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Author: Steven Van Tassell
Now that the reorganization of the 2019 beta leagues into brand new 12-team leagues has been officially announced, everyone who plays Dynasty Owner, both beta users and new players, will now be drafting entirely new teams. As a result, our initial Draft Tips article from 2019 needs to be revised.
For beta users, your second Dynasty Owner Fantasy Football Draft Day is coming sometime in June, while they will start in June and continue into July and August for new players. Regardless of whether you are a beta user or new player, it’s one of the best days of the year – better than Christmas, the Fourth of July, your birthday, or even the start of the football season.
Even though mock drafting with 12-team leagues has been going for a while now using the new Dynasty Owner app – go download it now if you haven’t done so already and start to mock draft – nothing compares to a real draft. Since Dynasty Owner is a new and innovative concept for new players and 12-team leagues are different than last year for the beta users, there are sure to be lots of ideas floating around about how to draft. For this article, we’re going to avoid “regular” fantasy football tips and offer up some ideas to help you on Draft Day that are unique to the Dynasty Owner concept.
With the preamble out of the way, let’s get to the draft tips that are going to help you win your 2020 Dynasty Owner league championship and maybe be the next Chase for the Ring winner.
All stats are based on the Standard Dynasty Owner scoring system as outlined in the updated Dynasty Owner Constitution. Standard Dynasty Owner scoring gives you .1 points for every yard rushing or receiving, .1 point for every 2 yards passing, 1 point per reception, 6 points for a rushing, receiving or passing touchdown and 2 points for a successful 2-point conversion (rushing, receiving, or passing). Interceptions or fumbles lost cost you 3 points, while a fumble that is recovered by the player’s team is a loss of only 1 point. Bonus points are available for 100-199 yards rushing (2 points), 200 yards rushing or receiving (6 points), 300-399 yards passing (1 point) and 400 yards passing (4 points). There is also a 3-point bonus for clutch scoring, which is a score that results in a lead change in the final two minutes of the 4th quarter or overtime. Kickoff and punt return touchdowns are worth 6 points for the player and kickoff and punt returns are worth .25 points for every 10 yards. Standard Dynasty Owner scoring for kickers gives you 1 point for every extra point, while a missed extra point will cost you 1 point. It’s 2 points for a field goal of between 0 and 39 yards, 4 points for a field goal between 40 and 49 yards and 5 points for a field goal of 50 yards or longer. A missed field goal of between 0 and 39 yards will cost you 3 points, while a miss of 40 yards or more is a loss of 2 points.
Value, Value, Value
The old adage about real estate is that the three most important things are Location, Location and Location. The same is true for Dynasty Owner. For those of you that are new to Dynasty Owner, the three most important things for Dynasty Owners should be Value, Value and Value. Hopefully, experienced Dynasty Owners already knew that and if you didn’t then, everyone wants you to be in their new 12-team league.
But why is value so important? Let’s examine two top WRs and look at the relevant stats from a “regular” fantasy football perspective. In the 2019 version of this article, the two players analyzed as being close to value to each other were Michael Thomas and Antonio Brown. They were remarkably similar in 2018, but had dramatically different seasons in 2019 to say the least. For this year, we’ll pick two different WRs who had virtually identically 2019 seasons (same number of Dynasty Owner fantasy points, but Godwin missed two games while Jones only missed one).
- Chris Godwin: 276.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (2019)
- Julio Jones: 276.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (2019)
No difference there at all. Both players had the exact same number of Dynasty Owner fantasy points last year and finished tied for second best WR behind Michael Thomas. A look at 2019 PPR-league ADP from Fantasy Pros (www.fantasypros.com) shows that Jones was drafted as the third or fourth WR overall, while Godwin was generally selected on average anywhere between the 15th to 21st WR off the board in PPR drafts (https://www.fantasypros.com/nfl/adp/ppr-wr.php). Therefore, in “regular” fantasy football, Godwin was clearly a better “value” than Jones as Godwin’s owners got the same production from a later draft pick.
In Dynasty Owner, Godwin is even more of a value than Jones because of the difference in salary between the two of them. Godwin’s salary for 2019 and 2020 is only $821,041 while Jones is currently the highest paid WR in the NFL at $22 million per year for 2020 through 2023. Breaking it down based on their 2019 performance, we find that Godwin is projected to cost Dynasty Owners about 27 times more than Jones in 2020.
- Chris Godwin: 276.1 points, $821,041 salary, $2,974 cost per point
- Julio Jones: 276.1 points, $22,000,000 salary, $79,681 cost per point
Both are predicted to have similar valuable in 2020 “regular” fantasy football (282.2 Dynasty Owner fantasy points for Godwin and 271.9 for Jones), but Godwin is going to be so much more valuable in Dynasty Owner in 2020 than Jones. Godwin is a likely first round draft pick (or possibly early second round), whereas you should be able to pick up Jones a lot later if you think he will remain productive and are willing to be saddled with his salary for the next four years. For 2020, Godwin is a clear better value than Jones in Dynasty Owner.
