It’s that time of year again, Football season! The leaves are about to change, the familiar sound of grown men colliding with each other is happening. That means fantasy football leagues and drafts are happening. You might think you need to do a massive amount of research to have fun and win. No you stupid idiot, that is not the way to do it. Follow these simple tips to be in playoff competition and maybe win some money, and more importantly bragging rights over close friends, families, and family members spouses.
Step 1 familiarize yourself with the league settings and rosters
- Know the scoring rules and roster construction. This will tell you what players to focus on in the early rounds. Here is my league roster(we like 3 wide receivers, deal with it):
(6 bench spots not shown )
- My league is a 12 team league, standard non-ppr, passing TD’s are worth 5 points.
Step 2 Glance at the rankings of your fantasy football site
- You want to know who is at the top and middle. Each site is a little different but this helps you know where you should target guys in your snake draft.
- You should also note that you can draft bench players before filling out your starting lineup. Which brings us to the next tip.
STEP 3 BUILD THAT ROSTER THAT MINIMIZES RISK
- Draft running backs early and often. Just because you do not know who they are doesn’t mean you should avoid them. Running backs are the most consistent fantasy players as they get the most touches each week. There is also a lot of turnover at that position. Case in point, look at what happened last season with James Conner. Fantasy Stud out of nowhere because Le’Veon Bell held out the entire season.
- Your bench should be made up entirely of running backs and receivers. Think of these players as scratch-off tickets. They will not all be winners, but one or two probably will. The only time you should roster another position would be if you draft a QB late and you want insurance, or you are taking the scratch-off approach to tight end. In those cases, it is somewhat okay to have ONE QB or ONE TE on your bench but no more. You want value and to minimize risk. Doesn’t matter about name recognition. I want to be clear on that. Draft as many running backs and receivers as your roster allows.
- The other draft tip I have is either be first or last on QB and TE. QBs are the most important position in modern pass-happy offenses. They all score about the same amount of points when it comes to fantasy. Mahomes and other Tier 1 QBs usually give you about a 4-5 point weekly advantage. If you do not get a top 3 QB, then draft one late. You have the same amount of chance that Sam Darnold or Lamar Jackson have breakout years and outpace someone like Drew Brees. Basically, don’t reach for a QB. There are 16 good ones. What I am trying to get across, is don’t overvalue the position. They are all very similar. It is better to be lucky than good at QB
- the final 3 picks on your team should be D/ST, TE, K. Preferably in that order.
Step 4 If you haven’t played before, do at least one mock draft to get the feel for it. It’s different if you haven’t done it. You need to know the basics of how to stack a queue, select a player and know the pace of the draft. Otherwise, Mock drafts are kind of useless and are used as a way for fantasy websites to generate interest and cash.
Step 5 Check on big names holding out or players with injuries.
Zeke Elliot and Melvin Gordon both are planning on long into the season holdouts at the time of this blog post. Don’t get burnt. Check Adam Schefter on Twitter the days leading up to your draft. Also, a quick search on Rotoworld would be advised.
Step 6 Have fun!
It’s literally the most important step. It is why we play the game. Draft day is fun. Have a good draft and you will have a good season. If you want to make trades and add/drop players every week, do so. That can be fun for you. If you follow my draft strategy, you will probably be a buyer and not a seller when it comes to mid-season.
Have Fun Everyone and Good Luck!!!
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