In this series, I’ll preview my biggest mistakes, blunders, and disasters I’ve personally made in fantasy football dynasty leagues. This an inside scoop on all my thoughts after the blunder, and how I can refine and retool my thought process.
Fantasy Football Dynasty Disaster: Benny Snell
Benny Snell was a stud in college, averaging well over 1,000 yards, 5 YPC (yards per carry), and 16 TDs in his three seasons at Kentucky. He managed to do it all, and put together a film list that was fun to breakdown. So what happened? Well for starters, he didn’t have a great combine; and never got the substantial draft capital to be a fantasy football producer at the next level.
After being selected in the 4th round by the Steelers, he fell on a depth chart that at the time featured James Conner and Jaylen Samuels. I loved this landing spot, and really thought there would be room to shine and grab opportunity. Those thoughts were correct. He would see over 100 touches in his rookie season, and do absolutely nothing with it. He would average just over 3.3 YPC, and caught zero passes. The clock was ticking for Snell to really make an impact.
Then, the Steelers drafted Anthony McFarland in 2020, and hope started to slip away. Snell now had to compete with not only James Conner, but also McFarland, who was also drafted in the 4th. In his second season, Snell would again get 100 touches, with an uptick in YPC at 3.9. He got better last season, but not enough to have the trust from the Steelers to be their main guy.
In this year’s draft, the Steelers selected NaJee Harris with their first round pick, rendering Snell’s fantasy football dynasty value completely obsolete. Not only did Snell have his opportunity, he had an entire chance to capture the starting role, and failed. Let’s see where I went wrong.
My Blunders and Reaction
The draft capital of Snell should’ve been the first indication of a high risk, and low odds of being a fantasy football producer. The percentage a running back becomes relevant drops with each round they aren’t selected. Investing a portion of my dynasty team into Snell was a flawed process from the get go.
Following that, after his first season where he only averaged 3.3 YPC and absolutely no passing work, I still managed to hold onto his elite college seasons; believing that player would come back. This was fatal. I managed to swing for the fences for Snell, which proved costly in one of my main dynasty leagues.
After his 2019 campaign, I traded a 2020 2nd round pick and Tony Pollard for Snell and a 2020 3rd. What this trade really boils down to is Tee Higgins and Tony Pollard, for Benny Snell and Gabe Davis (the players who ended up being selected with those picks). I believed not only that a 4th round running back would bounce back from a subpar season, but that he would capture the starting role and be a much wanted fantasy asset. I turned out to be wrong.
I’ve now gotten better, learning just how much draft capital matters. It’s better to cut bait than to hold hope for a player with the odds stacked against him. I loved Benny Snell out of college, but this was one of my biggest dynasty disasters.
2 other trades I made for Snell after his 2019 campaign:
- 2020 2nd for Snell = Jalen Reagor for Benny Snell
- 2020 1st for Snell and Chark = Justin Jefferson for Benny Snell and DJ Chark
Both of these trades I clearly lost; both in terms of fantasy football production and dynasty value. I still love you Benny Snell, but I’ve moved on.
If you enjoyed this new series, please reach out to me and let me know! It’s something new and fun to breakdown! Not all dynasty football is pretty.
