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Building a Dynasty - Wide Receiver Strategy PDF Print E-mail
Written by Ken Clein   
Monday, 26 July 2010 06:40

This is the fourth in our Building a Dynasty series, you can also check out our other Building a Dynasty articles here.

Wide Receiver strategy for building a dynasty is difficult, unlike RBs who tend to start quicker and payoff sooner, WRs rarely make an impact their rookie year.  In fact, they tend not to hit fantasy relevance for 3 years or more.  Therefore, the underlying strategy for WRs is to buy into talent you feel strongly have the skills and opportunity to develop and then park them until they do.  The hardest thing about WRs is to not let them fly after a couple years of poor or no production, that is usually a mistake as someone else will take a flyer on them and strike gold if they are patient.  My WR corp happens to be the strength of my team.  Here it is along with how I came upon the player, followed by a few strategies that I keep in mind when building my WR corp:

Larry Fitzgerald - Picked him 1st overall in the 2004 draft over Steven Jackson

Vincent Jackson - Picked him 25th overall in the 2005 draft in the third round

Roddy White - Plucked him out of the free agency pool in 2006 after his 2nd season, just before he broke out in 2007

Marques Colston - Picked him up in the preseason of his rookie year in 2006

Chad Ochocinco - Traded Willy Parker for him in 2007 after Parker's best season

Eddie Royal - Picked him 20th overall in the second round of the 2008 draft

Jeremy Maclin - Picked him 8th overall in the first round of the 2009 draft

Chaz Schilens - Took a flyer on him at the end of the 2009 season

Full Disclosure, Other WRs drafted during this period:

Hank Baskett - Round 5

Laurent Robinson - Round 5

Mark Bradley - Round 3

Reggie Williams - Round 1

Tyrone Calico - Round 2

Darius Heyward-Bey - Round 2

So, I'm not perfect, that's obvious.  I've whiffed on more WRs than I've hit on in the draft, which is point #1

Draft Wide Receivers often, draft two of them if you can and draft them in the first 3 rounds for the most part - There's an old NFL adage that drafting WRs are a 50-50 gamble and that's true in fantasy football too.  Many times I will take 2 WRs in a draft just in the hopes that one of them pans out.  That's what I did in 2004 by taking Larry Fitzgerald and Reggie Williams.  Of course, I figured if they both panned out it would be awesome but I expected that one would flame out and sure enough, Williams obliged!  In 2005 I took Mark Bradley and Vincent Jackson.  In 2007 I took late fliers on Brandon Jones and Laurent Robinson and neither panned out.  In 2008 I took Eddie Royal and Chad Jackson.  In 2009 I took Jeremy Maclin and Darius Heyward-Bey (Note: I normally wouldn't give up on a WR so quickly, but Chaz Schilens was available so I dumped Heyward-Bey for the more developed Schilens).  So, you get the picture, in almost every draft I took 2 WRs and for the most part, one worked out and the other didn't.  Take WRs often and take them in pairs, it's very hard to tell which ones will pan out so you want to have plenty of options.

Always pick up late season flyers on possible breakout WRs for the following season - I did this with Roddy White in 2006 to perfection but I also did this with Sidney Rice in 2008 only to drop him just prior to last season and watch him flourish on someone elses roster with Brett Favre at the helm.  Ugh!  The point is though, if you have an extra spot in week 15 or 16, take a look at 2nd year WRs playing well but not in the top 20 and take a flyer on them, if you pick well you could have a superstar in the making.

Don't be afraid to trade RBs at their peak for a peaking WR - Running backs have shorter careers and are prone to sharing time much more than WRs, so don't be afraid to trade a RB whose time you think may be up, while they are doing well in order to get a WR that will last longer and provide equal or better production.  The best example I have of that is trading for Chad Ochocinco by giving away Willie Parker.  Parker, if you recall, was an undrafted free agent who significantly over achieved for several years in Pittsburgh.  Just at the end of what ended up being his best season, I traded him for Chad Ochocinco.  At first blush this looks like a stupid move what with Parker peaking (excuse the alliteration) and Ochocinco about to hit 30.  In actuality, what happened is that Parker significantly declined and Ochocinco, who takes tremendous care of his body, has continued to perform well and looks to have 2 or 3 more years in him.

These three strategies will go a long way to help you build a strong and consistent receiver corp.  You know you're doing it right if you can get enough depth to have 5 or 6 of your 8 to 10 WRs placed in the top 30 (for a 3 WR league, 3 or 4 in the top 20 for a 2 WR league) with enough talent to shuffle guys in and out depending on the matchups and injuries.

Happy hunting!

 



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Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 July 2010 19:54