Even with excitement at an all-time high, dynasty managers need to be careful. There are pitfalls that can look like gold today but end up being worthless six months from now.

The traps of training camp hype, injury scares, and FOMO can all lead to dynasty disaster.

Here's how I'm avoiding them as I continue to turn this orphan team around.

Avoid the Camp Hype

Sometimes the best thing you can do is nothing.

Football is here. Preseason games, endless training camp updates, and fantasy drafts are taking place. Even the most checked-out dynasty manager is back checking their DMs and rosters.

The itch to do something is strong. Everyone wants to feel like they're plugged in enough to make a "smart move" and capture the next breakout star.

The truth is that this is the time of year when dynasty managers need to practice patience.

Looking at my orphan, I've done the work to evaluate my team and acquire young players and picks to make me a true contender in 2028 and beyond. It's tempting to turn those picks into a play for this season. If I did that, it would be short-sighted and could ultimately set me up to be a one-and-done contender.

Training camp is tricky. Established starters don't always receive heavy workloads, especially veterans. That inevitably leads to rookies and second-year players getting more reps, which leads to more tweets, coach speak, and hype.

Look at Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell last year. He was reported as getting additional reps but finished with only 51 carries and is now with the Los Angeles Chargers. Or Will Shipley (PHI), who was touted as the new pass-catching back for the Eagles after Kenneth Gainwell left for the Pittsburgh Steelers, only to see 12 targets in 2025.

Whether it's Chiefs receiver Cyrus Allen or Rams tight end Terrance Ferguson, the hype will be everywhere, especially on social media. Dynasty managers can't overreact.

The same goes for negative news. Sometimes we need to buy the dip rather than run from it. A single bad practice video can cause a player's value to move, just as a glowing report can send it in the other direction. We're seeing that this year with Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who had a rough day at camp involving poorly thrown balls and possibly lackluster route running.

Some dynasty managers see that and immediately want to buy the dip. Maybe the dip is warranted.

Maybe Harrison isn't going to live up to his draft hype and will always be what he's been so far. Maybe there isn't actually a dip at all -- just a settling of his value.

Maybe his current WR25 valuation is where he should be, and the upside we expected simply isn't there.

The same applies to concerns surrounding potential holdouts from players such as Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs or the possibility of an in-season injury.

Negative news can change a player's value just as quickly as hype can. There is no rush to buy these players. We have an entire regular season ahead of us to see what these players really are and what their roles will be.

Don't let the hype sway you one way or another. Dynasty fantasy football is about having a sound process for evaluating value and not allowing fluff and buzz to change that process.

With all the picks I've acquired, I could go get almost anyone I want. I have to stay the course and stick with the multiyear strategy I established.

That doesn't mean I have to be rigid. It means the strategy should guide how I operate as I rebuild this dynasty orphan.

Injuries Happen

It's an unfortunate part of football and training camp: injuries happen.

It sucks when it happens to someone on your roster who you expected to be a starting asset. Whether it's Ricky Pearsall (SF), who landed on injured reserve with a knee injury, or Tua Tagovailoa (ATL), who was dealing with an undisclosed injury that forced him to miss the first week of camp, injuries are going to happen.

But they shouldn't make or break your fantasy team. You should have enough depth to absorb injuries and enough time to pivot if necessary.

I traded Pearsall during our rookie draft for a 2027 2nd and a 2026 4th, which I used to draft running back Adam Randall (BAL).

The manager I traded Pearsall to was concerned that giving up the 2027 2nd would hurt if Pearsall ended up missing the entire season. He ultimately made a very wise decision by waiting.

When Pearsall landed on IR, he was able to accomplish two things.

First, he could pivot.

He had been counting on Pearsall as a rotational piece, and his season-long outlook was suddenly less favorable. But because he hadn't overcommitted, he had options.

Second, he got his 2027 2nd back, giving him more flexibility if he needs to push his chips in and make a run at the championship. If the early part of the season doesn't go as planned, he still has a valuable pick to reload for next year.

He reached out to me with an offer. After a quick back-and-forth, we settled on a deal where he got his 2027 2nd back, and I received wide receivers Troy Franklin and Tory Horton.

I get two young players with upside. Both are behind older veterans on good offenses and have shown flashes of production.

I had to drop Saints backup quarterback Spencer Rattler to make room, but he was likely going to end up on waivers anyway.

I also have a little extra investment in Troy Franklin. I got an autographed Franklin jersey at the Fantasy Football Expo. It's not hanging in my podcast studio, but I'm a little more invested in him now.

For the other manager, the trade solved another problem: roster space.

He had been struggling to figure out who he was going to cut -- which actually became the inspiration for my article on dynasty roster cuts. He was over the roster limit, and this trade freed up two more spots, giving him three total once Pearsall moved to IR.

Sometimes a trade can solve multiple problems for both sides. That's what happened here.

No Longer an Orphan, But My Child

It's been roughly eight months since I took over this team. When I first stepped in, it was different from every team in my portfolio -- and different from any team I would have built myself. It truly felt like an orphan. Someone else's creation that I was now responsible for.

After multiple trades, both big and small, and a rookie draft, I've started to feel like it's my team. It's not fully there yet, but it has more of my fingerprints on it than anyone else's.

I love the trajectory this team is on.

I think it can have a better season than most people -- including myself -- would have expected, and it's set up to be a strong contender in the future.

A big part of dynasty fantasy football and taking over an orphan is feeling connected. You need to feel connected to both the team and the league.

The startup draft is one of the biggest parts of that process, and missing it can make that connection harder. I didn't feel like I had the team I wanted, and I missed out on the good-natured ribbing and chatter that comes with building a team together from the beginning.

I've made a ton of progress on the team itself, but I've also been intentional about building connections with the other league members. I knew one league member really well when I joined, and I only knew the others to varying degrees. Since then, those relationships have grown. That's why I highlighted them in last month's entry.

Now, I feel like this is my team.

It's taking on my identity in terms of the players I want and the way I want to build. I can see the path it's on. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This league feels like mine, too. I love the conversations we have about life and football. I enjoy meeting the other members in real life and getting to know them and their families.

It's no longer an orphan. It's a child. One I'm fully invested in shaping and pushing toward its full potential.

If you know any parent, you know they always want to talk about their kids and share pictures of them. That's how I feel about this team. I'm going to deal with all the problems, frustrations, and teenage angst that come with it. And I'll keep sharing the good stuff, too.

Continue to follow along to see where this team goes this season and beyond. My hope is that this time next year, we'll be talking about my run toward a championship -- and hopefully the beginning of a dynasty.