The Complete Fantasy Foundation

by | Aug 26, 2017 | Sports

The Fantasy Foundation

For those of us who have played fantasy sports before, we understand that going into the fantasy season without a plan-of-action is a bad idea.  Good strategies aren’t thought up on the fly; they are built from the ground-up and are flexible enough in order to adjust to the many unexpected changes that occur during the fantasy season.  Just like a delicate sculpture, if the body of work isn’t supported by a sturdy foundation, the entire work of art will be reduced to nothing.  The foundation I am alluding to is fundamental knowledge that creates a stable base on which to build upon during the fantasy season and create a masterpiece, to win the championship.  The building blocks I have here are generally broad and are applicable to many different types of leagues.  Any questions related to this article or any articles I write can be asked via Twitter @fflange34.  I will do my best to answer any questions I receive; I often answer questions on Sunday mornings regarding who to start and sit each week.  Before we begin I want everyone to remember: winning a championship begins in the offseason, but it is our hard work and dedication during the season that allow us to finally hoist that coveted trophy.  Let’s start building.

I. Know the League’s Rules and Scoring System

This is building block numero uno for a reason; if you do not understand your league’s rules then you will not win, period.  By rules, I mean a few key concepts: roster composition, league types, scoring factors, and a select few other points.

  • Roster composition is important because everyone needs to understand how many players can start at each position, which slots can start players at multiple positions, and how many players are allowed on the roster in total.  If a draft is in-person and an owner tries taking a fourth kicker when the maximum for the roster is three, they will be criticized for years to come by their league mates, or should be, anyway.  If a draft is online then the roster minimums and maximums for each position are typically shown on the side.  Common roster compositions that all fantasy football players need to be aware of include: two QB leagues, super-flex position (aka offensive position player), kickers and team defenses (some leagues don’t have one or both anymore), individual defensive players (IDP), and if TEs have an individual roster spot or not.
    • In two QB leagues, having a quality 2nd QB is important.  Being stuck with two QB2s (top 13-24 scoring QBs), or even a QB2 and a QB3 (top 25-36 scoring QBs), can handicap an owner before the season even begins.  This is because there typically isn’t much of a scoring difference between the 4th best QB and the 12th best QB in fantasy football, however, there is a much larger difference between the 12th scoring QB and the 24th scoring QB.  This relates to block II in that it is imperative to know how the league typically goes about drafting QBs so that one isn’t’ drafted too early when a player at a different position would have been more valuable.  Be sure to grab a viable QB1 and a quality QB2 before they are all gone.
    • Super-flex positions allow a QB to be played in an offensive player spot (OP), along with RBs, WRs, and TEs (these three positions together are considered FLEX players for those uninitiated).  When possible, a QB should start in the super-flex position because QBs tend to score more points than any other position.  This is not always the case so double check each league’s scoring system prior to the draft.
    • In IDP leagues, drafts tend to be vastly different than normal since a defensive stud such as JJ Watt is a 1st round draft pick.  Some leagues have only one IDP spot – that won’t change much – but most leagues with IDPs tend to have four or more roster spots for these types of players.  Be sure to look at the previous year’s draft and see when IDP players were taken, they may go at the end or they may be littered throughout the draft, as they should be.
    • Team defenses and kickers shouldn’t be considered until the last few rounds (see block VI), if your league doesn’t have these positions then consider yourself lucky, I am generally not fond of either but understand their place in fantasy football.
    • TEs are not always given their own position in fantasy; many leagues incorporate a WR/TE or FLEX spot or two instead of a simple TE slot.  If this is the case, TEs should not be drafted where they normally are since they generally hold much less value compared to players at other positions.  Rob Gronkowski is not a 1st round pick in a league without a starting TE spot, he is worth a late 2nd or early 3rd round selection based on total points scored.  Double check past year’s scoring leaders at each position to figure out where the actual value of each TE falls.  Also check the scoring rules because there are some leagues where TEs receive more points-per-reception than all other players do, this changes a few things; more on that below.
  • League type is another variable that has a pronounced influence on draft strategy.  Some common types of leagues include: head-to-head (H2H), weekly payout, best-ball format, daily fantasy, AFC/NFC only, keepers, and dynasty leagues.  It is important to note that many leagues will be a combination of two or more of these.
    • H2H is the standard league type where two owners are pitted against each other every week and the highest scorer notches a victory.  Total victories are typically the decisive factor in determining which owners move onto the playoffs.  Most leagues with this setup will continue the same H2H process throughout the playoffs but some will constitute a two-week H2H matchup in the playoffs instead.
    • Weekly payout leagues do not have H2H matchups; instead, they pay the top few highest scorers each week and normally have additional rewards at the end of the season for categorical winners such as the team with the most overall points scored, most points scored in one week, highest scoring player, etc.
    • In best-ball format, lineups are not set each week by the owner; the highest scoring players from each respective position are automatically selected at the end of each week to account for each team’s overall score.  With this type of league, boom-or-bust type players provide more value than players who score points on a more consistent basis; this is because they don’t hinder you nearly as much when they have a dud week since another player’s points will likely be used.
    • Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) have been a hit since they came about and they are not going anywhere anytime soon, despite the government considering them gambling in most states (which is total crap, I’ll save that for another time though).  Owners select players to fill out their roster and compete against a field of other fantasy owners to claim a prize at the end of each week.  Available NFL players have a predetermined cost that can change week-to-week and the combined cost of each player on the roster must equate to less than the allotted salary cap.  There are no season-long ties to any players, unlike season-long leagues.  I won’t go into much detail about DFS here, look forward to another piece on the website in the future that breaks down the different types of DFS leagues and the benefits to each.
    • AFC/NFC only leagues are typically only utilized for leagues that have a large number of teams, generally 16-32.  In those leagues, players available during the draft and in the free-agent pool are players that can only be found in their respective conferences during the season.
    • Keeper leagues are leagues where each team is given the chance to keep one or more players from the previous year.  The rules regarding who can be kept, and the manner in which they are kept, are unique to almost every league.  The players that are being kept must be determined before the draft, but it is usually the case that those players are actually selected during the draft at some point.  One league I was a member of that had one keeper each year forced us to take our keeper with our first round pick, regardless of where we chose in the draft.  After the “keeper” round, the draft ran as usual in its typical snake-like fashion.  Many keeper leagues have keepers selected in the same round they were chosen during the prior season; this is advantageous for owners who select rookies in later rounds as they will have a lot of value in years to come, assuming they hit on their expected value.  It is my opinion that any league with keepers should allow owners to keep only one player that they drafted the previous year, and that player must then be taken during the round that is half the value as the previous year.  What I mean is if David Johnson was taken during the 16th round one year, he should be taken during the 8th the following year by the keeper’s team, and the 4th round the year after that.  All odd number rounds should be reduced by one and then halved.  Personally, I am neither for nor against keepers but I am no longer in any leagues that have keepers.
