There are plenty of pieces of information that need to be managed when running a fantasy football squad. The list in this article breaks down 100 simple, straight forward measures that will help you to a victory in the coming season.
The following list was derived from the work of Kyle Elfrink (mostly) and Ray Flowers (partly), on their show, The Drive, on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio.
100 Ways to Win Your Fantasy Football League
- Load up your RBs and WRs on draft day
- Don’t draft a rookie QB
- Don’t invest in a team defense
- Select a proven kicker who handles duties for a good offense
- Hype is fine to listen to, but be hesitant to follow it
- Go one of two routes with bye weeks … do the mix and match or go all in with the same bye weeks
- Don’t make awful roster decisions just because your ‘run-first’ quarterback had a rough week
- Always bid odd numbers in FAAB (never go $10… go $11 or $12 as an example).
- If you don’t go ‘high-end’ at tight end choose tight ends from week to week based off the opposing DEF (waiting until at least Week 6 or so helps to get a better handle on the defense).
- Be very cautious with the QB-WR same team combo
- Always have a running back PPR specialist available to you on your roster
- You must clear out 15 minutes for final start-sit decision on Sunday morning
- Pay attention to upcoming bye weeks when considering trades
- Always try to ‘even’ up a 2-for-1 trade by including your team defense
- Don’t overestimate the value of the ‘hand-cuff’ to the exclusion of a better player
- You must draft another quarterback if your QB1 is a runner
- Don’t trust anything New England says, ever
- Don’t fall in love with touchdown totals
- Pay attention to snap counts when you hit the waiver-wire
- Don’t fear the scoreboard when making ‘Start/Sit’ decisions
- Be willing to trade any quarterback if someone is overrating their importance
- Don’t draft a very good 2nd quarterback because you think ‘I’ll be able to trade them to someone’
- Be very pro-active when it comes to waiver-wire pick-ups at running back in the early weeks
- Do not be married to ADP on draft day
- Get your friends drunk on draft day
- Don’t overestimate so-called ‘shutdown’ cornerbacks and how they affect your wideouts.
- Stay away from starting running backs outside the top-20 when they’re facing run D’s in the top-10
- Actually, watch (or, listen to) the games on Sunday
- Pay zero attention to the ‘playoff schedule’ of teams on draft day
- Draft a team defense that has a good first week matchup … don’t bother with anything else
- Very few preseason struggles matter for established players
- No matter how good they are, don’t draft two wide receivers from the same team
- Don’t bother with the Goff, Paxton or Wenz hype
- When selecting your 4th, 5th, and 6th wide receivers, lean towards pass-heavy offenses
- Don’t hold onto waiver priority as if it’s made out of diamonds
- Be ‘anti-Thursday Night football’ with start ’em/sit ’em’s
- Prepare for bye weeks a week ahead of time
- Don’t overreact to a slow first month for a top-50 type of player
- Don’t carry two tight ends on your roster
- Don’t draft a 2nd quarterback based off who he’s playing in the bye week of your QB1
- Stay away from the off-the-field ‘Red Flag’ issues with individual players
- When scouting wide receivers (in-season and pre-season), targets are the priority
- Mock Draft like crazy
- Understand this … the smaller your league, the less valuable the ‘greats’ are
- Check in on your league page every day
- Don’t expect any rookie to be this year’s Odell Beckham
- Pay attention with O-linemen go down in season … it can have a huge effect on quarterbacks and running backs
- The head-to-head, winner-take-all nature of fantasy football means you can’t give up even after a very rough start to your season
- Don’t go all-in on youth
- Play in the best leagues you can find … playing the better competition improves you
- Limit the leagues you play in to a manageable number
- Even if the match-up is tough, don’t fear playing a running back who is due plenty of chances
- Understand that roster crunch is a fact of life and you will be forced to let go of an upside player to roster production right now
- Be adamant in your belief that Joe Flacco doesn’t take advantage of ‘good matchups’
- If you can afford it (available money and roster space) do make serious bids on guys that your upcoming opponent may want, especially as the playoffs approach
- Don’t plan on starting Sam Bradford in the second half of the season
- Remember to add defenses each week that are facing sack-prone offenses
- Understand the new coordinators and what they plan to do with their new squads
- Draft the Rams as your season-opening team defense
- Take advantage of any waiver-wire opportunities between draft day and Week 1
- Don’t fire off trade offers during or after drinking the hooch
- Always talk up what you’re going to bid via the league’s bulletin board or any other mode of communication
- No significant others at draft … you don’t need the distraction
- Don’t draft Tom Brady or Ben Roethlisberger as your quarterback one without taking a solid QB2 as needed backup
- Don’t eat or drink too much before draft. Bathroom breaks are not recommended
- Try to avoid a running back and wide receiver from the same team
- Don’t believe all of the beat writer training camp love. Search for other sources.
- Actually take a look at the stats that players produced last year instead of relying on ESPN hype
- If you don’t have an IR spot don’t hold onto an injured player who will be out for six weeks or more
- Don’t let one game overpower years of positive results
- A ‘great’ play in DFS does not necessarily make even a ‘good’ play in season-long
- Placate your significant other with ‘special’ moments, meals, thoughts, and sentiments, so that they don’t get angry with you when you are devoting your time to fantasy football
- Fork over the bucks for the Red Zone channel
- Pay some attention to XPA success rates this year
- Vegas Over/Under’s give you easy access to the games where points will be piled up
- Stay away from the 49ers offense … all of it
- Don’t tweet Chris Daughtry for fantasy football advice
- Oh, yeah … read and know implicitly your league rules
- Don’t be too old with your roster
- Don’t buy into contract years
- Know other rosters as well as your roster
- You can start whittling away at your depth once the double-digit weeks hit
- When making deadline deals be willing to give up draft picks if you’re in the running for a title
- Reward yourself for wins, deprive yourself for losses
- Don’t immediately start a guy coming off a long lay-off
- As the season progresses narrow your attention down to the leagues that matter
- Always ‘set’ a lineup on Friday, just in case the weekend gets away from you
- Don’t be ‘Hometown Harry’ with players from the team you root on
- When looking for a ‘buy low’ look for players who’ve been hurt by matchups or game flow
- Do not draft a team of ‘hype’ guys
- If you own Tyler Eifert, you must understand that the first four weeks really don’t really matter
- Don’t get caught up in bonus points for touchdown distance
- Don’t overrate the ‘greats’ at each position
- Fear weather in extreme scenarios
- Don’t trade off a Week 1 performance
- Tweet Ray Flowers every Sunday morning over @siriusxmfantasy!
- If the elite guy is suiting up, put him in your starting lineup
- Buy low, sell high … especially on Monday morning
- In the first few weeks, it’s more about chances than opponent when you look at start/sit
- The less thinking the better