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By: Jay Pounds (@jaypoundsnfl)
Dynasty Owners, welcome back to my favorite time of the week, rebuilding time! Last week, I talked about the basic strategies of how to rebuild and even threw in a few bonus trades at the end as a sneak peek into today. As any of you who read last week’s article know, we will be covering creative trades made by rebuilding owners this week. The featured rebuilding Dynasty Owners making trades in this week’s article will be Bryce Williams (@BryceNFL) and myself. Bryce and I are both in deep rebuilds and we are now at the point with our rosters where we must create trades out of thin air. Obviously I am joking but it feels that way sometimes.
In this article I am going to highlight the trades Bryce made where he turned players from the Free Agent Auction into draft capital because I think he has done a fantastic job out of making trades with players who were not on his roster the day before. As far as the trades I have made, I will be covering the trades where I was able to move on from big money, or future big money players for draft capital. Dynasty Owners who find themselves in a rebuild should not just sit and be ok with the status quo, they should be picking up free agents and flipping them. In Dynasty Owner, our users will run into some players who they feel are too expensive to trade, which is where you must get creative and find a bad deal to take on in return. I am sure all of you who have played Dynasty Owner already know how hard it is to trade big salary players. If you are interested in seeing a few creative ways to do just that, keep on reading.
Before we jump into what everyone is here for, I want to talk about what to expect in next week’s article. Last off-season, I covered all of the rebuilding content, but I tried to focus heavily on the tougher situations and did not cover much about contending teams in terms of rebuilding. I know rebuilding and contending do not go together but knowing the ins and outs of rebuilding can help you avoid one. With that being said, next week I am going to break down Eli Padilla’s (@Eli_Pad1224) team. Eli took his team all the way to the Championship game where he fell just short of Dynasty Owner gold, and I would like to help him get back to that point and hopefully get over the hump in 2022. Be sure to tune in next week to see how contenders can avoid a rebuild here on the Dynasty Owner platform.
All contracts shown are from the date of the trade.
- Detroit’s Finest Received – Teddy Bridgewater ($11,499,000), 2023 3rdround pick
Jay Received – Marvin Jones ($6,250,000), Matt Prater ($3,250,000), Mike Glennon ($1,375,000), 2023 2ndround pick
Trade Processed – December 10th
When rebuilding one of the main focuses should be getting value from anyone who does not fit the timeline of your roster. In this trade, I had Teddy Bridgewater who may not start in 2022 but even if he does, it’s unlikely he is a starter three years from now when I am ready to compete. In the end, I moved up a round in the 2023 rookie draft and nabbed a potential trade chip for later on in Marvin Jones.
2. Quaranteam Received – Michael Pittman ($2,153,212), Devonta Freeman ($1,075,000), Clyde Edwards-Helaire ($2,705,393), 2024 3rd round pick
Jay Received – Cole Beasley ($7,250,000), 2022 1st round pick, 2022 2nd round pick, 2023 1st round pick, 2023 2nd round pick
Trade Processed – December 10th
A massive trade which involved a contending owner going all in. In this deal, the only asset that truly sucks to lose for my roster is Michael Pittman, but I was able to receive an excellent haul. In fairness to Quaranteam in this trade, he knew Michael Pittman was near and dear to my heart and would need a big offer to obtain him. In terms of a rebuilding roster, I love moving on from a player like Clyde Edwards-Helaire as his future looks uncertain to put it nicely. Jerick McKinnon’s usage in the playoffs worries me quite a bit. The other thing I love in this trade is that I was able to move on from Devonta Freeman as he likely will not start again in the NFL outside of an injury happening. Freeman is the type of player every single rebuilding owner should move on from.
3. Weirdbeard Received – DeAndre Hopkins ($27,250,000), Zack Moss ($1,153,079)
Jay Received – Jacoby Brissett ($5,000,000), Robert Woods ($16,250,000), Gerald Everett ($6,000,000), Jacques Patrick ($660,000), 2023 2nd round pick, 2024 1st round pick, 2024 2nd round pick
Trade Processed – November 3rd
Earlier in the article, I mentioned that you will have to sometimes get creative to gain value when trading a big contract and this is a perfect example of that. In this trade, I was able to move on from DeAndre Hopkins and his massive $27,250,000 contract. The only way this deal was able to get done is because Weirdbeard was looking to upgrade a struggling Robert Woods and he also needed running back depth. By taking on three expensive contracts that were not producing much value at all for Weirdbeard, I managed to turn Hopkins into Woods, a 2023 second round pick, a 2024 second round pick, and a 2024 first round pick.