    • Dynasty leagues are not meant for novice fantasy football players.  It’s like playing Madden in owner mode vs. playing as a coach.  There are many more difficult decisions to make and the current year is not all that matters, contrary to re-draft leagues.  There is still a draft associated with dynasty leagues, the difference being that many players are kept year to year and that future draft picks can be traded.  The reason why an owner might do this is similar to an MLB team making moves before the trade-deadline.  If a team is good and has aspirations to win the championship then it may be worthwhile to make a few moves to better the team this year at the cost of potentially winning in the future.  In dynasty leagues it is very important to draft players who are expected to have significant value in years to come, even if they do not play in the current year.  Just like playing owner mode in Madden, many dynasty leagues tend to fail after the first year since most players don’t want to stick with it long-term.  Taking over a currently-running dynasty league for a player who has left is not easy for even the most veteran of fantasy players.  The new owner would have had no impact on their new team and chances are they are not taking over a good one, essentially starting with a handicap.
  • Scoring Factors vary from league to league; this is arguably the most important aspect to the league and it will have the largest influence on how players should be drafted.  Different types of scoring factors every fantasy player should be aware of include: points-per-reception (PPR), points scored for passing TDs, points for first downs, points for return yards/TDs, team defense scoring, and negative points.
    • The main difference between most leagues is PPR vs. non-PPR.  In PPR, every time a FLEX player catches a pass, even if they lose yardage on the play, they gain a single point.  This is important since it provides more value to the reliable players who catch six to ten passes each game over the boom-or-bust type players who typically only catch two or three.  Receiving backs and possession receivers see the greatest boost in value in PPR leagues.  As I mentioned above, check to see if TEs earn the same amount of points for each catch as WRs and RBs do.  One thing I will caution readers about is leagues with 0.5 PPR scoring.  This does NOT dramatically change anything, I have found that it simply adds a bit more value to FLEX players in comparison to QBs.  PPR seems to have overtaken “standard scoring” across fantasy football.  All leagues I participate in have PPR in some format; I highly recommend PPR to anyone who is not in a league that currently uses it.  I write all of my articles and create my rankings based on PPR scoring.
    • Most leagues award four points for passing TDs but some leagues award six.  A simple two point difference may not seem like much, but consider this: many QBs in the NFL today have the ability to throw 30+ TDs each year, that’s a 60 point difference over the course of the season…that’s quite a bit.  The top tier of QBs in the league see the biggest benefit from six point passing TD leagues since they tend to throw more TD passes than the average QB.  This makes having a top-end QB more valuable than standard leagues and they should be drafted as such.  Leagues of this format have block V apply differently to them.
    • Points for first downs are becoming more common but are still fairly rare.  It is exactly as it sounds, every time a player gets a first down, they gain an additional point.  This is fundamentally the same as PPR vs. non-PPR scoring as it adds more value to the receiving backs and possession receivers as they tend to be the ones targeted on third and fourth downs; however, just like with 0.5 PPR, it is not a drastic change.  Use this knowledge only when having trouble deciding between a few players on draft day, the player that catches more balls will see the biggest benefit from this.  Do not use it as a main factor when determining rankings since it has only makes a small impact.
    • Players who get points for punt/kick return yards and TDs have a slight uptick in value during the draft as well.  I have never played in a league that gives points for return yards but that would be yet another influential factor in my pre-draft rankings.  In leagues that return TDs count for individual players, I don’t change my ranking much, if at all.  I generally only value a player with return potential more if there are two players I like equally during the draft and I am having trouble deciding between them.  Don’t use this as a major factor come draft day either.
    • Team defense scoring changes league-to-league so it is important to note how much they score.  In standard leagues, team defenses do not have much of a scoring difference between the 3rd and 12th top scoring units.  This means there is not much value in taking the 3rd best defense over the 12th best defense in the draft.  This is especially true if there are multiple rounds between the 3rd and 12th defense taken off the board.  However, if defenses do have a wider-range of scoring in this same interval, it would be wise to take a better defense early to get a leg up on the competition.  I go into more detail on this in block VI, just be sure to check the league’s scoring and the previous year’s results prior to the draft.
    • Finally, negative points can change a league quickly.  I have played in leagues where passing TDs were worth four points but every INT lost me four points.  That made the top tier QBs insanely more valuable than the rest as there was a very real possibility that a QB could net negative points in a week.  Don’t worry about losing points for fumbles, they aren’t something that can be predicted with any level of accuracy, they are simply annoying when they occur.
  • A few other points to highlight regarding a league’s composition: number of teams in the league, how playoffs work and when they are, if there is a trade or waiver deadline, if/when teams become dead to transactions, and finally, my policy changing major league rules the day of the draft.
    • The number of teams in the league will heavily affect the way each team looks after the draft.  Eight team leagues that only start one QB means that every team will have a viable starter; there is no need to draft a QB until the later rounds.  In 14 team leagues, half of the teams will have a very good starter and a few teams might have to play QB by committee or pick up a starter based on matchups.  Doing the latter is possible but requires a lot of work, having a reliable QB each week is much less stressful.
    • Playoffs are everything, we all want to win the championship and that begins by making the playoffs.  As I mentioned before, in H2H leagues the rules may change once the playoffs start.  Some leagues simply do away with H2H scoring and award the playoff team with the most points scored over the entire playoff period with the championship trophy.  When the playoffs occur is another variable; if the championship is week 16, or even week 17, a player on an NFL team that has already clinched a playoff spot may not be playing at all.  When this happens it is unfortunate for that owner but there isn’t much to do.  Just don’t play the championship in week 17, end the league in week 16 or 15.  The last point I have about playoffs regards seeding.  Some leagues award bye weeks to the top two teams based on record, they automatically make it to the second round.  Some leagues are set up where the top four teams with the best record make the playoffs and two of the remaining teams with the most overall points scored during the season make the playoffs as well.  This can be very different league-to-league and should be fully understood by every owner before the season kicks off.
    • This next point is one I absolutely cannot stress enough; before the draft, every owner needs to agree if there will be a trade and waiver deadline, the date of the deadline(s), and if/when teams become dead to making transactions.  Trade abuse with teams that are no longer relevant (playoff ineligible) can become an issue, especially if a decision on this is made after it occurs.  This needs to be settled before the season starts so there is no whining about it during the season.  Also, nobody wants the worst teams in their league assisting other teams by dropping or trading their players when they are no longer eligible to make the playoffs.  Ideally, no league should have any issues with this but unfortunately it happens; make sure this is figured out before the season.
    • Finally, an equally as important point as the previous one, no league should change major rules the day of the draft.  Some people prepare very heavily before the draft like myself; changing the league dynamic by adjusting teams or changing major rules are major factors that will affect the entire draft.  Unless there is a league that decides these rules every year by pulling them out of a hat on draft day, make sure they are set and remain unchanged two to four weeks before the draft.