QB Scoring is Higher Than Most Leagues, but Some QBs Will Benefit More
In looking at the Player Rankings, the high number of points scored by QBs in 2019 and projected for 2020 using the Standard Dynasty Owner scoring system stands out. This pattern was evident before last year’s drafts and remains in effect for 2020. In 2019, a total of only four QBs scored over 400 Dynasty Owner fantasy points using the Standard Dynasty Owner scoring system with an additional two scoring over 370 points:
- Lamar Jackson – 515.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
- Dak Prescott – 445.8 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
- Russell Wilson – 428.8 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
- Jameis Winston – 403.5 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
- DeShaun Watson – 398.5 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
- Patrick Mahomes – 384.4 Dynasty Owner fantasy points
The number of RBs, WRs and TEs who scored over 400 points in 2019 under the Standard Dynasty Owner scoring system: One – Carolina RB Christian McCaffrey
The number of RBs, WRs, and TEs projected to score over 400 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2020 under the Standard Dynasty Owner scoring system: Zero
Why? It’s all about the scoring system. The Standard Dynasty Owner scoring system gives you .1 point for every two yards passing and 6 points for a passing TD. Most other fantasy leagues give you 1 point for every 25 yards (or .04 points per yard) and just 4 points for a passing TD. This creates a lot more points for the QBs in Dynasty Owner than most other fantasy leagues. This is especially true for the traditional pocket QBs than QBs who run a lot.
Let’s take the Super Bowl Champion QB and the sixth ranked QB on this list – Patrick Mahomes – and compare his scoring in Dynasty Owner vs. most other fantasy leagues. Mahomes passed for 4,031 yards and had 26 passing TDs last season. He was 10th in passing yards and tied for 8th in TDs. He also added in a modest 218 yards rushing and 2 rushing TDs plus 5 INTs, 3 fumbles (2 lost), 1 2-pt conversion and some other bonus points.
- Dynasty Owner: 384.4 points
- Most Fantasy Leagues: 292.04 points
That’s a difference of 92.36 fantasy points over the course of a season, or 5.8 fantasy points per game. While the scoring will be higher for all QBs, those who throw for a lot of yards and a lot of TDs will benefit more than other QBs, like Deshaun Watson, who also score points with their legs. In 2019, Watson was in 5th overall in Dynasty Owner QB scoring, but just 13th in passing yards with 3,852 yards and his 26 passing TDs were tied with Mahomes for 8th place. However, he had nearly 200 more rushing yards and 5 more rushing TDs than Mahomes (413 rushing yards, 7 rushing TDs). He had just 11 more total points than Mahomes in Dynasty Owner but didn’t get nearly the bump that Mahomes got from the Standard Dynasty Owner scoring system.
- Dynasty Owner: 398.5 points
- Most Fantasy Leagues: 331.98 points
Despite having more Dynasty Owner fantasy points than Mahomes, Watson’s scoring bump from the Standard Dynasty Owner scoring system is over twenty-five points less than Mahomes’ at 66.52 Dynasty Owner fantasy points.
Therefore, a more traditional pocket passer is more valuable for your Dynasty Owner roster because of the scoring system. In a game that is all about value, this is important information to know and use on Draft Day.
Draft at Least Three Starting Quarterbacks and Do It Sooner Rather than Later
There are 32 NFL teams and 12 teams in each Dynasty Owner league. That means that at least four Dynasty Owner teams won’t have three starting QBs on their roster. Do you want to be one of those teams? The answer should be “No” and so you need to draft three starting QBs and draft those QBs early on in the draft. Dynasty Owner teams need a starting QB and a Bench QB, plus a practice squad QB to put into your lineup for the bye weeks.
Drafting three QBs will cover your team for bye weeks (or an injury). Bench players accumulate points and 20% of your Bench scoring will be added to your final score. Bench points could be the difference in Dynasty Owner between winning and losing. Possibly getting zero points from your Bench QB because you don’t have three NFL starters at the highest scoring position in Dynasty Owner is a recipe for possibly losing a game or two.
Drafting at least three QBs is recommended and possibly having a handcuff (taking the backup to a starter) on the player you plan on using as your starting QB so that you are more likely than not to always have two available QBs on your Dynasty Owner roster.
Dynasty Owners should also probably not wait until the late rounds to get that third starting QB since one-third of the teams in your league aren’t going to have a one on their roster. You may have to grab that third QB sooner than you want to because of your draft position if you are picking at the beginning or end of your draft, since it could be a long time between picks and all of the remaining QBs could be selected in a run while you’re waiting to make a pick. Dynasty Owners will need to have a draft and salary strategy to make sure they get at least three starting QBs without sacrificing their ability to fill out the rest of their roster with quality players.
