Fantasy Football: Top 10 Tips and Tricks
One of the last season’s episodes of The Fantasy Footballers Podcast detailed several simple steps you can take to maximize your chances at a #FootclanTitle. Follow these 10 Tips and Tricks to help win your fantasy football league.
10. Keep an Eye on the IR
The Injured Reserve (IR) spot can and should be used as a free roster spot. Make sure you understand the IR rules, but you can use the IR spot during the draft and through the season for an extra player. If your IR spot is open during the season, look on the waiver wire for IR eligible players and insert them into your IR spot. If a stud like Dion Lewis falls in drafts because of injuries that will make them miss significant time, take a flyer and stash them until they can help you make your playoff run.
9. Tiering Up
Tier based drafting is the best way to draft. Look for the updated Printable Cheat Sheets in the Ultimate Draft Kit that now include tiers. Make your tiers for every position and mark where the gaps are for each position. Top-200 lists are useful but use tiers to help you decide between two players in different position groups and make better decisions throughout your drafts.
8. I’m Thinking RBs
“We have ‘jumped the shark’ on the running back.” -Mike
RBs generally bust at higher rates than WRs, but bust rates between WRs and RBs have historically been significantly closer than they were in 2015. Elite RBs may bust slightly more frequently, but they are more valuable because position scarcity makes them harder to get. Mid- to late-round RBs are more likely to gain in value over time while WR value is far more stable.
7. Know Your Surroundings
Know what the other teams in your draft are doing. Track who has been drafted and pay particularly close attention to teams that are heavily targeting certain positions. Before making a pick, look to see how likely it is for another team to grab one the players left in your tier for that position group. For example, if there are only a couple of QBs left in your tier but the teams with the next seven picks already have a QB or two, grab a player in a different position and wait to grab the QB with your next pick. If you’re thinking of trading up, look at the other teams to see how likely it is that another team will nab a player you’re targeting. You might not need to trade up if it’s unlikely another team will draft your player.
6. Master of Trades
Use two or three players to trade up for a player in a higher tier and don’t be afraid to give up the most value if you can get the best player. You end up getting the best overall player and you open up a roster spot for a waiver wire add. Higher level guys give you a positional advantage on a week-to-week basis making them much more valuable. Go out and get your guy.
5. Information Superhighway (Stay Connected)
“If you do one or two things to improve your information flow, you will beat most of your league because you will get there first.” -Andy
One of the best sources of information is newsfeeds and especially Twitter. Follow the Footballers and beat writers on Twitter to get all the latest news. There’s no need for you to even interact. If you’re not sure where to get your information, take a look at who the Footballers follow and follow those people including the amazing Fantasy Footballers’ writers. You can pretty much select all the people who Jason, Mike, and Andy follow for the best sources of pure fantasy football content.
Use sites like FantasyDraftWizard.com to participate in mock drafts to help you prepare for your draft. You can also check out information sites like Rotoworld.com, but a lot of those sites get their information straight from Twitter. Don’t forget to join the 20,000 people that have already subscribed to The Fantasy Footballers’ YouTube Channel to get notifications each time new podcasts are posted.
4. Take a Deep Breath and Don’t Panic
When a stud disappoints or someone out of the blue blows up for a big game, be neither a seller nor a buyer after Week 1. It can be frustrating when the superstar roster you labored to build fails to perform during the first couple of weeks in the regular season, but don’t tilt and throw the baby out with the bathwater. Stay calm and stay the course if you believe in your team. You might also be able to take advantage of some fantasy teams that have a bad week and see if you can get stud players for pennies on the dollar.
3. Wait on QB (In 1 QB leagues)
You can get QB production almost everywhere since the league has shifted to high passing volume offenses. 40 QBs put up at least one QB1 performances in 2015. QBs drafted in the first few rounds will need to put up epic seasons to make the pick a value versus QBs taken in the later stages of drafts. Just because you take a QB late does not necessarily mean you’re streaming a QB. Look for QBs with the potential to return value and look for favorable matchups against weak defenses throughout the year.
2. The Grind of the Champion
“You don’t win your championship at the draft.” -Jason
All the preparation leading up to a draft can’t guarantee you a championship, but it sets up a foundation for the season. It will take being active on the waiver wire, looking for good trade opportunities, and wise start/sit decisions throughout the year to make it to the Footclan Title Game. Look for the places to get timely and good advice throughout the entire season and use it to your advantage to improve upon your team.
1. Fantasy is More than a Game, More than a Title
Fantasy football is about the traditions you have created in your leagues. Water-bets, silly traditions, competition, player debates, trade negotiations, and trash talk make fantasy football what it is. Fantasy football is one of the few places where gloating, excessive exuberance, and obnoxious behavior is tolerated if not expected. Enjoy the whole experience and you will never lose even if you fall short of the Footclan Title. Do us all a favor, though, and win the Footclan Title!
Be sure to check out Episode #246: 10 Tips and Tricks to Win Your Fantasy Football League in its entirety.
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