II. Know the Competition

Those of us who have played fantasy football in multiple leagues have experienced this first hand; some leagues are just more competitive than others, and some leagues draft differently than most.

  • There are some leagues out there which are mainly for fun; some leagues are used as a way to keep a group of people in contact with one another; in other leagues the loser gets a tattoo hand selected by the league’s winner.  There is nothing wrong with any of these types of leagues.  As long as the competitive nature, or lack thereof, is fairly uniform across the league then everyone should have fun throughout the season.  It is not recommended to invite novice players into a league full of seasoned veterans, it won’t be too much fun for anyone and the competitive nature of the league may be damaged as a whole.
  • Some leagues simply draft differently than others.  Leagues in which the average owner is less-experienced tend to draft QBs much higher than is usual.  I’m in a league that was established back in the ‘80s and the 1st round is almost always dominated by RBs, and a QB run starts shortly after, that’s just how it’s always been.  I have read about a league where the first round is all kickers and then the true draft starts after that.  The key point to all of this is that if a league has the draft history handy, then it is advantageous for everyone to reference that in order to establish an idea of what to expect for the next draft.  Things I would look for: which positions dominated which rounds, which owners selected a QB or TE early, when were the first Def and K drafted, or anything else that looks out of the ordinary.  This won’t take long to do and gives anyone willing to do it a huge advantage.  As long as someone has an idea of what to expect for their draft then they can zig when others zag and celebrate their job well done with an adult beverage after the draft.

