Dynasty Fantasy Football Strategy - How To Rebuild Your Roster

It can be tough to rebuild a depleted roster in Dynasty fantasy football. Luckily, John Johnson of RotoBaller breaks down the best ways to build your team back to relevance.

It's never easy going from worst to first in Dynasty fantasy football. But it's possible. Just because something isn't easy doesn't mean it's not possible, and certain strategies can help you achieve what might seem impossible at first -- going from the worst team in your league to making a championship run.

There are a few methods you can leverage that will give you a big advantage. The way you execute them will be important, of course. But ignoring them just won't be a good idea. You have to exploit inefficiencies in the overall process your league-mates follow.

Let's dive into the best ways to rebuild your struggling Dynasty fantasy football teams. We'll break down four strategies that, if pulled off properly, can bring your roster back from the dead and make it a force to be reckoned with again.

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Lean Into Stacked Classes In Rookie Drafts

One of the most important things you can do to immediately give your struggling team a shot in the arm is to focus on positions that are deep in the NFL Draft class. This year, the running back and tight end groups are very strong. Last year, it was the quarterbacks and wide receivers, so if you had spent all your rookie picks on WRs and QBs, you'd have a great chance of being in good shape.

This season, you wouldn't be wrong to completely avoid the QBs and WRs and go exclusively with the other position groups. Selecting one tight end and three running backs isn't a bad strategy. And while it seems like an unbalanced thing to do, trading will always be a thing, so loading up on good players is a great first step, even if it leaves you with holes at other positions.

This year’s RB draft class is absolutely LOADED.

Some NFL scouts reportedly believe there could be “easily over 10” selected between rounds one and two.

• Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)
• Omarion Hampton (UNC)
• Kaleb Johnson (Iowa)
• Dylan Sampson (Tennessee)
• Jordan James… pic.twitter.com/ELDTsYi4ig

— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) January 20, 2025

Choosing to lean into a weak receiver class and ignore the fact that there might be five or more excellent backs for years to come from this group is a terrible idea. Last year's strong QB class produced Bo Nix, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye, all of whom seem to be set for long and highly productive careers. On the wideout side, we got Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr., and Ladd McConkey breaking out in year one.

Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze were less successful, but they could easily improve in Year 2. And we haven't seen anything from quarterback J.J. McCarthy while Caleb Williams has struggled. If they both put together good sophomore seasons, it will make leaning into the depth of the class even more worth it.

The 2025 Running Back draft class is STACKED

…but Ashton Jeanty is RB1pic.twitter.com/tybXCGHy1y

— Colin McTamany (@Colin_McT) September 1, 2024

It's wild that people are considering taking WR Tetairoa McMillan over Ashton Jeanty. Don't make the same mistake. Yet Jeanty serves an excellent purpose this season -- he provides an elite No. 1 overall pick while also distracting from the overall depth of the class because of the attention he commands.

Omarion Hampton, Dylan Sampson, Bhayshul Tuten, RJ Harvey, Brashard Smith, Ollie Gordon II, TreVeyon Henderson, Cam Skattebo, QuinShon Judkins,  and Kaleb Johnson are all viewed as good prospects, though you should probably avoid the last two at their ADPs.

The receiver class has two guys that profile as X receivers right now. The rest are developmental projects or just not good. Don't spend early-round picks on the receivers. Leaning into the stacked class is the single best way to rebuild your rosters.

Look For, And Sell Abnormally High Production

This is a nebulous piece of advice, partly because it's very difficult to identify when players have fluke seasons. It's easy to see reasons why, in hindsight, certain players have massive seasons and regress backward. However, that data can be used to make better decisions in the future.

A perfect example of this is Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. His Dynasty value shot through the roof after his monster second season in 2022, when he caught 75 passes for 1,356 yards and eight touchdowns. His highlight reel was full of long runs after the catch, and he averaged an absurd 18.1 yards per reception.

Tua Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle for a Touchdown 😍🔥pic.twitter.com/517amXbMj2

— Alabama DieHards (@DiehardsAlabama) September 11, 2022

There are few players who can consistently gain massive yards after the catch as receivers after catching long passes. Defenses notably got wiser against Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel's gimmicky play calling and sold out to stop the deep plays. Waddle's production was hurt massively by this, though WR Tyreek Hill continued to succeed.

In 2024, neither did very well, even when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa wasn't hurt. Had Dynasty fantasy managers correctly assumed that the ludicrous big-play-centered offense wouldn't suffer due to adjustments made by opposing defenses? The changes made by offenses year after year are significant, and paying attention to a player's situation matters greatly.

Look For And Buy Into Coaching Improvements, And Recognize Down Seasons Happen

Another way to identify big changes is to look at new coach hirings and use them to your advantage. The Seattle Seahawks, for example, hired offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. With the New Orleans Saints in 2024, Kubiak's creativity hugely benefitted his speediest receiver, WR Rashid Shaheed.