Draft Three Kickers
You’re probably reading this and saying to yourself – “Are you crazy? First, I need to draft at least three quarterbacks and now you’re saying to draft three kickers?!? I don’t even want two of them, why should I waste three draft picks on kickers?”
That reaction is completely understandable, but the reasoning for this tip is the same as the QB tip – that you need a starter and bench kicker, plus a practice squad kicker for the bye weeks. Do you really want to have your second kicker on bye, but still on your bench and lose by a point or two?
That’s why you should strongly consider getting three kickers to cover for your bye weeks (or an injury). Remember, even your Bench kicker accumulates points and 20% of your Bench scoring will be added to your final score. Automatically committing to zero points from your bench kicker twice just to have a wide receiver or running back who might never play this season could cost you a victory at some point in the 2020 Dynasty Owner season.
Returning Some Value
Another potentially overlooked scoring opportunity in Dynasty Owner comes from kickoff and punt returns. In regular fantasy football, you generally only get points if your kickoff or punt returner scores a touchdown. Not in Dynasty Owner!
We have points for kickoff and punt return yards. It’s .25 points for every 10 yards. Not much, but how many times have you won or lost a fantasy game by a point or two? Probably enough to know that every point counts in fantasy.
A player who doubles as a kickoff or punt returner makes that player more valuable in Dynasty Owner than “regular” fantasy football. To demonstrate my point, let’s take the top return man in the NFL in 2019, Kansas City WR Mecole Hardman, and compare him with another player who put up similar “regular” fantasy football stats in 2019.
In terms of receiving (and rushing) stats in 2019, Hardman had the same number of points in total as Brandin Cooks. Both had a total of 117.5 Dynasty Owner fantasy points from rushing and receiving, or an average of 7.3 points per game. That’s would have been good for being the #63 ranked WR in Dynasty Owner last year.
However, when you take Hardman’s return yardage into account as we do in Dynasty Owner, but most “regular” fantasy football leagues don’t, Hardman scored an extra 19.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points over the course of the season. That’s good enough to move him up ten spots from a tie for #63 WR to the #53 WR in Dynasty Owner with 137.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game. His average points per game increases to 8.6 per game, or an additional 1.3 points per game.
In a close game, starting Hardman over Cooks and getting those extra 1.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points could be the difference between winning and losing your Dynasty Owner game. Even having Hardman on your Bench and getting an extra .3 points could be the difference between winning and losing. Don’t think we have games that close in Dynasty Owner? See the results of the League 51 Championship game between Ctown Beatdown and Girthquake from last season.
Conclusions
Dynasty Owner is different than “regular” fantasy football and for new users, your draft strategy is going to have to change from what you’re used to doing. Beta users should already be familiar with these differences, but since all of them are in new 12-team leagues with a 2020 redraft, reviewing these tips is a good refresher. No more are you merely looking for the top performer at each position because you might not be able to fit them under the $110 million Dynasty Owner salary cap. You’d have to struggle to find good players to fill out your bench and practice squad. Dynasty Owner is all about value. Finding value with your draft picks will be a key to winning.
Including salaries and a hard $110 million salary cap means, there’s a lot more to think about in Dynasty Owner than a regular fantasy football league. You’ve got a different scoring system than most leagues that is weighted slightly in favor of QBs, particularly those QBs who throw for a lot of yards and touchdowns rather than more mobile QBs who also get you fantasy points with their legs.
Another key to victory in Dynasty Owner are Bench points. The 20% bonus you get for the points scored by players on your Bench is an incentive to have players in reserve who are also high scoring or at the very least, not on bye.
That’s why having three kickers is recommended in Dynasty Owner. You never know if those backup kicker points are going to be the difference between winning and losing. Don’t be the Dynasty Owner who has a backup kicker on bye, getting you zero points and lose your matchup by one or two points.
Also, don’t forget to factor in those return points when drafting. A player who returns punts and kicks is more valuable in Dynasty Owner than a player who doesn’t. You just might squeeze out a victory because of those return yardage points.
There is lots of activity coming up in the Dynasty Owner universe as Tim outlined recently. There was another Live Dynasty Owner podcast last Thursday that everyone can view on YouTube if you haven’t seen it yet. We also a new article by our newest writer, Milos Ljubic (follow him on Twitter – @LjubicMilos) that was published last Friday and a new article about under the radar players coming soon from our other new writer Chris Wolf (@ckwolf21 on Twitter). All of this great content is available to help you win your Dynasty Owner league and maybe become the winner of the 2020 Chase for the Ring!
Steven Van Tassell is a freelance writer for Dynasty Owner
Follow us on Twitter: @SteveVT33 and @Dynasty_Owner