Does playing Dynasty give you a Redraft advantage? (1 Viewer)

[jwb]

I'm in 7 dynasty leagues - have been playing dynasty for about 8 years. I've played in one redraft during that time (ten teams). I'm the only dynasty player in the league, and I'm in my fifth championship game there (and made the playoffs every year but one).

Every year, it's the same story. I end up drafting productive guys that are overlooked, I always get decent rookies, and I seem to be a week or two ahead on the WW with many players. This isn't meant to be "look at me" - I'm an average dynasty player, in the playoffs in about half my leagues in any given year. But I do think in redraft leagues that playing dynasty gives me a fairly big advantage over guys that don't.

For example, this year, I drafted Josh Gordon in the tenth round. I got Blackmon w/ my third-to-last pick. These guys weren't on anyone's radar, and the magazines seemed to advocate either picking them last, or a week before they return. Umm, no. Blackmon didn't completely pan out, but he did help me win a few games. I got Zac Stacy after week three, when it was pretty clear nobody else could run the ball there. That paid off well. I was definitely on board with Cameron and Julius Thomas, and got them both with late draft picks.

This is all stuff I most certainly would have missed if I didn't play dynasty (Zac who?? - I would have had to bid on him after week 5 like everyone else.)

Anyone else play both and think Dynasty helps them in redraft?

 

[Gawain]

I think it's likely that your redraft opponents are bad.

You have more information because you are more tuned in due to your dynasty leagues.

How many of them are play dynasty? Join a redraft league next year that is also comprised of dynasty owners as well.

 

[rickyg]

Absolutely. For all of the reasons you stated. Dynasty players are in the business if scouting young talent in the league before they make waves.

It usually translates to being ahead of the curve in redraft leagues. That can help you and hurt you.

I find that some of my redraft leagues tart slow and end off with a bang? Since a lot of my sleepers are rookies who take some time to acclimate to the nfl.

This year my dynasty research led me to snag Julius thomas, Keenan Allen, zac Stacy, and Jordan Reed in redraft leagues before people even knew who they were.

 

[valhallan]

Absolutely. Redraft players mostly focus on the past, while dynasty players consider the future. That leads to you taking the fliers and rookies as you suggested, as well as recognizing once great talent fading.

 

[Agent575]

It really just comes down to how much an owner is into this hobby. Sure there are really good owners who only play redraft leagues but typically anyone that is nuts about FF wants more out of it than what redraft offers. Overall the results I see in most leagues is very closely related to the amount of time and effort the owners put in and that isn't just a coincidence.

I personally try very hard now to play in leagues exclusively with very active owners because beating dumb people isn't very rewarding and losing to them is awful.

That said, I just got JaMAULED by one of the least active owners in my local league. It sure will be fun to watch him get smoked next week in a game I likely would have won. /sarcasm.

 

[mr roboto]

Yes. I drafted Gordon in Rd 8, picked up Reed, Todman, Pitta, Allen off ww before they had their big games. I think it's just the nature of knowing more about young players.

 

[JohnnyU]

No, because dynasty players draft too many rookies or unproven players in redraft leagues

 

[ghostguy123]

I think it only helps me because it forces me to research more players, and to do it more often.

I don't think it is because of I am in dynasty leagues. I think it helps me because I do more work.

Now, would I be doing all that if I wasn't in those leagues?? I probably wouldnt, but I could, whether I am in dynasty or not.

Depends on your personality I guess. I would be too lazy to do that much work unless it mattered for my year round dynasty leagues.

 

[snellman]

No because dynasty players draft too many rookies or unproven playersin in redraft leagues

It does help, but it also does sometimes hurt because of this reason. I have to make sure I am out of dynasty mode when my redrafts start because of this.

 

[jwb]

No because dynasty players draft too many rookies or unproven playersin in redraft leagues

It does help, but it also does sometimes hurt because of this reason. I have to make sure I am out of dynasty mode when my redrafts start because of this.

Yea, this was my albatross the year I didn't make the playoffs in this redraft league (year two - after I had a year of each under my belt. I just couldn't believe the rookies / "up and comers" that these guys were ignoring... I ended up with a great looking dynasty roster that got smoked by 30 year olds.)

I've since learned not to do this.