III. Develop and Follow a Fluid Draft Day Strategy

Honestly, this is so essential that it could have been #1 but alas, I decided to put these rules in some sort of chronological order as well as order of importance.  Establishing a sound draft strategy is vital in ensuring that a team will be on route to a championship before the season even begins.  Any good draft strategy MUST be fluid; things can change at a moment’s notice and ruin a game plan that is ultra-specific.  Besides, it is far too much work to highlight every player expected to be available during a pick and have positive and negatives for each player.  Instead, come up with a general game-plan and properly execute it over a few mock drafts.  If it seems to work out and the final results are pleasing more often than not, then it is viable to use on the big day.  A few things to consider while developing a draft strategy: what type of draft the league uses, what the draft order is, knowing when certain strategies are appropriate to use, finishing the draft by taking fliers, deciding which players are undraftable, and understanding the value of drafting handcuffs.

  • There are many different types of drafts every fantasy owner needs to be aware of, and no, I do not mean beer.  There are snake drafts, linear drafts, 3rd round reversals, auction drafts, and auto drafts.  Naturally they can all be done online or they can be done in-person (I cringe at the thought of an in-person, auction draft).
    • Snake drafts are the typical drafts almost every league uses.  The draft order is determined before the draft starts and selections are made in sequence, team 1 first and team 12 last (or however many teams are in the league).  In all even-numbered rounds, the order is reversed and team 12 gets to pick first and team 1 picks last.  This is nice because it gives the teams at the beginning and end of the 1st round two consecutive picks throughout the draft.
    • Linear drafts are similar to snake drafts except that every round starts with team 1 and ends with team 12, I have never done this and doubt many leagues do this anymore as I am sure this was common when fantasy football first became popular.
    • 3rd round reversals are becoming more popular as of late.  The first two rounds go about just like any regular snake draft, but then in the 3rd round, the order is switched and remains switched for the rest of the draft.  So, round 1 goes 1-12, round 2 goes 12-1, round 3 is then 12-1 again, and 4 switches back to 1-12 and continues to snake for the remainder of the draft.  The reason this type of draft was invented was because having the first few overall selections in the draft were deemed so valuable that the teams picking toward the end of the 1st round felt they needed additional compensation.  I have never done a 3rd round reversal but I can see the appeal.
    • Auction drafts are an entirely different animal than snake drafts.  Get it?  Snake, animal…whatever.  Anyway, auction drafts are exactly what they sound like, auctions for each individual player.  Players are individually selected by owners to be placed out for bid.  Once a player has been chosen, owners get to bid on him, just like in any auction, and the highest bidder gets the player once the bidding war is over.  There is still an order for when owners get to make their selection for who they want placed out to bid.  Anyone who has not done an auction before, I highly recommend it.  It is a unique way to build any time you want; it is very possible to own Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham Jr., and Julio Jones, all on the same team.  That team will never win a game though.  Every auction has a budget and budgets can vary widely between auctions; the amount of the budget impacts nothing, as players are perceptibly valued based on what percentage of the budget is spent on them.  How the budget is spent is up to each individual owner.  My recommendation is to avoid spending a ridiculous portion of the overall budget on one particular stud.  Instead, simply look for players that aren’t going for as much as they should be worth and pounce on them; this could potentially be a stud in beginning of the draft, so be ready for it.  Auctions are meant for serious fantasy football players since there needs to be a general opinion on each individual player and their perceivable worth.  Setting a dollar amount on each player prior to the draft is a good idea, just be prepared to spend a few extra dollars on greatly desired players when their time comes.  This will keep owners from grossly overpaying for players because getting caught up in a bidding war is far too easy.  There is also strategy in who to place out for bid.  If an owner keeps throwing out players he or she really wants and then bids a ton for them then they will be out of money very quickly.  Instead, they should remain unpredictable and throw out some players periodically that they have no intent on winning the bid for, this will throw off the other owners.  Auction drafts take forever, it is important not to spend the entire budget immediately as there will be nothing to do until the end of the draft when players start going for $1.  Settle down and be prepared not to win or even bid on a number of players at the start of the draft, smart owners know a player’s value and stick closely to it.
    • Finally, we have auto drafts.  Auto drafts are drafts where there are no selections made by owners.  Owners may or may not have the option in setting pre-draft rankings.  What this will do is it will force the drafting system to draft players in order of the owner’s preference.  This can take quite a bit of work to do; if that much effort is being put in then they might as well do a snake draft in my opinion.  Auto drafts are best used in leagues with novice owners or leagues where the level of experience varies widely.  This gets everyone off to a level playing field for the draft and from there, in-season management is the determining factor for who the champion will be.
  • Draft order should be determined at least two weeks before the draft, in my opinion.  This gives everyone ample time to prepare for the draft and their drafting position.  If an owner does not know how to draft from their slot then it can ruin their season before it even begins.  I explain runs and how to avoid them in block IV later, but essentially, if someone drafts toward the back end in a snake draft, they better have an idea of what will be available for the 3rd and 4th rounds for their turn. If they don’t, they may be looking at a roster of four WRs come the 5th round, that is not good.  If draft order is determined on draft night then don’t sweat it, nobody else has an advantage either.  Be sure to follow block VII and do a few mock drafts from different positions in this event to have a slight advantage over the competition.
