Beginner's Guide to Dynasty Fantasy Football: Essential Tips and Strategies for New Players

Learn the basics of dynasty fantasy football with essential tips, draft strategies, and expert advice for beginners to draft and build a winning dynasty team.

Dynasty fantasy football leagues can seem overwhelming to those who have yet to play. When I started in a dynasty league, I had a million questions. How should I get started? Will I have time to manage a team? How is dynasty different than redraft?

The best way to learn how to play dynasty is to dive right in. Once you get started, you'll be hooked. If you've played redraft fantasy football, you can play dynasty. I had played redraft for years before jumping into dynasty, and I wish I had taken the plunge sooner.

At first glance, dynasty looks like a huge leap from traditional redraft leagues. Sure, every decision you make affects not just the current season but future ones. Once you get the hang of things, you'll be excited to feel like a real NFL general manager. If someone had just broken it down for me in simple terms, I would have felt more confident when I joined my first league. I'm here to help you get started on your dynasty journey.

Editor's Note: RotoBaller’s Dynasty content delivers year-round dynasty fantasy football rankings, trade advice, rookie analysis, and player outlooks. Build a title-winning roster with sleepers, stash targets, and our full dynasty fantasy football guide.

What Is Dynasty Fantasy Football?

Dynasty is a league type where managers keep the same roster each season instead of drafting a new team each year. A startup draft happens in the first offseason of the league's formation. During the startup draft, keep in mind that you could potentially roster these players for their entire NFL careers.

A startup draft in dynasty leagues is usually done via snake or auction draft. When drafting, remember that different factors can cause a player's value to fluctuate during the season. Injury concerns, workload, and age are just some factors to consider when building your roster.

In dynasty leagues, managers should try to build a winning roster through trades and waivers. One of the biggest reasons people don't start playing dynasty is because they believe it will be too time-consuming. While dynasty leagues are time-consuming, you'll be spending a lot of your time constructing your roster. If you love the roster construction aspect of fantasy football, spending additional time creating the ideal dynasty team will be worth it.

Getting Started

Getting started in dynasty is relatively easy now. You can form a league with family, friends, or co-workers. Social media is an excellent tool for finding league mates. Finding a league has never been easier with message boards, Discord, and Reddit available at our fingertips.

Every season, dynasty leagues have a rookie draft. If you were concerned you wouldn't get the thrill of the draft every year in dynasty leagues, you were mistaken. Rookie drafts are a lot like the NFL Draft and are usually linear. The last-place finisher for the season will get the first overall pick in the following season's rookie draft. Subsequently, they will get the first pick in each subsequent round. These drafts are usually three to five rounds.

Before you start drafting, check out your league's settings. Knowing how many players you'll be rostering, if certain positions get bonuses, etc., can set your roster up for success as you can create the ideal draft strategy. It seems obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people don't look at their league's settings until the draft starts.

Do you prefer your dynasty rookie drafts to happen before or after the NFL Draft?

— KACEY KASEM (@thekaceykasem) April 25, 2024

Trading draft picks is something you may encounter when doing your draft. Make sure to research how much those picks are worth, as you could be giving up way too much because you're excited about trading. RotoBaller rankings are a tool worth utilizing as you participate in your drafts.

If you're in the mood to take over an already-formed dynasty roster, an orphan team might be right up your alley. An orphan is a dynasty team with an opening for a new manager. You'll either keep this roster or enter a dispersal draft.

In a dispersal draft, orphan teams place their picks and players into a draft pool and then select from there. Sometimes, teams other than orphan teams can join the dispersal. This usually happens when a manager is not happy with their roster.

Building Your Team After the Draft

Managers can trade for a significant portion of the season. You'll probably make more trades in dynasty leagues than in redraft. Trading can be scary, but you'll learn as you go. Your values for specific draft picks or players may not align with those of others in your league. You'll feel regret after making trades. You'll feel great about a trade until others in your league say you got fleeced. It's all a part of the dynasty ride.

A dynasty roster is usually 20-40 players deep. Some leagues have a more shallow bench, while others go deeper. Dynasty leagues often have a taxi squad. Managers are allowed to move certain players to the taxi squad without them counting toward the active roster.

