Jay BuhnerThe entire reason I was drawn to fantasy sports as a child was a growing frustration with the New York Yankees shortsighted view during the 1980s. The Yankees were world famous for giving away their best talent while trying to recapture the glory of the late 70s during my formative years. The names read like an 1980s All-Star roster as they traded away the likes of Willie McGee, Fred McGriff, Jose Rijo,Doug Drabek, and my all time favorite (because of Seinfeld) Jay Buhner.

Meanwhile in the swamps of New Jersey George Young and Bill Parcells were putting together an organization and a team that would rival the greats of the 1980s. Building through defense and ball control offense the Giants slowly gained momentum until they were perennial Super Bowl contenders and the envy of all New York franchises during that time period. Bill Parcells got all the accolades and made for good sound bites, but it was George Young and his scouting department that made it possible for Parcells to work his magic.

The man in the funny glasses on the phone on draft day is who I always wanted to be. Unfortunately for me, my career and passions took me in another direction, but I am able to scratch that inner GM itch by playing Dynasty and Keeper league fantasy football. Dynasty leagues aren’t for everyone. They are for that true fantasy football fanatic that never wants the season to end. I equate dynasty leagues versus redraft leagues to when Madden and NCAA football made dynasty mode available. Some people could have cared less, because it was a purely social bragging rights thing for them to play with their friends and others went crazy playing month after month by themselves just to get Rutgers to the Fiesta Bowl on expert level. (Took me four excruciating seasons)

Anyone can win from year to year in Re-Draft leagues if you know what you are doing and everyone else in your leagues make the same mistakes continuously, but in Dynasty it takes a special kind of patience and foresight to make a continuous winner. If you have a keen eye for undervalued talent and players that may emerge in a year or two then dynasty and keeper leagues are for you. If you buy a draft guide the day of your draft and don’t keep up with the league after the Super Bowl then I would stick to Re-draft leagues if I were you.

As a Giant fan this is a very interesting year to be in Dynasty and Keeper leagues.David Wilson’s draft stock will rise and fall with every blurb from training camp in Re-draft leagues, but in Dynasty his talent is harder to overlook. In a start up Dynasty League mock draft I did with some writers in June, David Wilson went at the 16th overall pick. I was bummed I didn’t get him because of what he showed at the end of last year. Yes Tom Couglin and Kevin Gilbride like to use two backs, but they also can produce excellent fantasy backs while rotating the touches. David Wilson is a rare back that combines speed and toughness when he gets the ball in his hands. If he is able to become the lead back the sky is the limit. The comparisons to C.J. Spiller will continue to get louder until you are thinking they are one and the same by draft day.

 

Here Dynasty Football Warehouse’s Leo Paciga (AKA @FFHoudini) shows an interesting side by side of both C.J Spiller and David Wilson’s stats during their rookie years.C J Spiller

Spiller’s stats as a rookie

74 rushes, 283 yards, 0 TD’s
24 receptions 157 yards, 1 TD
44 KO returns, 1014 yards 1 TD (23.0 yard avg)

Wilson’s stats as a rookie

71 rushes, 358 yards, 4 TD’s
4 receptions, 34 yards, 1 TD
57 KO returns, 1533 yards, 1 TD (26.8 yard avg)

Currently C.J. Spiller is going in the top 5 of dynasty drafts just to give you a frame of reference to where David Wilson could be being drafted next year in startup dynasty leagues. I think his mid 2nd round ADP is still a value and could be tempted to take him at the 1-2 turn in leagues.

In Leo’s article that was written in March the Giants wide receiver situation was still in flux as both Cruz and Nicks looked to be potential training camp hold outs. What he wrote then still hold true today as Rueben Randle is an excellent dynasty draft pick at his current ADP. Randle has been going in the 9th to 10th rounds of startup dynasty leagues and very well could be a contributor this year. That’s the key with guys like Wilson and Randle. They can help you win now and may be in a position next year to help you dominate. With Nicks health always being a question Randle could see his value skyrocket if Nicks comes up lame again. Thinking forward to next year he would be a starter if the Giants let Nicks walk. Anyway you look at it Randle is an excellent pick in the 9th round range.

Victor Cruz & Hakeem Nicks

With Victor Cruz being relatively young and staring in an excellent passing offense he will be looked at at least a round earlier in Dynasty leagues. Cruz is valued in round two in dynasty leagues where he usually goes in the bottom of the third round in redrafts.Hakeem Nicks is the wildcard wide receiver for the Giants. His dynasty league fantasy value is depressed because of the injury history, but in a contract year you may hit the jackpot when you take him. If he resigns with the Giants and stays healthy he is an excellent dynasty WR capable of being a top 10 WR for years to come. If he decides to sign somewhere else you better hope for your sake as a dynasty owner that its somewhere that throws the ball. I have a feeling he could be in Carolina next season, but that’s purely speculation on my part.

One more key to Dynasty versus Redraft is the amount of trades that happen. A reader from our community contacted me with questions about dynasty leagues and the first thing I told him was there will always be trade talk. If you are like me and put talking trades right at the top of the list of reasons why fantasy sports are great than you have to think about joining a dynasty or keeper league. The season literally never ends and it actually is great for friendships as you talk to your league mates way more than you would if you were only in a redraft league together.

Please join the summer fantasy football conversation on Twitter by following me@Coachesser and visit me on Facebook and give my page CoachEsser’s Playbook a like if you want be the first to hear about any new articles or happenings in the fantasy sports world. Also visit me at www.coachesser.com to get all of my pre-season rankings and view my other articles featured around the web.

Note when I talk about drafts it is always based off of 12 team leagues and PPR scoring.

This article originally appeared at www.bigblueview.com on Sunday July 28th, 2013