Future 1st Podcast - Ep 52 - Dynasty Bestball Roster Construction, RB
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
1 hr 16 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Jul 21, 2026
Published
Tue, July 21, 2026
0
Player insights
0
Players mentioned
Player analysis
Player insights
No player insights have been extracted for this episode yet.
Full transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00So we experienced a flood in our basement. There was a plastic cap on a metal pipe.
0:05Just know it was bad. To fix, clean, renovate, and reorganize the basement felt like a totally impossible task.
0:11And that's when I learned about TaskRabbit. Just pick a trusted tasker and the taskers are often available to help the same day.
0:18These taskers are unbelievable the way they can label everything and organize everything.
0:22You can search for a tasker based on cost, skill set availability, and past client reviews so you know exactly who's showing
0:29up and can have confidence that they know what they're doing.
0:32When life happens, your to-do list grows. Get ahead of it now and get $15 off your first task at TaskRabbit.com or
0:39on the TaskRabbit app when using code PLAYER. Taskers book up fast, especially for same day tasks.
0:44So book your trusted home help today. That's $15 off your first task using promo code PLAYER with the TaskRabbit app or at TaskRabbit.com.
0:51What it do? Best ballin' for you. This is Future First Podcast where we help you win today with a future first mindset.
0:58I'm your co-host, J-Mac, here with my co-host, Jose.
1:01Jose, what's going on, dude? Hey, J-Mac. Yeah, if you guys can't tell, J-Mac has decided to come down south to the cool part of California.
1:09He's got sunglasses and hat on inside. The party lights have entered his screen.
1:13But now, yeah, we just got back from the Scott Fish Bowl down here in L.A.
1:18It was a blast. It was my first time, which was really exciting.
1:22It was also the first time I've ever drafted kind of like in person with stickers.
1:27So that was a completely new experience, which was a lot of fun.
1:31But yeah, man, a great time today, J-Mac. I think we have a great guest.
1:36It was a lot of fun that you got to talk to last time.
1:40So yeah, I think we should be having a great episode.
1:43Yeah, it will be a great episode. And I guess you're talking about here is John Leonard back for the follow up, the encore, if you will.
1:52John Leonard, how are you doing, man? Thank you, my friends.
1:55Good to be back. Good to hear good things about the Fish Bowl.
1:59My draft's tomorrow. So I'm looking forward to it and happy to talk some Dynasty Best Ball with you guys.
2:05Yeah, man, us too. We're super stoked to get into this episode here.
2:09And I can't believe, Jose, you've never drafted with stickers before.
2:13You dropped that bomb on me while we're starting the draft.
2:16And I'm just like, what do you mean, man?
2:19You've never drafted with stickers before? Like, what does that mean?
2:22It just, yeah, like I've never been an in-person drafted.
2:25Like when I got into, you know, doing fantasy football, it was all been online.
2:30Sleeper, Yahoo, even some ESPN leagues. And it's all always been online.
2:33Like I've never really had a, I didn't grow up playing with like a group of college or high school friends.
2:40So we've never done like a paper board or, you know, any sort of, you know, real life board where you got to stick a name.
2:48And, you know, I mean, maybe I wasn't the only one given somehow, you know, some people were sticking their stickers like all over the place.
2:56It was not very uniform, but, you know, it was still a good time.
3:00So, yeah, it was fun to do that for the first time.
3:04Yeah, it was wild. We had people who looked like they were in the fifth round, even though we were in like the seventh round.
3:11Their stickers were just too tight up the board.
3:14I was the sticker police making sure everyone was putting them on the right button.
3:19Apparently didn't do a good enough job, but we'll get back to the Scott Fish Bowl and keep you guys plugged in with our teams there.
3:27And how those progress. But until then, let's get into some Dynasty best ball talk here.
3:31We're going to be continuing our July segments with the best ball in.
3:35And we're going to get into the Dynasty best ball leagues.
3:39If you want in one, we're going to be doing some 12 by 11 Superflex Titan premium leagues.
3:44So pretty much what we've been discussing here on the podcast, we're going to be using that format going forward.
3:50We already have a few or more than a few several people interested in getting in the league.
3:56If you want in one, make sure to drop a comment or email us at futurefirstpod at Gmail if you're interested.
4:02Also, if you're looking for a roster review, go ahead and send us an email at futurefirstpod at gmail.com and we'll get
4:09you some more information to get you plugged in there.
4:12Other than that, if you're watching this on YouTube, make sure to touch down on that like button and go for two and subscribe.
4:19Be sure to drop a comment while you're there.
4:22We love engaging with all of you. And if you're catching this on Player Profiler Network, be sure to follow us directly
4:29on YouTube at futurefirstpod and search for futurefirstpod anywhere you get your podcasts on Spotify, Apple pods, wherever.
4:34Follow, rate the show, drop a five-star review. Shout out to Fox, who's been helping us with all of our graphics.
4:41You can follow her on X at bfoxworth07. Tonight, boys, we are going to be talking about some roster construction for Dynasty
4:48best ball, specifically for the running back position. But first, as always, we're going to be getting into a quick hit.
4:54Y'all ready? Yeah, let's do it. Let's go. All right.
4:57For tonight's quick hit, we are going to be talking about what rebuilding in a Dynasty best ball looks like.
5:03John, since this was something you brought up to me and I thought it was such a great idea, why don't you lead us off here, man?
5:12What does a rebuilding team look like for a Dynasty best ball roster?
5:15Yeah, you got it, J-Mac. So first thing is that best ball rosters, they don't look like lineup rosters, except when you're doing one of the extremes.
5:24If you're full on contending, if you're full on rebuilding, in this case, they look like the opposite, right?
5:30So your rebuilding best ball roster looks a lot like a lineup one.
5:34You're loading up on your backup quarterbacks, running backs, all the things that you can sell that aren't going to score you a ton of points.
5:42So you're keeping your points low while maximizing that value and the things that you can sell and get some value from those other people.
5:49Get those points. Get those picks. Get things certain out the way you want it to be.
5:54Yeah, that makes a ton of sense. I'm kind of with you on that.
5:59Like a rebuilding roster in a lineup league should have like strong starters, but not a lot of depth behind them.
6:05So in that kind of frame of mind, having a really strong lineup roster, it fits with what you're saying here.
6:11I'm going to give my take here on a rebuilding roster and then I'll pass it over to you, Jose.
6:18For me, when I'm rebuilding, especially in a shallower league, if anything, I'm really trying to consolidate up into these positions and
6:24have the stud players, whether it's quarterback, tight end, running back, wide receiver, whatever the format leans into the best.
6:30And I'm trying to consolidate into those positions. And the reason I'm trying to do that is because in a shallower league,
6:37the waiver wire is so much more fruitful. So while I'm consolidating into these higher positions, I'm trading three for one, two
6:44for one, which is really desirable trades. And because they're more desirable trades, you can usually get value on top of it.
6:51So usually what I'm trying to do is trade four players for one stud and get a pick back as well.
6:57So not only do I have, you know, two first value in the stud, I also get like a first round pick back in return.
7:05And I love doing that. And it's been super successful.
7:08And now I've cleared three bench spots where I can go grab three players off the waiver wire, rinse, repeat.
7:14I'm grabbing guys that are going to be producing in season.
7:17And then you can, again, sell them in season to someone who is contending.
7:22And, you know, like I'm one of my leagues, I grabbed Dallas Goddard off of waivers last year.
7:27And I was able to package him with the likes of like a, a Joe Flacco.
7:32And I think there was like a Travis H in there.
7:35And then like a Jaden Reed or something. And I was able to turn those four guys into a first and, and
7:42a nice player coming back my way. And those, those contending pieces value those point producing guys.
7:47And so it's really easy to do in a deeper lineup.
7:51A rebuild is a little bit hard, harder to do and consolidating in that sense.
7:55I still like to consolidate. It's just much harder to do because you don't get to just backfill that, those, those empty
8:02spots with players that actually fruitful on waivers. What you have to do is pick up backup running backs and backup quarterbacks
8:09and wait for them to get a start. And then you sell them for a third or a fourth or whatever it may be.
8:16I'm just trying to turn these old dusty assets that nobody wants into something that I can use into the future so
8:23that I can kind of shape my team as I go forward.
8:26It's not easy. It takes a lot of work in a rebuild, something that you have to be grinding and kind of
8:33staying plugged in and moving forward with that. Jose, how are you rebuilding in a dynasty, whether it's shallow or deep?