  • What kind of strategies are there and what typically works best?  I’m glad I asked.  There are many different drafting strategies out there, the key is not to stick to just one.  Be relaxed and ready to adjust during the draft, don’t try and create a cookie-cutter system to follow or the end results will be nothing but disappointing.  I deploy multiple drafting strategies for my own drafts and they each have their own value at different times.  Blocks V and VI below are two strategies I follow in almost every draft.  They are so important that they are considered building blocks here rather than simple draft strategies.
    • Best player available (BPA) is a good general rule of thumb to follow if there is uncertainty regarding what to do with the pick at hand.  BPA is quite literally taking the best player available at the time, regardless of position.  This is the best way to start a draft in my opinion.  If a draft is started by following BPA, rounds 3-6 are then typically used to even out the number of RBs and WRs based on what the first two selections were.
    • I never have, and never will, follow no-RB theory, anyone who thinks that is a reliable strategy should go read something else.
    • One thing I will say, even though it seems unnecessary, is to have a cheat sheet available during the draft.  Even if the draft is online and there is a pool of players available for the draftees to observe, print off something else.  Everyone in the draft is looking at that same list; having something else to reference is only going to be beneficial.  I typically make my own sheet but I don’t expect anyone else to do that.  Finally, use the later rounds to fill holes in the roster by…
  • Taking fliers.  I don’t mean boom-or-bust type players like DeSean Jackson, I mean players who have seemingly little value now but could have great value toward the end of the season.  Rookies make up a large part of this group of players as their actual value is unknown at the start of the season.  I typically like to have one or two rookies on my bench that were drafted either highly in the NFL draft or as a great need for a particular offense.  Other players to target as fliers include newly-acquired players via trade or free-agency (FA) during the off-season.  They are similar to rookies in that it isn’t completely known how they will be used in a new system but we have some understanding of their ability to play in the NFL.
  • Decide which players are undraftable.  I always go through and remove a number of players on my draft sheet for multiple reasons, these include:
    • Players that have burned me multiple times before (try and give players a 2nd or 3rd chance, but know when to draw the line).
    • Players that have suffered a potentially career-ending injury that has ruined the careers of many who have suffered them before (patellar tendon ruptures are tough to come back from and re-occurring concussions are a problem).
    • Players I personally hate or are simply on teams I really do not like; I don’t generally advise people to do this but hey, this is fantasy football, have fun with it.  Learn to ignore these feelings as members of more competitive leagues.
    • I also always have a cheat sheet I go off of during the draft.  I draw a thick, red line to indicate the end of my comfort level at each position.  For QBs this line indicates the last QB I am willing to start on my roster; if I haven’t yet taken a QB and only two are left above that line, I am jumping on one right now.  At RB and WR I draw a different line; I draw a line under the last player I would consider a “stud:.  Having more than one player at each position above this line is a very welcoming sign that my draft is going well.  TE is the same for QB and I don’t draw a line for defenses or kickers as I never want to feel the need to draft one of them early.
  • Taking handcuffs is something many writers tell readers to do.  It is something I tell people to do, but within reason.  Just because an owner has a stud RB does not mean that his backup is worth a damn.  Some RBs are good because they are freakishly talented, some run behind an amazing O-line, and some are just in a good system; I only want my stud RBs’ backup if he falls into the latter two categories here.  There is little point in owning a handcuff RB that will be stuck in a committee in the event the starter goes down.  How can one tell if their RB will be in a committee?  Well, is it indisputable who the studs’ backup truly is?  Has he had success in the past on different teams or even on the same team?  If the answer is no to either question, he’s in a committee.  I heavily recommend owners taking the handcuff to a player they do not own in the event that their stud’s handcuff isn’t worth a roster spot.  This is a great way to hamstring another team by having desirable trade value.  Another reason to potentially not draft a stud’s handcuff is if they will have a high price on draft day.  Some people are willing to take a backup player as soon as the fourth round, I am not.  Someone drafted there is obviously going to be great if the starter goes down (recent memory points to DeAngelo Williams as the backup for Le’Veon Bell) but the issue is IF the starter goes down.  I would rather take an acceptable RB/WR2 or 3 in that spot over a backup that may not see the field.  Another thing to note is that the backup obviously has the same bye week as the stud, now there are two players on the team out that week instead of one, just some food for thought.

IV. Stick to The Tiers

Tiers are a way to segregate players within their position, and even in a top overall player ranking, so that it is obvious who the next selection should be.  On the website I should have a player ranking for the current year or one from last year, use that as a visual example as to what I am referring.  Before I go into more detail about tiers, it is of significance to note that players within the same tier are still ranked according to expected value; however, all players in the same tier are expected to finish with a very similar amount of points come season’s end.

