If you’re interested in learning to dominate in fantasy football, the key is in the draft. Whether you’re on ESPN or Yahoo Fantasy Football leagues, the tips for a successful draft pick are the same. Avoid making these noob mistakes by following these draft pick tips.
Fantasy Football Tips To Help You Draft a Monster Team
1. Scour the Standings and Hatch a Draft Battle Plan
As the saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. The best thing you can do before draft day is start researching to find out who the best players are. Your main scorers aren’t the ones you’ll find in the first round draft picks. They’re the ones who are further down the list. Stats-wise, some savvy owners find that the most meaningful picks can be found among the top 60 players in the league. So, don’t skip making your own list of players to create your dream NFL team.
2. Stay the Course and Don’t Jockey for Positions Until Mid-Draft
Don’t follow the crowd when they start frenzying after the quarterbacks. If they go for the QBs, go for the best of the best wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends.
3. Think of Offense When Drafting
When you want results, isolate your picks from the teams in the top five in terms of total offense and overall scoring in the league. We’re talking about the teams who appear in this list from the NFL. You may not get Tom Brady, Kareem Hunt, or Antonio Brown, but you can’t lose if you at least get Matthew Stafford, Le’veon Bell, or Keenan Allen.
4. Leave Your Fandom Out of Draft Day
Sure, you’re a Steelers fan, but you’re making a big mistake if you intend to get Bell, Brown, and Roethlisberger on the same roster. Not all of them will score the maximum points in a game. Save yourself the trouble and choose the guys who will give you the numbers you need to get to your league’s fantasy football Super Bowl.
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5. Be Laser-Focused Come Fantasy Football Drafting
What do you guys think about these QB rankings? #fantasyfootball #fantasy #football #nfl #quarterback #rodgers #brady #wilson #newton #wentz #season #espn #opinions pic.twitter.com/HEI02NZjl7
— Fantasy FB Expert (@fantasyfballday) August 12, 2018
Yes, your environment can have an effect on you when you start drafting. Try to stay focused. If your league is doing drafting day at your local Hooters, don’t get drunk. Put the beer stein down and stay razor-sharp while waiting for your picks to come up. Snooze and you lose.
6. Have Fun Spooking the Other Owners with Psychological Warfare
If you make it seem like you’re after players other owners’ want, you can get in their head. Watch them trip over themselves trying to draft their picks ahead of you while you bide your time and snap the ones on your list one-by-one uncontested. Where’s the fun if you don’t blow some sand in their eyes now and then?
7. Don’t Be a Slave to the Average Draft Position (ADP)
The ADP is a great tool because it explains how much you have to spend on draft day to acquire the services of a player. You may like a certain player, but will intentionally miss out on getting him because he’ll fetch around half the next round. Most of the time, another owner will snap this particular player up much to your chagrin. If you like that player, and you’ve got a good gut feeling about him this season, by all means, indulge yourself and reach for him even if the ADP says he’ll be cheaper the next round.
8. Refine Your Tactics With Mock Drafts
Don’t show up to draft day unprepared — you can begin practicing for the big day by participating in mock drafts. This helps you better understand the competition you’ll have for each of your picks. After a few rounds of practice, you’ll have a baseline of what to expect, and you’ll be prepared to sequence your picks in your own league’s drafts.
9. Prioritize Running Backs First, Quarterbacks in the Mid-Rounds, and Kickers Last
Did your favorite running back make the cut? #NFL https://t.co/pXyrb8XbZp
— NFL Draft (@FA_NFLDraft) August 16, 2018
Most owners grab quarterbacks in the first rounds, but you’ll do no wrong if you go after the RBs first. Having more than two running backs is ideal in case your starters get injured as the season goes on. A few weeks in you’ll discover that running backs become scarce in the waiver wire. So put yourself in a better position by securing these reserves. After the RBs, pursue the best of who’s left among the QBs. Lastly, hold off on choosing your kickers until the last round of the draft. Kickers are an endangered species in fantasy football and you’re not helping yourself any by picking one early.
Here’s a video from Fantasy Football Advice if you need tips on Early Round Strategy for your league’s upcoming draft day:
These tips come from veteran owners in long-running leagues. They’ll help you pick a star team whether you’re playing against friends, co-workers, and family in your private league, or you’re drafting against random strangers in apps for fantasy football. Keep to these pieces of advice, mind the numbers, fill in the gaps during the season, do your due diligence, and sooner or later, you’ll find your team in the line of scrimmage for your league’s finals.
What do you think of our drafting strategies for fantasy football? If you know tips not mentioned here, please add them in the comments section below.
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