Fantasy Football: Eight Ways To Improve Your Draft Strategy

Between now and the start of the regular season, Fantasy Football Drafts will be taking place on a regular basis.  If you have never played fantasy football before then maybe this is the year you take a chance on seeing what it is all about. 

Fantasy Football, like anything else, is not something you should just jump into without preparation because you want to enjoy the experience.  If you don't prepare then you are likely to lose, and losing is never fun even if it's Fantasy football.

For those who already put in the blood, guts, and sweat to draft the best possible fantasy football team, here are several tips to help your chances of success on draft day.

1. Avoid Falling In Love with Rookies

Rookies are an exciting part of professional sports. That’s why the NFL draft is one of the most watched shows on television.  Especially if you follow college football and have watched some of these players in college, then you can really get attached to them.  Avoid this strategy at all costs, even if a rookie is named the starter at his position there will be some point in the season where they are going to struggle. 

College athletes play 12 games, 13 if they go to a bowl game. Now they are in an environment where they play 16 games and the games are much longer.  They are going to run out of gas at some point unless their playing time is rationed by their team; either scenario is not good for your fantasy football team. 

So, why spend a high draft pick on a player who is unproven, and won’t be a difference-maker for you most of the time?  Go after the rookies after the second or third round where the value is better.


2. Don’t Make Picks Solely Based Off of What a Player Did Last Season

The NFL is a copy cat and adjustment league; when a player on a team has a big year do you not think opposing teams spend all offseason planning to stop them?  Randy Moss broke the record for touchdowns receptions in 2007 with 23, but he only caught 11 touchdowns in 2008.  LaDainian Tomlinson broke records in 2006 with 28 touchdowns, but in 2007 he only had 15 touchdowns.

Both of these are extreme examples, but it just shows teams adjust to what other teams are doing.  Players get inflated and people draft them high then are disappointed they did not match the previous seasons output, try to catch a player on his upswing year instead of his downswing.


3. Have a Backup Plan and a Backup Plan to Your Backup Plan 

Fantasy Football drafts rarely go as planned. You can come into the draft with the best laid plan in the world, but conditions always change and if you do not have a backup strategy, it can ruin your entire draft.  Most drafts pick the draft order beforehand, so you should have an idea of who you should be able to get and target your players accordingly.


4. Conduct a Mock Draft

Some people may feel this is a bit of overkill, but the theory is simple if you are going to do something why not be the best at it.  If you conduct a mock draft and use some logic with the picks then you should be able to see what your team will look like. 

It will also give you a good idea of who will be available when it comes around time for you to make your selections, and a mock draft does not have to be you and all of your friends. You can simulate the other players, just use some logic when you do.


5. Remove Any Emotional Connections to a Team or Player

Big Florida Gator fan and just love Tim Tebow?  Pretend that he is just any other player when at your fantasy draft (at least in the early rounds) because it may cause you to take a player higher than needed because of this emotional connection.

Emotion makes people do crazy things both in life and in fantasy football. You must train yourself to avoid this pitfall.  It can really screw you in an auction league because you are bidding on each player, and if other owners know you like a certain team you may end up paying a premium for a player when it is not necessary.  If you have to get a player from a team you like, grab their kicker, defense, or a second string player in the later rounds.


6. Don’t Put Too Much Stock in Training Camp Updates

People get excited over every little update out of training camp for each team, and everyone acts like they have some inside source that is feeding them information.  Most teams already know who is going to be slotted where on their teams, and are generally only filling in a few holes here and there during training camp. 

Why would a team release all of this public information about what they are doing?  Do they want to give their opponents an advantage?  Of course not. So all of this chatter on web forums and message boards about some 6′6″ sleeper wide receiver who is really impressing coaches at camp is all a big smoke screen. Pay attention to the injuries and keep an eye on rookies, and that is about it.


7. Tune Out Chatter from Other Owners

Other owners drafting against you will want to throw you off your game, and they use a variety of tools to do this.  You pick LaDainian Tomlinson and joyfully put his sticker on the draft board,  you hear clapping in the background and a sarcastic “great f*cking pick” from another owner. 

Then another owner chimes in with “steal of the draft." These sarcastic attempts may have you doubting your strategy in later rounds.  Don’t let it happen and be confident in your selections, even if you feel like you may be reaching on a player.


8. Know the Rules of the League

The biggest mistake made by owners at fantasy football drafts is not knowing the rules of the league.  That makes the biggest difference because an auction draft versus a serpentine draft call for different strategies.  If you are in a league that requires two starting quarterbacks instead of one then you have to draft very differently. 

If the league offers points for receptions, or takes points away for interceptions, then you have to employ your plan based on that information.  If you show up on draft day and you have no idea how the draft will be conducted, how the league is scored, and what type and how many starters you are required to carry then you are doomed from the start.  

This is the single biggest factor that can make or break your draft, so make sure to request this information from the league commissioner well before draft day.

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