  • Tiers help owners during the draft select the BPA for their turn.  For example, if it is the second round and the 1st tier of RBs are all taken, yet there are a number of WRs available in the 1st tier, taking a WR is far more advantageous since he is the BPA.  This also ensures that owners do not fall prey to runs.  What I mean by runs is that if a large number of players at a certain position go in a round (RB for example), don’t reflexively take a player at that position thinking they will all be gone next time around.  It is likely that another position will soon be targeted by everyone since the RBs have just been exhausted.  Taking a player at WR here means taking one of the more highly valued players left on the board and potentially starting a run at that position.  A RB in the same tier as the next one available will likely still be available for the next round.  Think about it this way: a 1st tier WR and a 2nd tier RB are much more valuable than a 2nd tier RB and a 2nd tier WR, the latter is more likely to happen if the RB is taken first.
  • Another use of tiers is to help compensate for weaknesses during the draft.  If 2 WRs were taken with the first two picks for a team to start the draft, it is recommended to see what is available at the RB position.  If only one RB is available from tier 1 and three are available from tier 2, then the RB in tier 1 has a perceived higher value than the others.  Be sure to have the most updated injury/suspension information prior to the draft.  If a player is still available multiple tiers above the rest of the players, he may have just had breaking news since they were last updated/downloaded, check any media source you can about that player.
  • If players are grouped in tiers but not separated by position (top overall player ranking) then look at what position seems to have been already exhausted, and what is still needed.  Make a smart, informed decision as to what needs are left and what may be available next round and take a player from the position that is needed most.

V. Wait on Drafting A Quarterback

This is a good example of something that does not apply 100% of the time.  As this block falls below block II, it is implied that it is more important to understand the competition than waiting on a QB.

  • Now, why do we want to wait on our QB?  It’s simple.  If you look at the average points scored for RBs and WRs taken in rounds 1-4 vs. rounds 5-8, the difference is greater than QBs taken in rounds 1-4 and 5-8.  The main reason for this is that in a 12 team league only 12 QBs need to start.  At least 12 QBs in the NFL have the ability to score 30+ TDs and throw for over 4,000 yards, if not more.  However, not all WRs can catch 10+ TDs and gain 1,000+ yards.  You won’t be able to grab a RB or WR that can put up 80% of the productivity as the best player at that position in the 8th round; that is precisely what is possible to do with QBs.  I have the same philosophy regarding TEs.
  • As I said before regarding knowing the competition and league rules, if QBs have a greater scoring spread between them, then the higher tiered QBs are much more valuable.  The difference between QB 8 and QB 24 is much greater than QB 8 and QB 12 which adds more value to QBs in leagues that start more than one.  Know if QBs are more valuable than the average league then treat them as such.  In addition, in leagues that tend to wait on drafting QBs as a whole, use that as an advantage to stack up on FLEX players early and maybe even start the QB run by snagging a stud at a great value.  Just be sure not to miss a run on QBs between your picks.  In contrast, in leagues that drafts QBs early, use that as an advantage by picking the best FLEX players in the league and wait on drafting a QB until later in the draft.

VI. Do NOT Draft a Kicker or Defense Too Early

Don’t be the idiot who drafts the 1st defense or kicker unless all other positions are set and everyone else has been waiting on drafting them as well.

  • My BIGGEST pet peeve in all of fantasy football is when the inevitable 1st defense is taken off the board in the 6th, 7th, or 8th round.  When that person is asked why they made that pick the reason is always “because they are the highest scoring defense/kicker”.  Great.  That’s fine by me.  Instead of taking a position player who will be starting every week with much more value than someone on waivers (this would be a RB3 or WR3 based on round 6), that idiot just took a defense that scores approximately two more points per week than the 12th best defense.  That’s, right, only two points more per week from the best scoring defense than the number 12 scoring defense based on ESPN standard scoring.  The best part is that the best scoring defense in fantasy isn’t even drafted in the top four in most standard leagues.  It is rare that the best scoring defense is actually drafted as such so what’s the point in trying to draft that way?
  • Playing defenses by committee is a very cost-effective way to have a great scoring defense without the draft-day price.  What I mean by this is that having multiple defenses on the roster and playing them based on matchups is equally as effective as having a top defense.  Let me ask this, would it be better to have a great defense go up against the league’s best offense or have a mediocre defense against the league’s worst offense?  The latter should be available every week by simply targeting defenses available on waivers each week.
  • Everything I just said about defenses holds true for kickers as well, typically even more so.  The best kicker in the league usually scores only one single point more than the next 11 kickers on a weekly basis.  There is no reason whatsoever to draft a kicker before the second-to-last round unless there is an insane league where kickers score a ton of points.  If this is the case, find a new league as most are getting rid of kickers now anyway.

VII. Utilize Mock Drafts

Every veteran fantasy football player understands the value of mock drafting.  Something an inexperienced fantasy football player may think is that mock drafting is a waste of time.  Here is what mock drafting is good for: knowing what is available at a certain draft position and which players are going when.  Here is why mock drafts can be bad: it is common to develop tunnel vision toward certain players after many mock drafts; that and every league drafts differently.