 

[Adam Harstad]

Devoting time to fantasy football makes you better at fantasy football. Reading news reports, watching games, scouting players, learning names- these things require a time investment, and they provide returns on that investment. Insofar as dynasty players are likely to spend more time on fantasy football than redraft players (both due to the year-round nature of dynasty and the fact that a lot of dynasty players are former redraft players who wanted to be more involved), I would imagine the typical dynasty player does better than average in redraft.

Still, if a dynasty player is looking to maximize his redraft performance, he is spending his time inefficiently. Dynasty owners spend a lot of time on efforts that are unlikely to ever pay redraft dividends, such as scouting college players (many/most of whom will never be NFL starters). If a dynasty owner wanted to be the best redraft owner possible, he could cut out those activities and instead redirect his time to something that would bear more fruit, like reading more training camp reports or following beat writers on Twitter.

In short, you'd expect a dynasty owner who spends 10 hours a week, 50 weeks a year on fantasy football to outperform a redraft owner who spends 5 hours a week 20 weeks a year on fantasy football in redraft leagues. At the same time, you'd expect a redraft owner who spends 10 hours a week, 50 weeks a year to outperform that same dynasty owner in redraft league. There are tricks and shortcuts, but for the most part, your returns in fantasy football are going to be directly related to your investments.

 

[Riffraff]

Awareness level is much higher due to dynasty. Definitely expands the knowledge base and future telling skills.

I tend to see dynasty owners in redraft leagues forget rule #1 of fantasy football: know your league's rules. They tend to draft for hopefuls over producers. They take too many hopefuls instead of just 1 or 2. Hopefully getting points each week is a bad way to run a redraft team. Production is key. You don't get to keep the hopeful after year's end.

Where you would take the younger guy as a tie-breaker in dynasty; you take the better historical producer as a tie-breaker in redraft.

Dynasty owners like to draft too many "sleepers." They want to show how smart they are and brag about it for years to come. Most sleepers stay asleep. Dynasty owners hold onto their sleepers much longer than they should. You have roughly 13 weeks in a regular season, keeping a comatose player for 4 weeks is a third of the season that you can't get back. Get a producer that can actually help you win a game.

In dynasty, you expect the team/player/coaching situation to change and you try to play to those changes. In redraft, barring injury, you go with what is already there. Don't over think it.

 

[meatwad1]

I just read this message board every year. I am in the playoffs or championship in my redrafts every year.

 

[meatwad1]

Awareness level is much higher due to dynasty. Definitely expands the knowledge base and future telling skills.

I tend to see dynasty owners in redraft leagues forget rule #1 of fantasy football: know your league's rules. They tend to draft for hopefuls over producers. They take too many hopefuls instead of just 1 or 2. Hopefully getting points each week is a bad way to run a redraft team. Production is key. You don't get to keep the hopeful after year's end.

Where you would take the younger guy as a tie-breaker in dynasty; you take the better historical producer as a tie-breaker in redraft.

Dynasty owners like to draft too many "sleepers." They want to show how smart they are and brag about it for years to come. Most sleepers stay asleep. Dynasty owners hold onto their sleepers much longer than they should. You have roughly 13 weeks in a regular season, keeping a comatose player for 4 weeks is a third of the season that you can't get back. Get a producer that can actually help you win a game.

In dynasty, you expect the team/player/coaching situation to change and you try to play to those changes. In redraft, barring injury, you go with what is already there. Don't over think it.

It depends how the chips fall, I like to go half and half.

 

[Warrior]

For example, this year, I drafted Josh Gordon in the tenth round. I got Blackmon w/ my third-to-last pick. These guys weren't on anyone's radar, and the magazines seemed to advocate either picking them last, or a week before they return.

It's pretty obvious that you need to play in more competitive re-draft leagues. These guys were on everyone's radar in even average skill level leagues.

In your leagues, yes, I'm sure you have an advantage. From reading up on younger players. But that's probably just because your league mates appear to be clueless in general.

 

[ghostguy123]

For example, this year, I drafted Josh Gordon in the tenth round. I got Blackmon w/ my third-to-last pick. These guys weren't on anyone's radar, and the magazines seemed to advocate either picking them last, or a week before they return.

It's pretty obvious that you need to play in more competitive re-draft leagues. These guys were on everyone's radar in even average skill level leagues.