8:40Give us your thoughts here, man. Yeah. I mean, not to reiterate too much of what you guys said, I agree with
8:46a lot of you, what you said. One of the biggest things is like when you're doing a, like a teardown in
8:53a dynasty best ball, I feel like you don't want to go so far as you do in like a normal dynasty
9:00league because then it's just way too hard to come back from that.
9:04Like if you sink the ship way too far deep, then you're in a situation where you're not going to be able
9:11to get enough depth with the picks that you have in the players.
9:14So that's one thing on top of what you're saying, it's harder to do a rebuild, I think in a dynasty best
9:21ball league, but I think it is easier sometimes to get value for some of those older players because teams that are
9:28competing, you know, they don't mind having a ton of them.
9:31Like if you have a Devante Adams, Mike Evans and Tara McLaurin, well, you see them a lot differently than a lineup
9:38league where you might have to start two or three of those guys or, you know, they might age out all at
9:45the same time or at different times. So it gives you more outs, I feel like as a rebuilder where you can
9:52package more players and even players that are not nearly as sought after.
9:55Maybe like I remember when I'm competing one year, I needed a quarterback and Sam Darnold was kind of his good year
10:02with Seattle that he had where he was pretty relevant.
10:05And it was packaged with a couple of other pieces that normally I wouldn't trade a first for, but in a dynasty
10:12best ball league, you really do value the depth as a contender.
10:16So I think it gives you more options and more trade partners as well when you're trying to do a rebuild.
10:22So I think that's kind of like the main thing I would add that you guys already hit the nail on the
10:29head is don't do a dynasty best ball rebuild the same way you do a regular dynasty.
10:34Like being the really, really, really worst team by a whole lot is sometimes not worth it to get that one-on-one if
10:41then you have to trade that one-on-one for three or four pieces because you just don't have enough assets to contend in the future.
10:48Yeah. The other thing that you can do there is you can pick up those injured players from the contenders and swap them.
10:55So you can take on their injured high-end assets and move them some point scoring guys.
11:00So that way you're getting points off of your team while still building value and helping out somebody else and providing that service to the league, right?
11:08So it's really a nice symbiotic relationship there. And then that way you're still building and getting to each of your goals separately, right?
11:16Yeah, no, that's a perfect relation there too. It's just how well contenders and rebuilders fit and trade with each other inside
11:22of a best ball dynasty here is it just it goes so fluid between them.
11:27I think another point that I'd like to point to it in a best ball roster is when I'm rebuilding, I'm more
11:34likely to trade for an older asset because I know especially like if it's in the offseason or something as long as
11:40they're not expiring and on their way out. Like I'm not trading for like a 33-year-old Mike Evans or something like that
11:47or, you know, maybe like a 33-year-old Devonta Adams like or maybe even like a Derrick Henry.
11:52All right, I'm not trying to get those guys, but I'm totally fine rostering like a Terry McLaurin or like a Devonta Smith or something like that.
12:01Whereas in a rebuild on a lineup league, I probably wouldn't want to roster those guys.
12:06But I know how easily movable an asset like that would be inside of a best ball roster because in season they're
12:12going to be scoring points and people are after guys that are going to be scoring points.
12:17So it's going to be so much there's so much more liquid.
12:21The market in general is more liquid. And so I'm OK rostering these older assets knowing that I'm going with the confidence
12:28that I'm going to be able to flip them in the middle of the season.
12:32And that's where the work comes for these best ball rosters is in season.
12:37John, do you think that that's something that you do too?
12:40Are you OK rostering, you know, older assets going into a season, something like that?
12:45Yeah, I think what you're touching on here is actually something really important, which is timing your rebuild.
12:50It's knowing when to start doing that teardown, right?
12:53And so you've got to figure out when is the right time to start selling, when is the right time to signal
13:00that you're selling, and when is the right time to start moving things around.
13:04So in the case of picking up some of those older guys, I'm OK with it during the offseason.
13:10It's not really what I want to be adding to my roster.
13:13I want to kind of get rid of those guys.
13:17But if you're holding them with the intent to sell them later and you time it nicely, I think that's fine, right?
13:23Yeah, no, I think that's we're saying the same thing, kind of working around the same ideas there where it's just.
13:30I'm just more confident in being able to move that, whereas in a lineup league, like nobody's really looking to add a
13:3633 year old receiver or at least fewer people are looking to do it right.
13:41It's really the only strong contenders that really want to do it.
13:45But in a best ball league, so many more people are, I think, able to kind of take that on just because
13:51they don't have to commit to them in a longer term or at least for a starting spot here.
13:57So if we want to get into a little bit more here, let's talk about John.
14:02You have an article about a best ball dropping and rebuilding an article on OTC this week.
14:07Do you want to touch on that a little bit?
14:10I mean, it's some of what we just touched on, right?
14:14It's going deeper into it. It's timing it. It's talking about what pieces to buy, what pieces to sell, when to do it, how to move around.
14:22And then to kind of wrap it up, it's also how to dig out of that rebuild, right?
14:28And so that's the piece that not everyone touches on, which is how do you get out after you've done after you've
14:34torn everything down and you've got your assets, you've got your picks.
14:38How do you how do you build up from there?
14:41So that's going to be landing on OTC. It should be coming in on Monday, I think, when this pod hits.
14:47Awesome. Cool. Yeah, appreciate that. All right, Jose, any last words on the rebuild here or should we just hop into our roster construction?
14:55Yeah, I think let's hit the roster construction. I think we nailed this pretty handily.
14:59Let's do it. We're going to hear from the podfather here about the Dynasty Deluxe.
15:04And we'll see you all on the other side to talk about roster construction for running backs and a Dynasty Best Ball League.
15:11If you play in Dynasty, you need Dynasty Deluxe, our premium package for Dynasty leaguers.
15:16We rank over 300 players, updated every week, all year long.
15:19And there's a win now mode and a rebuild mode with super flex and tight end premium controls.
15:24And a Dynasty League sync where you can say, sync down all of my sleeper teams, all my FFPC teams.
15:31And then you can browse around your leagues for who has needs.
15:34And then you can use our trade finder to see what kinds of trades are happening in leagues that are similar to the one I want to do.
15:43Then you can analyze trades using our trade analyzer, which balances the lifetime value, which includes pick values out to like 2028.
15:50All of that plus the rookie guide $25 value is included.
15:53So if you're just in one Dynasty League, Dynasty Deluxe is well worth it.
15:57And use your host's promo code and you can bump up to all in and get $25 off.
16:03All right. Welcome back. Let's get into the Dynasty Best Ball Roster Construction for running backs.
16:08And again, as we are or as we did in last episode for this roster construction series, you can assume that we
16:14are talking about a 12 by 11 super flex tight end premium.
16:18Let's call it 27 players deep for the rosters.
16:21As a baseline here, we'll talk about shallower and deeper leagues as we go along here.
16:26But just know that that's kind of the standard or the baseline for what deep and shallow means from above and below that.
16:33So, boys, as we dig into this, I think the first question I want to dive into here is, as is quarterbacks,
16:39tight ends, as we did last week, what is your process for evaluating a roster build, particularly for running backs?
16:46Are you looking at the war, which is, you know, taking into account scoring and settings?
16:50Are your league mates playing into it, how they build?
16:54Do you have to have a team direction first before you want to dive into what running backs you have, how many you have?
17:01Whatever you get into. John, why don't you lead us off here, man, and talk about what you're looking at before you
17:08get into deciding how many running backs you want to roster and which ones?
17:12So I think you nailed it with the scoring settings and war first, because that's that's the first thing I'm going to
17:19do when looking at any league, any any kind of new situation I'm jumping into, figure out the roster requirements, figure out
17:25the scoring, figure out what makes sense. We're talking 12 by 11 super flex tight end premium.
17:31I don't think you mentioned how many running backs.
17:33I'm going to assume that we got two running back spots.
17:37Yeah, that's a safe, safe assumption. Two running backs, three flexes.
17:40Okay, cool. So right off the bat, I'm going to double the number of running backs.
17:45That's the number of starters I want. That's going to be sitting there at four on top of that.
17:51I'm going to try to get as many reasonable starters as I can and then try to top out around six, seven or so running backs.
17:59That's going to be where my sweet spot is.
18:01Any more than that, you start eating into some of the other positions.
18:05But really, I'm shooting for six solid starters there.
18:08And that's dudes with jobs. That's not backup. Because you want to be able to get guys that are scoring points.
18:15You can put them in your lineup any week, any day of the week.
