Picture this: you’ve been playing in a fantasy football redraft league with your buddies for years. You’ve done well, and one of them mentions his dynasty team. You decide to join a dynasty league and the start up draft goes well. You trade away some future picks to move up in the draft for some elite talents! Fast forward to Week 6.
Now your team is losing and not even close. We’re talking 0-5, or 1-4 at the best case. I’m here to give you some advice on what to do next and how to recoup your loses.
I have a team just like this. One that is not going as planned. My team looked good after the draft! I had Matt Stafford, Matt Ryan, Trevor Lawrence, and Jared Goff at QB. Joe Mixon, Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Cam Akers, Raheem Mostert, and some backups at RB. My WRs were Keenan Allen, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Terry McLaurin, and Brandin Cooks. I thought that tight end would be my weakest position so I loaded up with high upside TEs like Zach Ertz, Cameron Brate, and Hunter Henry. Somehow, this team is 0-5 and I’m stuck going into a rebuild with older players and no ’23 or ’24 rookie 1sts.
Step 1: Sell! Sell! Sell!
The first step is to sell off any older player you have for younger players or future draft picks. Everyone has been excited for the 2023 rookie class for awhile now, and for good reason. But now may be the best time to buy 2024 rookie picks. Presently, that class is shaping up to be another great class. Tons of quarterbacks, running backs, and a couple of great wide receivers and tight ends. The most important step to any rebuild is selling for value.
Step 2: Get Younger
In this rebuild, I sent a message to the league chat that I needed to commit to a full rebuild; and would love to get trades done to include in my article. I got five offers in the first 15 minutes and accepted three of them. I have attached the images of some of the trades I accepted. The first trade had me sending away Fournette to add a young speedster of a WR who was drafted in the 2nd round by the Patriots and got younger at RB with JK Dobbins. 
Trade #2 was an upside trade for a younger WR. By sending away Godwin for George Pickens, I moved on from a known asset for an incredibly high upside WR who has already had a 100 receiving yard game and back-to-back games with 8 targets. In the three weeks that Pickens had over 5 targets, he averaged 13+ yards per reception. On a team with the short area of the field covered with a young RB & TE, getting the deep threat who had what may have been the catch of the week with that one handed reception in Week 4 is what I wanted. Add on to that the natural trust and chemistry Pickens has with the Steelers rookie QB Kenny Pickett and you get a player worth trading for on the upside alone.
Trade #3 was the biggest trade. I sent two players who were drafted highly in most fantasy football redraft leagues, and received a young TE who signed a massive contract, a RB who’s been playing well on the best offense in the NFL, and a ’23 2nd. I did send Mike Evans and Joe Mixon, but worth it since I’m 0-5. 
Step 3: Shopper’s Market
Once you have managed to sell off your older players for fair value, it’s time to look to spend. Firstly, remember that every draft pick you have is not a future rookie; it’s a ticket to the show. Just because you have five 1sts doesn’t mean you have rookies. You have five opportunities for players. You could always draft five rookies or you could trade those five 1sts for Stefon Diggs and Justin Jefferson. Those two players may do more for your team than five rookies. You should always look to move rookie picks in April or May before your rookie draft. The combine is going to hype everyone up for these rookie picks. That is always the best time to buy players.
Step 4: Rinse and Repeat
Like in most aspects of rebuilding, you always want to optimize until you are ready to contend for the title. If you just sell all your players in October, trade your draft picks for players in April, and draft whatever picks you didn’t trade and hope to turn it around in one year, you are too hopeful.
A rebuild can be done in a year if you are incredible at trades and drafting. But most of the time it’ll take you two to three years. I have a few fantasy football teams like that in Year 2, and I am just now looking to compete. Be patient! It’ll be worth it in the long run. It’s better to miss the playoffs two years in a row and make the semi-finals in Year 3 than to mess up your rebuild and get stuck in the middle forever.
Recap
I hope that you are not 0-5, but if you are, try your best to rebuild. Sell your older players for the best mix of young players and future draft picks. Take your time. Teams pushing for a playoff run may be willing to overpay for older players who who help them make a push. Look to send your older players to teams that have a winning record, but are low in Points For and Max Points For. These are the teams that are more likely to miss the playoffs than win it all. Trade for young players who you think will have better opportunities next year. Players like George Pickens or K.J. Osborn may become the WR2 for their teams in 2023. Brian Robinson may be the bellcow in Washington. Try your best to look for these types of assets.
Good luck in your rebuild! As always, may the fantasy football streams flow your way!
Hunter Greene
Hunter started writing for The League Winners in the summer of 2021. Hunter has been playing fantasy football for about a decade, starting in middle school. Now he’s a professional landscaper and avid Colts and Purdue fan.