I have kind of become a Fantasy Football nut. I’m not sure why I have such a strong interest in it, but what started as a casual hobby has become an avid interest. I listen to podcasts daily, read articles and probably think about it more than I should.
For some (or maybe most) of you, this column might be absolutely worthless. If that is the case, I’ll see you next week and go Twins!
For those of you who are in Fantasy Football Leagues, this column might have at least some value to you. Most leagues will have their drafts in the next two weeks. Groups of friends will convene to order some pizza, drink some beer and hang out for a few hours with fantasy football as the avenue to make it happen.
Some players put hours of prep into their draft strategy while others show up on draft day and pick almost at random. The best part about fantasy football is that both of these methods can draft a championship team. Regardless of your draft strategy, here are my five basic tips for having a successful draft.
First: You are totally fine if you “wait until late” to draft a QB. Last year, Patrick Mahomes was an outlier, scoring 417 fantasy points (standard scoring). After Mahomes, the spread between the 2nd overall QB in Matt Ryan and the 15th QB in Mitch Trubisky was only 91.1 points for the season.
For context, the spread between between the 1st RB Todd Gurley (313.1 points) and the 12th RB Phillip Lindsay (187.8) was 125.3. Go even further to the 24th RB, and the spread between Gurly and Matt Breida (135.5) was 177.6 points. The story was similar at the WR position.
In most leagues, you are required to play at least two RB’s, two WR’s and a flex spot. You need to stockpile as many backs and receivers as you can to give you the best chance of filling five roster spots with quality players. Other than Mahomes, the drop off isn’t that steep to the point that I’m fine waiting until at least the 8th round to draft guys like Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, Jared Goff or Phillip Rivers.
Second: It is generally good advice to draft the best player available (within reason). It is easy to think you need to fill all of your roster spots in order, regardless of the talent on the board. However, you will be happier with your team if you continuously draft the best player available. Just make sure your first five picks aren’t RB’s and you’ll be fine.
Third: Pay attention to what other teams are doing in the draft. For example, if you haven’t drafted your tight end yet and 10 of the other 11 teams have, you probably can keep waiting because almost nobody is going to draft a second tight end. Another example, if you are debating between similarly ranked RB’s and WR’s and notice that everyone already has RB’s behind you, you might want to go with the WR before everyone starts taking them.
Fourth: Don’t get caught up in past performance. I mean this for both the better and the worse. Don’t draft Amari Cooper simply because you’ve had him last year and he won you a big game. Don’t pass over David Johnson simply because he had a down year last year because the Cardinals stank. Use past performance as a base and look at it with a fresh perspective.
Fifth: Don’t overdraft a handcuff. Fantasy players often will think they are getting sneaky when they draft a handcuff. For most cases, that is fine – let them. There are very few cases where the handcuff will be valuable. In reality, most of the time you are wasting a roster spot on a guy that doesn’t have any value unless there is an injury.
It’s easy to look at James Connor last season and think that all cases end up that way. However, most of the time, you will have a guy on your roster that never enters your starting lineup.
Bonus tip number six: Don’t draft a defense or kicker too early. Stream these positions and play the matchups. Trust me.
Those are my five fantasy football favors to help you with your upcoming draft. If you employ these strategies and lose every game, it wasn’t my fault. But if you win your championship, feel free to send me a cut of your winnings. Happy drafting!