  • Learn which players are likely to be available at which pick.  When mock drafting, it is important to draft in a similar spot to the actual draft position.  The first four to six rounds are really all that matter, those of us who have done mock drafts before have likely noticed that people tend to leave after the second round and almost everyone is gone by the end of the sixth.  They aren’t intentionally being jerks and wasting everyone’s time (usually), it’s just that the more picks made, the more the draft will deviate from the standard.  What really needs to be focused on is who is available at the first couple of selections and see where that leaves the roster.  If a roster typically ends up with two WRs in the first two picks then look to see which RBs are available in the 3rd and 4th rounds.  If there are no RBs that fall into the 3rd and 4th rounds then look to take one within the first two picks and vice-versa.
  • Learn about ADP.  ADP is average draft position for those uninitiated, it is essentially a breakdown of the average pick each player is selected at in mock drafts (or even actual drafts) up until this point across various websites.  As good as ADP can be, utilizing mock drafts gives a more accurate representation on where each player is likely to go.  Use these tools together to have a better idea who may actually fall during a real draft.  Remember, just because every mock draft has the same few players go in the first few selections, there may be a wild pick early in any given league which will free up a great player.  Don’t be foolish, take that player if he becomes available and adjust the game-plan accordingly.
  • Don’t develop tunnel vision.  I can admit that I have been guilty of this in the past; doing many mock drafts in the same spot I see which players I typically get over the first four to six rounds and I start locking onto them in all my mocks.  This can prevent someone from drafting a potential value that may fall to their pick that they didn’t expect.  This may also make someone upset if a player they have been locking onto is taken before is expected.  A good plan-of-attack is to try different draft strategies from the same spot to see what usually works best.  Going WR/WR at the turn (12th and 13th overall picks in a twelve team snake draft) is usually viable but if no RBs are available in the 3rd and 4th rounds that are good enough to start then consider taking an RB during the turn.  Know what to do when a player being targeted is taken and don’t be shaken by it, a good draft is about drafting a well balanced team, not drafting a cookie-cutter team.  Trades are always available later.

VIII. Play for the Championship, NOT the Regular Season

This sounds fairly common-sense but this is something many fantasy players lose sight of.  Before the draft there is but one goal, winning the championship.  Somewhere along the way we can lose sight of that and begin to build a team full of great players vs. a team ready for the playoffs.  Let me explain what I mean: just because there are a bunch of great players on a team doesn’t promise anything, strength of schedule (SOS) and many other factors can influence player’s scores every week.  Here are a few things to keep in mind that will help for the playoffs: drafting/adding suspended players in FA may win big in the playoffs, adding injured or suspended players weeks before they return to the field, trading for players with a stronger 2nd half outlook by unloading players currently over-performing, and evaluating SOS for the playoffs.

  • Drafting suspended players is a risk, there is no doubt about it, but it is one that needs to be considered.  Thinking about a recent example, Le’Veon Bell was suspended for three games in 2016 and his draft value reflected that.  Owners who were willing to bite the proverbial bullet and draft him won big on their risk.  Bell was one of the best, if not the best, fantasy RB last year from week four on.  The value of a suspended player is not zero points while they are gone, instead, their actual value is what they score for you during the season and what their substitute scores while they are out.  Take that into account when deciding if a suspended player is providing value at the current pick or not.
  • Adding injured/suspended players weeks before they are available could single-handedly win a team the championship.  I just mentioned suspended players being drafted (not all are worth it since they may not have much value regardless) but injured players can be worth the risk as well.  Depending on the league, players with lengthy injuries may have to be dropped for a period of time.  If this is the case, and there is room on the roster, pick them up multiple weeks before they are scheduled to return.  They will not likely be available only one to two weeks before their expected return so be sure to pounce on them before the competition does.
  • Making trades is one of the quickest, yet most difficult ways to improve a team during the season.  Trades are always problematic in fantasy football because everyone wants to make their team better while also making the other team worse.  Anytrade that benefits a team is worth doing; don’t avoid making one simply because it benefits the other team.  In addition to that, don’t look to try and abuse another team by bullying them into a trade either.  Stay within the confines of the league rules regarding trades.  If there are owners who don’t really know what they are doing then try and help them out a bit regarding the trade, it’s not enjoyable winning a league with a stacked team when the team is acquired unfairly.  This will also keep members in the league for the long term, no one wants to return to a league where they are taken advantage of.
  • Finally, look to target players in trades who may be currently under-performing but could soon be expected to breakout, or that have a great schedule in the playoffs.  Having the second and third best WRs on a team going against the best defenses in the league is not ideal, having similar players matched up against the easier defenses in the league are.  Don’t go crazy with this, but the better the schedule players have the more comfortable an owner can be in their play.

IX. Always Start The Studs!

This is another block that could easily have been first but was dropped down due to continuity reasons.

  • After considering everything I have mentioned above, SOS is something I hope everyone understands is important.  This shouldn’t be the only thing considered though.  I have experienced myself, and witnessed others make the same mistake, that as one develops as a fantasy football player there will be a time where they try to over-manage their team.  Matchups are not more important than the player.  Trust in the top players to perform every week, that’s why they are top players.  It is inevitable that once a stud is sat on the bench that they go off and put up videogame numbers on that person’s bench.  Keep It Simple Stupid, and always start the studs.  See some of my other articles to understand who the studs of the past were and who the studs of the present are.