18:19And they're not going to be sitting there, you know, just clogging things out.
18:23Right. Just guys who are getting snaps. They don't necessarily have to have a concrete bell cow job.
18:29Right. It's just, you know, like I feel like an RJ Harvey would count as like one of those six.
18:35Was that fair to say? Yeah. Harvey would count.
18:38But I want touches, not necessarily snaps. If they're getting a ton of empty pass blocking reps, that's not going to necessarily get it done.
18:45So I want them out there getting targets, getting rushes, getting involved with the actual play, not just kind of standing in
18:52the way of something else going on. No, good clarification there.
18:55Yeah. Because, I mean, you can't have guys out there who are just pass blocking.
19:00Right. Or, you know, have some sort of role like that.
19:03Good, good clarification there. Jose, man, why don't you give us your take here on how you're evaluating your roster build for running backs?
19:11Yeah. I mean, I think concurring with John there, you're looking at four, I would say, very solid guys.
19:16And then the guys after that can be a little bit more on the vague.
19:21Maybe they're in, you know, timeshare situations. You're not super sure.
19:24Like if you look at the Minnesota backfield, Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason, I think between either one of those, if that's
19:31like my fifth or sixth guy, I'm not like super sweating it.
19:35I think the level of guys, like when we say five to six players or seven players, we're not talking about like, you know, B.
19:42John Gibbs and then Saquon. And like, obviously, like you have to be realistic.
19:47If you end up with like five of those guys and the league is probably over anyways, like there's not much going on.
19:54So, you know, you have to be realistic in terms of that.
19:57I do when I'm playing dynasty basketball, most of the time I do want an anchor guy, like a guy that I
20:04know I can heavily rely on week in and week out.
20:08So I don't want like five guys that are, you know, middle of the pack.
20:12Like if I can have an elite guy, obviously, in terms of running backs right now in the NFL, you're probably only
20:19thinking there's three or four really, really elite guys.
20:22There's guys for dynasty that you say like Jeremiah Love, Gentile, guys like that who you can project and think that they're in the top five rankings.
20:30But really like, you know, those hammers, those aces, as people call them, like I want that, especially in a running back room.
20:37I think a wide receiver, depending obviously on the scoring setting, it's a little bit easier to, you know, make that, you know, piece that together.
20:45I think at the running back, I really want to secure somebody that I'm really confident in and build from there.
20:51Right. And then kind of take those points and and just play the numbers game.
20:56Like I in terms of these players, like when you're looking at them in terms of snaps, you can think about it.
21:03I think about in terms of points like is this guy routinely cracking 10 to 12 points so that he's going to
21:09be useful in a situation where maybe one of my topper and running backs doesn't work out or a 10 to 12
21:16points so that he can pop into the flex if he's not popping into the starting running back spot.
21:22So I think that's just different ways of saying the same thing of like the level of player that you want.
21:28But yeah, I mean, for the most part, I agree with what John's saying.
21:33Like, that's how deep your running back room needs to be.
21:36Like, don't make the mistake of having two very good guys and then like a third OK and feeling like, OK, I'm
21:43set because the moment those two guys done on the same week, you're dead in the water.
21:48Right. Like you need that like dynasty best ball.
21:51If we were going to just sum it up in one easy way is like depth way more than any other sort of dynasty like lineup league.
21:59Yeah. Depth is a priority here as we covered in our best ball dynasty fundamentals.
22:03Go ahead and check that episode out. It was two episodes ago here where John jumped on and we talked all about that.
22:11But yeah, I mean, ideally, the goal is to try and get five of those top six running backs.
22:16Right. If you could go get Bajon Gibbs, Christian McCaffrey, Saquon, throw them all on your squad.
22:22Like you said, Jose, the league's toast at that point anyway.
22:25But I mean, obviously, if you have that kind of build, you're going to be sacrificing at somewhere else.
22:31So I would only recommend that if you're if you're doing something like a point per carry or league or, you know,
22:37that has a high running back premium. But that is the goal.
22:41Nonetheless, like if you can get to that without sacrificing much else, it makes a ton of sense.
22:47One other thing I wanted to touch on that Jose was kind of talking about, too, was assigning like, you know, the points to these players.
22:55And not only understanding, like how many, like 10 points per game are getting into your lineup.
23:00I think that's a very important threshold to set for when you start talking about flexes also, which is figuring out, you
23:07know, and you can look at this. Right. You can go and look at, you know, on average, you know, what was
23:13the minimum points per game getting into a flex?
23:16And you can just go team by team and week by week and see like what flexes were scoring and take the average of those.
23:24And then you you have an idea, right? Like, OK, 12 points per game is like the average of what a flex should be scoring.
23:31So now you have a target right when you're going and looking at the assets and targets that you're trying to acquire.
23:38Like, you know, you should be looking at that 12 points per game, like Jose was saying, looking at the running backs that you want.
23:46Whatever that is, it's going to vary from league to league.
23:49It's not 12 points per game across the board.
23:52Like, don't take that for a standard. You need to go do the research, figure out what that is and go for it.
23:59And in fact, that's the basis of what war is is is built on.
24:03Right. Is that exact same thing is what is the replacement level for these which starts at the flex and how many
24:10and then they quantify that in terms of wins rather than than points.
24:14But that's the basis of war. If what you're getting into Koopa does all sorts of war explanations.
24:19If you want to dive deep into his podcast, you can find a whole bunch of really, really deep war or warp,
24:26as he calls it, explanations for getting into that, where he explains all the mathematics behind it.
24:31He's really, really smart with all that. So I encourage everyone here, if you're into this, go check out his material because
24:38it is gold and it'll help you understand this and help you build your rosters better and going forward.
24:44So, John, do you have any more you want to say about this before we move on to the next question here?
24:51Yeah, no, let's let's kick forward. It's good. Let's do it.
24:54OK, so when we're talking about roster size here, how does that affect how you want to build your running back room
25:01versus a shallow league that's kind of less than 26 roster size?
25:04How many are running backs would be ideal in that kind of format here, John?
25:09So the deeper the league, the fewer players are going to be available on your waivers.
25:14So you're going to need to keep a little bit deeper of a bench to begin with rather than having to pick
25:21those up because everyone's going to be rostered. If you've got, you know, 28, 30, however many people on your roster, take that multiply by 12.
25:29That's how deep it is compared to the rest of the of the leagues.
25:33And those waivers are depleted. So you're going to need to get a lot more trading activity in order to fill in where things are.
25:40So I'm going to roster more running backs there because they're going to be harder to find.
25:46I've got a 12 by 12, 32, 32 man league, I think I think is deep.
25:51Right. I picked this up as an orphan over the summer and the waivers are scarce.
25:55Like it is it is a wasteland out there.
25:58So if I take a look at my my running back room, I got 10 guys and I would say probably half, maybe six of them.
26:06No, seven. Seven of them are startable guys. And the other three are dart throws that maybe they get a promotion thanks to somebody winning the lottery.
26:14Let's say like they didn't, they didn't get hurt.
26:17They got, they won the lottery, but those last couple of guys are, you know, maybe they get a kick return touchdown or something.
26:25There's something there. They get a promotion. They'll figure it out.
26:28Right. So that I'm going to have up to like 10 guys on a much deeper league like that.
26:34Whereas in the shallower end, if we're 26, maybe less, I'm sticking to more closer to that, that six range.
26:40And I'm trying to make sure that those guys are starter caliber.
26:43So the bigger the league, the more kind of tolerant I am of guys having a less defined role or getting fewer
26:50touches so that they can get in there and find their way into my lineup.
26:55So that makes a ton of sense here. So are you saying then you're leaving room on the rest of your roster?
27:02You're making space by only rostering six core guys for your running back room here.
27:06You're making space to kind of churn other positions, whether that's quarterback, wide receiver or tight end.
27:11Is that, is that kind of the goal and what you're trying to achieve here?
27:16Yeah. So if we take like 26 man and it's a 12 by 11, so I'm thinking we're going to shoot for
27:23a minimum of three quarterbacks, probably better off sitting at like four is the goal there.
27:28And then I got six running backs. That's going to be about 10 players.
27:32So then I'm going to take another couple of tight ends.
27:35If there's a premium, I'm sitting at something like maybe another four or so.
27:39And then that leaves me with a good 10 or so wide receivers.
27:43And then the rest I can, I can, I can churn.
27:47I can hit those waivers, whatever I happen to need at that time.
27:51Or if somebody comes available, I want to go after them.
