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Don’t let this guy beat you at fantasy football.
So, for one reason or another, you’ve finally decided to try your hand at fantasy football. Maybe the guys at work have been pressuring you to join the league. Maybe you just got engaged and your fiancée’s eleven brothers have been patiently waiting for her to get married so they’d have a twelfth. Maybe you’re just trying out your first free public league (Yahoo’s your best bet here, by the way). And maybe you don’t know a damn thing about football. No problem. Here’s an easy-to-follow plan that will result in a very solid team in just about any league with a standard format (1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 DEF).
This strategy isn’t for experienced players – it will always result in a good team, but someone who actually knows what they’re doing will have the flexibility to take advantage of the mistakes other drafters make, and thereby build a very strong team. One thing I can guarantee you, though: If this is your first year playing fantasy football, you are far better off using this strategy than you are coming up with one on your own. There’s one guy who does that in just about every league, and the results are uniformly comical. Don’t be that guy.
First of all, you’ll need some cheat sheets. You can use ours, or you can feel free to harness the power of the Google to find some other ones if you’d like. Just make sure they’ve been updated recently. Get separate sheets for each position – one for QB, one for RB, and so on. Print them out.
Now, this is just common sense, but just in case you don’t have any of that: During the draft, you’re going to want to cross off each player’s name as they’re drafted. Be vigilant about this – the quintessential rookie mistake in any fantasy sport is attempting to draft a player who’s already off the board. Even worse than the groans and rolling eyes you’ll encounter is the fact that you will then be rushed into picking a replacement (especially if your league uses a timer), and you’ll most likely screw it up. Of course, if you’re being good about following this strategy, it won’t be all that big of a deal – just pick the next available player on the cheat sheet for that position.
OK, so you’re at the draft and you’ve got your cheat sheets, a pen, and a beer. Prepare to put it in autopilot, because from here on out, you’re going to do what I tell you to. And like it.
Round 1: Take the best running back available.
Round 2: Take the best running back available.
Round 3: Take the best running back available.
Round 4: Take the best wide receiver available.
Round 5: Take the best wide receiver available.
Round 6: Take the best wide receiver available.
Round 7: Take the best quarterback available.
Round 8: Take the best running back available.
Round 9: Take the best wide receiver available.
Round 10: Take the best quarterback available.
Round 11: Take the best tight end available.
For the rest of the draft, until the final two rounds, continue to take nothing but running backs (make sure you get at least one more) and wide receivers. You don’t need a backup tight end or 3rd QB. Then…
Second-to-last-round: Take the best team defense available.
Last round: Take the best kicker available.
Congratulations, you’re done. That sound you hear? It’s the the jaws of the “experienced” members of your league hitting the floor as they realize that the rookie who couldn’t pronounce “Laveranues Coles” just drafted a better team than they did.
At this point, you might be a little concerned. Ten rounds into the draft, you’d only addressed three positions? This is because of fantasy football’s dirty little secret: Those are the only positions that matter. It’s certainly true that on any given week, a DEF or TE might explode for a ton of points and win you the matchup (this VERY rarely is true of kickers). And sure, the Bears defense is nice to have, as is Antonio Gates. But far more often than not, the top options at those positions are taken far before they should be – in other words, they’re almost always overvalued, and the people who draft them too early aren’t doing themselves any favors.
I could go on forever about why RB-RB-RB in the first three rounds is always going to result in a solid foundation, and why WR-WR-WR for the next three rounds is going to give you plenty of firepower at wideout, and why those first six rounds will always result in a high-scoring squad, almost regardless of what you do for the rest of the draft. Update: Check out the comments below for some discussion on why I think this is the most reliable drafting strategy for inexperienced fantasy football players.
Good luck. If you have any questions, use the comments section below and I’ll get back to you.
Dan 10:09 am on 8/22/2007 Permalink |
The only question I have is why use the 3rd pick on a 3rd RB? If it’s a league with a flex position for RBs (a roster spot where you could start a RB or a player from another position, a common one is RB / WR), I could see taking a good 3rd running back, as that guy will be starting regularly. However, if you’re only starting 2 RBs, is it really that important to snag a 3rd RB right away? It seems to me like at that point, you might be better off snagging a receiver or two and getting your 3rd RB in the 4th or 5th round.
Or maybe I’m just flat out wrong. Care to explain the logic?
Matt 10:24 am on 8/22/2007 Permalink |
Sure. The running back is the heart and soul of your fantasy team. If you don’t have two solid RBs week in and week out, you’re going to lose more than you win, period.
