Fantasy Football 2019: Early Sleepers, Dynasty Tips and Team Names

The fantasy football season lasts as long as you want it to.

Play in a shallow redraft league, and you might get away with doing the bulk (or all) of your prep work the week of your draft. But if you play in a dynasty format, you've hopefully been paying close attention throughout all the offseason activities.

Dynasty leagues, for the uninitiated, are the closest the fantasy world comes to mimicking real-life team management. Most or all players carry over from year to year, and leagues hold annual rookie drafts.

We'll examine some dynasty tips below after taking a general snapshot of some early sleepers and providing some fun team names for your consideration.

Early Sleepers

Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Latavius Murray, RB, New Orleans Saints

Rashaad Penny, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Kenyan Drake, RB, Miami Dolphins

Marvin Jones, WR, Detroit Lions

Christian Kirk, WR, Arizona Cardinals

Dante Pettis, WR, San Francisco 49ers

David Njoku, TE, Cleveland Browns

Jack Doyle, TE, Indianapolis Colts

Team Names

Mayfield of Dreams

Deshaun of the Dead

Paid Golladays

Kiss From a Rosen

Golden Tate of Mind

Zeke Squad

Turn Down for Watt

Giving Opponents Fitz

The Ertz Locker

Kyler Instinct

Dynasty Tips

Know Your League Settings

This applies to fantasy players in all formats, and it might sound overly simplified to the more seasoned crowd. But it's such a critical part of this process that we'd be remiss not to start here.

Fantasy leagues differ for reasons beyond the name or the host site. Size absolutely matters here, as that will provide a rough idea of what the waiver wire will have to offer. Also, knowing whether you're in a traditional one-quarterback league or part of the more trendy two-passer movement helps inform you of how early to address the position.

Your scoring setup is the most crucial area to master. Study it like you'll be tested on it, since that's effectively what will happen when the season starts.

How do the points for a passing touchdown compare to a rushing or receiving score? How much are you penalized for turnovers or missed kicks? Are you rewarded for each reception, carry or first down? Do in-game benchmarks provide an extra bonus? Find those answers, and you'll have a much better idea of which players to target on draft day.

Don't Ignore the Present

Perhaps this should be obvious, but the future aspect of dynasty leagues can make it tempting to overvalue the long run.

While you shouldn't ignore the long-term ramifications of your draft choices, those shouldn't be your only guide at the draft. Never forget what Herm Edwards said: You're playing to win the game.

We get it. Rookies are the shiny, new objects in the fantasy realm. More than a few fantasy owners are already salivating at the thought of Kyler Murray carrying their clubs for the next decade. And at the right price, he would be an incredible get.

But don't overspend on today's unknowns in the hope they'll be tomorrow's stars. It's OK to stock up on seemingly boring, low-ceiling veterans, as their high floors give more stability than any flashy new freshman can.

Wait on Quarterback

This strategy fits most formats, and it especially applies to start-up fantasy drafts.

While the quarterback position contributes a mountain of fantasy points, there isn't always much differentiation in the production. While there's always a possibility a Patrick Mahomes comes along and sets the world on fire (5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns last season), the gap between the top passers isn't typically very wide, as ESPN's Field Yates explained:

"In 2018, the gap between the fourth-best scoring quarterback (Deshaun Watson) and 15th-best scoring quarterback (Jameis Winston) was less than three points (20.73 vs. 17.80). That difference is not significant enough to justify early quarterback selections, especially when you consider that just 10 quarterbacks are starting in a league each week (in a standard ESPN league)."

In a dynasty league, the position loses even more of its luster, since so many of the best options aren't exactly long-term investments. Last season's top 10 scoring leaders at the position in NFL.com leagues featured four passers age 34 or older⁠—Matt Ryan (34), Ben Roethlisberger (37), Aaron Rodgers (35) and Drew Brees (40)—and that was with seasoned mainstays like Philip Rivers (37) and Tom Brady (41) just missing the cut.

While you'll probably nab a great passer if you target one early, you'll also endure a big hit in opportunity cost by not targeting another skill position first. Falling back on a midtier quarterback is typically a lot safer than hoping a midtier back or wideout delivers major value.