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By Steven Van Tassell
Originally, I had planned to write an entire article comparing a high-salary player (Player A) who is being drafted ahead of another player (Player B) with a similar profile, history and projections, but a far lower salary. It was going to be a demonstration of how Dynasty Owner is different and takes a different mentality to draft well. During the weekly livestream where Tim Peffer and I have been breaking down a single league draft, there have been many instances where a Dynasty Owner drafted someone when they could have had a more affordable, comparable player instead. If you check out any of the livestreams from the past couple of weeks, you can hear plenty of them.
However, a dive into the 2021 ADPs in the Mock Draft Lobby didn’t yield as many of these obvious situations as I thought it would. In an individual draft, somebody is going to overreach for a player here and there, but across all Dynasty Owner leagues, there don’t appear to be too many instances of this occurring.
For example, the Top 5 WRs in terms of ADP are DK Metcalf (15.2), Justin Jefferson (17.2), A.J. Brown (21.8), Calvin Ridley (24.8) and CeeDee Lamb (26.0). All five are still on their rookie salary contract and tremendous values in 2021. Metcalf and Brown have salaries under $1.5 million for the next two seasons, while Lamb is the most expensive at a little over $3.5 million. The sixth WR being taken on average is Tyreek Hill (ADP 26.9), but he finished 2020 as WR2 and is projected to finish 2021 as WR2. He missed four games in 2019 and still finished as WR30 for the season. I’m not going to say that it’s a bad pick to take the second best WR as the sixth WR off the board, even though his salary is $18 million per season. Some Dynasty Owners might prefer Stefon Diggs ($14.4 million, ADP 30.6) or Davante Adams ($14.5 million, ADP 33.0) over Hill and save a couple of million dollars in salary, but taking Hill instead isn’t a terrible decision. After all, every Dynasty Owner gets $127.75 million in salary cap and there’s no bonus points for spending the least amount.
With all of this in mind, let’s dive into two different situations in which Dynasty Owners are drafting a higher salary player over a comparable player with a much lower salary. We’ll look at the initial player decision and then see how the decision can drive a team’s ability to fill out its roster in the later rounds of their Dynasty Owner startup draft.
All 2021 projections come from Rotowire and 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 1 point for every 40 yards.
All 2021 Dynasty Owner ADP and fantasy points projections were accurate as of the morning of August 26th.
First Tight End Off the Board
Imagine this scenario. Your Dynasty Owner draft has started. A lot of the young affordable RBs have already been scooped up along with a few rookie salary QBs and WRs. It’s getting to the end of the second round. Nobody has gone for it and drafted the first TE, so you’re thinking about doing it, putting a little blue (for TE) on the board that’s already littered with a lot of green (RB), red (QB) and purple (WR).
In a “regular” dynasty league with a PPR format, it’s an easy call. You pick Travis Kelce since you’re shocked he has lasted this long (his ADP is in the 8-10 range depending on the source in PPR leagues) and move on. After all, he’s been TE1 in Dynasty Owner the past two years as well as in the pre-Dynasty Owner era for several years depending on your league’s scoring system. However, it’s different in Dynasty Owner. As Lee Corso would say “Not so fast my friend!”
Adding in salaries and contracts as Dynasty Owner does, makes it a harder decision. In fact, Raiders TE Darren Waller could be the better choice in Dynasty Owner for those of you drafting your startup team this year. Many Dynasty Owners disagree as Waller’s ADP is higher than Kelce (29.3 for Kelce versus 33.3 for Waller). I’m here to tell you that you should draft Waller over Kelce and be confident that you made the correct pick. Here’s why:
First, the two TEs are predicted to have roughly the same number of Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021, but because of his lower salary ($7.45 million for Waller versus $14.3 million for Kelce, Waller is a much better value.
| Player | ADP | 2021 Salary | Years Left on Contract | 2021 Projections | 2021 DD/PT |
| Travis Kelce | 29.3 | $14,312,500 | 5 | 274.0 | $52,235 |
| Darren Waller | 33.3 | $7,450,000 | 3 | 265.5 | $28,060 |
Second, Waller isn’t that far behind Kelce in past performance. If you don’t believe in projections and prefer to look at past performance, then it’s advantage Kelce, but not by as much as you would think.
