Alright I wanted to share my experience taking over an absolute dumpster fire Orphan in an Industry Podcast league in 2019. I was given this roster with only one pick in the next two years. A 2020 2nd rd pick. Zero 2019 picks. I will cover every trade since then in this thread.

First thing was trying to get as much value during the offseason as possible that I could flip for picks. I targeted Baker since I knew the hype would propel him to ridiculous value heights as the new QB darling. I flipped Carson Wentz straight up.

Next I wanted to dump TY. He was hitting the value age cliff. I knew his value would sink. Two year rebuild, TY had to go. I targeted Corey Davis since he had name value and I could buy low. I got my boy Stafford in the deal as wellCorrection: I had a 2019 2nd. Zero 2020 picks.

Next came the draft. I desperately needed to get as many draft pieces as possible since I only had this 2.03 for the next two years. No matter who was on the board, I was trading down if possible. These are the trades in a rebuild that make all the difference. I got a 2020 pick!

The worst part of the 2.03 trade was if I had pieces, AJ Brown was my pick. Value was incredible, but I couldn’t put my eggs into one basket. I made the trade. Got the 2.09 and traded down for more picks. I needed resources. I was left in the rainforest with a Swiss Army knife.

Had I kept the 2.09, I woulda taken Darrell Henderson. So this one worked out as Henderson flopped. I moved the 3.03 for 3.11 and 2020 3rd. Easy decision. I would have taken Justice Hill or Kelvin Harmon. So again, dodged the landline. I now have a 2020 2nd and multiple 3rds.

I tried to trade the 3.11 and couldn’t. I had zero RBs. In fantasy circles, Gurley was basically having his leg amputated and nothing else behind him. I took Ryquell Armstead. Thot process was simple. Fournette gets hurt, a lot. Didnt work out. Lenny refused to go down. Bust pick

I then had the 5.03 which technically counts a pick but I technically doesn’t. 5ths don’t pan out. One of my favorite RBs in the 2019 class was Myles Gaskin. Loved his game, knew his limitations but at 5.03 it’s long shot territory anyway. (This ends up working out for me later)

Ok this one hurts me. Freeman was on his last legs, and although I love Marvin, he’s aging, and I need upside. I’d still make this trade 10/10 times. I gambled on Guice, he went on to miss another season and then pissed away his career. Didn’t lose a ton, but still equity lost.

Here comes the fun. I was really low on Baker. I had to move him before he took a snap in 2019. My focus was picks. Only thing that guarantees me equity retention. I got that 2020 1st I needed (more on that later). I bought low on Mitch in the process and got a 2021 1st to boot.

I didn’t want to trade Gurley in the offseason. I took the risk of holding in hopes he’d get enough touches to flip. He did just that. 30 carries in first two games and a TD. But he didn’t look like Gurley. It was time. Another 2020 1st and darts. I elated for Goedert in TE prem.

Ok this is where it gets weird but fuck it. I targeted Frank Gore. Wtf right? He was getting a ton of work for the Bills. I knew I could turn him into equity. I traded my 4th for Gore and a different 4th. So I still have a 4th but maybe can get another one with Gore. (Next tweet)

Boom. Mission complete. Gore scores a TD in week 3, and over 100 in week 4. I find my RB needy team. The man I traded Gurley too, I also gave him Gore. And I got two more 4ths. I turned one 4th into three 4ths in two weeks. In a rebuild pick volume is king. Darts, darts, darts.

Timing is everything. Darwin has one week of 44 yards and a TD. Time to flip. That Gurley trade keeps paying dividends. I got couple young darts and got a 2021 3rd. Perfect. It may seem small, but those picks add up. Especially since I was so empty of draft equity.

Final trade of 2019. Arob one of my last pieces with decent value. He did me no good. I needed to break him down and target a couple young WRs. As you know, I’m obsessed with Diontae, and with Cooper FA upcoming, Gallup was a huge buy coming off 1,100 yards. I LOVED this trade.

So now here are my rosters. And my 2019 roster has:

Two 2020 1sts, a 2020 2nd, two 2020 3rds, three 2020 4ths

Three 2021 1sts, a 2021 2nd, two 2021 3rds, and a 2021 4th

I upgraded my roster and added four firsts to my team via trade. So far so good. Still long way away.

So now comes the draft. I didn’t make any moves prior to the draft. Remember that Baker for Trubisky, 2020 1st and 2021 1st? Yeah that 2020 1st ended up being the 1.01

Welcome to the team Joe Burrow!

So Burrow is secured (more on this later). I’m at 1.10 and guess what? Another trade down. Got a 2021 first, and two 2021 2nds. Just filling that live well up with picks. The orphan was so bad I’m still a year away from putting out a decent product. I woulda taken Jeudy at 1.10

This is where my trade down gamble backfired. I got greedy. I wanted Josh Reynolds for a midseason flip. I thought he’d get some production and I could flip in season if Kupp or Woods went down. And I wanted Aiyuk and took the risk he’d fall to 2.10. He did not. I was salty.

