THE ROAD TO THE CHAMPION SHIP

The Road to the Championship?

Winning your fantasy football league comes with the ultimate bragging rights, and oftentimes there’s a few dollars on the table to be claimed too. So what does it take to become an NFL fantasy football champion?

In this article, I’ll cover several strategies you can apply in order to gain an edge over the other players in your league, aiming to help give you that all important advantage when the NFL season rolls around.

Decide on a strategy

It’s really important when you go into your fantasy football draft or season that you have a strategy. That strategy might be to go for running backs in the early rounds, or to ensure you add a couple of stacks during the draft to maximize the potential of those players playing on the same team.

Define your strategy before the draft begins, and don’t panic if the draft doesn’t exactly go your way. The more you plan, the less potential there is to panic when the draft is underway. If a player you had high on your list is drafted before you get a chance to add him to your team, work through your list to find the next best option. That might mean taking a different position than you were originally going to at the position you’re in, but that’s just fine.

Gaining an edge

Gaining an edge over your opponents will set you up with the best possible opportunity to win when the fantasy football season begins. There are many ways to do that, and I wanted to go through ten of the best ways to gain that all important edge. So, without further ado, here they are:

1. Study the setup for the league you’re playing in

Knowing the makeup of your starting lineup in each league you take part in is super important. There are many different variations of fantasy football, with varying rosters, lineup setups and point scoring systems.

For example, PPR leagues favor wide receivers that make a high volume of catches because they pick up additional points for every catch regardless of the yardage. The same applies for running backs who catch a lot of balls out of the backfield. Not only do they pick up rushing yards, but will also contribute additional points to your team with those receptions.

2. Winning the first two rounds

Risk takers may disagree, but getting two trustworthy high scoring players in the first two rounds is incredibly important. These two picks cost you the most capital at the top of the draft, and you need them to warrant the selection by offering you consistent value throughout the season.

Injury history is a major factor to consider because a player who struggles to stay on the field could cost you your season, even if his point scoring average ranks in the top 10-20 of all players throughout the league when he does play. If he’s out for multiple games, you could pick up multiple losses.

Another risk is a wide receiver playing with an unproven quarterback. For example, when Davante Adams moved to the Raiders and Tyreek Hill moved to the Dolphins, both caused some hesitation in fantasy football drafts. However, had you taken the risk with either of those players in 2022, it would have paid off. Both had exceptional seasons on their new teams.

3. Stacking High Scoring Running Backs

One key strategy that many employ when playing fantasy football is stacking running backs. Some fantasy players will take three or even four running backs in the first four rounds before they consider taking another position, aiming to earn themselves a consistent advantage at the running back position throughout the fantasy football season.

Having multiple high-end running backs means you can always start at least two, and maybe three depending on the roster construction of your league. If you have a flex position, starting a running back there is always preferable to a wide receiver or tight end. You can also run through bye weeks unscathed with running backs at your disposal to cover one another when they sit out for a bye week.

4. Quarterbacks

You need to know what your plan is for the quarterback position, and execute it. If you’re willing to sacrifice an early round pick to ensure you can get somebody like Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, then that’s great, but make sure if you miss that you redirect your picks and don’t panic into picking a quarterback too early.

Quarterbacks who can do it all in the modern game are fantasy football heaven. Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes have proven they can throw, run and score any which way, which results in a great return for your fantasy team. If you have a plan to draft one of them and suddenly they’re all gone, don’t panic. There is likely better value in the position you find yourself in for a running back or one of the league’s better receivers.

If you miss out on one of the great quarterbacks, it’s okay to pivot. You’re better off gaining an advantage at another position and coming back to the quarterback spot in a couple of rounds with somebody like Justin Herbert.

5. Winning the mid rounds

Most fantasy football players have a plan for the players they want in the first two to three rounds of the draft. After that, leagues can become a bit of a frenzy as everyone’s opinions on the best available players start to drift in different directions.

This is the segment you need to ensure you have planned out in detail. If you can win the mid rounds from 4-7 and hit on all four of those picks you will find yourself in a really strong position come the draft.

Make sure you limit your risks in those rounds. Looking for upside is great but if you spend three picks on risky upside players you could flame out on all of them. Take two solid, reliable point scorers who are on the field and scoring regularly without injury concerns or question marks such as a rookie quarterback or new head coach.

You can then risk the other two picks or even just one looking for a home run upside pick. That might be a rookie running back or a wide receiver who just signed for a new team. If that pick doesn’t hit, you still have three other mid round players that will hold your team up.

6. Take risks and study the late rounds

The more you know about the late round picks the better. It might be how they’re performing in rookie mini camp or tight end that signed for a small fee with a new team because he played for the head coach before.

Pick up a few guys that have boom or bust potential in the later rounds. Players who fell out of favor and landed on new teams during the off-season are always an interesting play, and so are some of the lesser known rookies.

When it comes to picking which guys to take a risk on, look at the barriers they face on the roster. For example, you might be deciding between two rookie wide receivers that were drafted to different teams in the 5th round of the NFL draft. One of those guys might look set to be the fourth wide receiver on his team, while the other is buried on the depth chart as the likely wide receiver six or seven. That will make your decision for you.