In your leagues, yes, I'm sure you have an advantage. From reading up on younger players. But that's probably just because your league mates appear to be clueless in general.

Sounds about right. ANy league with those guys available at those spots must be horrible to play in. Easy to win, but absolutely no fun.

I mean, Gordon in the 10th or Blackmon that late with like 10 man roster and only 6 teams maybe.

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Dynasty owners like to draft too many "sleepers." They want to show how smart they are and brag about it for years to come. Most sleepers stay asleep. Dynasty owners hold onto their sleepers much longer than they should. You have roughly 13 weeks in a regular season, keeping a comatose player for 4 weeks is a third of the season that you can't get back. Get a producer that can actually help you win a game.

I stopped playing in dynasty leagues 5 years ago, when my second child was born. Just didn't have the time to devote to it any more. And I've won more redraft titles and been in more playoffs in those 5 seasons than in the previous 12 combined.

Of the "starters" in a 12-teamer by VBD this season, here is how many of them are "older" guys from a dynasty perspective:

QB: 5/12 age 30+

RB: 15/30 age 27+

WR: 6/30 age 30+ (and 15/30 age 27+)

TE: 3/12 age 30+ (and 6/12 age 27+)

Probably a third of the total VBD is being put up by "past their prime" guys - and without crunching the numbers I'd wager this proportion is very similar from season to season. It's easy to say you can completely divorce yourself from the "younger is better" mentality when doing redrafts in parallel, but I found it virtually impossible in practice. I'd draft a ton of guys one year too early and get nothing out of them, then refuse to draft them before they broke out the following year because they were going three rounds higher.

I liken it to a long-term value investor who's trying to play a stock-market bubble by momentum investing or day-trading. Same market, same rules, different skillsets. He'll find it impossible to pull the trigger on juicy trades because "this company is over its head in debt" or "this stock is fundamentally worthless", and he'll miss out on opportunities as a result. Can he still make money? Yes. But usually not as much as the guy who puts in the same amount of time and effort in just that one discipline.

 

[Adam Harstad]

Dynasty owners like to draft too many "sleepers." They want to show how smart they are and brag about it for years to come. Most sleepers stay asleep. Dynasty owners hold onto their sleepers much longer than they should. You have roughly 13 weeks in a regular season, keeping a comatose player for 4 weeks is a third of the season that you can't get back. Get a producer that can actually help you win a game.

I stopped playing in dynasty leagues 5 years ago, when my second child was born. Just didn't have the time to devote to it any more. And I've won more redraft titles and been in more playoffs in those 5 seasons than in the previous 12 combined.

Of the "starters" in a 12-teamer by VBD this season, here is how many of them are "older" guys from a dynasty perspective:

QB: 5/12 age 30+

RB: 15/30 age 27+

WR: 6/30 age 30+ (and 15/30 age 27+)

TE: 3/12 age 30+ (and 6/12 age 27+)

Probably a third of the total VBD is being put up by "past their prime" guys - and without crunching the numbers I'd wager this proportion is very similar from season to season. It's easy to say you can completely divorce yourself from the "younger is better" mentality when doing redrafts in parallel, but I found it virtually impossible in practice. I'd draft a ton of guys one year too early and get nothing out of them, then refuse to draft them before they broke out the following year because they were going three rounds higher.

I liken it to a long-term value investor who's trying to play a stock-market bubble by momentum investing or day-trading. Same market, same rules, different skillsets. He'll find it impossible to pull the trigger on juicy trades because "this company is over its head in debt" or "this stock is fundamentally worthless", and he'll miss out on opportunities as a result. Can he still make money? Yes. But usually not as much as the guy who puts in the same amount of time and effort in just that one discipline.

I'd wager the QB/WR/TE ratios are pretty typical (although I'd say that 27+ certainly isn't "past their prime" from a dynasty standpoint, so the ratios are pretty low). The RB ratio is a major historical outlier- I haven't rerun the numbers since midseason, but at the halfway point when I weighted all RBs by how much VBD they had produced, this was the oldest RB crop since 2000, at least, and only a couple of seasons even came close (mostly the 2002-2004 range).