27:54That's what those last couple of spots are. Fill them in with a Monday player or something.
27:59If I need the points be fluid. Okay. Yeah, that makes sense.
28:03Thanks for clarifying there. I just wanted to make sure that was getting out there to everyone, whether, you know, I think
28:10when we're talking about these ideal spots, like, like John's saying is we're building not to 26 for all these ideal spots.
28:17We're leaving some flexibility at the end of the roster there so that we can kind of fill needs as we go.
28:23And if we don't have a need, maybe you're just rostering a backup for that week, just in case, right?
28:29In case someone gets injured, just like you would in a redraft league.
28:33If you had an extra bench spot, you go stash a backup running back or you go stash a backup quarterback.
28:40If it's a super flex league, you know, that type of strategy.
28:43But yeah, leave that flexibility to kind of churn it.
28:47What about you, Jose? How does a shallower league affect how you would want to build your running back room for a super flex best ball dynasty here?
28:55Yeah, I think the number of spots just kind of should kind of increase your appetite for some of these kind of
29:02like lower end and kind of garbage sort of players, to be honest.
29:06Like, you know, like George Holani or, you know, somebody like that.
29:09Or I guess Pacheco is a little bit higher on that.
29:13But like anywhere, anybody that's like a backup who has a chance or a decent, like Chris Rodriguez or whoever your favorite,
29:20you know, Washington commanders running back is. You know, and I think a good way, like what John was talking about, you
29:26have to acquire them through trades is like those are great pieces.
29:30Like instead of getting a third round they're thrown in, which is great, or a fourth round they're like, can you get a Chris Rodriguez thrown in?
29:38You know, we all think it's Bayshal Tune, but what if it's not?
29:42Or what if Bayshal Tune gets hurt? Right. That like all of a sudden Chris Rodriguez could be worth a decent amount
29:49more than that fourth or any sort of like later round pick.
29:53Right. Like I'm trying to scour the bottom of other people's benches in deeper leagues and shower leagues.
29:58It's just the opposite. Right. Like I'm not really interested in those guys.
30:02I do think that backup running backs have definitely a bigger role to play and shorter benches than like the third string
30:09wide receiver on like a team that is not going to be an air raid type of bright.
30:14Like Yoshivas instead of a backup running back or the third string of the Raiders, whoever you think that is.
30:20Right. Like there is ambiguity there, but it really is like, is the guy that's like third or fourth on the depth
30:27chart going to be the guy that breaks out for the Raiders instead of a backup to a running back who, you know, it's pretty close.
30:35Like in camp, once we figure out who Jonathan Taylor's backup is, I know that nobody loves DJ Giddens or I can't
30:42remember the other guy who's there, but like, you know, is that guy, could that guy have more value in season than,
30:49than one of these backup running back wide receivers or third string wide receivers?
30:53Like, I think that's how you have to think about it and use those spots a little bit more like wisely.
30:59Right. Like don't just have guys hanging out on your team because two years ago you thought they had a chance at
31:06a role and you're just like, they're just still there.
31:09Right. Like, I think that's one of the biggest things in, in shallower leaks, especially like churning that bottom of the roster
31:16continuously moving guys around that sort of thing. Yeah.
31:19Seth McGowan is the guy you were looking for there in Indianapolis.
31:22And I'm rostering if you, if you want guys, I think, I think that's a good roster, but I think what we
31:29want to get to here, for me, if it's a deeper league, it just opens up like the possibilities for roster construction for me.
31:36Right. So if I want to run running back a lot thinner in, in a deeper league, I feel like I have
31:43a lot more room to play with and I can just roster, you know, these, these gross guys or like backup guys.
31:50Like I'm fine. Like I'm fine. It gives me the flexibility to run thin in a, in a running back ring.
31:56But if we're in a shallower league, I don't really have that flexibility to kind of build depth in volume at that position.
32:03So I really need to make sure like John is saying here to, to get those six guys and their starters that
32:10are locked in where I can count on them on a week to week basis.
32:15And of those six bites at the apple, two of them are going to be filling those running back spots at a high end output here for me.
32:23But in a deeper league, I don't have to play it that way necessarily.
32:27I can go get a Bajon Robinson and then just take like the Chris Rodriguez's and I can go get George Helani
32:34and I can go get, you know, like a Ja'Cory Krosky-Mare.
32:38I can, I can play a lot thinner at the position and just backfill it with a volume.
32:43And I think that's kind of, you know, like the idea here between the deep league is you have to be in a shallower league.
32:51You have to be more efficient with your rostering and who you're rostering and this, the floor that they're going to give you versus in a deeper league.
32:59You can kind of just take guys like, like a Ty Johnson and a deep league, fantastic roster right there.
33:05Like two times a year, he's going to get you 12 points and it's going to hit your flex.
33:11And that's, that's gold, especially on a week where you're have Bajon Robinson, he goes for like eight points.
33:17You're like, dang it, man. I only needed two more points to win.
33:21If you had Ty Johnson, another guy too, is for the, for the 49ers, the fullback of all of them.
33:27Man, I'm, I'm blanking on his name right now.
33:30Thank you, Kyle. Kyle use check. Like sometimes he catches two, two receptions for two touchdowns.
33:35It's like, you want them on your team, but I'm not watching him.
33:39In a shallow for a league, but in a deeper league, like that's the kind of guys that you can kind of
33:45build your running back room around to be a little thinner there.
33:49So I think that's the, the idea here is right.
33:52Is, you know, you need a balance efficiency versus volume in a shallow and deeper league.
33:57All right, let's move on to the next question here so that we can get into some much more, you know, theoretical
34:04questions here on the other side of the break.
34:07But how do you guys value a running back job security here and a best ball league?
34:12You know, how would you roster construct around one of these elite running back ones?
34:16You know, and even if you don't have them, how do you value guys like, like a Devon A.
34:22Chan or like a James Cook or even like a Brees Hall?
34:26Like where do these guys fit into your roster construction, whether it's a shallow league or a deeper league?
34:32How are you building around these core guys that, that are really there?
34:36And if they're not like a core guy, like if they don't change anything for you, is it just one of those
34:42rosters spots that we're trying to fill here when we're getting to four or six or how many ever it is?
34:49John, go ahead and take this one first, man.
34:52Yeah, you got it. So for me, it's about flexibility.
34:55If I've got one of those stud running backs, then that they're basically going to be locked into my lineup regardless of
35:01the week, as long as they're not on by or injured.
35:05So that gives me more flexibility to play with.
35:07That's one less roster spot that I need to dedicate in order to another running back in order to kind of fill that spot.
35:15So I can kind of get a little bit more flexibility with either other positions or with the other running backs that I, that I carry.
35:23So I can kind of make up for not having that stud with some additional depth for the rest of the running backs that I carry.
35:31So if I don't have two studs, three studs, then I can do like one stud and then like six other dudes
35:37or like four other dudes if it's just like a start two.
35:41Right. So it's all about flexibility. And then the other piece about the stability is the time horizons.
35:47So I want to make sure if I am carrying a guy like that, that I know about when he's going to
35:53start to go downhill and about when he's going to need to be replaced.
35:58So I can try to get out or make sure that I have some firsts around so that I'm able to get
36:04into somebody else around when he starts to go downhill.
36:07Right. So I can kind of time things. I love that.
36:11That's a good way to do it. Yeah. And I mean, that's the core of any best ball team here.
36:17Right. But I feel like in running back in general, especially when it comes to a best ball team, when you're trying
36:24to have six of them, timing that on all six of them is not as easy of a task here.
36:30So it really does come down to, I feel like, a year-to-year game with them.
36:34And best ball is very much a year-to-year game.
36:37In fact, it's a week-to-week game, especially when you get into point scoring season.
36:41And, you know, you're just trying to fill, to get to that six spots, four spots, whatever the threshold is, you're just
36:48trying to get to that every single week. Whether that's trading for a player that's got promoted into a role or you're
36:55buying somebody off of the waiver wire, you're trying to get to that number each week.
37:00You're not going to hit it every week. It's just the goal that you're trying to get to.
37:05So I love what you're saying here about, you know, the job security does play a role here, but you don't have to, you know, overvalue it here.
37:14Jose, is there anything you want to add here on the job security in a best ball league or how you would
37:21roster, construct around these elite running backs here? Yeah, I mean, like if I have that anchor that I was talking about
37:27earlier, he's kind of just the one, that guy that I'm not worrying about.
37:32And then I think that's where some of like understanding how good a running back is in actual NFL terms can, you know, help you with job security.
