Devy Portfolio Construction
Kevin dives into devy strategy on how to build the perfect devy roster.
Devy isn’t about prospect collecting.
It’s portfolio management.
Most devy managers approach drafts like a shopping spree, stacking names, chasing rankings, and convincing themselves that more “good prospects” automatically equals a better team. That’s how you end up overloaded in one class, exposed to one position, and fragile the moment the market shifts.
This article isn’t asking “Who should I draft?”
It’s teaching you to ask the more important question:
If I were starting a devy team today, what should my exposure look like?
How many running backs do you actually need?
How much of your roster should be freshmen versus upperclassmen?
How much of your portfolio is dependent on NFL draft capital versus college production?
Those answers, not rankings, are what determine whether your devy roster can accumulate value, absorb misses, and stay flexible long enough to win leagues.
While this framework can apply to C2C and hybrid formats, the focus here is pure devy strategy:
How to accumulate the right types of assets, where to concentrate risk, where to avoid it, and how intentional portfolio construction gives you multiple paths to profit, not just one fragile bet.
Devy success isn’t about being right on one prospect.
It’s about building a structure that lets you win even when some bets miss.
Step 1: Start With the Portfolio, Not the Board
Before names, rankings, or tiers, you define structure but not in the way most people think.
Devy roster construction isn’t about locking yourself into a fixed number of running backs, wide receivers, or freshmen. The moment you decide “I need three RBs and five WRs”, you’ve already limited your upside. Devy is fluid. Your goal isn’t balance, it’s value accumulation, wherever that value shows up.
Instead of fixed counts, think in round-by-round exposure and asset behavior.
You’re not drafting a lineup.
You’re building a portfolio designed to appreciate.
Round 1: Swing for Ceiling, Not Comfort
The first round is not the place for safety.
Floor plays are for suckers here.
Your goal in Round 1 is simple:
Acquire a player you believe has a legitimate path to first-round NFL draft capital and difference-making upside.
That’s why this is not the spot for “solid” devy assets or players whose value is already capped. It’s also why I’m generally wary of quarterbacks in this range, most aren’t sure things, and the bust rate at the position is brutal.
The safest bets at the top of devy drafts tend to be:
Elite WR profiles with translatable traits
True three-down RBs with size, burst, and draft capital upside
If a player’s appeal is mostly floor, they don’t belong here. You can find floor later. You can’t manufacture ceiling.
Rounds 2–3: Trait Bets That Can Hold Value
This is where portfolio construction starts to matter.
In Rounds 2 and 3, I’m hunting value assets, not immediate producers. Give me:
Upside true freshman WRs
Players I’m betting on because of traits, not box scores
Profiles that can hold or gain value even before they break out
These are still ceiling plays but they’re calculated ones. You’re not just drafting upside; you’re drafting assets that can survive a year or two without production while the market waits.
This is where patience pays.
Rounds 4–5: Target Value Risers, Not Box Scores
By the middle rounds, my focus shifts even more aggressively toward value risers.
Here, I’m targeting:
Sophomores who haven’t broken out yet
Players with a clear path to a starting role
Profiles that are one opportunity shift away from a market correction
Production early in a player’s career matters far less to me than where their value could go with one change in usage, role, or perception.
I’m playing the market, not the Saturday box score.
The Biggest Devy Mistake: Chasing College Production
One of the most common and costly mistakes in devy is chasing college production.
College stats do not equal devy value.
They often inflate it.
Devy is about identifying NFL assets first:
Traits
Size
Athleticism
Draft capital pathways
Production can help confirm those bets but it should rarely be the reason you make them. When managers chase college numbers, they end up rostering players whose value collapses the moment NFL evaluators weigh in.
That’s how devy teams get stuck.
The Takeaway
Starting with the portfolio means:
No rigid position quotas
No class-based mandates
No early production bias
You’re allocating capital based on where value is most likely to grow, not where points are coming from today.
You’re managing exposure, not chasing vibes.
Step 2: Let the Environment Dictate the Mix
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