| Player | Age | 2020 Ranking | 2020 Points | 2020 Points per Game |
| Travis Kelce | 31 | TE1 | 314.8 | 21.0 |
| Darren Waller | 28 | TE2 | 282.6 | 17.7 |
| Player | Age | 2019 Ranking | 2019 Points | 2019 Points per Game |
| Travis Kelce | 31 | TE1 | 253.3 | 15.8 |
| Darren Waller | 28 | TE4 | 220.1 | 13.8 |
Just looking at how Kelce and Waller have performed over the past two seasons above, we see that Kelce has been better, but just 3.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game better in 2020 and 2.0 points per game better in 2019. In terms of durability, it’s even as both are always on the field. Waller has played in all 16 games in each of the past two seasons with Kelce only sitting out Week 17 in 2020.
Both have also been absolutely amazing in the Dynasty Owner playoffs in each of the past two seasons, averaging well over 20.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game.
| Player | 2020 Playoff Points (per Game) | 2019 Playoff Points (per Game)* |
| Travis Kelce | 73.2 (24.4) | 52.0 (26.0) |
| Darren Waller | 86.5 (28.8) | (22.3) |
* The Dynasty Owner playoffs were only two weeks long in 2019.
In fact, Waller has more points in the Dynasty Owner playoffs than Kelce does (131.1 for Waller versus 125.2 for Kelce) and therefore a better average (26.2 versus 25.0).
Overall, at this point, the advantage is still in Kelce’s favor, but Waller isn’t far behind, which is why their 2021 ADPs are so close.
Now, let’s look at this in a different way – the way you should as a Dynasty Owner. Waller is projected to score almost as many points in 2021 as Kelce, but will cost his Dynasty Owners nearly $7 million less in salary for at least the next three years. Here are a few players who you could very likely add to your Dynasty Owner roster in the latter rounds of the draft with the difference in salary between the two ($6,862,500).
| Player | Position | ADP | 2021 Salary | 2021 Projections | 2021 Rank |
| Kenyan Drake | RB | 124.7 | $5,500,000 | 148.0 | RB39 |
| Marvin Jones | WR | 158.1 | $6,250,000 | 204.8 | WR48 |
| Evan Engram | TE | 177.4 | $6,013,000 | 147.8 | TE21 |
| Gerald Everett | TE | 178.8 | $6,000,000 | 145.3 | TE23 |
| O.J. Howard | TE | 232.2 | $6,013,000 | 140.5 | TE27 |
Both Drake and Jones would look pretty good as a RB3/RB4 or WR4/WR5 on your Dynasty Owner roster. If you don’t spend your savings on one of them, you can always grab your Bench TE, such as Evan Engram or Gerald Everett around Round 15. O.J. Howard should be on the board still if you wait a few more rounds.
In contrast, the best TE who Dynasty Owners can likely draft to back up Kelce and still be in a similar salary cap position as someone who took Waller and Evan Engram ($13,463,000 combined salary) are the following guys:
| Player | Position | ADP | 2021 Salary | 2021 Projections | 2021 Rank |
| Christopher Herndon | TE | 204.3 | $792,841 | 113.0 | TE31 |
| Dalton Schultz | TE | 241.8 | $728,090 | 102.0 | TE35 |
| Jordan Akins | TE | 257.6 | $831,271 | 86.1 | TE40 |
By all means, those three TEs should be on Dynasty Owner rosters at their current salaries. It’s just that you probably shouldn’t be relying on them as your week-to-week Bench TE and bye week replacement.
The lowest cost TE tandem in this scenario would be Kelce and Dalton Schultz whose salaries combined are $15,040,590, or $1,577,590 more than Waller and Engram. In addition to being slightly less in salary, the Waller-Engram combination is actually projected to score your team slightly more Dynasty Owner fantasy points.
| Starting TE | 2021 Points | Bench TE | 2021 Points | 25% of Bench | Total TE Points |
| Travis Kelce | 274.0 | Dalton Schultz | 102.0 | 25.5 | 299.5 |
| Darren Waller | 265.5 | Evan Engram | 147.8 | 36.9 | 302.4 |
The Total TE points column is not entirely accurate as it uses all of the Starting TE points plus 25% from the Bench TE. That may not happen, but it gives us a good sense that the Waller-Engram combination is equal to, or maybe even slightly better than the Kelce-Schultz combination. Plus, by drafting Waller then Engram, your Dynasty Owner team will have more salary cap space to grab another quality player later on in the draft.