X. Utilize the Waiver Wire and Make Trades

As I mentioned before, the season cannot be won during the draft, it can, however, be lost there.  After starting a season with a great draft there is still work to be done in order to win a championship.  This can be done by being aware of the following: knowing the style of free-agency in the league, being constantly on the lookout to improve the team, and learning not to abuse waivers.

  • Understanding how free-agency works is the first step toward mastering transactions.  There are a few types of free-agency (FA) that everyone needs to be aware of.  First, is the waiver system.  Now I constantly refer to FA as waivers simply because it is the most typical system used for free-agency in fantasy football.  Waivers work like this: after each week, players in the FA pool lock for a day or two where owners can put in a waiver claim for them.  Waivers are set in a predetermined order and whoever has the highest claim for a player gets him.  Waiver order is typically set in order based on who has made the last and most recent claims.  If a player is claimed by only one owner then whoever claimed him gets moved to last on the priority list for the next week.  Some leagues have it where waivers are based on inverse standings, the team currently in last gets first claim and the team in first gets last claim every week.  Regardless of how it is done, after the waiver period is over, FA becomes a free-for-all.  First-come-first-serve at this point has its advantages.  Be sure to not waste a waiver pick (if it’s based on most recent claim) on a defense or a kicker; wait to use your claim until a highly-touted player comes around due to injury to another player.  Other types of FA include free-for-all (bad experiences with this, do not recommend) and Free-Agent Bidding (FAB).  FAB is something I haven’t personally done but I find it interesting.  Here’s a simple breakdown: there are X amount of dollars to use all season long per team for FA, once the budget is emptied, it’s gone.  Any amount of the budget can be bid on any FA player in a given week and whoever bids most gets him.  Some players may be worth an entire budget based on the new circumstances they find themselves in.  I tend to not dabble in this on the website here but many fantasy websites will recommend how much of a FAB budget should be spent on certain players each week.
  • Always be on the lookout to improve the team.  I mean this in two ways, FA and trades.  In FA always be on the lookout for errant moves made by owners and available players with the potential to go nuts.  There may be times during the season where an owner is forced to drop someone due to injuries, or bye weeks, that has tremendous value.  If this happens, scoop them up immediately.  I personally set a reminder each week to check out the FA pool after waivers expire in order to add a player I didn’t want to use a waiver on (typically QBs for bye weeks, team defenses, and kickers).  Another thing, always be open to trades.  I love Matthew Barry for many reasons, but mainly because he constantly writes about the stupid mistakes many fantasy players make regarding trades.  One of my personal rules is to never label one of my players as “untradeable”.  Some people may think that they should never trade away a stud, but I most certainly do not agree with that.  With that in mind, I will never trade away a stud unless I get another stud back, or if I am very desperate due to injuries that have befallen my team.  I entertain every trade offer I receive.  The initial trade offer an owner receives will never blow them away but a trade can become beneficial to both parties with a little bit of work.  Always be on the lookout for teams who may struggle at a certain position and throw an offer out there to see what bites.  Trading is an art, just like haggling, but I won’t go into too much detail on that now, that’s for another time.
  • Don’t abuse the waiver system.  As I just mentioned above, it is not a good idea to use a waiver pick on a rental QB/Def/K; waiver picks are much too valuable and should be saved for a certain time.  As I also said before, micro-managing a team is a good way to lose.  The players that were drafted are there for a reason; they had the most value on draft day and should be treated as such (assuming you have been following along).  Now obviously the general perception of them and their actual value change as the season progresses but it’s important not to lose sight of why they were drafted in the first place.  Dropping a savvy veteran who is great for bye week starts in order to pick up a flier is not wise when there are still bye weeks yet to go.

XI. Remember, Fantasy Football is Meant to Be Fun!

Last, but certainly not least, it’s important that we never lose sight of why we play fantasy football in the first place, to embarrass our competition.  I’m kidding, sort of.  Fantasy football is meant to be fun, it’s supposed to give us something else to look forward to on Sunday when the only game we get in our area is Falcons vs. Patriots and the score is 28-3 (I’m so sorry Falcon fans, I just had to).  We are supposed to trash-talk our friends, have a few beers on draft night, scour the internet in the wee hours of the morning for our next waiver pickup, and root for a 6th passing touchdown even though our QB already has 65 fantasy points this week and it’s not even the 4th quarter.  Enjoy every minute of fantasy, if it seems to no longer be fun, step back and try to remember back to the first draft when someone took a kicker in the 3rd round and someone traded their #1 pick for a defense.  This game is about bonding with other people and creating relationships that last a lifetime.

Now go, start drawing up your design for your Sistine Chapel, your Mona Lisa, your Kate Upton, and build something you can be proud of.  Whether the season ends with you hoisting a trophy or getting a tattoo of Justin Beiber riding a unicorn that shits rainbows, take it from a Cub’s fan…there’s always next year!

 

* The Fantasy Foundation was written with the intent to help novice fantasy football players perform well in their upcoming season and forever become addicted to fantasy football as I have.  It is also a good source for the veteran fantasy football player to use as some of the finer points of fantasy football can easily be lost over time.  Thank you for reading and I hope all of you are looking forward to the start of the next season as I am!