There is something great about the time between the days leading up to the NFL Draft and the days after dynasty rookie drafts. Optimism is everywhere as it represents new beginnings for failed fantasy squads of the past. After the rookie draft, you may have some new promising players, but what else needs to be done? There are way too many owners that stop visiting their league’s website for long stretches of time. They go on vacation, perhaps read a few fantasy football articles here and there, and don’t log into their league until a week or two before Labor Day. I’m not saying don’t go on vacation for a week or two. I’m suggesting not taking an entire summer hiatus from your league. Here is a plan of attack for what to do after your rookie draft:

Keep Up with the News

This is the time to keep track of the little things because you never know when a little crumb from the local media will pay off big. Andrew Luck still hasn’t thrown an NFL football at the time of this writing and you could use this information to either trade for him or trade him away depending on how you think it will turn out. Speaking of speculation, Teddy Bridgewater is looking great in camp and may get a chance to start for a team other than the Jets this season. In leagues that flex quarterbacks or have 16 or more teams, an owner might be able to acquire him cheaply with that insight right now. Then, in IDP leagues, Khalil Mack has been moved back to defensive end per Rotoworld‘s team depth charts which is the source that My Fantasy League (MFL) uses for their player position designations. He is more valuable in that position versus playing as an outside linebacker in most leagues.

Know Your Waivers

I’m in eight leagues this season and every week I go through the available players for each league. For the leagues that are hosted on MFL, there is a feature called the ‘My Watch List’ that can be accessed from the ‘For Owners’ tab. I first sort the available players by position and then by team to be thorough and add all the free agents that I consider stash-worthy. This list provides me with all available free agents in an organized format at a moment’s notice. When I explain this to other dynasty owners, many ask, “why bother,” and I explain that it’s important to know who is available at any given time. When you want to trade an asset away, the knowledge that a replacement-level player is available on waivers can reduce the risks you take.

Please keep track of when and how often waivers process. Many leagues have weekly or monthly waivers during the offseason. After these waivers run, there could be plenty of dropped players of interest. Always review the waiver reports for players you might want on your team. Many times, after the initial waiver run, the waivers become ‘first come, first serve’ for a day or two. This is a great time to make cheap adjustments to improve your team, but always be mindful of the blind bidding you spend as owners don’t want to overspend in the offseason to the point where they’re unable to improve their squad during the season.

Trade Bait

Dynasty owners can be very fickle people. Their great love affairs with players can end quite suddenly, and you can never anticipate when another owner makes a great player available for trade. If you aren’t an active owner, how would you know who wants to or which players are available for trade? I try to scan the ‘Trade Bait’ section that MFL provides through the ‘Franchise’ tab under ‘Reports.’ An owner can simply list what they are willing to trade and what they are seeking in return. If you are in a bigger league or don’t know the other owners well, this gives you an excellent opportunity to let the entire league know the players you desire. In a way, this is almost like “speed dating,” where you can field multiple offers in a short period and decide which one best fits your team’s needs.

Socialize

If you are in a dynasty league, you might as well get to know something about your fellow owners. Everyone has an obvious interest in football so why not find out more about them? You can find out where someone is from, what their favorite team is, what college they went to or follow, etc. For example, I live in Maine (while disliking the Patriots), was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, went to Bowling Green University, played linebacker and offensive guard in high school, and have a Steelers tattoo. How can you use this information? You would summarize that I know a lot of about the Patriots as I am in their media coverage area. I also might follow the Big Ten or Mid-American Conference and am more than likely a Steelers fan. Now, this could make me a favorable candidate for a Trey Flowers or JuJu Smith-Schuster trade offer.

These connections may keep owners coming back to the league year after year.  A while ago, I joined an existing dynasty league with a decent team, built it up, and took that team to the playoffs for at least a third-place finish three years in a row. After the third year, I left the league, not because I had a bad team, but because no one traded or talked to each other. Finishing in the money every year wasn’t enough. Perhaps this is why I don’t really care for some of the bigger fantasy contests as the social aspect is more important to me.

Conclusion

Just because your rookie draft is complete, it doesn’t mean it’s time for you as a team owner to take a two-month vacation. Follow the news to keep up with injuries and contract information but try to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to coach-speak. Look at your league calendar to keep track of your waivers and know who which players are available. Update your trade bait and review everyone else’s; there might be a good deal to be made. Finally, have fun and be sociable, otherwise, you might as well be playing against a computer.

Thanks for reading. Throughout the offseason, I will continue to write about rookies and how you can become a better and more efficient dynasty owner so be sure to keep an eye on DTC for all of the new content. You can also follow me on Twitter @AndrewMiley.