As you prepare for the Fantasy Football season, here are some tips to consider. Some of them are more basic, but hopefully some of them help you.
Handcuff your number one RB - This one is a tip that’s been around for a while and isn’t going to be anything new to any long time Fantasy Football gamers. But the tip is this, if you draft a running back, make sure you draft his back-up. Why would you do this? Because if your RB goes down, SOMEONE has to pick up his carries, so make sure you have the running back that does.
Know the depth of each position and draft accordingly - Every draft year is different and one strategy that worked last year, might not necessarily work this year. For example, there have been years where there are TONS of good Running Backs and then there are years where there are none. So if you think “I’ll just wait to get a running back, since that’s what I did last year”, you could be outta luck if the depth at the Running back position is less than the year before.
No RBs after 30 years old - This one is a bit new to me, but seems to hold water. It doesn’t need much explanation, be careful when drafting a RB who’s 30 years or older. Why is that? Because there have only been 4 RB’s that have had more than 1,000 rushing yards in a season after they turned 30. So be careful of the oldies.
Contract year - The old school theory goes like this, if a player is in the last year of his contract he will play harder to ensure his next contract is larger. This is one that has been around for a while and I’m not sure if it’s a lock or not. I guess what I mean is, I wouldn’t let a contract year be a huge factor in deciding on a player, but maybe I would use it if I think both players are even and I need to decide on one of them.
Don’t draft RB-RB in rounds 1 and 2 - It’s an OLD SCHOOL fantasy football myth that you NEED to draft two RB’s in the first two rounds. I just don’t think that it’s a Fantasy Football truth anymore. This is mainly because there are a lot LESS running backs who get the bulk of the carries for a team. So instead of risking one of your top picks on a running back who isn’t guaranteed a lot of carries, instead grab a top wide receiver or quarterback.
Wait on a QB - This is something I have implemented in my draft day strategy. The way I see it is like this, there really isn’t a HUGE gap between the top QB and the 10th one. So why waste a top pick on a quarterback when you can get a solid one in the later rounds? The answer is that you don’t.
Is it a PPR format? - PPR stands for Points Per Reception and is a format most leagues have shifted too. It’s important to look at how many catches a wide receiver gets and not just his yards/touchdowns.
Strength of schedule - This one can make a huge difference. Let’s say you’re looking at two QB’s, you like both of them and their situations. How do you decide on one? Look at the schedule of teams they will face. Sometimes there are teams with a weak schedule, which translates into lots of scoring opportunities. And then there are other teams that face MUCH TOUGHER schedules. I wouldn’t always look at this when determining a player I wanna take, but I would use this to break up a tie between two players I’m looking at.
Don’t even look at bye weeks - For the past decade all I ever heard were people telling you to draft players that have different bye weeks. It hit me about a couple of years ago that bye weeks were the dumbest thing to let determine who you take draft day. Why? Because I’m not going to let my roster that I will use for a 16 week schedule be altered because of one week. It just doesn’t make sense. If half your team shares the same bye week, good, maybe you’ll lose that week, but you’ll have all those starters back the next week.
Be aware of past injuries, but not too aware - This has become less of an issue then, say, 10 years ago. Obviously that’s because of advancements in medicine and rehabbing injuries. So don’t be too worried about previous year injuries. I say that, but you can’t totally write off an injury past. Look at Ronnie Brown, he came off a major surgery last season and tore it up, that’s until he got injured again. So be aware, but don’t let an injury scare you away.
Ride the waiver wire - If you’re not active in the free agent market, you’re not going to win your league. It’s as simple as that. Some of the biggest performers you will have at the end of the season are players that you picked up during the season. Don’t fall asleep on the free agents out there, keep an eye on them.
That’s it for now.
Enjoy this day,
Matt
