The Dynasty Investor: 2023 Recap and Update

Jay Stein's The Dynasty Investor: 2023 Recap and Update Jay Stein Published 03/01/2024

To recap the process, the way we measure value in the Dynasty Investor is by looking at a player's KeepTradeCut (KTC) vs. his fantasy point per game (PPG) in a ratio called the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. P/E = KTC / PPG / 10. Then, you compare that player's P/E ratio to a like-for-like cluster of players from an age, production, and potential perspective. Players in the same cluster should be valued similarly in the market on a P/E basis. If they aren't, then an arbitrage opportunity exists to create value. Examining the interrelationship between a player's age, KTC, and PPG makes this process unique. Today, we will provide a 2023 fantasy season recap, close out favorable/unfavorable trades, and initiate new buy and sell recommendations.

Key Points Up Front

2023 Dynasty Investor Recap

We had another successful year at the Dynasty Investor. We closed 19 trades in 2023 for a total of ~15,000 KTC added (similar to 2022's results on about half as many trades); in player terms, that equates to about one Patrick Mahomes II plus a Kyle Pitts worth of value. Of course, this is a make-believe portfolio, and I'm buying/selling with no transaction costs, but if you are reading this, we hope we added a little value to your process. We will talk more about this below, but we are starting 2024 in a bit of a hole as we close out some unfavorable recommendations made in 2022. But the hope is to more than make up for it and put up similar, if not better, results in 2024.

Ratings

As a reminder, the Buy rating means we are actively in the market trying to buy a player, and we want to be overweight that player in our portfolio of teams. A Sell rating means we are actively trying to sell the player, and we want to underweight him in our portfolio of teams. And a Hold rating is just that, not trying to buy or sell and just wanting to be about market weight in our portfolio of teams. Hold-rated players can still have upside/downside or be fairly valued. So, let's take a quick look at these rating changes.

Closed Trades

Today, we are upgrading Raheem Mostert from Sell to Hold and downgrading misses in Brandin Cooks, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and David Bell.

Upgrade Raheem Mostert from Sell to Hold

We recommended selling Mostert at a KTC of 3086 (start of the chart below) and put a target KTC on him of 2500. Mostert's KTC is 2523, which is within 1% of the initial target price. The trade is a favorable 18% result, or 563 KTC was added.

raheem mostert fantasy football dynasty value

Downgrade Brandin Cooks, JuJu Smith-Schuster, & David Bell from Buy to Hold

We are locking in our losses and doing a group downgrade of Brandin Cooks, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and David Bell. Please reference the track record (below) for the complete record of how these unfavorable trades played out; in summary, these three trades combined for ~4,900 KTC lost. We are down on a few other trades on a mark-to-market basis but are sticking with them. For example, we are down big on Trey Lance, Diontae Johnson (still), Treylon Burks, Deshaun Watson, Noah Fant, and others. There are many lessons to be learned from these misses (to be addressed in a future Dynasty Investor article), but a couple of quick ones are: 1. Age is important in dynasty fantasy football, and 2. Be faster to cut bait on prospects that don't pan out (even if we liked them as prospects). One might say we're not heeding the lessons learned if we're holding out hope on guys like Rondale Moore or Treylon Burks, but we still think they can bounce back in KTC.

Dynasty Investor Top picks

Here are our current top picks, i.e., open recommendations. And following that, we'll go through some of the new initiations in more detail.

Our highest conviction ideas (all buys) at each position are still QB Kyler Murray, RB Jonathan Taylor, WR Diontae Johnson, and TE Kyle Pitts.

Top Buys:

Top Sells:

Upgrade to Buy Jaylen Waddle

Today, we are upgrading Jaylen Waddle to Buy. His price target is ~6250 KTC, which is ~10% upside from current levels. Waddle scored 14.2 PPG in 2023, and we expect him to score closer to his 3-year average PPG of ~15 in 2024.

Charting:

jaylen waddle fantasy football dynasty value

We are calling for a bounce from just above the minus-one standard deviation to closer to the plus-one standard deviation.

Trades:

Upgrade to Buy Alvin Kamara

Today, we are upgrading Alvin Kamara to Buy. His price target is ~3800 KTC, which is ~15% upside from current levels. In 2023, Kamara underproduced his expected PPG by two, and we expect some of that to reverse in 2024 without some of the uncertainty Kamara faced at the beginning of the 2023 season. We also have a Buy on Kendre Miller, but we think both Kamara and Miller can increase in KTC simultaneously.

Charting:

alvin kamara fantasy football dynasty value

We are calling for a bounce from just below the minus one standard deviation to midway between the minus one standard deviation and Kamar's average KTC over the past three years, keeping in mind we aren't expecting a full bounce to average as age is a potential concern.

