Building a dynasty orphan team back to relevance is a true labor of love. It takes commitment, patience, and the caring hands of a top-notch dynasty owner. Contributor Katie Flower (@FF_Skyler399) is back, documenting a dynasty journey with a new orphan patient. Here is her story:
Because of unforeseen circumstances which I cannot divulge, a new patient came to my emergency room on June 11, 2015 – another orphan dynasty team. The doors flew open and the stretcher was thrust quickly in front of me. Blood wasn’t just dripping from a gash along the chest, it was pouring like a tsunami force rain. I took one look at this patient and knew I had to act quickly in order to save its life.
League Overview
16 team .4 ppr, super-flex, IDP, yardage bonuses, 4pts passing TD, 38 roster spots, 4 IR
22 starters: 1-2 QB, 2-4 RB, 2-4 WR, 1-2 TE, 1 PK, 1 DST, 1 P, 2 DT, 2 DE, 2 LB, 2 CB, 2 S
The Patient
QB Colt McCoy
RB Martin, Morris, Randle, J Rodgers, A Williams, P Thomas, James
WR Dez Bryant, J Matthews, M Jones, S Smith, R White, S Hill
TE Niles Paul
IDP a mishmash of mostly washed up players
Rookie Picks 1.01, 2.01, 3.01
Triage
The first order of business is to assess the damage before the patient can be sent to the ER and start the rebuilding process. I checked his vital signs and from the monitor I saw a very faint heartbeat. [bctt tweet=”That heartbeat was named Dez Bryant and it gave me hope. ” via=”no”]
Next I examined the head and it was then I realized, the brain was completely missing, how was this team even alive?! In a 16 team league it is hard enough to find one good starting quarterback, but this being a super-flex meant you could start two.
[bctt tweet=”This team had Colt McCoy and no other quarterback on the bench! ” via=”no”] He is not even the primary backup on his team. This was serious, it also meant there was no way I could take anybody but Jameis Winston with the 1.01. There is nothing I hate more than having to draft for need, though it can be argued that in this format Winston is the best player available.
Dez Bryant would be the key to whether the patient survived or died, I would apply a tourniquet by trading him and build from there.
I needed to learn as much about my league mates in the coming month before the rookie draft. Some of them I knew from a former league, and what I knew was, these guys are not the best trade partners. Looking through the league transaction history confirmed that 9 trades were executed in 2014.
My work was cut out for me. I ordered 6 extra pints of O negative blood be sent to the ER and then double timed it to get scrubbed for surgery.
The Tourniquet
I updated my trading block and Dez drew the interest of two potential trade partners. Negotiations went back and forth for a few days before I finally locked in on this trade:
- Give Dez Bryant, Alfred Morris
- Get Jarvis Landry, Charles Johnson, Tre Mason, 1.02, 3.02
Using Todd Gurley in the UTH trade calculator as the 1.02 and Justin Hardy as the potential 3.02 and the rebuilding 16-team setting, it liked my side by a whopping 127%. This was exactly the jumpstart this team needed. I could remove the patient from life support, it was beginning to breathe on its own now.
This trade gave me so many more options. By getting Tre Mason I was now free to pick Todd Gurley with one of the first two rookie picks if I wanted, I had the safety net of having a talented handcuff. Or, I could still choose Amari Cooper, either way I had the beginning of a solid core.
Landry and Johnson were not considered blue chip core pieces, but they had enough name cache I could possibly include them in some cascading trades, or if I ended up keeping them they would be decent filler for the deep starting requirements.
The Operation
Working on a good night’s sleep I was ready to begin the operation. It was going to take about a month and I needed to take my time and get all of the infection out before rebuilding the tissue and support system. I needed to get in and repair that missing brain.
- Give Steve Smith, Roddy White, Andre Williams
- Get Geno Smith
I put this trade in as 12 team super-flex in the trade calculator in order to get the more correct value for Geno Smith. Geno is such an overlooked QB because of his struggles to date, and he may not pan out. A new coach, new weapons and I hope he will at least be a decent fantasy starter from here on out.
Right now he is a projected starter and I needed a starter. Like my previous trade, this one gave me options. I no longer felt compelled to take Winston with either the 1.01 or 1.02, I had freedom to choose who I felt would be best for this team.
All of the pieces I gave in this trade were ancillary pieces that had to be cut away, keeping them would not help my orphan survive.
A few days later I got an unsolicited offer that I ended up negotiating into this:
- Give Derrick Morgan DE
- Get Ryan Fitzpatrick
The trade calculator won’t help here because it is an IDP for an offensive player, but I do know this: Derrick Morgan is listed as the No.42 ranked OLB and while Fitzpatrick is no great prize, he is Geno’s backup, at least in the short term until Bryce Petty can develop. More options if Geno flops.
Building the Support System
Now that all of the infection had been cut away, it was time for the rookie draft and the perfect way to build the core. I knew it would be a rare occurrence I would ever have another chance to get such a 1-2 punch start as Gurley and Cooper. As much as I had grown to like Winston, I felt they were the right choice and I selected them.
The next 2 picks belonged to the same person, I didn’t even try to make a trade with him. He surprised me by taking Marcus Mariota and Melvin Gordon. Since neither one of these guys were a target of mine, I was elated. Later I found out that Mariota was a homer pick, the owner is from Oregon.
This now opened the door to a trade with the guy at 1.05.
