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A Rebuild of My Own

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League #80545 – The Writers League

By: Jay Pounds (@jaypoundsnfl)

Dynasty Owners, has your free agency been as crazy as the NFL’s thus far? While I am sure it hasn’t quite lived up to the hype of actual free agency, I do hope all of you are enjoying it, improving your roster, and getting plenty of deals done. If you are like me and have been unable to dig into your team/teams just yet don’t worry, you still have plenty of time, but it may cost you a free agent or two like it did me, cough cough Jamison Crowder ($4,000,000).

Before we get into the article for today, I am going to highlight two moves that have happened thus far and will have a massive impact on all Dynasty Owner leagues. The first move I want to touch on is the massive deal between the Raiders and the Packers who moved on from superstar Davante Adams. The Adams trade will change things quite a bit as many no longer see Adams as a great bet to finish as the WR1 in 2022, and at $28,000,000 per year against the Dynasty Owner salary cap he is no longer a must own in Dynasty Owner, though if you can afford him, he is still a great asset. The main thing that worries me with Adams is the fact I see his red zone production going down significantly. He and Aaron Rodgers had undeniable chemistry when it came time to score, and this trade obviously impacts that. The other move I would like to talk about is Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos which will have an impact on numerous players. All of Jerry Jeudy ($3,798,243), Courtland Sutton ($15,200,000), Tyler Lockett ($17,250,000), D.K. Metcalf ($1,146,513), and Noah Fant ($3,147,680) will be affected by this deal. While the trade is great for both Jeudy and Sutton, I feel the player that it will hurt most is Tyler Lockett who becomes borderline not rosterable after this move.

In today’s article I am going to be breaking down one of my personal rebuilds. If you recall back to some of my rebuild strategy articles, you know how I feel about deciding to rebuild early in the season vs waiting until the offseason. During the season, especially the early part of the season is when you will obtain the most value for the players you are looking to trade. When drafting this specific team, I did not have much care about the future in mind and it shows looking at the original roster, which is listed at the end of this article if you want to see it. Luckily, I was able to swing several trades moving big contracts and have set myself up for what I believe will be future success. This article will be the first part of a two-article series with Part 2 being all about every trade I have made to position this roster for the future.

Building Blocks

  • Trevor Lawrence ($9,198,372)
  • D.J. Moore ($20,628,000)
  • Jerry Jeudy ($3,798,243)
  • Calvin Ridley ($2,725,178)

As most of you know by now, building blocks are the most important part of your rebuild as they are hopefully going to be your foundation for many years to come. If you look at the list above, you will see I have two questionable building blocks in Jerry Jeudy and Trevor Lawrence. I feel both of these players are too talented not to succeed and have no issue building around them. The third player I want to talk about is Calvin Ridley. While some may call him a questionable building block, I think he is one of the better players rebuilding owners should roster. The reasons for this is because he will be out a full season, meaning he will not win you any games, be healthy upon returning, and we have already seen the caliber player he can be when he is on the field. If Ridley can make a successful comeback and Jeudy plays up to his potential, I will be very happy with my wide receiver room in the future. D.J. Moore is the only player on this list I see as a sure thing, but it comes at a price tag of ($20,628,000), which is one of the many reasons why I am so big on rebuilding owners having ample cap space.

Players to Trade

  • Evan Engram ($9,000,000)
  • Logan Thomas ($8,021,667)
  • Robert Woods ($16,250,000)
  • Marvin Jones ($6,250,000)
  • Gus Edwards ($4,500,000)
  • Denzel Mims ($1,358,425)
  • Nick Westbrook Ikhine ($895,000)

The players to trade list is quite long and there is no better feeling for a rebuilding owner. More trades means more assets. While I do have a couple players on this list who may not return any value (Denzel Mims and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine), I do have plenty who will bring back something of value in a trade. The first player I want to touch on is Evan Engram who signed with Jacksonville. In Trevor Lawrence’s rookie season, he threw at his tight ends a ton, regardless of who they were and while it may change this upcoming season, I hope to use the narrative to my advantage. Another intriguing name on this list is Robert Woods, who was just traded to the Titans for a tie dye t-shirt that can’t be returned. Woods has been a fantastic player over the past few seasons and while he is coming off an injury, the trade to the Titans seemingly has his value on the rise. The last player I am going to touch on here is Logan Thomas. Thomas has shown flashes of being a Top 10 tight end but like Robert Woods, Thomas is also coming off of a season ending injury. It may benefit me to wait until Thomas hits the field to trade him but with the cost of tight ends continuously going up, I feel it’s safe to move on from him now.