Trades:

Downgrade to Sell Brock Purdy

Today, we are downgrading Brock Purdy to Sell. His price target is ~5000 KTC, which is ~10% downside from current levels. Purdy outproduced his expected PPG in 2023 by five (highest QB +/- by far and away), and we think there will be some reversion in 2024. We see Purdy in the ~16-17 PPG range for 2024, compared to earning 19.4 PPG in 2023.

Charting:

brock purdy fantasy football dynasty value

We think Purdy's KTC falls off about 750 KTC from here.

Trades:

Downgrade to Sell Kyren Williams

Today, we are downgrading Kyren Williams to Sell. His price target is ~4700 KTC, which is ~10% downside from current levels. Williams earned 21.4 PPG in 2023, outperformed his expected PPG by 1.1, and we think he is more of a 15-18 PPG type guy. So, we are calling for a reversion in PPG in 2024.

Charting:

kyren williams fantasy football dynasty value

We are calling for a fall of ~650 KTC as his KTC exhibits some reversion after a massive 2023 season.

Trades:

Downgrade to Sell Isiah Pacheco

Today, we are downgrading Isiah Pacheco to Sell. His price target is ~3900 KTC, which is ~15% downside from current levels. We have Pacheco trading at a P/E of ~30x, and we think his peer group cluster trades ~26-27x, and we are expecting him to revert closer to peer group valuations.

Charting:

isiah pacheco fantasy football dynasty value

We are calling for a fall from just above the plus one standard deviation to just under the plus one standard deviation.

Trades:

Downgrade to Sell Isaiah Likely

Today, we are downgrading Isaiah Likely to Sell. His price target is ~2500 KTC, which is ~15% downside from current levels. Likely outperformed his expected PPG by 1.9 in 2023, and we anticipate that to revert in 2024.

Charting:

isaiah likely fantasy football dynasty value

This is the KTC of both Ravens' tight ends on one chart. Mark Andrews is the Ravens' TE1 and was injured in 2023. After his injury, we upgraded him to a Buy at the Dynasty Investor. Now we are adding to that bet by betting against TE2 Isaiah Likely. I'll draw your attention to the right side of the above chart, where you can see the significant drop-off in KTC after Andrew's injury and the corresponding considerable rise in Likely. The two lines converged closer to each other as we crossed into 2024. We are calling for Andrews and Likely to diverge this year, Andrews to push upwards and Likely to push downwards.

isaiah likely fantasy football dynasty value

We are calling for Likely to fall from above plus one standard deviation to closer to his average KTC over the past couple of years.

Trades:

Track record

The total KTC added through The Dynasty Investor process is now up to 26,857 KTC.