 

[MAC_32]

I think playing dynasty offers a big advantage in-season, but am beginning to wonder if it effects my drafts. I've drafted very poorly each of the last two seasons, but have managed the wire very well. I've still managed to make most of my playoffs and in so doing have a stronger lineup than most once getting there. I'm often a low seed though, and have been in must win situations in November just to get in. I had one team get into the playoffs at 10-3 but that's in my dynasty, the others were 7-6, 6-7, 6-6, and 7-7. Of those 4 redraft teams I'm still alive in three of them and the fourth I lost despite breaking the old playoff record in scoring. And this season is playing out very similarly as last year.

 

[T with T]

I think dynasty may help you but drafting wise it may cause you to pass on the Frank Gores, tony gonzalez, and the likes because you are you in dynasty mode.... Redraft and dynasty is a whole Different ball game. Like the guy said couple posts up you have to dedicate a lot of time to dynasty leagues where as redraft leagues require much less work... it's all in what you prefer. Redraft takes very little time dedication whereas a seasoned dynasty owner who wins championships spends lots and lots of time, energy toward his craft and must have a lot of time to dedicate to it.

 

[finito]

No because dynasty players draft too many rookies or unproven playersin in redraft leagues

It does help, but it also does sometimes hurt because of this reason. I have to make sure I am out of dynasty mode when my redrafts start because of this.

Agree 100%. Sometimes I find myself screwing up because I'm thinking dynasty instead of redraft.

 

[Spike]

Devoting time to fantasy football makes you better at fantasy football. Reading news reports, watching games, scouting players, learning names- these things require a time investment, and they provide returns on that investment. Insofar as dynasty players are likely to spend more time on fantasy football than redraft players (both due to the year-round nature of dynasty and the fact that a lot of dynasty players are former redraft players who wanted to be more involved), I would imagine the typical dynasty player does better than average in redraft.

Still, if a dynasty player is looking to maximize his redraft performance, he is spending his time inefficiently. Dynasty owners spend a lot of time on efforts that are unlikely to ever pay redraft dividends, such as scouting college players (many/most of whom will never be NFL starters). If a dynasty owner wanted to be the best redraft owner possible, he could cut out those activities and instead redirect his time to something that would bear more fruit, like reading more training camp reports or following beat writers on Twitter.

In short, you'd expect a dynasty owner who spends 10 hours a week, 50 weeks a year on fantasy football to outperform a redraft owner who spends 5 hours a week 20 weeks a year on fantasy football in redraft leagues. At the same time, you'd expect a redraft owner who spends 10 hours a week, 50 weeks a year to outperform that same dynasty owner in redraft league. There are tricks and shortcuts, but for the most part, your returns in fantasy football are going to be directly related to your investments.

I wonder if you're looking at this incorrectly.

From what I see, you're stating a viewpoint of "Player A" (who is a dynasty league player but plays in redraft leagues) versus "Player B" (who is only in redraft leagues).

I think the initial statement is from the perspective of "Player A" who is only in redraft leagues versus "Player A" if he morphed into someone who also played in dynasty leagues. Questioning if that same player becomes better at redraft leagues as a result of participating in dynasty leagues.

 

[MAC_32]

I think dynasty may help you but drafting wise it may cause you to pass on the Frank Gores, tony gonzalez, and the likes because you are you in dynasty mode.... Redraft and dynasty is a whole Different ball game. Like the guy said couple posts up you have to dedicate a lot of time to dynasty leagues where as redraft leagues require much less work... it's all in what you prefer. Redraft takes very little time dedication whereas a seasoned dynasty owner who wins championships spends lots and lots of time, energy toward his craft and must have a lot of time to dedicate to it.

What's weird is this isn't my problem. Gore's on all of my redraft teams. Served as a very nice glue piece at RB2 as I spent all season trying to fix the mess I made at RB1 by drafting Ray Rice.

 

[cdubz]

First year dynasty player and I think it actually hurt my re-draft teams this year. I was still able to rack up a really good winning percentage in a lot of leagues and a slightly positive ROI in my money leagues, but I think I went too far to the youth extreme in re-draft.

That said, I think dynasty has helped me in other ways (e.g. familiarity with WW players) this year though. I anticipate the net result to be positive going forward once I learn to not let it affect my draft strategy too much.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

if anything it hurts some, always focusing on the youth