Players to Hold

  • Ke’Shawn Vaughn ($1,188,999)
  • Gerald Everett ($6,000,000)
  • Curtis Samuel ($11,500,000)
  • D.J. Chark ($10,000,000)
  • Olamide Zaccheaus ($2,433,000)
  • Preston Williams ($1,490,000)
  • Tutu Atwell ($1,477,175)
  • Van Jefferson ($1,402,784)
  • Quintez Cephus ($899,822)

The players to hold list has some interesting names but none I am more excited about than D.J. Chark. While you can certainly get value from Chark now, I recommend waiting to see what he does with the Lions before deciding to make a move. The reason for this is because, if Chark comes back healthy and produces, his value will raise significantly, and he’ll bring back much better assets in a trade. The other name on the list I am holding no matter what is Ke’Shawn Vaughn. As it stands Vaughn is the clear-cut RB2 in Tampa behind Leonard Fournette ($7,000,000), who has been injured in each of the past two seasons. If or when a Fournette injury happens, I will likely strike gold when trading Vaughn. The rest of the players on the list can be moved now if needed, but I feel all of them have a chance to bring back much more value once the season starts, Gerald Everett especially.

Players to Cut

  • DeeJay Dallas ($947,350)
  • Godwin Igwebuike (Free Agent)
  • David Johnson (Free Agent)
  • Phillip Lindsay (Free Agent)
  • Cole Beasley (Free Agent)

As always, we all have players to cut on our roster. Like you have seen in earlier articles, I am not going to spend much time here as players who can be cut will receive minimal value in a trade and means it’s time to move on.

Draft Picks

  • 2022 – 1.03, 1.10, 1.11, 2.4, 2.10, 2.11, 3.03, 3.04, 3.10
  • 2023 – 4x1sts, 3x2nds, 1x3rd
  • 2024 – 2x1sts, 1x2nd, 1x3rd

Finally, we have made it to the last category and one of the more important when it comes to rebuilding and that is your draft capital. Draft capital is, in my opinion, the easiest way to rebuild a roster on Dynasty Owner because of the rookie contract that comes attached to the pick. While draft capital is extremely important, it is also ok to trade some away if you have an abundance of picks. Be sure to tune in next week to see my first trade of the off-season which included a couple of my precious draft picks. The last thing I want to hit on here is to be sure that you clear out enough space to roster all of your draft picks. As you can see above, I have nine draft picks in the upcoming rookie draft that I need to make room for. Yeah I know, I have some work to do before it comes time to draft the rookies.

Summary

If you can’t tell by looking at my roster as constructed, I have a lot of work to do before contending. I mentioned earlier that you will get the best bang for your buck by deciding on a rebuild early in the season and you will see why in next week’s trade article. If you look below, you will see the original roster and how much it has changed in a short period of time. As I always say when it comes time to start a rebuild no player is off-limits. The last thing I want to bring up is building blocks. I know I stress how important building blocks are for your roster but remember every player has a price!

Thank you all for reading! if you enjoyed the article be sure to check back next week for Part 2! As always be sure to check out the work from our other analysts here at Dynasty Owner, Matt, Steve and Nate. Stay safe and good luck on your 2022 Chase for the Ring!

Original Team (in order drafted)

PickPlayerPosition
1Nick ChubbRB
2Clyde Edwards-HelaireRB
3Trevor LawrenceQB
4D.J. MooreWR
5Jerry JeudyWR
6DeAndre HopkinsWR
7Amari CooperWR
8Zack MossRB
9D.J. CharkWR
10Daniel JonesQB
11Logan ThomasTE
12Gus EdwardsRB
13Van JeffersonWR
14Curtis SamuelWR
15Evan EngramTE
16Teddy BridgewaterQB
17David JohnsonRB
18Devontae BookerRB
19Denzel MimsWR
20Greg JosephK
21Quintez CephusWR
22DeeJay DallasRB
23Zane GonzalezK
24Wayne GallmanRB
25Preston WilliamsWR
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