The Game Plan · Fantasy Football, PlayerProfiler, Matty Kiwoom

Resurrecting a Dead Dynasty Roster ft The Podfather

·1 hr 25 min·5 clips

Matt Kelly proposes a 'high frequency abandoners' list to shame fantasy managers who quit leagues early.

This episode of The Game Plan features host Matty Kiwom and guest Matt Kelly, the founder of Player Profiler, discussing strategies for rebuilding struggling dynasty fantasy football rosters. Kelly shares his 21 years of fantasy experience, beginning with drafting Tony Gonzalez in 2002 based on an early value-over-replacement theory. The conversation identifies three potential successors to Travis Kelce: T.J. Hockenson, Kyle Pitts, and rookie Luke Musgrave, with a detailed breakdown of Hockenson's opportunity-driven profile and Pitts' historic rookie production. Kelly argues that deciding to compete or rebuild hinges on assessing the top rosters in your league and defining a clear, short-term window. He warns that attempting a multi-year rebuild is risky due to league instability and advocates for a one-year "productive struggle" approach. A key insight is that elite rookie running backs like Bijan Robinson are "win-now" picks, not rebuilding assets, illustrated by the cautionary tale of Saquon Barkley's dynasty impact. The hosts emphasize evaluating league opponents for fragility, using tools like lifetime value comparisons and upcoming features like the Injury Finder. They recount a personal anecdote about an "I'm Outraged" league where key members, including Nate Liss, abandoned their teams after winning. The discussion notes that last season's relative lack of major injuries may regress to more chaos in 2023. Kelly advises managers to be realistic about quarterback situations, using his own need to acquire Aaron Rodgers to justify drafting Bijan Robinson as an example. The tone is highly conversational, humorous, and digressive, filled with inside jokes and playful banter, including a long, comedic mix-up between NFL legends Dick Butkus and Mike Ditka. Fantasy football enthusiasts who enjoy strategic, data-informed dynasty talk blended with casual, irreverent humor will love this episode. Listeners seeking a tightly structured, purely educational tutorial might find the frequent tangents and inside baseball less appealing.

As heard by us

A practical dynasty rescue plan built around roster comparison and timing.

Matty Kiwom and Matt Kelly take a sober pass at rescuing dead dynasty rosters. The piece gives managers a workable way to weigh lifetime value, compare a team to the rest of the league, and decide whether to rebuild or push in now.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if your dead dynasty roster needs a rescue plan.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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