By Allan Tompkins
As the football season approaches, the excitement for fantasy football grows. Whether it is trash-talking, nail-biting plays or just a fun feel for the game, fantasy football provides a bond like no other between league mates. Yet, there can’t be any fantasy football without loads of strategy and quick decision-making that can make or break a team. Therefore, I will offer my strategy and any other advice to help you win your fantasy football league this year.
Before I get into the strategy, I have to mention some disclaimers. First, I must acknowledge that this is my first year doing fantasy football so it will have a more beginner feel to it, yet it applies to veterans just as well. Second, the strategy I will be going over is heavily based on Fantasy Stock Exchange’s YouTube video regarding the same topic which will be linked at the end of the article. The goal of this article is to consolidate his 30-minute video into a short read that can help you excel, so without further ado, let’s get into the strategy.
The Running Back Strategy
Running backs are a huge part of a football team and they reflect that in fantasy football. Yet, it’s important to not depend on a few running backs to run your league because just as well as they can make a team, they can break one with injuries. This year, though, there are some amazing running backs available that I advise are taken earlier on in the draft. For the first 3-4 rounds, pick up at least 1-2 running backs that can develop a strong foundation that your team will use to build upon. Players such as Christian McCaffrey, Breece Hall, Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, Johnathan Taylor, Saquon Barkley, Isaiah Pacheco, James Cook and Travis Etienne are all solid picks for those introductory rounds yet are quick to go in the draft, so you need to take action on them.
"I want to pick a running back first and make sure that he plays behind a good offensive line," said senior, Eddie Lopez
The Wide Receiver Strategy
Just as important to a team and maybe even more important than running backs are wide receivers. With fewer injuries than running backs, when you’re not going for the two running backs in those first 4-5 rounds, you need to be picking up those top-tier wide receivers. Something to take note of throughout the entire draft is that it isn’t as easy as just following a rubric that dictates which round you get what, yet you can have a general idea. What this means is that if the second round has three very good running backs left while there are still 5 or 6 very good wide receivers left, you need to pick up one of those running backs because chances are, one of those good wide receivers will remain once the turn comes back to you. Keeping a general idea of who you would like to get in the first versus later rounds will help you better organize yourself throughout the draft. Players such as Ceedee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, Deebo Samuel, DK Metcalf, Chris Godwin, A.J. Brown, Jaylen Waddle, Devonta Smith and Tyreek Hill are going to be exceptional early-round choices for you.
"I do research on promising teams for the upcoming year and for my first 2 picks, I try to go for the top wide receivers," said sophomore, Maximo Pacheco
The Tight End Strategy
Tight ends are a bit more neglected in fantasy football and you will likely find yourself only having room for one, maybe two, of them by the end. It’s smart to try and get a decent tight end around the 6-8th round, depending on your other options. Tight ends are strong components of teams but lack the amount of points generated when compared to other positions. Picking up players such as Sam LaPorta, George Kittle, Dalton Kincaid, Kyle Pitts, and Travis Kelce are great choices for good tight ends that can be the mini backbone of your team.
The Quarterback Strategy
The quarterback strategy is separated into two that you can choose to adopt depending on your personal preference or any differences you might notice in your league. Quarterbacks are the captains of the football team and usually start going around the 5th or 6th round. Passing yards usually don’t go for many points (around 0.04 points/ passing yard in my league) and therefore, many people are okay with getting quarterbacks in the 9th or 10th round, yet I feel more confident with getting a solid quarterback in the 5th or 6th round and then a lesser one in those later rounds. Quarterbacks such as Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes are great picks yet, quick to get chosen due to their tendency to scramble and generate those more valuable rushing yards. Josh Allen, Brock Purdy, Jared Goff, Jayden Daniels, Jorden Love, Tua Tagovailoa, Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence, and Dak Prescott are also great picks yet, will more likely be seen in the 7th-10th round.
"For quarterback, I usually draft round 4-5 depending on who is available. After, the rest of my team is built based off of positional need. Usually by round 9-10 I'll have a backup," said sophomore, Gonzalo Rodriguez
Defense/ Special Teams Strategy
The defense/special teams strategy isn’t super complicated at all and is usually seen in later rounds. Selecting one of these gives you one team’s entire defense and special teams and is very valuable in points. Defense/special teams usually start going in the 9th round and on and I recommend trying to pick up a strong defense/special team on the earlier side of this (9th or 10th round) and selecting a back-up defense in one of the last rounds of the draft (14th-16th). The 49ers, Seahawks, Bears, Dolphins, and Vikings defense are all strong selections yet, almost any defense with the highest projection there will do your team justice.
"I may be biased, but I just love choosing the Dolphins defense every year. They always deliver," said sophomore, Maximus Barrenechea.
Stacking
Now that all the positions have been discussed, the only other strategy to take note of is stacking. Stacking is when you select two players from the same team such as a quarterback and a wide receiver. By doing this, you are betting that the team you are stacking will make a strong offense that outperforms their average draft position as a whole offense. This strategy can be considered a little risky due to the players depending on each other for high-point generation yet is something that you can adopt especially when you’re in between players. For example, let’s say you pick up CeeDee Lamb, a player on the Cowboys, a quarterback who would stack with him would be Dak Prescott. Prescott isn’t a quarterback that’s likely going to be selected in those early quarterback rounds so you can decide to delay your quarterback selection to pick up stronger wide receivers and such and still pick up a decent quarterback later on. It’s all about thinking of your league mates’ next move and anticipating it to plan yours.
Whatever platform your fantasy football league is in, they almost all have mock drafts that you can use to practice. No matter how strategic or knowledgeable you are in fantasy football, practicing a draft in a mock draft is the number 1 way to improve your game.
Fantasy football is a fun, bonding experience that still requires a considerable amount of strategy if you want to succeed. By using the strategy stated above, you can feel more confident in your team’s ability to succeed this season and hopefully, take you to the top of your league. It’s important to acknowledge that there’s rarely a 100% chance of predicting the way things will play out perfectly therefore, use this strategy as a guide to can steer you toward the right direction. The ultimate decision comes down to you, so be confident in yourself, and everything else will follow. Above all though, make sure to have fun and enjoy this year’s fantasy football season with its countless amount of laughter, trash-talk, and strategy...
Here's the Fantasy Stock Exchange video:
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