Look at elements such as how often their quarterback spreads the ball around to different players, or how many running backs are typically used by teams in a game. Some RB3s might be more favorable than others based on how well the snaps are shared on each team.

Correctly predicting even two players with great upside can give you a serious edge, and the later rounds of the draft are the best time to do that.

7. Trade players away or avoid drafting them before it’s too late

Hanging on to players beyond their prime is one of the easiest mistakes to make when it comes to fantasy football. When a player does extremely well for you it’s all too easy to expect they will always be that way. But history shows that father time or the injury monster catch up to your players more often than not. Sure, Jerry Rice played until he was 40, but he’s the exception not the rule.

This applies to running backs beyond their rookie contracts, and wide receivers who are approaching or beyond the age of 30. We never want to admit it, but our favorite players’ careers will all eventually slow down, and offloading them before it happens is a skill and a fine art that can help you build an all time fantasy football roster.

Look at Cooper Kupp this season. He had such an unbelievable year in 2021 that his trade value in fantasy football was through the roof. Anybody that predicted a post-Super Bowl slump for the Rams and traded Cooper Kupp away would have done well out of it, maximizing the value return for a player at his peak.

Kupp ended up only playing nine games in 2022 and went from 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2021 to 812 yards and six touchdowns in 2022. Congrats to anybody that traded him for a haul before it happened.

8. Pay attention to bye weeks when drafting

Many players suffer the bye week blues by ignoring players bye weeks when they draft their teams. Now, it might only be one week of the season, but having several of your best players on the same bye week could result in you taking a tough loss with only half of your team available.

That loss could be the difference between you making the playoffs or not, or earning the number one seed in your league or not. Bye weeks matter, don’t ignore them.

9. Don’t neglect your lineup

It’s so easy to forget your lineup during the week, and before you know it the week’s NFL action has kicked off. Suddenly you’ll find yourself with three injured players in your starting lineup with a running back who has fallen out of favor and only managed six carries in the last three weeks.

I think we’d all agree that this is far from ideal, so it’s really important to nurture your lineup and pay attention to the guys you have on your team.

For example, a wide receiver you’ve started since week one might have started the year really hot, but in recent weeks a rookie has overtaken him on the depth chart and he’s now only getting one catch a week. It’s time to move on. Start another player from your bench or look to find value to replace him via a trade or a free agent.

Predicting young players who might start to get more opportunities later in the season is a great way to keep your roster fresh throughout the year and stay on top of the competition.

10. Stacking

Stacking can be a really effective way to secure double the return on your quarterback or wide receiver by also drafting his counterpart.

Quarterbacks can’t succeed without their wide receivers, or visa versa, so having both on your team can really benefit you week to week. If your wide receiver has a huge day with 180+ yards and two touchdowns, his quarterback more than likely had a great day too, and having both in your starting lineup can give you an edge over your weekly opponent.

What about Auction Leagues?

Auction leagues follow a traditional auction style where players are available to be bid on by the members of the league, with the highest bid winning the rights to that player. This format can result in some great deals, but could also mean you end up paying a fortune for Patrick Mahomes because five other players in your league wanted him to.

With that in mind, here are three extra tips for auction leagues.

1. Plan out your budget and stick to it

You’ll be surprised at how quickly you could burn through your budget if you’re not well planned. Allocate percentages of the budget set in your league to positions, and then be strict with yourself. It’s so easy to get caught up in a bidding war and end up overpaying for a player you felt you really needed to have. Don’t do it, let your other league members overspend on their budgets, giving you an advantage.

If you’re the strictest bidder in the room, you’ll have more budget than any other player very quickly, and can then control the bidding on mid tier players you like. The only time overspending might be acceptable is if you believe a certain player at a certain position gives you an advantage over any other player in the same category. For example, Travis Kelce at tight end.

2. Mock drafts. Get a grip on estimated pricing

How do you know the estimated cost and suggested price of certain players? Auction mock drafts, and lots of them.

If you go into auction drafts blind, you won’t know if you’re overspending or making totally unrealistic price caps for your positions. Doing more mocks than anybody else in your league allows you to be better prepared, and you’ll know when your league mates start spending more than they should on certain players.

The more mock drafts you do, the better planned your budget will be, and if you then end up spending less than you’d anticipated on your quarterback, you can push a little harder for the running back you wanted.

Mock drafts are more vital in auction drafts than they are anywhere else. The precision of your budget is the key to your success.

3. If there’s a deal to be had, grab it

If you’ve done a ton of mock drafts you will be pretty well prepared with a list of players in mind. You’ll know the guys you want to go after and will be prepared to bid on them when their auctions are live, but that doesn’t mean you should pass up on a deal for somebody else if the opportunity presents itself.

Let’s say you have a shortlist of wide receivers and the budget held back to bid on the likes of Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith and Tee Higgins. All three should be 1,000+ yard receivers with at least six touchdowns and let’s say you want to pay $20 to secure one of them. While you’re waiting for those auctions, you notice Chris Olave selling for $12… there’s a deal there to be had that might mean you have to let go of your original strategy.

Try to be a little flexible with your bidding if the league is presenting you an opportunity for a steal.