I was on tilt. Aiyuk got taken at 2.09. I didn’t love anything left. One of my offseason targets was Hock. I felt like he could take a 2nd year leap. This one paid off. The 2.10 woulda been AJ Dillon for me. (Gibson and Claypool avail) but I’m being honest, Dillon was the pick.

This is an interesting one. I wanted more flippable pieces. The more 4ths I can get this year, the higher odds I have to hit a homer. I gave up the 2021 3rd that belonged to a playoff team. And got a 2021 4th from a bottom team. So the pick swing if it replicated was narrow.

Ok, huge bummer. I got my darts. I targeted players on teams that have weaker starters in front of them and Tyler Johnson was a guy that people loved and soured on him so I know if he surfaces, I could sell at a premium. As good as 2020 was early, 4ths were trash. We move on.

This is my big L. At the time it shocked the league, everyone thought I robbed the bank. WRONG. Darnold I thought had upside like Burrow, both risky. Stidham was the starter I could try to flip, and Edwards could be the guy in Vegas. So I figured I need pieces with upside. Nope.

That Baker deal continues to cascade. I flipped Mitch for a 2021 2nd. Very happy with this one at the time, and although Mitch has shown improvement, I’d still make the trade today. More equity insulation. Take that all day.

As soon as the Miami news surfaced, it was time to move JoHo. Once again timing is everything. A 2021 3rd and 2022 2nd. The pick equity insulation continues. I never like to hold RBs in a full rebuild. Too volatile. Always look to flip them.

Well, Myles Gaskin at 5.03 in 2019 finally paid off. Got a 2021 3rd and 2022 2nd. Identical deal to JoHo. So for JoHo Gaskin Wilson I got two 2021 3rds and two 2022 2nds. I’d do that all day despite my love for Gaskin, I worry he’s not long for a lead role.

The trend continues. Break down player’s. 3 for 1s, 2 for 1s. The Burrow one backfired, but I still like this one. I really wanted Davis. He’s been a huge buy for me. I refused the deal if Davis wasn’t included. @DHH_Tyler finally broke. Got another 1st for the future for Hock

Jimmy for a 4th. Actually funny story. I’m jostling for last place. Somehow I’m winning games. I’m down 8 points with Jimmy left in TE premium. @DWZMemphis out of the blue offers me a 4th for Jimmy. I snap accept, take Jimmy out of my lineup and ensure the loss. Hyped.

This whole time I’ve been sitting on Rodgers. He’s on my try to trade list, but I got zero real bites so I waited. My first “upgrade” of my rebuild. Preseason this offer woulda gotten laughed at. I figured time to buy low on Lamar. Sell high on Rodgers. Late 1st I can part with.

So before I screenshot my current roster. Let me tell you, I started Jordan Wilkins and Guice most of the season. My rebuild strategy is to trade away all my RBs and try to score zero points. I start my best players ALWAYS. So if I have no RBs, it offsets other position scoring.

Somehow some fucking way I finished with the 1.03... so somehow the one guy that’s tanking since Pearl Harbor managed to miss out on Trevor Lawrence. Everyone in my league thought it was a lock. Yet I went 4-9. I won 30% of my games starting zero RBs. It hurts.

So now that my season is in the books you can see the progress from Jan 2019 to today. I will recap in next tweet.

I went from very little equity, aging roster, and one pick. To a young roster w/ some upside at WR, a potential top 5 TE, and a solid QB stable. Along with 1.03, 1.04, 1.07 and four 2nds. With 12 picks in first two rounds in 2021 and 2022, I feel good about... Cont.

Competing in the near future depending on how I maneuver this upcoming draft.

QB:
Lamar
Stafford
Darnold

RB:
None

WR:
Diontae
Gallup
G. Davis
Ruggs
Edwards

TE:
Goedert

I need to focus on RB, a WR1, and depth. My strategy is to always fill RB last in a rebuild. Cont.

With those 12 early picks in 2021/2022, I’ll find no trouble competing this year if I chose to. I might push it out another year. Just to have a ton of talent going into 2022. Most rebuilds aren’t this bad and can be done sooner, but this was one of the worst orphans imaginable.

I will continue this thread with every move I make, every step I take, since you’ll be watching me. I hope folks found this helpful as I guided you through the last two seasons of trades and a brief insight as to what I was thinking. #IzzysOrphan

My first move of 2021. I traded Darnold for 1.10/Callaway. Originally it was just 1.10, but I countered to get one of my fav dart throws of 2021. Thought process was simple, the 1.10 will drive up in price and I can get more than what I could for Darnold come May. #IzzysOrphan

I’m now sitting with Lamar/Stafford at QB, and I have 1.03/1.04/1.08/1.10/2.01/2.02/2.03 to play with. I own nearly half the picks in the first 15 (7), and should be sitting nice and flexible with drafting BPA and moving picks for vets (or stockpiling 2022’s). #IzzysOrphan