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Team – The Black and Yellow – League #27451
Owner – Bryan Peck
By: Jay Pounds (@jaypoundsnfl)
Dynasty Owners, the 2021 season is officially in the books and the Rams are now World Champions! I was a little worried about my prediction after OBJ went down but as expected Aaron Donald and company took over the game. The Rams’ Super Bowl obsession is officially complete! I unfortunately have no more football games to talk about but there are numerous things on the Dynasty Owner schedule that will keep everyone entertained. In the coming months we will have free agency, rookie drafts, endless trading, startup drafts, and much more ahead. Be sure to stay tuned to make sure you get the upper hand on your league mates.
I know I tend to ramble in my intros, but today we have a ton to cover, so I will jump right in. As mentioned last week, I will be covering one of Bryan Peck’s (@bbpckdancer) rebuilding rosters and instead of breaking down the full roster right away and boring you to death, I will be sure to include each player in the categories. I also had Bryan ask a few questions he wanted answered for his team and I will cover each below. One thing I do want to mention is that just because a player falls in a certain category for Bryan does not mean the same for your rebuilding roster. For instance, both Bryan and I have D.J. Moore in a rebuild, but I am going to tell Bryan to trade Moore while I am going to keep him on my personal team as a building block. Your roster and cap situation has a ton to do with what players you need to keep or trade.
Building Blocks
- Patrick Mahomes – $45,000,000
- Travis Etienne – $3,224,526
- Justin Jefferson – $3,280,701
- Pat Freiermuth – $1,507,045
- Najee Harris – $3,261,862 (potential trade candidate)
Bryan has excellent building blocks on this team and has several ways he can go about rebuilding this team. I do feel he will have to decide between running at a championship this year and taking one more year to fill out the roster before going all in. An important thing to remember is Patrick Mahomes contract will only become more friendly as seasons pass which will continuously gain Bryan more flexibility.
Hold these Players
- Robert Tonyan – Free Agent
- Tommy Tremble – $1,231,608
- Deonte Harty – Free Agent
- Tylan Wallace – $1,041,341
While Bryan does not have any potential stars in this category, I do feel there are players that can consistently contribute over time. Robert Tonyan is my favorite sure thing on the list and would not trade him until he is back healthy. Tommy Tremble is another player I am high on and would not trade as he will not return any type of value at this time. Players with high ceilings that send no value back in trades are players who rebuilding owners should either target in a trade or hold if already rostered.
Players to Trade Away
- D.J. Moore – $11,116,000 (Fifth Year Option)
- Jerick McKinnon – Free Agent
- Zach Ertz – Free Agent
- Kyle Trask – $1,383,834
As I mentioned earlier, D.J. Moore is a trade candidate on this roster. The reason for this is because while D.J. Moore is a fantastic receiver, he is set to play on his $11.116 million fifth year option and may get a new deal this off-season. Bryan’s team could use some extra cap space to add depth players to this roster even with the Amnesty candidate you will see later in the article. Kyle Trask is the player on this list who needs immediate attention as I do not see the ready to win Buccaneers rolling with him next season. Trade him while it looks like he should have value even though we all know he will not in the coming months.
Players who Can Be Cut
- Greg Ward – Free Agent
- Marquez Stevenson – $913,136
- Thaddeus Moss – Free Agent
As you can see there is not a whole lot to talk about here. I would look to cut these guys and replace them with players that have more potential in the Free Agent Auction, such as Isaiah McKenzie or Tre’Quan Smith. Both of those players have cheap 2021 contracts on the books now, but are free agents in 2022.
Amnesty Provision Candidate
- Russell Wilson – $35,000,000
One way to easily keep D.J. Moore is by using the Amnesty Provision on Russell Wilson, but I do not think that is the route I would go unless I were planning to go for it this season. The better move is to trade Moore, amnesty Wilson and have loads of available cap space to remain flexible and take on a bad deal if needed.
Questions from Bryan Peck
Q. Based on the constructed roster as is, which players would you consider as building blocks, trade assets, hold for now, and droppable players? If players are under the trade asset category, what would be the value you are asking for those players?
A. The first part of this question is obviously answered earlier in the article, but I love the second part. The players I have listed may not bring back a ton of value but there are some good deals to be had. The main player I would look to trade is D.J. Moore and yes, a very solid case can be made for the opposite. Moore is on his fifth year option and may get a new deal this off-season. While using an Amnesty Provision on Russell Wilson will save you a bunch of cap space, I feel you can turn Moore into a high first round pick, even if you must throw in a third round pick to get it done. This will enable you to save cap space while potentially drafting someone with a much higher ceiling and would target this year’s draft when doing so.