- Give Jarvis Landry, 2016 1st
- Get 1.05 (take Winston)
Normally I am not going to trade away a future 1st unless I have a better idea of where it will be. In this case I see Winston in this format 99% of the time going as the 1.01 anyway. Anything above the 1.03 in 2016 will be a win in value, I am comfortable even if it is deemed a slight loss.
Yeldon went at 1.06 and that caused me to pick up my instruments and feverishly work out a spot for some more rookie tissue. Some back and forth resulted in this trade:
- Give Joseph Randle, Charles Johnson, 2.01
- Get 1.07 (take White)
This trade was a 24.9% increase in value in the trade calculator both before and after he got Jaelen Strong with the 2.01.
One thing I knew from my league by this point, is that during the rookie draft is almost the only time during the season any of these guys would make trades. Securing a potential stud in White to go with Gurley, Cooper, and Winston was a better start than I could have ever hoped for.
The next four picks were Perriman, Coleman, DGB, and Abdullah. After Abdullah went at 1.11, the guy at 1.12 posted on the message board that he was sniped.
I proposed this trade and he accepted:
- Give Jordan Matthews
- Get ASJ, 1.12 (take Parker)
The trade calculator liked this trade as a 40.2% increase in value and I loved it for my team because I not only got a bona-fide tight end I covet, I got a top WR prospect who should be at least on par with Matthews down the road.
Over the next 7 picks I tried to trade my 2016 2nd and 3.02 to get any one of those picks, I was trying to get David Johnson. I could not get a trade worked out and at 2.04 Johnson fell right into the lap of my good buddy Ben – Can’t win them all I guess.
The next 3 trades added some depth especially to my patient’s IDP side.
- Give Eric Weddle, Aqib Talib
- Get Jamie Collins LB
Weddle is great but questions about whether he will be in San Diego again next year plus his age, make him an easy target to replace. Talib is not a big loss and is a better NFL player than fantasy asset. Collins is a top young LB and he will be a strong core IDP.
- Give Doug Martin, Jonathan Babineaux DT
- Get Stevan Ridley, Tyvon Branch, Olivier Vernon
I view Martin and Ridley as about the same, so I did this to get Branch and Vernon. Babineaux was a drop player and would have been cut as soon as FA opened.
- Give Marvin Jones
- Get Charles Sims
I finally got rid of Marvin Jones and was thrilled to get Sims for some RB depth. I will find it sinfully delicious if he gets the starting job over Martin who I just traded away.
Back to the rookie draft the 2nd round was moving nicely. I tossed out an offer for the 2.06 and he countered with this:
- Give Patrick Peterson CB
- Get 2.06 (take Kendricks)
Eric Kendricks is in a good spot to be a 3-down LB and his tackling ability should give him a nice weekly floor, an LB2 out of the gate and will team well with Collins. Peterson is a solid young CB, but CB production is more easily replaced.
Now both sides of the ball had been addressed and I was looking forward to back to back picks at 3.01 and 3.02.
There were some tough choices here, I had 2 picks and 4 targets. I ran the names through the trade calculator and it came out pretty even. I double checked each of their metrics and hand size. Last but not least I went to the tape and watched several minutes of each. I decided to go with DeAndre Smelter WR and Javorius Allen RB.
For the rest of the 3rd round I tried to trade back in to no avail. All I could do was watch as offers weren’t even responded to. Lucky for me many of these guys were taking vets and IDP that were of no interest.
Sewing up the Patient
After the draft was over it was time to sew the patient up. Free Agency was first come, first served and set for a week after the draft. I built my watch list and made sure to drop all of the players that I didn’t want. Being hosted on ESPN it is faster to pick up a player if there is an open spot, rather than having to make the few extra clicks to drop a player at the same time. I knew some of my league mates would be attracted by the IDP I was dropping and was counting on it distracting them from the players I wanted.
I picked up 15 players in just under 5 minutes, slowing down just long enough to move players from my bench to the starting lineup. Josh Huff, Josh Gordon, Albert Wilson, Marquess Wilson, Chris Polk, Karlos Williams to name a few key adds.
I didn’t get sniped on anyone and now the final stitches were complete. I can let my patient heal and am ready for the season.
The Recovering Patient
QB Jameis Winston, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Zach Mettenberger, Geno Smith (IR)
RB Gurley, Sims, Mason, J Allen, M Jones, Ridley, Polk, K Williams
WR Cooper, Parker, K White (IR), J Gordon, Huff, A Wilson, M Wilson, Smelter
TE ASJ
DL Brockers, McPhee, Clark, Kelly, Vernon, Odighizuwa
LB Collins, E Kendricks, C Jones, Barrington, P Brown
DB Branch, Cox, Blanton, Peters, Jenkins, Hayden
[bctt tweet=”The previous owner averaged 15 acquisitions per year and 0 trades in 6 years they had the team. ” via=”no”] Since I took over the team in June I have executed 11 trades and made 32 acquisitions.
Not all orphan rebuilds will be this dramatic of a transformation, not one player on offense remains on this team from when I took over. The procedure however is the same: assess your assets, make trades and rookie picks to build your core, be active on the waiver wire.
Now that Geno is on IR I am uncertain if he will make it back and take back over as starter, I will cross that bridge when I come to it. My patient has a brain, a core, and some new life. It is up to me to continue to make moves to strengthen and nourish him as he grows into a contender.
