Dynasty players are likely familiar with what we call Team Trajectories: they’re a finite list of what direction your team is headed in. If you’re new to dynasty, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with them. Fans of sports video games with franchise modes may recall a similar list from the 2010’s-era NBA2k games, which gave us the inspiration.

Dynasty Team Trajectories:

• Contending
• Improving
• Floating
• Tanking

It’s beneficial to understand where your team is and pick a direction. This gives your trades and trade proposals a theme, it provides leaguemates opportunities to know what you’re after, and gives you confidence when handling assets.

Today we’re breaking down our favorite 5 moves that will help you enter your Tanking Trajectory, a path in which you decide you want your team to have NO chance at immediate victory (other than on accident, you should still set a lineup and try to win with what you have) and are accruing future draft picks and younger players at a higher clip.

Quick Tip: This would be a good place to begin with our Roster Reviews.

The first step to changing your team trajectory is carefully analyzing your roster and your league’s rosters and see if this makes sense to do at this point in time. You’ll need to ask yourself some key questions, too. Why do you want to rebuild? Did your team make the playoffs last year? Did you miss only because your PA was unluckily high or from superstars getting injured? Are other teams in your league rebuilding? How many?

Finding out the jockeying position for key draft picks can open up windows for you to attack. Plus, by understanding trajectories, you can begin to understand other teams’ mentalities.

Now’s the time to research your league and find out your leaguemates’ trajectories. Who has a roster clearly built to win now? Think they’ll value their next couple 1st rounders highly? Likely not, and they probably assume that pick will be the last of the 1st round, devaluing it.

Remember that fantasy is wildly unpredictable. Even the most surefire of rosters can have a bad playoff game. I was the top scoring team in one of my dynasties and my roster put up a stinker in the quarterfinals. My 1st round pick became 1.08 assuming it would be 1.11 or 1.12 when I sold it, you might be able to grab a pick using the same strategy.

Write down the positions you need and the players you think give you a window to win LATER and not now. Target unproven players, those off slow career starts that have shown potential, or players “stuck” behind starts (this can change!). You don’t have to keep this kind of player forever, but you may be able to keep them long enough to sell in a year or two when the value returns to a higher position.

This may also be a chance to accrue value at unique positions and for unique reasons. Injured players that are set to miss time in 2025 may be dipping in value and could be had for late picks with abysmal hit rates. Players who had a rookie “replacement” drafted also serve as a value, as rookies don’t always become the starter (I know this is sacrilegious in dynasty circles), and players who have shown potential but haven’t boomed yet. We’ve all fallen victim to fading players like Nico Collins who just needed a couple years to put it all together.

Players In A Value Dip: Jaxson Dart, Jonathan Brooks, Blake Corum, Tank Dell, Quentin Johnston, Luther Burden III, Isaiah Likely

Draft Picks are the never-changing gold currency of Dynasty value. Look at pick values over time on websites like KeepTradeCut, and you’ll always see a consistent uptick in value over the spring. But look back at previous draft recaps, and you’ll see landmine after landmine of wasted draft pick.

The Tanking dynasty team, however, must add draft picks. It’s the cheapest way to acquire future NFL superstars once you have the pick, and the best currency to own in the spring during your dynasty off-season.

While it’s not wise to overvalue draft picks, tanking means giving yourself an advantage in the spring during rookie fever. The picks you acquire can open up countless possibilities during rookie drafts. It may be wise when tanking to trade back during drafts and add more “dart throws” – or move back to a future class and add better draft capital for the return of delayed gratification.

Ideas:

Send: Saquon Barkley | 2025 1st, 2026 1st, 2027 1st

Send: 2025 Pick 1.09 | Receive 2026 1st, 2026 2nd

Send: 2025 Pick 2.07 | Receive 2025 Pick 3.02, 3.08, 4.01

The pitfall of many tanking dynasty teams is an endless pit.

The point of tanking is to acquire young value that will blossom into a championship contender. At the Dynasty Rewind, we like to play dynasty with a 2-3 year window. This means not projecting things too far out, like “what happens when DeVon Achane turns 28?! I’ll be doomed!” Achane is 23. His inevitable fall off as a professional RB is not your concern right now. No, he won’t play until he’s 45 like Tom Brady, but don’t overthink things.

Your goal in a tank is to begin winning again, you don’t want to turn your annual league dues into a donation for more than a few years. Once you’ve acquired picks and improving assets, don’t forget to try flipping them and pair them with your new prime-age players to become a title contender.