Player Advice Date Added Initial KTC Target KTC Date Closed closed KTC Performance (%) Value Added
Tyreek Hill SELL 2/10/22 5962 5045 5/30/22 5054 -15 908
Javonte Williams SELL 2/25/22 6448 5434 6/13/22 6185 -4 263
Cooper Kupp BUY 2/10/22 6166 7209 6/13/22 6031 -2 -135
Derrick Henry BUY 2/25/22 4882 7287 6/13/22 4716 -3 -166
Marquise Brown BUY 2/10/22 3840 5164 6/30/22 4572 19 732
Austin Ekeler BUY 2/25/22 5513 6481 6/30/22 5175 -6 -338
Kyler Murray BUY 3/16/22 7723 8907 6/30/22 7564 -2 -159
Kirk Cousins BUY 3/16/22 4214 4780 6/30/22 4019 -5 -195
Rob Gronkowski BUY 5/22/22 1234 3552 6/30/22 576 -53 -658
Terry McLaurin SELL 2/10/22 4958 3502 6/30/22 4760 -4 198
CeeDee Lamb SELL 2/10/22 6037 5312 6/30/22 6392 6 -355
Dalvin Cook SELL 2/25/22 5184 4518 6/30/22 4957 -4 227
Mac Jones SELL 3/16/22 4955 4471 6/30/22 4683 -5 272
Trey Lance BUY 7/1/22 5755 6350 8/18/22 6279 9 524
Wan'Dale Robinson BUY 7/1/22 2512 2825 8/18/22 2840 13 328
Dawson Knox SELL 7/1/22 3117 2775 9/2/22 2849 -9 268
Rashaad Penny BUY 7/1/22 2668 3000 9/8/22 2880 8 212
Derek Carr SELL 3/19/22 4943 4150 9/8/22 4478 -9 465
Joe Burrow SELL 7/1/22 8199 6625 9/8/22 7546 -8 653
T.J. Hockenson SELL 7/1/22 4719 4025 9/8/22 4201 -11 518
James Cook SELL 7/1/22 3636 3150 9/14/22 3175 -13 461
Saquon Barkley BUY 9/11/22 5172 6100 9/16/22 6004 16 832
Amon-Ra St. Brown BUY 7/1/22 4175 5200 9/19/22 5120 23 945
Michael Gallup SELL 7/1/22 3083 2525 9/19/22 2616 -15 467
Christian Kirk BUY 7/1/22 3213 4325 9/19/22 4231 32 1018
Lamar Jackson BUY 3/16/22 7741 8825 9/22/22 8594 11 853
Deebo Samuel SELL 7/1/22 5570 4725 9/22/22 5537 -1 33
Joe Mixon SELL 7/1/22 5393 4700 9/27/22 4993 -7 400
Mac Jones SELL 9/11/22 4170 3500 10/3/22 3666 -12 504
Justin Herbert SELL 9/11/22 9949 8300 10/6/22 8890 -11 1059
Leonard Fournette BUY 2/25/22 3033 4700 10/13/22 4300 42 1267
James Robinson SELL 9/27/22 4340 3800 10/13/22 3834 -12 506
Wan'Dale Robinson BUY 9/27/22 2539 3250 10/20/22 3201 26 662
AJ Dillon SELL 2/25/22 4229 3600 10/30/22 3825 -10 404
Justin Fields BUY 7/1/22 4992 6000 11/10/22 6069 22 1077
Khalil Herbert SELL 11/8/22 3890 3400 11/19/22 3394 -13 496
Amon-Ra St. Brown BUY 11/8/22 5236 6200 12/9/22 6146 17 910
Fields/Lance PAIR 3/16/22 -535 12/9/22 1868 449 2403
Gabe Davis SELL 9/11/22 4520 3500 12/19/22 3676 -19 844
Tom Brady BUY 7/1/22 3359 2550 12/19/22 2182 -35 -1177
James Conner BUY 7/1/22 3590 3500 12/19/22 3048 -15 -542
Hunter Henry BUY 7/1/22 2010 2000 12/19/22 1461 -27 -549
Brevin Jordan BUY 5/22/22 1554 2125 12/19/22 1151 -26 -403
Nick Chubb SELL 7/1/22 4806 4800 12/19/22 4923 2 -117
Pat Freiermuth SELL 11/8/22 3892 3450 12/19/22 3942 1 -50
Dalvin Cook SELL 12/19/22 4213 3550 1/30/23 3618 -14 595
Ken Walker III SELL 11/8/22 6780 5150 5/1/23 5241 -23 1539
Dawson Knox SELL 11/8/22 2624 2300 5/1/23 2214 -16 410
Brandon Aiyuk BUY 10/18/22 3956 5000 9/11/23 5073 28 1117
Joe Burrow SELL 4/28/23 9195 7700 9/19/23 8168 -11 1027
Dameon Pierce SELL 10/11/22 4839 3600 9/20/23 3786 -22 1053
Kenny Pickett SELL 11/1/22 4259 3600 9/21/23 3692 -13 567
Jonathan Mingo SELL 7/3/23 3225 2800 9/26/23 2878 -11 347
D'Andre Swift BUY 6/1/23 3980 4800 10/2/23 4662 17 682
DJ Moore BUY 10/4/22 4228 5350 10/10/23 5144 22 916
Alvin Kamara BUY 6/1/23 2989 3800 10/12/23 3770 26 781
A.J. Brown BUY 10/31/22 6346 7700 10/25/23 7440 17 1094
Tutu Atwell SELL 10/1/23 3014 2450 10/28/23 2460 -18 554
Kyren Williams SELL 10/5/23 4538 3800 10/31/23 3877 -15 661
Brock Purdy SELL 10/5/23 5174 4500 11/4/23 4636 -10 538
Will Levis SELL 11/10/23 4711 3850 11/22/23 3937 -16 744
Derrick Henry SELL 11/10/23 3630 3000 12/12/23 3130 -14 500
Adam Thielen SELL 11/10/23 2815 2300 12/12/23 1905 -32 910
Travis Kelce SELL 11/10/23 5403 4700 12/12/23 4528 -16 875
Brandin Cooks BUY 7/6/22 3190 3500 2/28/24 1802 -44 -1388
JuJu Smith-Schuster BUY 7/1/22 3455 4500 2/28/24 1193 -65 -2262
David Bell BUY 9/27/22 2173 2200 2/28/24 1312 -40 -861
Raheem Mostert SELL 11/10/23 3086 2500 2/28/24 2523 -18 563

Total KTC Value Added = 26,857

Thanks for reading! If you want to learn more about Dynasty Fantasy Football and the P/E ratio, please follow me on Twitter @_jasonstein and let me know your questions and how I can help.

Photos provided by Imagn Images
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