The team with Waller and Engram could add either one of the following rookie WRs after those choices, typically in Round 17 or 18, and still be spending less than the team with Kelce and Schultz.
| Player | Team | Position | ADP | 2021 Salary | 2021 Projections |
| D’Wayne Eskridge | SEA | WR | 214.3 | $1,488,376 | 140.5 |
| Tutu Atwell | LAR | WR | 217.4 | $1,477,175 | 128.5 |
Both Eskridge and Atwell were taken back-to-back near the end of the second round in the 2021 NFL draft with picks #56 and #57 overall. Both DK Metcalf and A.J. Brown were taken in the latter stages of the 2019 NFL draft (Brown – #51 and Metcalf – #64). Both of them have been great so far in their NFL career. In fairness, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside was also drafted at a similar point in 2019 (#57 overall pick), so things don’t always work out.
Eskridge is projected to have a dozen more fantasy points in 2021 than Atwell and has fewer WRs likely playing in front of him (DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett) than Atwell does (Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, DeSean Jackson, Van Jefferson). For those reasons, let’s say you draft Eskridge to go along with Waller and Engram.
In the end, by drafting Waller over Kelce, a Dynasty Owner could have the following players on their team for under $15 million:
| Player | Team | Position | ADP | 2021 Salary | 2021 Projections |
| Darren Waller | LV | TE | 33.3 | $7,450,000 | 265.5 |
| Evan Engram | NYG | TE | 177.4 | $6,013,000 | 147.8 |
| D’Wayne Eskridge | SEA | WR | 214.3 | $1,488,376 | 140.5 |
| TOTAL | $14,951,376 |
In contrast, drafting Kelce plus the lowest cost, but still productive late round TE would yield the following players for just a bit over $15 million.
| Player | Team | Position | ADP | 2021 Salary | 2021 Projections |
| Travis Kelce | KC | TE | 29.3 | $14,312,500 | 274.0 |
| Dalton Schultz | DAL | TE | 241.8 | $728,090 | 102.0 |
| TOTAL | $15,040,590 |
For my roughly $15 million, I’d prefer to have the Waller-Engram-Eskridge trio as opposed to Kelce and Schultz. The ability to draft a better backup TE and a rookie WR with potential for around the same amount in salary outweighs the slight advantage gotten by taking Kelce over Waller.
That’s the difference between drafting in Dynasty Owner using salaries and contracts versus “regular” dynasty fantasy football and why I think Dynasty Owners are making a mistake in drafting Kelce before Waller in 2021 Dynasty Owner startup drafts.
Time to Draft a Veteran Bench WR
Here’s another example of a higher-salary player being taken at roughly the same time as a lower-salary, but pretty much equally productive player. It’s not as big of a decision as deciding between Travis Kelce or Darren Waller as your second or third round draft pick, but let’s be honest, depth is important in the NFL as well as Dynasty Owner.
Your draft is in progress and it’s Round 13. The Starting lineup for your Dynasty Owner team should be filled by now (probably not kicker, it’s still too early to draft a kicker, but every other position). It’s time to get some guys for your Bench. Remember, 25% of the points scored by players on your Bench will go towards your final score. Countless Dynasty Owner games will be won and lost on the basis of Bench points, so it’s important to have a strong Bench. Let’s say you want a WR at this point, here are a couple of likely available options.
| Player | ADP | 2021 Salary | 2021 Projections | 2021 DD/PT | Projected 2021 Rank |
| Corey Davis | 169.3 | $12,500,000 | 203.9 | $61,305 | WR50 |
| Davante Parker | 170.6 | $7,625,000 | 203.7 | $37,432 | WR52 |
Davis and Parker are equal in terms of 2021 projected production. Both of them also have 3 years remaining on their contracts and are pretty close in age (Parker is two years older). Davis scored 1.8 more points per game in 2020 than did.
