This dynasty trade was made in a typical 12-team PPR league with 30 roster spots and unlimited 2-year taxi squad spots for drafted rookies. My team is a solid competitor but disappointed with a 4th place finish last year.
The Approach
Sometimes you find yourself in an arms race in a dynasty league. Often as a league evolves, extremely strong teams appear, making it more of a challenge to compete for a title. Some teams see this juggernaut as a sign that they will need to rebuild and bide their time until a team weakens due to age. Another approach is to strengthen your team to compete. This is the approach I decided to take in this league. targeting a team in the middle of the standings, I set out to poach some starters with top-12 potential at their position, offering some rookies that are not likely to contribute in a meaningful way this year. After a few counters, we were able to agree on a deal.
The Trade
Executed August 7th, 2017
Gave O.J. Howard, Kareem Hunt, Tevin Coleman, Cooper Kupp
Received Travis Kelce, DeMarco Murray, 2018 2nd, 2018 3rd
This trade was made in order to expedite the production of these assets. Even with six picks in the top-24 in this year’s rookie draft, I found myself just outside of tier breaks and was forced to draft players I was not as high on. This is how I ended up with O.J. Howard, Kareem Hunt and Cooper Kupp in the top-24. With positive training camp news hitting twitter for all three of these players, the time was right to make a move. Most likely none of the players I sold would have hit my starting lineup in 2017 due to my depth. While I am sacrificing potential value if any or all of these players flash in-season, I am replacing them with anchors at positions of relative weakness.
Post-Trade Roster Highlights
Jameis Winston, Kirk Cousins
LeVeon Bell, DeMarco Murray, Alvin Kamara, Gio Bernard, Jacquizz Rodgers, Rex Burkhead
Mike Evans, Julio Jones, Brandin Cooks, DeVante Parker, Devin Funchess, Philip Dorsett, Sammie Coates, Eli Rogers, Anquan Boldin
Travis Kelce, Jack Doyle, Coby Fleener, Dennis Pitta, Clive Walford
2018 picks: 1,1,2,2,3,3,4,5
Takeaways
This trade accomplished two goals; it bolstered my starting lineup while also eliminating a possible contending team as my trade partner is now weakened and will not pose as much of a threat to my championship hopes. With Murray and Kelce in my starting lineup, I no longer have to count on players like Jack Doyle and Jacquizz Rodgers or Gio Bernard to anchor the back-end of my starting lineup. This added depth will make me a force in the regular season. I am not typically on the veteran side of a deal like this, but as we hear every week on the UTH Dynasty Podcast intro, ‘Playing it safe in dynasty means you’re going to lose.’ Sometimes you have to push your chips in and make a run for the title. Doing it in a way that allows you to keep future value in tact is vital. This deal accomplished both.
