Welcome to Dynasty Lab.

My first experiment will involve a second-year DFWC team that has AJ Green, Alshon Jeffery and 11 first round rookie picks in the 2015 draft. I’ve been there and done that, but I’ve always traded those picks for stud vets like Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, etc. to form powerhouse teams. Yawn.

In this Dynasty Lab experiment, I won’t be trading ANY of the 11 firsts for vets. I will be drafting most, if not all, of those firsts, and the rest I'll trade for a few firsts next year. The rules for this experiment are simple.

Rule 1, I cannot trade any current year 1sts for any vet. For at least one regular season, I cannot trade any of the rookies drafted (or future 1st round picks acquired) for a vet.

Rule 2, which is a restatement of Rule 1, I must either draft a rookie for each 1st round pick or trade that pick for other rookie picks (present or future). Any rookie drafted (or future 1st round picks acquired), for at least one regular season, may be traded only for other rookies or future rookie picks. Current or future 2nd round picks and later may be traded at will.

Rule 3, repeat Rules 1 and 2 for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Purpose: I’ve always wondered what my powerhouse teams would look like if I did not convert the rookie picks into studs…if I did not take the shortcut to glory. Focusing on the future and youth has always been a mantra of mine, but this will take it to the extreme. I ALWAYS inevitably break down and trade some or all of the picks/youth for studs and am left wondering what could have been. This experiment will force me to do what I am not naturally inclined to do, and should provide further insight on the optimal Dynasty strategy.

Questions:

Can a lineup containing predominantly rookies compete in 2015? Although, I am curious to see the answer, winning is not a consideration. That's the beauty of Dynasty Lab! It's all about the education.

What I would be more interested to learn is whether a team focusing on this rookie strategy can or will in time become more dominant than even the best of my other DFWC teams. Will the artificial restrictions I am putting on this team, which are designed to prevent me from making some of the biggest mistakes I have made in the past, allow this team to achieve its full potential where my other teams did not?

By Year 3 (next year), this team will have a bunch of second year players on the roster, at least initially. At that point, I can trade those non-rookies for any pick or player. As a result, the team will likely start to look like some of my other powerhouse teams in Year 3 but with perhaps even more firepower.

Here is the team today: QB: Colin Kaepernick, Derek Carr
RB: All junk that will be dropped.
WR: AJ Green, Alshon Jeffery, Martavis Bryant, Cody Latimer, Marqise Lee, Paul Richardson, Kevin Norwood, Hakeem Nicks
TE: Tyler Eifert, Coby Fleener, Jared Cook

Keep in mind, DFWC rosters are limited to 20 (including defense and kicker), so I would need to drop a lot of the players currently on the roster to make room for the incoming rookies.

Predictions:

My prediction is that this team will finish in the middle of the pack in 2015. Playoffs in the DFWC are reserved for only the top 4 teams, so it is unlikely that this team will make it in 2015 unless this year's rookie class puts up similar numbers to the rookies last year (in which case, the team will likely win the league).

In 2016, I predict that this team will be the best team in the league, the highest scoring team and the league champion. It will be the youngest team by far. It will also threaten the overall crown in the DFWC in 2016. As compared to my other DFWC teams, it will take over as my second best team behind only my team in League #5. Overall, pretty impressive.

By 2017, it will be shocking to most how good this team has become, perhaps reaching a level not seen before in the DFWC or elsewhere.

For those reading and watching, I can see most (including even me) thinking the following:

Early 2015: This team looks like a failure already. What a waste!

Mid 2015: Still bad. I can't believe this guy blew 11 first rounders on this.

Early 2016: Ok, there is some potential here.

Mid 2016: Wow, this team is surprisingly good. I can really buy into this.

Early 2017: Now I see the light. This team is awesome.

Post 2017 Rookie Draft: Holy ____ ! This team is insane!!!

2018: This team is crowned Dynasty King 2018

It will take patience, and at the end of it all, this experiment could be a complete bust. Either way, I expect that we'll learn a lot about rookies and the true value of rookie picks once this multi-year experiment is done.