A set number of players can be added to the taxi squad, and not every dynasty league has one. These players are usually developmental projects and rookies. Once elevated from the taxi squad, these players are generally not permitted to be added back to the taxi squad.

Like some redraft leagues, some dynasty leagues have an injured reserve (IR). Placing an eligible player on IR frees up a roster spot. Once the player can return from IR, you must move them to the active roster, or you'll end up with a violation. You'll need to free up a roster spot by moving an eligible player to IR, the taxi squad, or off your roster altogether.

The waiver situation in dynasty leagues can be brutal. With dynasty rosters being larger than most redraft leagues, you might not find much on waivers each week. Trading becomes vital to building your team when there isn't much in free agency.

Types of Leagues

As with redraft leagues, there are numerous ways to play dynasty. If you've ever seen a John Bosch or Ryan McDowell league, you know dynasty leagues can contain tons of wrinkles. Whether you want to play in a traditional dynasty league or a league with twists and turns, there is a dynasty league for you.

A Superflex league is one where you can start two quarterbacks weekly. Ensuring a stud quarterback is on your team is vital in these leagues. A running back, wide receiver, or tight end can be put in the flex spot, but you can play a quarterback there instead.

In a 2QB league, two quarterbacks must start each week. Planning for bye weeks and injuries is vital in 2QB leagues. Just because you have Josh Allen doesn't mean you won't have to start Derek Carr at some point. Make sure to draft accordingly.

Dynasty BestBall ONLY going forward. I will not join any regular leagues. It is just way better.

— Jordan Richards (@ChaBoyJRich) February 23, 2022

Single-QB leagues are just what they sound like; only one quarterback is to start. Focusing on a viable quarterback is crucial in these leagues. These leagues have a large pool of good quarterbacks, so managers often prefer talented young wideouts and running backs early in the draft.

Tight-end premium leagues have become more prominent lately. These leagues give bonuses to the tight-end position. Most leagues only require one starting tight end, but managers could choose to flex a tight end depending on tight-end premium settings. Check your league's tight-end premium settings to see which tight ends it benefits most. Not all tight ends were created equal.

Individual defensive players (IDP) are being incorporated into more dynasty leagues. In leagues with IDP, managers can draft and roster defensive players, scoring fantasy points in the process. I do not play in leagues with IDP, but I want to thank the RotoBaller family, who can give you the information you need.

Oh, and you can even join a dynasty best ball league. This is a league format where you draft just like a dynasty league, but you don't need to set a lineup each week. The highest-scoring players will automatically be selected each week. A dynasty best ball league is perfect for those who want a dynasty experience with little in-season management.

Positional Value

Quarterbacks and wide receivers can last a while in the NFL (and on your dynasty roster). Finding these reliable players is key for dynasty leagues. Age is an important factor in dynasty, and although quarterbacks and wide receivers can stick around, their values can plummet quickly.

In dynasty, focusing on young and sturdy backs with clear shots at playing time is the dream. If you don't end up drafting any, see what positions others in your league need. Then, try and make a trade. Remember, running backs will decline over the years. Workhorse running backs are excellent for dynasty, but that much playing time could take a toll on their bodies.

Relying on most tight ends in dynasty leagues is difficult, just like in redraft leagues. There are the top guys, and then the rest are inconsistent. Tight-end premium leagues could award an additional 1/2 point or more to tight ends on top of regular PPR scoring. Although that might make all tight ends look attractive, it is essential to look at tight-end usage. Tight-end premium won't help those tight ends who see low targets.

Conclusion

Reach accordingly. Or don't. That's the fun part of dynasty. Your strategy will change often. Your strategy in one league won't be the strategy for another. A lot of the time, it is trial and error. Once you get into the swing of things, dynasty will be your new favorite pastime.

Switching your fantasy football brain from dynasty to redraft (and vice versa) can be very difficult. I think this is something I really really need to work on.

— KACEY KASEM (@thekaceykasem) September 20, 2024

Learning your league settings and scoring is necessary to succeed in your dynasty journey. Don't ever be afraid to ask questions. Your league commissioner should be willing to review anything you have concerns about. Refer to your league's bylaws for any other information you'll need.

Have fun with it! Stay active, make trades, and work on your strategy. You'll want to join more leagues in no time.

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