37:40But for most everybody else besides those anchors, I'm treating them as one to two year players until they've demonstrated that the
37:47NFL is going to treat them otherwise. So, you know, there's guys out there who are probably closer to expiration in terms of their fantasy relevant job.
37:55But the NFL still will treat them like that elite player until the wheels completely fall off.
38:00So, for example, Derrick Henry is one of those guys that like no matter what the Ravens say, no matter what they do.
38:07Yes, he doesn't play passing down a ton. But it seems like the Ravens are ready to ride with Derrick Henry until
38:14he just completely shows that he is not able to be an elite NFL running back.
38:19Right. CMC, we hear it every single offseason. We need to get him less touching when he goes on the touches.
38:25But they're just not good enough without him on the field to get him less touches.
38:30We're hearing something like that from Jonathan Taylor. But nothing that the Colts have done really to bring in a backup tells
38:37me that it's just somebody to give him a breather.
38:40And we've seen these guys, whether they've had great fantasy seasons, we know that for the NFL terms, they are elite NFL players.
38:47Right. So that gives me a little bit more job security.
38:51Like I would sometimes value that over the guy that gets a big contract because we've seen players get cuts.
38:57We know there's ways of restructuring. And then we cut you the next year.
39:01So like Brees Hall, for example. Right. He has a huge bag.
39:05He should have a ton of job security. He probably does.
39:08But I'm still only looking at him as a one to two year sort of thing, even though his contract says otherwise,
39:15because after two years of Brees Hall continues to not perform and they don't view him as the elite guy that they
39:21want to center their run game around. Braylon Allen or any of these other guys can start into the workload and then they restructure and they cut him.
39:30And, you know, you thought you had a Gibbs B.
39:33John level, at least in terms of contract. And now you don't.
39:37Right. So I don't value the contract that ton.
39:40Like, obviously, if they gave him a big bag of money, it's for something.
39:44But we've also seen teams give players big bags of money that then end up being completely not important.
39:50So it's not always that like job security in terms of contract.
39:53I think seeing what they do on the NFL field and how the coach views him as a running back is kind
40:00of more important to me in terms of job security.
40:03And I think kind of if you have a B genre, it gives I think you're three, four, five, six guy can be a lot lower level.
40:11If you're missing one of those guys, I think you're one, two, three need to be a much like solid level of
40:18player compared to if you have one of those aces to that are, you know, you're expecting pretty much like John said,
40:25every week is going to be in your lineup unless, you know, something out of the ordinary happens.
40:30Yeah, I think, too, what I've learned in the past couple of years is especially with these these later round guys.
40:37Right. They don't hold their position as well. Like, think about like a Bucky Irving or even like an Isaiah Pacheco.
40:43Like maybe even like a Jalen Warren or another example would be like James Conner, like James Conner kind of held his job pretty well.
40:51But even like towards the end, like these later round guys, they're way more volatile about them.
40:56And I'm less likely to invest into these type of running backs going forward, especially in a best ball league, because in any league in general.
41:04Right. But like when they get so pumped up and in the best ball league, like the job security that I'm looking for, it just doesn't exist.
41:12And these these kind of running backs that are around like that running back six to running back, you know, like 14,
41:19whatever, whatever you think it is like the it feels like a fake floor on these guys.
41:24And especially in a best ball roster, I'd rather go get the running back 14 than I would go get like the
41:31running back six type of thing, because the amount that you have to invest in that running back 14 to not have
41:38that that same amount of, you know, security, that faux security that's in that running back six.
41:43It's just it just doesn't feel as safe. And, you know, there's the flip side of that, too.
41:48Right. So like for me, who kind of like meets that like right now would be like like I feel like Bucky
41:55Irving is kind of still in that kind of that tier.
41:58There's Basial Tootin. I'm interested in him, but he's a lot cheaper.
42:02I don't think he's like as expensive. You could I think in the offseason, you probably could go get him for like a second type of thing.
42:10But now, you know, I think it's the price has kind of risen kind of above that.
42:16But like, yeah, I think that's that's kind of the way that I'm trying to attack a job security for a running
42:22back here is just when we're looking at these tiers of players, just give me the lower tier guy that's at a
42:29cheaper price because I don't think they're the job security between them.
42:33Should be valued in best ball like it should be in a lineup league.
42:37John, is there any more that you want to add here before we move into a break and get on the other side of this?
42:45Yeah, actually, not that long ago, I took a look at this.
42:48I went back about 10 years looking at all the running backs that were drafted, how old they were, what round they
42:55were drafted in, and then how they produced throughout their careers, how many yards they had per year and everything, and then
43:02how long it took them to kind of like drop off.
43:05So each year in the league and what it comes down to is the younger and earlier they're drafted, the better.
43:12But they all start to tail off right around those five, five, six years in the league, regardless of what their age was.
43:19So they're going to start to tail off around there.
43:22You'll get the outliers that last longer. Some guys are last nine, 10 years in the league, but they do start to
43:28drop off and the production tails off too. Right.
43:31So you really want to hit them in that first like four or five years in the league and then get out at that point.
43:39Yeah, that's great. Great insight there. Like I think I'm thinking of guys like Travis A.
43:44Chan, maybe even like David Montgomery, right? Like these guys that aren't the elite outliers that we're talking about, like the Derrick
43:50Henrys, the Christian McCaffreys, the Saquon Barkleys. I feel like those are the kind of guys that we're talking about are kind
43:57of more of the outliers than they are. Maybe not even Saquon Barkley.
44:01Maybe the tail off continues here onto his, you know, week six or so.
44:05But maybe we can get that uploaded here into the description so people can kind of view that research because John's got a lot of it.
44:13You make sure you're following him on Blue Sky because he does drop data like this all the time and it's all very valuable.
44:21So I will make sure to include that in the description so you guys can get it in there.
44:27Okay, let's jump into a break here. And on the other side, we're going to talk a little bit more in depth
44:33about some theory and less about kind of the math and the solved equations that we have here for the roster construction.
44:40So we'll see you guys on the other side.
44:43All right. Welcome back. We're going to be getting into talking about some more Dynasty best ball roster construction here.
44:49And this time, it's going to be a little bit more theoretical boys here.
44:53So let's talk about how the much discussed NFL personnel and formation trends continue to change our roster construction, especially for best ball teams.
45:01But in terms of the running backs, in the past, you know, last week we were talking about the tight ends and
45:07kind of what that means for more relevant tight ends in here.
45:11But could that mean, you know, more efficiency for our running backs?
45:15And does that matter? Is there more running backs that are going to be relevant as we go forward here?
45:21Does that kind of mean that we have a deeper pool of running backs to draw from?
45:26John, what's your take on this, man? Can we capitalize on this or is there a hype that we can capitalize on here?
45:33Yeah. I mean, I'm not sure about if the pool gets deeper, right?
45:37But there's certainly more rushing with the changes, you know, getting heavier personnel, right?
45:41A lot more RPOs are kind of showing up a little bit with that, right?
45:46But the receivers that are available when they are going so heavy, it's basically a bunch of tight ends, one wide receiver,
45:53and then whoever's on the field at running back.
45:55And so if all the tight ends are out there blocking and then kind of chipping off, then they're going to be available.
46:02But I think who's a better receiver, right? You're blocking tight end or you're running back.
46:07So they're going to get a good chance at some of those receptions.
46:11And having all those heavy personnel packages is going to allow for much better running lanes.
46:16And so at least we can try to take advantage of that.
46:20And then lastly, right, the rushing attempts, they were going up, right, year over year as we get further into this.
46:26And so we're going to get more volume throughout the position, not just at the high end.
46:31Yeah, that's similarly to how I see it here.
46:34What about you, Jose? Do you have a strong take on this either one way or the other?
46:40Yeah, I mean, I don't think it super matters in terms of something we can like fully capitalize on.
46:46I think it'll give us more data about like what teams run these bigger personnel and how does it affect the run game.
46:53I think then we'll be able to say, OK, well, like this coach or this coaching tree does this a lot.
46:59We can count on their running back more or we can count on the second running back, even some, because when the
47:06backup comes in, they're still doing these 12 personal packages.
47:09And this backup running back has maybe a flex or a more of a ceiling to it than just a guy that
47:16comes in for, you know, 10 plays and then goes out.
47:19So I think that's the way that we could use the data.
47:23I don't think right now there's any sort of strong way to capitalize.
47:27It does seem like a lot of coaches don't love the single workhorse role.
