Andrew Hall | Wed, Jun 26th 2024, 7:13am EDT

Dynasty Strategy: Orphan Teams Advice (2024 Fantasy Football)

So you just took over a dynasty orphan team and you’re looking for strategy advice. You’re in the right place! First of all, take a deep breath. Rebuilding a dynasty orphan team can sometimes take a while, but it can be so rewarding. Once you’re ready to dive in, here is what I would do to help your team get better immediately. Check out our dynasty strategy and advice for taking over dynasty orphan teams.

Dynasty Orphan Survival Guide

Step 1: Assess the Orphan Team

When you first get assigned your new team, it’s very important to take stock of what you have. You can’t make any moves before you understand your strengths and weaknesses fully. If you have a bad team all around, which is frequent when you take over orphan teams, then this could be pretty easy. However, sometimes you end up taking over a team with lots of assets and need to figure out what to do first.

If your team has one or two good pieces, that’s a good place to start. However, you can also make some moves at the margins to increase your team’s overall value. Trading away veterans for later-round rookie picks or younger assets is a good strategy. I like trading away more certain players for riskier ones when I first take over an orphan. I want upside, and I lean into the risk to get it.

Step 2: Assess the League

Once you determine what players on your new team you want to move, take a look at the league and see who needs those players. If you have some running backs of value, you’re going to get the best return from the team(s) that need running backs most. Match your strength with someone else’s weakness and you should benefit from that.

On the other end, look at teams that have a surplus in one position or another. These teams might be more willing to move pieces from their strength at a slightly lower cost. That means you may be able to get a discount if you send the right offer. Overall, you want to send veterans and players who will score points to teams that appear to be ready to win the title this year.

Step 3: Make Some Moves

Once you’ve assessed things, it’s time to make the trades. In many cases, I try to send one asset that may be at its peak for two or three (or more) assets that have room to increase in value. Oftentimes this means sending a player who will score now for players or picks that will score later. If you take over an orphan, you should already have the mindset that winning in year one will be a challenge. Instead, plan for the future.

Depending on when you take over a team it might be best to wait a few weeks, or even months, before making your first trade. Timing is everything. If you take over right before the league’s rookie draft, acquiring rookie picks could be difficult. If you take over right before the season, teams might be more willing to move picks for points. Knowing the calendar can help with your trade timing, so be aware of it.

Step 4: Gain Value Wherever You Can

Ultimately, your best bet is to add whatever value you can whenever you can. If you can send a third-round rookie pick for a future second-round pick, do it. That second-round pick will likely be worth more than whatever player you draft with the third-round pick this year. Anytime you can trade into the future, that’s going to help you in the future.

Another way to achieve this is to trade veterans you won’t want on your team during the season when they score points. You can usually get more for an older player once they show their value in season. Your league mates will often overvalue their team, thereby lowering their own picks’ values. I love trading stud veterans for future firsts in Week 4 or Week 5. That’s an easy way to get value on your team throughout the season.

Dynasty Strategy: Orphan Teams Summary

Whatever you do, congratulations on taking over a team that someone else left behind. Leagues need orphan adopters to survive. Having a new manager jump in can invigorate a league with new trades. Fresh meat always means fresh life, and being that one that everyone wants to trade with is a great place to be. I love seeing how a new manager can help revive a quiet or dying league. It usually ends up increasing trade and waiver action along with league chatter. All of this is a great thing, and you’re likely the one to benefit from it most. Enjoy.

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