4. Weirdbeard Received – Daniel Jones ($6,416,014), Nick Chubb ($1,845,774)
Jay Received – Michael Pittman ($2,153,212), Tutu Atwell ($1,477,175), 2022 1st round pick, 2022 2nd round pick, 2023 1st round pick
Trade Processed – October 14th
I know trading players like Nick Chubb can make some people emotional but in a rebuild you cannot ask for much more than this deal here. Nick Chubb signed a huge contract extension heading into 2022 worth $12,200,000 per season and will be heading in the wrong direction when it comes time for my team to win. I was also able to take advantage of a contender needing a second quarterback by throwing in Daniel Jones, a player who is more than likely going to be a backup after 2022, though I do have faith in Brian Daboll. Overall, these are the kind of packages that make rebuilds go much faster versus sitting on Chubb and riding him into the sunset.
5. Dynoville Wreckers Received – Adrian Peterson ($1,075,000), 2023 3rd round pick
Bryce Received – 2022 2nd round pick
Trade Processed – November 6th
A very simple trade that all rebuilding owners should try to make as often as possible. In this trade Bryce was able to simply pick up Adrian Peterson off the Free Agent Auction despite knowing he has zero use for him. Why did he do this? He knew one of his league mates could certainly use Peterson’s services. Because of this, Bryce was able to turn a third round pick in 2023 into a second round pick in 2022.
6. Josh Allen’s Gym Shorts Received – Will Fuller ($10,625,011), Phillip Walker ($782,500), 2022 2nd round pick
Bryce received – Nelson Agholor ($11,000,000), 2022 1st round pick
Trade Processed – November 11th
Here we have another trade where Bryce was able to take advantage of a Free Agent Auction pickup in Phillip Walker. Walker found himself starting in Carolina last season and Bryce found a way to capitalize. Bryce was able to package Walker, Will Fuller, and a 2022 second round pick to move into the first round of the 2022 rookie draft. Excellent work if you ask me!
7. Billievers Received – Wayne Gallman ($990,000), Eno Benjamin ($849,428), $3,000,000 Dynasty Dollars
Bryce Received – Adam Trautman ($1,124,851), 2022 2nd round pick
Trade Processed – November 23rd
Our seventh trade of the night features yet another Free Agent Auction pickup turned valuable, and I must say this is probably my favorite free agent trade Bryce was able to pull off as it was based on pure hype. Remember back when Chase Edmonds and James Conner were both banged up and questionable to play one week for Arizona? Well, Bryce sure does as he was able to turn Eno Benjamin into Adam Trautman and a 2022 second round pick.
8. Eli’s Team Received – J.D. McKissic ($1,635,000), 2023 3rd round pick
Bryce Received – 2023 2nd round pick
Trade Processed – June 20th
In what is our final Free Agent Auction Hussle of the article, we have J.D. McKissic and a 2023 third round pick being moved for a 2023 second round pick. I know some reading this are wondering what the big deal here is. Imagine being able to pull off 10 of these types of trades each season, you could potentially turn every third round pick you have into second round picks and maybe even turn some of those second rounders into first round picks. Think of it as when you first started to save money, $10 did not seem like much but after you did it 10 times it turns into $100. Long story short, little trades matter!
9. The Human Fund Received – Amari Cooper ($20,000,000), 2023 2nd round pick
Jay Received – Julio Jones ($22,000,000), 2022 2nd round pick, 2023 1st round pick
Trade Processed – November 4th
In what is my favorite big salary trade in the article, I moved Amari Cooper and his $20,000,000 salary. I know I mention taking on big contracts in trades a lot and this is the perfect example of doing just that. I knew Cooper did not fit the timeline of my roster moving forward and that he would be tough to trade. Regardless of how tough it may seem, if the player is productive there is almost always a way to get a deal done. The first thing you will need to do in a deal like this is look for a bad contract of similar value at the same position you are trading, it makes it easier, trust me. In this deal, the bad contract ended up being Julio Jones ($22,000,000). Once you identify the bad contract you are targeting its time to demand draft capital for taking on the bad deal. In this trade I was able to turn Cooper into a 2022 second round pick, a 2023 first round pick and Julio Jones, who I later used an Amnesty Provision on.
Summary
I hope this article will help some of you rebuilding owners out there get a few more deals done each season. I know everyone loves the big shiny trades the most, but it is truly all the little deals that will give you the ammo, or firepower, you need to expedite your rebuild. My best advice from all this is never turn down a deal to hold onto a player who will be useless to your roster soon, no matter how little value the trade returns. In Dynasty Owner, there are certain players who belong on rebuilding rosters and certain players who belong on teams that are ready to win now. If you have trouble identifying or letting go of those players you will be in rebuild mode longer than you need to be. The last thing I would like to mention just in case you are not impressed with the little trades Bryce pulled off in this article, he has 9 first round picks in the 2023 rookie draft!
Be sure to check out the articles from the other members of the Dynasty Owner team Matt, Steve, and Nate throughout the week. Stay safe and good luck on your 2022 Chase for the Ring!