47:31They kind of want the split committee. If anything, the only way it could bring in more players to the pool is
47:38if more teams go to like a 50-50 split, like a Charbonnet-Kenneth-Walker.
47:41And then you kind of, it brings an extra player to the pool, but it almost feels like you're just losing a
47:48really good player that you could have if they didn't split it.
47:52So I don't think it, I don't know if it would make the fantasy community happy, really.
47:57So, you know, I think it just will give us more data on like coaches and offensive coordinators and stuff like that.
48:04Yeah. And as we're talking about this, I didn't even like process this as I was asking this question, but it's coming to mind here.
48:11JJ Zachariasen hired, and I'm forgetting his name here, but the guy that he hired on to help him with a lot
48:18of his data analytics and stuff here did a study based on, you know, the running back trends and what's changing within
48:25these running backs, especially for like a zero RB kind of build.
48:28And what came out of that was that the zero RB build is kind of gone away because the targets for the
48:35running backs that you would, that you would target in that kind of build, they're not getting the receptions or the targets
48:42more readily available in today's NFL trends. And rather than that, like if you wanted to go that way, you need to
48:49be targeting these guys that have a little bit more of a concrete role in terms of rushing.
48:54And I think like Jalen Warren was like one of the targets that came up when they were talking about it.
49:00So think about somebody who's like that, who's kind of seen as like a 1A in their offense, especially if they're sharing
49:07it with like, like in that case, like a Kenneth game, no, sorry, not Kenneth game.
49:12What's Rico daddle in that case. So like maybe like a Jonathan Brooks or a Chuba Hubbard kind of fit that role there.
49:19Like those should be like the targets that you're kind of looking towards in terms of value when you're trying to get these later round targets.
49:27And maybe it's less like the guys that we would have targeted in the past that were, you know, passed down catching backs.
49:34Like that's kind of going away in some cases, but that kind of leads me into the next question here, which is,
49:41you know, is there a certain type of running back build strategy that works best for you in best ball?
49:47And all this has been formulating in my head and I've been working around it.
49:52And for me, it really feels like a hero RB build is kind of what I think in these more current trends
49:58is where I want to lean into getting into, because you can grab that one guy, solidify that one spot.
50:04I admit he's going to get you, you know, 16 starts out of your 17 weeks that, that you need to, to plug in these running backs in.
50:13And then can I just get five of these guys that are Chuba Hubbard, Rico Dowdle, Kenneth Gainwell, you know, maybe it's
50:20even like a, honestly, like I like, I really like Zach Charbonnet right now.
50:24I think he's an insane value at where he's going.
50:27I think he's going to take that backfield. Can you go get guys like that?
50:32RJ Harvey, nobody wants him right now. Can you capitalize on the, the low of what these targets are and just fill
50:38in them around a stud to kind of get into a strategy?
50:42That's, that's how I feel. Like I really want to build my best ball contending teams going forward.
50:48It's kind of like a hero RB build here.
50:50I'm interested in what you guys have to say about that.
50:54What do you think is kind of the best strategy to, that would work best in a, in a best ball league here?
51:01So John, why don't you give us here is, is robust a strategy that you want to do as a zero, as a hero.
51:08And tell me why. So I had an answer to this.
51:11And then as you were talking, I'm thinking about my leagues and I'm realizing I kind of do have a hero RB
51:18strategy, even though that was not my intent, right?
51:21I've got a couple that are based around Ashton Gentry.
51:24I've got one around James Cook. Like it's just kind of falling that way, but I didn't build it that way.
51:30It just kind of happened. And so the important thing to me is to be kind of flexible with what you've got available.
51:37Either when you're going through your draft, when you're going through your auction or what's available when you pick up a team
51:44and you try to kind of look at the trade market.
51:48So I think for me, I would prefer to be a bit more robust than anything because these are harder to trade for.
51:55They're harder to find there, you know, they are so have such a short lifetime that you need to, kind of have those solid guys.
52:02But what I'm finding is that in reality, I'm ending up with a lot more hero builds and just having that centralized
52:09guy and then a lot of depth around it.
52:12Yeah, that makes a ton of sense. I like where you're going with that.
52:16And it is important to stay flexible. In no way am I trying to say like, I'm hero or bust and like, that's all I want to do.
52:25Like it can go either way, depending on how your, your roster is taking you.
52:29I think that you can lean into a robust.
52:32It is important to stay fluid and like water and whatever the league gives you, you take and you make that work with what you got.
52:40You can form your roster into any, any specific way.
52:43What we're giving you here is just kind of our ideal ways that we want to go about it.
52:49And I think, yeah, robust is a great way to go about it, John.
52:53I think that ideally if you can get those four concrete guys or five, six concrete guys and just build around that,
53:00ideally that's the best way to go about it.
53:03Jose, what about you, man? Are you finding value in one of these builds, you know, where you can kind of build
53:09zero hero robust, and then kind of build around it more easily in today's meta or, or, you know, the trends of the NFL here.
53:17What's your take on this, man? Yeah. I mean, I think what J-Mac was basically saying, if you're not doing hero, you're
53:24just a loser and you don't know what you're doing.
53:27That's what I was hearing him say, basically. No, but I found that in most leagues, kind of like John, like I
53:33think I ended up robust just because I feel like a lot of people, even in dynasty best ball are still playing
53:40to the settings of like, you have to build around wide receivers.
53:44So I find it a lot harder to get any sort of real elite or like top end wide receiver talent, unless I'm like drafting it.
53:52And when people are just way more willing to do it, you know, running backs of the tier of like Javante Williams
53:59or Josh Jacobs, or, you know, Saquon after he had a bad year.
54:02Like the, it just feels like people are way more willing to trade.
54:06Now, obviously some of those guys are older and they're not old, super old, but in a lot of leagues, I've just
54:13felt like I ended up with a robust running back room because that's what I can trade for.
54:19And, you know, whoever the flex is doesn't really matter.
54:22Obviously if I need three wide receivers and I still need roughly six, you know, starting wide receivers to, to put in my lineups.
54:29But honestly, I've never been a player that, that thinks like super on like these, these named strategies, like heroes.
54:35You're like, whatever happens in the draft is what happens.
54:38Like, obviously you have to have a plan. And then when you're building your team, you have to have a plan, but
54:45like putting a tag on it and like, just be like, Oh, it's hero because I don't know.
54:51Like to me, it's always seemed a little bit not the way I play, at least like, not the way that I go about it.
54:58I think I probably think in those terms to some extent, but I just don't like end up labeling it.
55:04So rigidly as like, Oh, a hero or zero.
55:07Like, you know, if I have Gibbs and then a good trade for Bijan comes around, does that mean like, I'm going
55:14to be like, no, because I have a hero.
55:17No, like all of a sudden you can flip to robust, you can flip to whatever you need to.
55:22I do think some people, sometimes they hear that and they go, especially into drafts, like startup drafts and like, Oh, I'm going zero running back.
55:30And then like, either they don't really fully understand it or the draft board is just not doing that for you, but
55:37you're just like, this is what I'm doing. And then like, you end up just kind of screwing yourself over, you know?
55:44So, you know, what you said basically is like, you know, staying waters.
55:48If the league is handing you running backs, then, and you wanted to do a zero running back or a, or a
55:54hero running back, but all of a sudden they're just handing you a bunch of running backs of value.
56:00Then, you know, you could just run them over with your running backs.
56:04That's perfectly a valid strategy that can win you championships that way too.
56:08Literally run them over with your running backs here.
56:11And what I, what I took from that is Jose's afraid of commitments and doesn't want to put labels on things.
56:17So, all right, guys, let's jump into the next question here.
56:21And we're going to talk about like specific archetypes of running backs and how you value them in a best ball league versus a lineup league.
56:29And what kind of builds do you want to include them in for, for a best ball league?
56:34And so the first type archetype I have here is called the backup with benefits, which is probably Jose's preferred running back here since he's afraid of commitment.
56:43So, and I'm classifying this as a young running back with possible path to a starting job within a year.
56:49Think of the guys like Jonathan Brooks, DeMond Claiborne, Singleton, Catron Allen, those, those type of guys.
56:54And how are you trying to fit these guys into a best ball roster here, John?
56:59Yeah. Yeah. For me, this is all about the depth of the league, the depth of the roster requirements that we were talking about earlier.
57:07So if we're sitting in that 12 by 11, 27 man roster, then I'm going to try to limit these guys and
57:13not have too many of them because they're taking up spots that I can use elsewhere.
