Fantasy Football 2016: Mock Draft Strategy, Cheat Sheet Info for Preseason Prep

You’ve heard it before: "You can’t win your fantasy football league at the draft, but you sure can lose it."

For the most part, that expression is true. So, how do you avoid botching the biggest night of fantasy season?

It’s simple: Prepared drafters are the best drafters. A large part of walking into the war room ready involves adopting a strategy.

Let’s touch on two different ones below.

Cheat Sheet

Check out FantasyPros.com, which compiles expert consensus rankings (ECR) from sites like ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, Yahoo, Pro Football Focus, Draft Sharks, Rotoworld and more.

Find a printable cheat sheet consisting of those rankings here.

Draft Strategy

Zero RB

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The Zero RB strategy, which has grown in popularity in recent years, is self-explanatory: You don’t take running backs early.

Seriously, that’s all it is. The approach is to load up on wide receivers while keeping an eye on tight ends and quarterbacks.

Sure, it seems weird on the surface. After all, having a week-to-week stud tailback slotted into your lineup gives you a significant advantage.

The catch: League-winning backs aren’t often first-round picks.

Here’s Joe Holka from 4for4.com:

"

Devonta Freeman wasn’t even the first back drafted from Atlanta last year. Instead, Freeman was an 11th- or 12th-round pick that ended up being fantasy’s number-one player in 2015. Freeman was a lottery ticket at best, but one that many Zero RB drafters fell into after loading up at WR early.

This is the kind of thing that will help you win your league.

"

Another tidbit from Holka: Based on last year’s average draft position (ADP), Adrian Peterson was the only points-per-reception (PPR) running back drafted in the top 10 who finished in the top 10 at the position.

Look at it this way. If you have the third overall pick in a 10-team league, would you rather have a combination of Todd Gurley (RB1)/Brandon Marshall (WR9)/Mark Ingram (RB11) or Julio Jones (WR3)/Jordy Nelson (WR8)/Mike Evans (WR11)?

Both are strong starts, of course. But the argument could be made that the second trio is much safer.

If Team 2 snags a later-round committee back like Duke Johnson, T.J. Yeldon or DeAndre Washington who emerges as the three-down horse—which isn’t unlikely—that team has the makings of a world-beater.

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

As you might imagine, Zero RB is geared toward PPR formats, but it has value in standard leagues, as well. It protects you against injuries, as running backs take the most hits among skill players.

Fantasy experts have been harping on this approach to drafting since 2013, but it’s not exactly commonplace in real-life leagues with family, friends or co-workers.

Going without a running back early can be daunting at first, but Zero RB is a tactic worth considering.

Waiting on a QB

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This strategy, though it doesn’t have a sparkly name, seems even more popular than Zero RB.

While drafting this way, fantasy owners bypass signal-callers in the early rounds in favor of running backs and receivers.

Having Aaron Rodgers is great, but is he worth passing on a second- or third-round skill-position beast? Maybe, depending on the league settings (some value passing touchdowns more than rushing).

But even then, probably not.

As the NFL has become more and more of a passing league, QBs all across football are putting up gargantuan numbers. As a fantasy player, you can exploit those who reach on Rodgers or Cam Newton in favor of names with less star power.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Take the following guys, for example.

Blake Bortles

• ADP: 71
• QB8
• Last season’s QB4, trailing only Newton, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson

Bortles wields two stud receivers in Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns and is a big body near the goal line. He ran for 310 yards and punched in two touchdowns last season.  

Eli Manning

• ADP: 85
• QB10
• Last season’s QB10

Here’s all you need to know: Odell Beckham Jr.

What’s more: OBJ actually appears to have help this year in rookie Sterling Shepard. Manning clearly has no problem throwing to worthy rookies, so expect the Oklahoma product to be used early and often.

Andy Dalton

• ADP: 123
• QB15
• Last year’s QB18

Before the Red Rifle went down in Week 14, he was the No. 5 overall fantasy scorer, behind Brady, Newton, Rodgers and Carson Palmer.

He was averaging 20.3 points per game in standard leagues, per FantasyPros.com, which trailed Rodgers by just one-tenth (20.9).

The Cincinnati Bengals have lost weapons like Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones, but Dalton still has an elite receiver in A.J. Green.

Likely to fall thanks to his late-season drop, Dalton is a great get late in your draft.

Matthew Stafford

• ADP: 135
• QB18
• Last year’s QB9

Yes, Stafford lost Calvin Johnson.

But, more importantly, he’s still got offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter—and that’s not a joke. After the man with arguably the NFL’s best name took over on Oct. 26, the Detroit Lions were immediately jump-started.

After starting 1-6 averaging 19.9 points, they went 6-3 while putting up 26.1 an outing.

Following Detroit’s bye in Week 9, Stafford was the No. 4 overall fantasy scorer, trailing Newton, Wilson and Kirk Cousins from Weeks 13 to 17.

With receiving threats like Golden Tate, Marvin Jones and Theo Riddick all over the field, expect a whole season of second-half Stafford in 2016.

Streaming

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Another take on the strategy above is QB streaming, which involves a whole lot of waiver-wire magic to snag players with favorable matchups.

According to The Fantasy Footballers Podcast, 40 different quarterbacks put up at least one top-12 week last year:

If you play it right, there's a good chance you can find one almost every week.

Sure, Ryan Tannehill isn’t an ideal starter. But if he’s playing the worst passing defense in the league? Slot him in, take the heckling from your league-mates and hope the numbers stay true.

Then, back to the wire he goes.

ADP information was sourced from FantasyPros.com. Fantasy stats from ESPN were also used.