Klint Kubiak - Yankee Concept

Kubiak put two TEs on the EDGE. Two checkdowns routes for RB and TE. R. Shaheed waits safety open hips to make the cut. Derek Carr great arm strenght pic.twitter.com/wAcSGENfMN

— Alexandre Castro (@alexcastrofilho) January 28, 2025

Seahawks wideout D.K. Metcalf had a "down season" -- he suffered a knee injury early in 2024 and never seemed to return to his old self. And while Seattle has poor offensive line play, that wasn't much of an obstacle in New Orleans until injuries completely collapsed that position group.

It's reasonable to see how Kubiak's genius schemes could get Metcalf open down the field for huge plays on a repeated basis. Despite the NFL's increasing shift to stop huge plays, his passing-game concepts still got players open downfield. And quarterback Geno Smith showed he's more than capable of supporting great fantasy WR production.

Metcalf is a strong buy. The new offensive system won't be the same one that prioritized WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and many believe he's the new WR1 in Seattle. Yet they also thought WR Chris Olave was the No. 1 with the Saints, but it turned out to be Shaheed.

This is some FILTH from Liam Coen

Blast Motion to Kickout the Edge + Influence Wham on the Nose 🥵 pic.twitter.com/gTRLV8dYM5

— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) December 2, 2024

Running back Travis Etienne Jr. also had a down season, also likely heavily influenced by injuries. He also dealt with poor coaching. That's changed. The Jaguars hired Liam Coen as their new head coach. As the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2024, he led one of the best running games in the NFL.

They averaged the most rushing yards per game by running backs in the league -- though they were fourth overall in rushing, the top three teams all had hypermobile quarterbacks that propped up their totals. The Bucs had the most productive backfield in the NFL, and Coen's expertise elevated the team's offensive line run-blocking play.

The Genius of Liam Coen offense 🎥

This is from 3 straight weeks.

•Knowing the defense have scouted this TE cheat motion.

•Makes it look identical, but runs 3 totally different unique plays to confuse the defense.

•3 Touchdowns.

Jax has missed this type of creativity ‼️ pic.twitter.com/jI7aVge8pg

— N F L (@DTWD904) January 30, 2025

His scheme relies heavily on passing to the RBs. Guess who's the primary pass-catching back for Jacksonville? Etienne. Many fantasy managers have written him off as "actually trash," which simply doesn't hold up if you look at his tape from previous seasons.

In fact, the poor play of the offensive line and bad offensive schemes largely contributed to his downturn in production. Coen will massively improve both of those things. ETN's Dynasty value plummeted after the 2024 season and now is a great time to buy in. This offense should turn the corner starting in 2025.

Travis Etienne got some of the best hands at the Running Back position. With new creative play caller Liam Coen, Travis can be fully utilized from run game to passing #DUUUVAL @Jaguars
pic.twitter.com/9VkE6OK9Ux

— Duh🤡 (@DuhCL0WN) January 29, 2025

There's ridiculous value to be had here. He probably just had his worst season as a pro for the next four years. His backup, RB Tank Bigsby, is a great buy as well. Wide receiver Thomas also had his value solidified, and he should be in good hands for years to come.

Look For NFL Teams That Are Prime Landing Spots For Free Agents or Rookies

The Denver Broncos had a horrible run game last season. Many fantasy managers were disillusioned by their committee approach to their backfield -- running backs Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, and Audric Estime all frustratingly split carries and targets in an unpredictable manner.

But they were all terrible, so it made sense. Rather than thinking that it's not worth picking up any Broncos RB next year, it's important to recognize this. Head coach Sean Payton has engineered excellent offenses for backs to thrive on the fantasy football stat sheets. Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram II proved this.

The Broncos quietly have a nice rushing ecosystem that I'd love to see maximized with a different stable of running backs next season.

(just maybe not the one @andybehrens suggested) pic.twitter.com/3wVWPo2AR2

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) January 15, 2025

This team is a perfect situation for a new RB to step into. And in this stacked RB class, as elaborated on at length in the first section here, Denver should opt to pick one up. If they do, he presents a potential league-winner in fantasy football.

There are league-winning players and league-winning situations. Obviously, a combination of both is exactly what you want on your teams and getting on in Dynasty leagues gives you a ton of leverage.

Speaking of great situations, the Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers both suffered massively in 2024 due to a lack of options at the wide receiver position. Players like Quentin Johnston and Josh Palmer from the Chargers and Zach Ertz and Olamide Zaccheaus are not viable options as second-best pass-catchers.

Fucking Justin Herbert play at its finest, Makes a superhuman play and it gets called back+he gets hurt, has to be a curse… pic.twitter.com/YpAUmNvofu

— 🛸🪐 (@beauliss) December 9, 2024

All the attention is on receivers Terry McLaurin and McConkey. They deserve it after the seasons they put together. But it's a perfect time to capitalize on that and get whoever they sign or draft (please don't be Cooper Kupp; he is fully washed).

If either team drafts Tre Harris or Jayden Higgins, you need to pick them up in rookie drafts. They are great prospects. The other ones are a bit more questionable, but probably worth it, especially if you can get them in the later rounds.

And if they sign a quality free agent WR who isn't over 31 years old, you should pounce there, too. The overarching point here is that the fourth way you should try to rebuild your team is by identifying good players, going into great situations, and doing what you can to pick them up.

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