Vets In Dynasty Can Be Poetic

Nothing wrong with trying to win now.

Author

Matthew Freedman
June 28, 2025

I love the long-term nature of it, which I think can provide us with good lessons for life.

Earlier this summer, Sam Wallace wrote a piece on five veteran RBs that win-now teams should target in the trade market.

In this newsletter, I similarly want to highlight some overaged veterans I still like in dynasty.

But, first—some thoughts on veterans in dynasty in general … and before that, some poetry.

"Old Age Hath Yet His Honour and His Toil"

If you've never read the poem "Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, then, congratulations, you're probably a normal person—but, low-key, the poem kind of slaps.

(I think that's something a young person would say. I don't know. I'm old.)

Anyway, it's a poem spoken by Ulysses, who was a total badass when he was young. He fought alongside King Agamemnon and the godlike Achilles in the Trojan War. He was actually the guy who won the war for the Greeks by coming up with the idea of the Trojan Horse. And then he survived a slew of watery misadventures when he sailed back home after the war.

But now he's old, he spends his days as king administering his realm … and all the dude wants to do is take to the ocean one final time so he can die as he lived: As a hero.

In his (excerpted) words:

There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:

There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,

Souls that have toil’d, and wrought, and thought with me—

Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;
-

Death closes all: but something ere the end,

Some work of noble note, may yet be done,

Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.

‘T is not too late to seek a newer world.
-

Push off, and sitting well in order smite

The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds

To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths

Of all the western stars, until I die.
-

Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’

We are not now that strength which in old days

Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are.

So, yeah—that's pretty much how I feel about veterans in dynasty.

Dynasty

The Value of Veterans in Dynasty

In dynasty (at least in my opinion), there tends to be too much enthusiasm and great expectations for rookies and young players.

The bright, new shiny things.

And that means that fantasy managers tend to abandon and discard veterans too soon.

Like Peter Griffin, too many people in dynasty would rather have the mystery box than the boat.

Rookies and younger players are more unknown than veterans. They could be anything—even a boat.

Not all veterans are boats, but at least you have a general sense of what they are.

And whatever they are, they tend to be undervalued and underappreciated, especially once they're on the downside of their careers.

Let's say that a veteran is now at 70% of his productive peak. In the trade market, he won't be priced at 70% of his peak value. Instead, he'll be available for maybe 35 cents on the dollar, maybe less.

And that just seems wrong to me—because even old age hath yet his honour and his toil.

Where Do The Vets Rank Ahead Of 2025?

Understandably so, young up-and-coming stars headline the dynasty fantasy football rankings, with no player older than 26 inside the top-15 ranked players. Saquon Barkley (age 28) is the oldest non-QB in the top-32, where Christian McCaffrey (29) finds himself as the No. 33 ranked player.

If you’re in win-now mode, there are more than enough highly ranked veterans to build a team around, starting with the aforementioned workhorses, but who are the best alternate options?

Take a spin through our dynasty fantasy football rankings to find out. ⤵️

Dynasty

A Quick Word on Oil Wells

Years ago, I dabbled in investing, and I had some success with expiring oil wells in the Permian Basin.

Do I know anything about oil? No.

But in analyzing this opportunity, it struck me that the market was undervaluing the wells because they had no long-term future—but in the short term, they still seemed to offer value given the reliable amount of oil they produced on a yearly basis.

Plus, it was always possible that they would have more oil and thus last longer than expected, or that the price of oil would go up.

Again, that's how I feel about veterans in dynasty: In many cases, we can reasonably project how much they'll produce in the short term—and sometimes they last longer than we expect.

Dynasty

Finding Ulysses in 2025

Here are several older veterans who strike me as still being capable of providing near-heroic performances for their dynasty investors in 2025. For more, check out our Fantasy Life dynasty fantasy rankings above.

QB Dak Prescott: He turns only 32 years old tomorrow, and in his most recent full season (2023), he finished No. 2 in MVP voting.

RB Christian McCaffrey: His ADP is out of whack. In 2023, he had a position-high 9.5 Utilization Score (per our industry-leading Fantasy Life Utilization Report).

RB Aaron Jones: Since 2018, he has a seasonal median of 1,459 yards and 9 TDs from scrimmage.

WR Tyreek Hill: Last year, he was a top-three redraft pick—and then he suffered a preseason wrist injury, and QB Tua Tagovailoa missed six games. Hill is a big ADP value. 

WR Davante Adams: He has 3,723 yards and 30 TDs receiving on 10.3 targets per game over the past three years, and HC Sean McVay and QB Matthew Stafford can support two high-end pass catchers. Adams is one of the 32 players I want to draft this year.

WR Adam Thielen: If rookie Tetairoa McMillan turns out to be this year's Xavier Legette, then Thielen could once again be the No. 1 WR for the Panthers. Over the past two years, he has had 8.2 yards per target and 7.4 targets per game.

Fantasy

Around the Watercooler

The latest NFL news and fantasy football analysis from our merry band of football nerds:

👀 The Gen Z Mahomes-Kelce … Are you in on this QB-TE duo in 2025?

😴 Three rookies that could be future WR1s in dynasty. Some sleeper names.

⛏️ The most obvious bounceback team of 2025? Probably!

🤑 Scared money don’t make money. Eight season-long props you need.

🐆 An update on the Jags backfield … is this even an update??

📊 Top-10 Dynasty WR Rankings. A little movement.

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