Compound this with the fact that there are VERY few quality running backs available (since most teams only give one back a significant number of carries), and you’ve got high demand combined with very tight supply. If one of your RBs goes down with an injury (which happens all the time; it’s one of the most physically brutal positions in sports), your season is half over if you don’t have a solid replacement.
Wide receiver is an important position, but there’s also a TON of depth there. As long as you go WR-WR-WR for the next three rounds, you’re going to have a very solid group of wideouts.
Then you grab a QB in the 7th. The QB position has three guys at the very top, then a huge group of similar guys in the middle, then a small group of crappy QBs at the bottom. If you’re not going to take one in the 3rd round, you might as well wait until the 7th – there just isn’t much difference (from a fantasy perspective) between, say, Marc Bulger and Matt Hasselbeck.
Then you’ve got TE, DEF, and K, none of which really even belong in the game. They’re all crapshoots, with one or two dominant players at the top, then a vast wasteland beyond.
Make sense?
Matt 10:32 am on 8/22/2007 Permalink |
I should also note that this is a strategy that will consistently result in at least a solid team for beginners – but it’s not for people who know what they’re doing. Experienced fantasy football players should keep an eye on what the other guys are doing and constantly adjust their strategies accordingly.
Dan 10:36 am on 8/22/2007 Permalink |
I figured that was the angle you were going with, as it can definitely be crippling to lose one of your top two backs if you don’t have a solid backup. I’ve had drafts where I’ve waited to grab my 3rd back and have gotten away with it (I still got a decent starter, but he was a little lower quality), but you definitely roll the dice by waiting.
Given that you’re trying to build a “foolproof” draft plan, I think you’re definitely right in saying it’s safer to take your 3rd back right away.
Jeff 7:22 pm on 8/22/2007 Permalink |
I appreciate you copying the general strategy that I employ, and calling it the “beginner guide”. Jerk. But seriously, I can vouche that it does work, your team will be solid if unspectacular, and you can count on consistent performance week in and week out.
Jen 9:05 pm on 8/25/2007 Permalink |
i have my draft on sunday thru cbs sportsline; however, i can’t be there for it. we have 12 teams and 14 rounds. how do i go about setting my queue for autopilot? i do not know what type of strategy to use. i am 10th, 15th, 34rd, etc. pick. best i can tell, i can not see how to set up my queue to tell the computer to pick a RB round 1, RB round 2…QB round 6, etc. it seems as though the only i can do is rank players in order of preference, regardless of position. with this in mind, how do i set up my queue? any suggestions would be most appreciated.
Matt 3:43 pm on 8/26/2007 Permalink |
Jen,
Hope I’m not getting to your comment too late; I actually adopted a dog this weekend so it’s been a little nuts around here.
Unfortunately, I doubt that CBS will let you set it up to draft specific positions in each round. What I’d suggest is that set up your player rankings with a heavy emphasis on running backs at the top. You can see an example of an “overall” cheat sheet like that on Sportsline’s site here. While I don’t necessarily agree with all of their rankings, you can see how they’ve got all of the quality RBs near the top. Hope this helps!
Dan 11:49 pm on 8/28/2007 Permalink |
Hi Matt,
I am in a 12 team league and I have the fun task of drafting last. I get number 12 and 13 picks. I think they call it serpentine or snake or something like that. We all will pick 15 times. We start 1 QB, 2 RB 3WR 1 TE 1Def and a kicker. and bench six. Will your 3 RB and 3 WR strategy work when picking last like I am? It would seem like there are not going to be many if any quality RB by the time my turn comes around. Your thoughts. I am playing against some good informative guys at work. I on the other hand am just entering my second year and would like to do well and show these guys. Thanks for any input you can give me. Thanks
Matt 7:49 am on 8/29/2007 Permalink |
Dan,
Your league uses what is probably the most standard setup in fantasy football, and your situations is exactly what I tailored this strategy to. There’s no way around it, having the 12th pick stinks, but the lower-quality backs you’ll get in the first two rounds because you got stuck with a crappy pick make it even more crucial that you get a quality third RB.
Matt
Evan 5:07 pm on 2/08/2009 Permalink |
hmmm…. interesting. with my strategy i go.
rb, wr, wr, rb, wr, qb, rb, wr, te, qb, def, wr, rb, k, and te. i figure you should definetly pound rb’s and wr’s but since the top tier or rb’s will be done by the 2nd round then you can get some decent rb’s as your #2 and 3 on ur roster. i draft like this because i know that you need to be deep on wr’s because they r less consistent than rb’s and u need sum studs on ur team.
-Evan