vice versa. Building for balance is what the majority of dynasty managers aim for, at least in my experience. When you leave the draft, you want a team that looks good on paper but can also score points and defeat your opponents each week. A balanced build, when done right, can do both.

The other thing I like about a balanced build is that it allows me to balance other aspects of fantasy football as well. I like drafting younger players with upside, but I also like drafting some riskier players later on who might see a value bump quicker. I like drafting veterans for cheap who can score me points but who I can trade away if the early part of the season doesn’t break my way.

Overall, whatever strategy you employ, be flexible and do whatever you can to adjust to the board.

Lastly, the best advice I can give is to have fun. Build whatever team makes you happy and excited, and the wins will come.

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