57:18They're going to fall into that last bit of like churn area, right?
57:22For the roster where if I need to make a move, they're, they're one of the first ones that have to go because they're contributing very little.
57:31And I don't know what that path is to get them into that roster on one of those 32 man rosters where,
57:37you know, I've got the extra space, then absolutely.
57:40They're going to hang out on the end of my bench.
57:43As long as, you know, the path is there, right?
57:46The singletons, the clay borns, the guys that actually have a path.
57:50I think Jonathan Brooks is probably beyond that at this point.
57:54At least from all the camp hype, the news, the things like that, I'm sticking him at least in this kind of later category.
58:01We'll probably talk about where he's split in the backfield, but if not more.
58:05Yeah. That's a really good call. I was kind of determining where, where to put him.
58:10And honestly, like as I was typing this up, I put guys back and forth.
58:15I was like, I don't really know exactly where to put these guys, but you're right.
58:20Like the last one here, which we call psychics, maybe we'll jump into that one next before or after we hear Jose's
58:26take here on the backup with benefits. Jose, how are you fitting these guys into a build here?
58:32Is it very similar to John? I think it's a, these are kind of guys that I kind of really enjoy, especially
58:39after like a rookie draft, like these type of players taking swings on, maybe just because I've had some personal success in
58:45the last few years with like a Tyron Tracy, a Jaren, what, what is his first name?
58:50It's a Ja'Cory Krosky Merritt. I think it's hard to not call him Bill.
58:55Those sorts of players. Maybe just because I've had personal success recently, like picking up those kinds of guys that go undrafted.
59:01I do enjoy having them. I think there's nothing like a lottery ticket of a running back that hits, even if it's
59:08just for a Woody Marks type of season, like for one season, or he's a flex player that constantly is in your flex for one season.
59:16I mean, you know, if you have a chance to sell high on that, somebody believes that it's not going to be
59:23a one season, then obviously you take that. But especially as a contender, like you feel great when you pick up one of those guys.
59:31I think, I think to name some of the guys like this year, there's a guy like Damon Claiborne, right.
59:37That we, you mentioned here the, the backup to who I think will win the job to McCaffrey and, and black.
59:43K-Tron black is another guy. I really like, no, it's like Keaton Mitchell.
59:47It's, he just came from the, yeah, it is Keaton Mitchell, right.
59:51He's the guy that came from the Ravens too.
59:53I think he's could be a pretty interesting guy.
59:56I know a lot of people are hype on Hampton, but those are type of players that I, I really like at the end of my roster.
60:05Obviously if we're condensed benches, you just can't hold onto them.
60:08There's probably higher priority, but in deeper pools, it's just guys that, you know, I love to take shots on because I
60:15think they're the type of guys that could really return, you know, fruits like fruitful harvests.
60:20I don't know. That's where we're going for you in, in, in, in leagues in ways that like, you know, like I
60:26don't know who's a guy that people like a lot, maybe like a Xavier Hutchinson.
60:31I mean, he's probably worth more than those guys to some people, but it's the third string guy on the low passing,
60:38at least with what we've seen with Tija Stroud wide receiver, really a guy over some of these other guys.
60:44Like I just, it just seems like there's a, there's a season that one of these guys could have that one, a
60:50wide receiver in that range just can't. Right. So I enjoy it.
60:54I personally, that's just some of my favorite swings to take.
60:57Like, you know, you're going to bat like one 25 probably with those guys, but the one you do hit, it feels great.
61:04Like Tyrone Tracy for that half a season or one year, man.
61:08Hey, that was really cool. That was really fun.
61:11But you know, it's, it's less likely to happen.
61:14Yeah. I mean, you even got like Kyle Mononga in that same group there.
61:18And like you said, Bill or Jikor Kerr, whatever you said there, but yeah, they're all, they're all the, the, the fruitful,
61:25fruitful guys, the harvest that you want there. Let's get in to the next one here, which is sidekicks.
61:30I'm just going to dive in to that next, which I'm calling the one B in their offense, which, you know, fits
61:37with the guys like a Harvey, a Hendo, Rashad White, you know, maybe even Blake Coram this year, Dowdle, Gainwell, those types of guys.
61:45I put Mononga in on the doc also, but we kind of just referred to him as like a backup with a
61:51benefit, but how do these guys fit in? Are these guys just, you know, filling in one of those last of your
61:58six positions that you're wanting to get? Are these guys, you know, desirable assets to get inside of a dynasty running back build here?
62:05John, what do you say, man? Yeah. These guys are right after that starter tier.
62:10So I, I kind of tear my, my running backs that I, I want to get ahold of.
62:15I got my starters, right? Those are the guys with the lead job.
62:19Then come the timeshare guys. That's where these sidekicks come in, whether that's their split in time, like Coram getting that every
62:26other drive or every third drive or whatever happens this year, where he's getting on the field.
62:31And then, you know, kind of get into those like third down backs that are coming in later.
62:37And then like the backups are kind of like way after that.
62:41I don't really want them as much, but get a deep enough league.
62:45It's going to happen. Um, I took a look at one of my leagues.
62:49It was a 12 by 12, 30 man roster.
62:52So over the course of the year, I had, uh, 68 different players throughout the year.
62:56And I looked about 42, 42 of them fit into my lineup throughout that year.
63:01And so that means I had 26 guys that just did nothing for me.
63:05Right. As far as the lineup goes. So that's where these backups fit into.
63:10Right. So I want to make sure that I'm trying to get these sidekicks that are actually like going to do something productive for me.
63:17They're going to get in there. They have a path to success.
63:21They've got that contingent upside. If the starter goes down, they've they're right there.
63:25And so I'm, I'm absolutely loading up on these guys.
63:28Yeah. I love that. What about you, Jose? Is that different?
63:32How you look at these guys? Or is it very similar?
63:35No, I think John nailed it. They're, they're right outside.
63:38Like if I'm just looking at my roster and counting players to get to that five to six or seven, um, running
63:45backs, these guys are guys that are probably, I'm not, maybe I'm taking like two of them and counting them as one.
63:52Like if I have Blake Corum and I guess Hendo's, I think one guy that probably in this list is probably, I
63:58would count, but the rest of them, if I have like Rashad white and Corum or Corum and like a doubt, all,
64:05um, I would count two guys as I was starter.
64:08I'm like, okay, between these two guys, I'm pretty sure one of them will either get a job enough or, you know,
64:15like the odds of a running back, staying healthy is, is not, you know, that high.
64:20Like, so I, I don't count them as, as startable players.
64:23I have them right outside and I'm like, okay, how many of these?
64:27And then those are sometimes guys that I'm like, okay, is there, is there a way that I can go package a
64:34Blake Corum in a gain well to get an actual guy that I count as instead of counting these two guys, can
64:41I go trade these guys, package them either for a wide receiver.
64:44Maybe I need that or something. Those are, I think guys that, um, people are more likely to take, um, swings on
64:51and bets on than the guys we mentioned before.
64:54So, but yeah, pretty much as, as John said, I don't really count them in my, in my starters as I'm going through my roster.
65:01Yeah. Hendo is an interesting one. And I purposely put him in here along with like a Harvey to just to say,
65:08like, to be honest with the roles of these running backs that you're rostering.
65:12Hendo in startups is going in like the fourth round, right?
65:16And he's, he's still a sidekick, right? Like he's the one B in his offense right now.
65:21But the reason he's going as high as he is, is because he was drafted highly in the NFL draft and the
65:28talent that he has makes it so that if, and, and actually more like when Ramondre Stevenson kind of exits that starting
65:34role, Hendo is more than likely going to be thrust in there because he has the draft capital, the team invested in
65:41him and he's getting in there, but it is important to know like the capital you have to invest in that to,
65:48to wait for that asset to, to actually come into that starting role.
65:52You need to, to allocate those resources accordingly, right?
65:55Like you can't see Hendo as like this high upside ticket for you.
65:59Like he may hit for you in season, but I think it's more important to view him like a one B.
66:05Like there's probably at least for this season, not much difference between like a Rashad white and Travion Henderson this season, right?
66:12As long as, you know, Ramondre Stevenson is playing healthy.
66:15So realizing the value difference between the roles that these running backs are playing is, is something that I'm trying to point
66:22out here because they, while they do give you, you know, a shot to enter your starting lineup on any given week,
66:28the price you have to pay for each one of these guys varies.
66:32As you go down the list of who we're talking, whether it's Harvey Hendo, Rashad white, Corum, a non guy gain, or doubt.