Zach Ertz is another player I would look to trade as he just upped his value quite a bit with the Cardinals. It may be beneficial to wait until he re-signs in Arizona before trading but either way, he is someone I would move on from. As far as value for Ertz I would look for a second round pick back or find a way to package Ertz, picks, and Moore for a player like Kyle Pitts ($8,227,624).
The last player I will talk about here is Najee Harris and I happen to know Bryan is a huge Najee Harris fan (hint his team name is The Black and Yellow). If Bryan decides to take 2022 to focus on adding depth and rounding out his roster, I would consider moving Harris for a massive return. Remember picks can always be flipped for a win now player and Najee will certainly hurt your draft positioning next season.
Q. What depth players would you target: age range, positions, preferred contracts for players?
A. I will break this answer down into 3 separate sections to ensure I cover each part. The depth players I would consider for this roster are high-end handcuff running backs to trade away when they hit, young receivers with enormous potential for 2023 and beyond (think Gabriel Davis this season), and young tight ends like Tommy Tremble who will get better as they develop.
In any rebuild I will always target younger players. The age range can vary by position, for instance I would stay away from running backs past their second to third year in the league, while age 26 is my sweet spot for receivers.
The contract question is a bit loaded as I feel the answer will always be cheaper is better, but it is perfectly ok and usually beneficial for rebuilding owners to trade for a bad contract in return for young assets or draft capital.
Q. Based on the current roster as is, should this team be considered in slow rebuild mode of more than three years, fast rebuild of 1-2 years, a one and done playoff team, or contending for a championship?
A. A great question to ask as most users are usually biased when evaluating their own personal teams. On this team I would personally go the one and done route. For anyone wondering, that means Bryan will be competitive but will not make it out of the first round of the playoffs barring luck and if he plays his cards right, he may even have a bonus pick to win. As hard as it may be for Bryan, I think in this scenario the best bet is to move on from Najee Harris and target one of the extremely talented running backs in the 2023 draft class to replace him. I know it is painful moving on from a star player on your favorite team but top end running backs are extremely productive as soon as they enter the league making them highly volatile. If you do decide to keep Najee around it may be beneficial to make a run this year vs wasting Year 2 of Najee Harris. I also see Bryan winning too many games to get a high-end draft pick if he does decide to keep D.J. Moore and Najee Harris around.
Summary
Overall, Bryan has this team in a great position moving forward with a potential six building blocks on the roster. I know it may seem a little counterintuitive to move on from two of his highly productive players, but I think the assets he receives will outweigh what he is trading away. Bryan has also done an excellent job keeping all his team’s draft capital on top of picking up extra picks and now he can use that and his building blocks to build a true powerhouse. If Bryan goes the route I would, he will enter 2022 with the ability to build around Patrick Mahomes whose deal will get better as it continues to age, Justin Jefferson, Pat Freiermuth, and two first round picks in 2022. If Bryan does move on from Moore and Harris, he could have a potential seven first round picks over the next three years leaving him more than enough fire power to become a powerhouse while having cap flexibility.
Let’s talk about a few goals I would set for the 2022 season in the scenario Bryan will trade D.J. Moore and potentially Najee Harris. The first goal I would set is to trade either the Number 1 or Number 3 overall pick in the 2022 draft for a quarterback early in their rookie deal plus a nice sweetener, or he can move the top pick for a 2023 first round pick and a good young receiver. Next, I would find another top end receiver to pair with Justin Jefferson in the upcoming rookie draft (hello, Treylon Burks or Garrett Wilson). Once you have that accomplished, I would start to look for a young QB for your practice squad spot. Davis Mills could be a cheap gamble that pays off, or you can look to the draft as well, hell you could even do both. The last thing I would try to do is find another tight end to develop, or trade for a sure-fire tight end like I mentioned earlier with Kyle Pitts. If you can accomplish these goals as well as find some depth for your team, you will be in great shape for a 2023 championship run as you will only need to target a couple running backs, especially if Etienne turns out to be special.
Overall, I would hope to be close to set at every position aside from running back heading into 2023 when it will be time to draft and trade for multiple running backs. I know some may say Bryan should run at a title this season with the draft capital he has, but I think he has an opportunity to build an absolute long term powerhouse vs a one or two year run if he makes the right moves by stocking up on a ton of top level talent on rookie contracts.
If any of you have a team you would like me to cover please contact me on Twitter and I will gladly help. Be sure to check out the other articles from Steve, Nate, and Matt throughout the week. Thank you all for reading and good luck on your 2022 Chase for the Ring!