Dynasty Startup Breakdown: Lessons From a Recent Startup Draft
Kevin breaks down a recent dynasty start
Startup drafts are one of the most exciting parts of dynasty. It’s the one moment where every manager has a chance to build their roster from scratch and set the foundation for the next several seasons.
Recently, a dynasty startup took place in our Discord community. While I wasn’t drafting in the league myself, the board provided a great snapshot of the current market. Some strategies worked well, some picks were head-scratchers, and a few players fell much further than they probably should have.
In this article, I’m breaking down the key takeaways from the draft, including roster construction trends, surprising values, and a few picks that could shape the league for years to come.
ROUNDS 1-10
The early rounds of a dynasty startup are where the foundation of every roster is built. These picks carry the most long-term value, and the decisions made here often shape how competitive a team can be both immediately and over the next several seasons.If in a startup, you want to try to accumulate as many picks in these rounds as possible.
For the first ten rounds of this draft, I’m going to break things down into three categories:
FAVORITE PICKS
These are selections that stood out as strong values based on current market trends, player trajectory, or overall roster construction. Some managers did a great job identifying players who could outperform their current startup cost.
1.12 – Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks (WR3)
If you’re sitting at the back end of the first round and the quarterback tier has already dried up, landing Jaxon Smith-Njigba here is exactly what you want. JSN was one of the best players in fantasy football this past season and just helped lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win. At only 24 years old, his dynasty outlook couldn’t be much better.
Coming into 2025, Smith-Njigba was already trending up after posting 14.9 PPG in 2024. But this past season, he completely exploded, finishing with 119 catches for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 21.2 PPG. That made him the WR2 in fantasy football, trailing only Puka Nacua.
The Seahawks offense is still loaded and built to keep producing. There’s not another emerging alpha in this passing game that threatens his role, and if anything, additional weapons only help keep defenses honest. Even when you compare him to Ja’Marr Chase, there’s a legitimate argument that JSN belongs in the WR1 conversation. Getting him at 1.12 feels like a steal.
3.03 – Ashton Jeanty, RB, Las Vegas Raiders (RB8)
The market seems nervous about Ashton Jeanty right now, but I’m not buying the panic. Yes, the rookie season numbers weren’t perfect. Jeanty averaged 3.7 yards per carry in a bad Raiders offense, but he still put up 1,321 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns while handling a massive workload. The bigger issue wasn’t Jeanty; it was the environment around him.
Now the conversation has shifted to Klint Kubiak potentially wanting a second back in the system, and suddenly everyone is worried about a committee. But the reality is every NFL team wants two capable running backs. That doesn’t mean Jeanty suddenly stops being the engine of this offense.
Jeanty is a special talent and still profiles as a player who will command volume, especially in the passing game. If anything, a better offense around him should only help. Seeing him go off the board as RB8 is the kind of discount I’m happy to take all day.
7.06 – Luther Burden, WR, Chicago Bears (WR29)
If you’ve read my work for any amount of time, you already know how I feel about Luther Burden. At WR29, this is simply too low for a player with his talent and upside. Burden quietly finished his rookie season on a strong run, and the underlying metrics were elite. His 2.69 yards per route run led all rookies and trailed only Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba across the entire league.
Now the situation is opening up even more. With DJ Moore traded to Buffalo, there are 80 targets suddenly available in this offense. That creates a huge opportunity for Burden to step into a much larger role alongside Rome Odunze and Colston Loveland.
To me, Burden profiles as the true WR1 in this offense moving forward. If this is really where his startup ADP sits, dynasty managers are going to look back on picks like this as massive values.
