3 Fantasy Football Myths That Will Cause You to Lose Your League

Adam ReiterNov 4, 2011

Every year, hundreds of thousands of men and women that occupy this great planet of ours become different people between the months of August/September and December/January.

No longer are they the mail room clerk at your office who you recognize in the halls, but don't know the name of. No longer are they the smart or dumb kid in your math class. No longer are they the bouncer at the club you wait two hours to get into.

They are geeks, but not your run-of-the-mill geeks.

They are your fantasy football geeks. The people who watch the entire preseason so they know every team's injury report. The people who study matchups for an hour a day to find the absolute perfect matchup.

This article is not for those people, as they should already know the points to come in this article.

This is for the people who care about fantasy football enough to log on for their draft and spend 15 minutes once a week setting their lineup without a care in the world, looking for the best matchup, then end up wondering why they finished fifth in their 12-team league.

This article is for you. Pay attention, and you could shock the world the next time you play.

1. Draft a Running Back with Your 1st-Round Pick

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FALSE

Recent years, many fantasy gurus have said that running backs like Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson, among others, are the best first-round picks, since they will score the most points.

Using ESPN.com standard fantasy football scoring, quarterbacks last season boasted nine of the top 10 scorers at the end of the season, as well as 14 of the top 19. This season, quarterbacks are boasting the top five scorers through Week 8.

This season, some of the top draft selections based on average draft position included:

Adrian Peterson: Average draft slot 2.04, currently sixth in points based on ESPN standard scoring
Arian Foster: Average draft slot 3.03, currently 18th in points based on ESPN standard scoring
Ray Rice: Average draft slot 4.64, currently 14th in points based on ESPN standard scoring
Chris Johnson: Average draft slot 5.25, currently outside the top 50 in points...

Conversely:

Cam Newton: Average draft slot 163.13, currently first in points based on ESPN standard scoring
Drew Brees: Average draft slot 22.34, currently third in points based on ESPN standard scoring
Matthew Stafford: Average draft slot 80.36, currently fourth in points based on ESPN standard scoring
Tom Brady: Average draft slot 21.45, currently fifth in points...

So the next time you're in a fantasy football draft, don't buy into the hype of taking a running back with your first pick. Take an elite quarterback and increase your chances of winning your league.

2. Draft a Tight End High

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FALSE

Tight ends are a crucial part of any football team, NFL or fantasy.

A playmaker in the middle of the field can make or break a game if the receivers are covered downfield.

Sometimes, people show these men a little too much love.

This year, the average draft position of the top five tight ends was higher than the average draft position of the starting running back of nearly 10 teams.

Of the top five average draft position tight ends (Antonio Gates, Jermichael Finley, Jason Witten, Dallas Clark, Vernon Davis), only Witten has been a top five TE so far this season.

The other top-ranked tight ends this season have been:

Jimmy Graham: Sixth in average draft position among TEs, currently the top scorer on ESPN
Rob Gronkowski: Ninth in average draft position among TEs, currently second in scoring on ESPN
Fred Davis: Outside the top 20 in avg. draft position among TEs, currently fourth in scoring on ESPN
Tony Gonzalez: 12th in average draft position among tight ends, currently fifth in scoring on ESPN

If someone is looking for an elite tight end, don't reach for a Dallas Clark in the third or fourth round. Wait a few more rounds for a Rob Gronkowski to fall into your lap.

3. Draft an Elite Defense

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FALSE

When drafting a defense for an NFL season, there are certain fantasy players who may have their hearts set on one or two certain teams who have had historically great defenses (Ravens, Bears); they may even reach a round or two early to ensure they grab the one they want.

Doing something like this will cause you to lose your matchups and possibly your league as a whole.

Of the top five scoring defenses right now based on ESPN.com standard scoring (Ravens, Lions, Jets, Bengals, 49ers), only the Ravens and Jets were in the top five of average draft position for defenses.

The Lions were ninth in ADP. The 49ers and Bengals were not even in the top 12 of ADP.

Green Bay, Philadelphia and New England, all of whom were in the top five of ADP, currently are ranked 12th, 10th and 30th for defenses based on ESPN scoring.

Just because a team has been historically great does not necessarily mean they will be great in the upcoming season.

Spend a few minutes studying the matchups and look for defenses facing a worse offense. If an average defense is facing a team with a below-average offense, it should be easy enough to simply pick them up in the middle of the week and steal some points for your matchup.