| Player | Age | 2020 Ranking | 2020 Points | 2020 Points per Game |
| Corey Davis | 26 | WR30 | 190.4 | 13.6 |
| Davante Parker | 28 | WR40 | 165.3 | 11.8 |
However, it was a completely different story in 2019 as Parker was twice as good as Davis and finished the season as the WR11 overall in Dynasty Owner. He was likely the top WR on plenty of Dynasty Owner teams.
| Player | Age | 2019 Ranking | 2019 Points | 2019 Points per Game |
| Corey Davis | 26 | WR64 | 114.1 | 7.6 |
| Davante Parker | 28 | WR11 | 246.2 | 15.4 |
I understand that Davis is two years younger than Parker, was better last season and has less competition at WR. However, even factoring all that in, Parker is projected to produce similar numbers in the upcoming season.
If you disagree with the 2021 projections and think Davis will outproduce Parker, then look at how much salary cap room you can save by taking Parker instead. It’s $4.875 million in savings. That nearly $5 million savings is a great reason on its own to take Parker over Davis because you can also double down on veteran WRs and find one on a one-year contract even later on in the draft to fill out your Practice Squad and maybe use from time to time as a Bench option. Here are a few likely to be available later on who can be your sixth WR.
| Player | ADP | 2021 Salary | 2021 Projections | 2021 DD/PT | Projected 2021 Rank |
| John Brown | 205.1 | $3,750,000 | 164.8 | $22,755 | WR70 |
| Tyrell Williams | 223.3 | $4,000,000 | 162.7 | $24,585 | WR79 |
| Sammy Watkins | 232.5 | $5,000,000 | 159.7 | $31,309 | WR84 |
By taking Parker and then one of these guys, your Dynasty Owner team has two veteran WRs who might help your Dynasty Owner team versus relying strictly on Corey Davis to produce on his own like he did in 2020. For me, I’d prefer Parker and either one of these three guys. As a bonus, taking either Brown or Williams with Parker means that you’ll have spent less in salary than you would have on Davis alone.
Conclusion
Overall roster construction is very important in Dynasty Owner and a good reason to pick one player over another in this format. The decision to choose a more expensive, but slightly better player over a lower salary player in the early rounds of your Dynasty Owner draft (or even in the middle rounds) could have major ramifications as you as you fill out your roster. Every time you choose the player with the higher salary, you are reducing the number of players you can potentially draft later on because of the Dynasty Owner salary cap.
Don’t be the Dynasty Owner who has to fill out the end of his Bench with the most inexpensive free agents available because they are the only players you can afford to have on your roster. That’s the only reason why Tanner Lee (QB – Free Agent) and his $480,000 salary is on 8.5% of rosters in Dynasty Owner. Taylor Bertolet (K – Free Agent) and his $495,000 salary are on even more rosters at 11.3%. Neither one of them is even close to make a NFL roster, or has even been seen in a NFL training camp this year.
What does everyone think of this? Agree with me and take Waller, or go with the consensus up to this point and draft Kelce. What about the choice between Corey Davis and Davante Parker? Do you prefer one of those AFC East WRs over the other? Let me know on Twitter (@SteveVT33) or in the comments section on YouTube.
Hopefully all Dynasty Owners found this article helpful in getting ready for the 2021 Dynasty Owner season. Dynasty Owner has plenty of other great content to help you draft your dynasty. We can provide guidance as you get prepared for your startup draft, as well as help tweak your roster after your draft is over so you can win your league. My articles and videos to get you ready for your 2021 Dynasty Owner start-up league team are (usually) being released on Wednesdays. Keep an eye out for new articles from the rest of our team of Dynasty Owner writers as well. Matt Morrison – The Jerk (@Dynastyjerk) is doing a deep dive on individual teams that you can check out on Mondays, while Jay Pounds (@jaypoundsnfl) looks at how to rebuild your Dynasty Owner roster on Fridays. All of the articles will be released at 1 PM (Eastern) with videos and podcast released at 3 PM (Eastern).
Please read all of their articles and follow all three of us plus Dynasty Owner (@Dynasty_Owner) on Twitter. Hopefully this article is helpful, or at least interesting, for everyone who is getting ready to draft their first Dynasty Owner team or even people who have played Dynasty Owner in the past. Thanks, and have a great day!
Steven Van Tassell is the Head of Content for Dynasty Owner Follow us on Twitter: @SteveVT33 and @Dynasty_Owner