66:39Just know that you need to allocate those resources accordingly because you need to build the depth in other places.
66:45And maybe if you can go send, if you're trying to contend, you can send Hendo to go get Harvey and another piece.
66:52And now you've, you know, gotten two pieces so that you can fill two other roster spots here.
66:58Okay. The last archetype that we have to talk about here are the expendables, which are the old running back that have
67:05a year or two left in the tank. We're talking about Henry Montgomery, Jacobs, Pollard, maybe even like a Dobbins fits into that tier here.
67:12I'm curious guys. And to, as, as we're going through these, right?
67:16Like how, how you value these in a best ball league, it feels very straightforward, right?
67:21These are the starters. You're valuing them. They don't have job security.
67:25You just want them for a year. You're not investing too much into them, but let's think about two, like a roster construction.
67:32And how they fit in. What other running backs are you trying to pair with these guys?
67:37If any, at all to, to kind of complete the roster construction for a running back room.
67:42Maybe if you have it in you to, to give me an ideal running back room, whether it's one elite guy, one
67:49expendable, a sidekick, and you know, some, some backup with benefits.
67:52If you have that to kind of like piece together, or if you have thought about that at all, like that's kind
67:59of where I'm trying to get at is how do we kind of take these archetypes and how do we fit them
68:06together to piece together a running back room here?
68:08And maybe it's fluid, right? Maybe it's just whatever the league gives you, but talk to me on this, John, what do
68:15you, what do you have to say on, on the expendables in general, where they should go and kind of how we piece all of these together.
68:23First off, how dare you include Henry in here?
68:26The guy's been, he's had a year left for like five years, right?
68:30So I wouldn't bet against him, but the rest of these guys, yeah, these are absolutely something that I'm going to be picking up as a contender.
68:38They're going to fill that spot for me. You know, I treat them, they're mercenaries, right?
68:43I'm not putting any long-term commitment to them. I'll take on.
68:47And as long as, you know, they're, they're on the field, they're producing points for me.
68:51I'm happy to have them on my team. And then the nice thing for them is actually, I don't necessarily want to
68:58pair them with another running back, but I actually like to pair them with draft picks.
69:03And so what ends up happening is, is I'll ride one of these guys as a contender until they kind of fall
69:10off or I don't need them anymore. And then they can go off of my team and then I can replace them
69:17with that draft pick and fill it in coming from there, whether that's spending that pick and getting a player from somebody
69:23else, or if it's actually using the pick and then filling in with a shiny new running back coming off the, off the rookie draft, right?
69:31So those are the kinds of the ways that I'm looking to move off of them when I'm contending as a rebuilder, these guys got to go, right?
69:40These they're taking time bombs and I do not want to be left holding that.
69:44Yeah, that's fair to say. And I'm totally with you on both of those accounts.
69:49What about you, Jose drafting Henry and our Scott fishbowl here today?
69:53What do you have to say about Henry and the expendables and how are you trying to piece these rooms together?
69:59Yeah. I mean, I have Henry in a lot of places.
70:02I mean, he's like John was saying, he's just in terms of NFL wise, like there's nobody else like Derek Henry on in the NFL.
70:10And just for fantasy, what he has been when he has been healthy and he's mostly stayed healthy almost every, you know,
70:17for three, four years, even now into his late twenties, early thirties, he's playing every single game.
70:22He's being Derek. And he's just a player. I love, I'm okay.
70:26Holding that bag, obviously as a contender, like John was saying, all of these guys.
70:30So I'll kind of fill in, you know, touch on like, you're talking about like a running back room.
70:36I mean, this is one of the ones that I was talking about that happened just because I can't really get a hold of, of wide receivers.
70:44They, they're a lot of them are another contender.
70:47So this is the best ball that I won two years ago.
70:51I was in the championship last year. So I, it's a heavy contender and my running back room is anchored by Jameer Gibbs.
70:58Saquon Barkley is kind of, I would say like another pretty strong anchor, although he's also getting up in age.
71:04And then you will, have Jacobs, Henry, who you mentioned here, and then Javante Williams, and then kind of going into those more expendables, like backup with benefits.
71:13You have a Aaron Jones, a Chris Rodriguez, a Rico Dowdle.
71:16So it's a really, I would say pretty robust.
71:19It's definitely the strong point of the, of the team, but that's just because what was handed to me in trades, what
71:25I could trade for in terms of points. And there's an, you know, it's not a heavy PPR league.
71:31So like wide receivers also, although we're starting three, it's not, you know, the, the end of the world to not have, have a ton of them.
71:39I would say like, that's kind of, you know, an ideal, a very good, although this running back room is aging.
71:46Like if, if Henry or Jacobs or Barkley was maybe a chase Brown or, or somebody else, it's like kind of an
71:53equal level, but in terms of points, but you know, several years younger, I definitely feel better about it going into the future.
72:00I think adding Javante Williams into that kind of helped a lot last year, where now I feel, especially now he's got the contract.
72:07I view him as more of a, a guy that will be on the team for at least a couple of years,
72:14if I'm still contending, but the rest of them pretty much like, I'm okay.
72:18And understanding that after this year, maybe three of these guys wheels have completely fallen off.
72:23Even King Henry himself, like, you know, the shoe's got to drop at some point.
72:28Nobody's eternal, even as cool as Henry is. And as awesome he is, like eventually it's going to happen.
72:33Um, so I'm okay with knowing that and just knowing that like, Hey, like after this year or next year, like it's
72:40either might be time to rebuild or I might need to really do some moving around and, and, uh, you know, move
72:47these players around, but that's how I would say I would break it down.
72:51Like one of the top tier guys and then, uh, you know, middle tier, um, which I don't think we really have here.
72:58And then the rest of these guys should be backup with benefits, expendables and sidekicks.
73:03Like that's, I think the, the, the best way to, to build the dynasty best ball and make sure that you cover
73:09yourself for injuries and for just bad performances. I love it.
73:13That's a great way to kind of round out an RB room.
73:16Um, and yeah, as, as long as Henry keeps running up hills with chains, you know, dragging behind him, I feel like
73:23he's going to keep producing side note. I need to look into getting some chains and a hill near my house so
73:30that I can, uh, you know, live forever here.
73:33But all right, guys, uh, that, that kind of brings us to the end of the dynasty rest, best ball roster construction.
73:39John, thank you so much for coming on to chat ball and spread your wisdom and knowledge here, man.
73:45We really appreciate it. Why don't you take a moment here to kind of shout out where all the listeners can find your content, what you're working on.
73:54And, uh, yeah, just, just shout out the good word here, man.
73:57My pleasure. And thanks for joining, having me again, J man, Jose, it's been awesome.
74:02Bit of pleasure. Um, you can find me, uh, in the OTC discord.
74:06You can find me on OTC, FFB.com dropping articles.
74:09They're got a new one coming out. I believe the day of this pod comes out, but we'll find out, uh, that'll
74:16be about, uh, rebuilding your dynasty best ball rosters.
74:18I've already got one out there about your pillars of dynasty best ball.
74:22Another one breaking down, you know, the Bucky game little things.
74:26I got more on the way. We'll see what happens there.
74:29Um, but yeah, you can find me in the OTC discord.
74:32You can find me on blue sky. Uh, just my name, John Leonard dot B sky dot social.
74:38Uh, yeah. Any questions about data dynasty, whatever, let me know.
74:41I'll be there. He will. And he's very active on the discord.
74:45So, um, go ahead and jump in there and, uh, ask him the questions here.
74:49All right. So as always future first gang, thank you, obviously John for, uh, coming in talking with us, but, um, we always appreciate you guys.
74:57please like subscribe, comment to all the things we really appreciate it.
75:01Um, you know, we've been future first, keep sticking with us.
75:04We got, um, you know, some other content coming up and, uh, you know, it's going to be a good summer, a good season.
75:12So hopefully, um, you stick with us and you keep following along and, um, you know, you roster views, we've got our dynasty best ballies.
75:19We're going to be starting up or startups. So, uh, keep plugged in comment, you know, let us know, um, stay in touch with us.
75:27We really appreciate it. Um, and again, really appreciate John coming on and, uh, talking with us.
75:32So thank you again for, you know, coming back a second that.
75:36Yeah. Thank you, John. It was a good time, man.
75:39And yeah, if you guys want in a best ball league, make sure to jump in those comments, check out our latest process.
75:46First episode. We got those coming all day long on the other side, guys.
75:50Peace out.
