We all have our favorite NFL teams. Somewhere deep inside of us is that one team for which we bleed, whether it is the Chiefs because you grew up in western Missouri, the Ravens because you followed them out of Cleveland, the Dolphins because you grew up watching Dan Marino or the Patriots because you are a front runner. For me, that team is my hometown Chicago Bears.
In fantasy football, we have to remain impartial. Without a doubt this is the most difficult strategy to implement in this magazine. What makes it so difficult is we often don’t even realize that we being homers in many of our fantasy decisions. Does the thought of rooting for Jamaal Charles make you sick twice a year when the Chiefs are playing your beloved Broncos? If you are Bears fan (like me), do you find yourself constantly fading (???) Aaron Rodgers? Do you have any Tennessee Titans on your team? If so. chances are you are a homer.
We can’t show favoritism toward one team or another in fantasy football. This is an understated yet incredibly important aspect of becoming a winning player. You cannot be objective if you have such incredible loyalty towards one (or more) NFL teams.
The truth is that this fandom cannot be overcome. But what you can do is identify where your loyalties lie and counter them by consciously staying away from them. That’s right, I am telling you to actively stay away from drafting players on your favorite team.
Year after year fantasy owners waste draft picks and free agent dollars on their hometown players. It isn’t just that they are bidding on hometown players, it’s that they’re overbidding on them. I am sick of getting the phone call from Bill in New York (no offense, Bill!) asking whether he should start Jeff Cumberland. Nobody outside of Cumberland’s immediate family and die-hard Jets fans cares enough about Jeff Cumberland to consider starting him.
This also happens in drafts and free agent waiver bidding. If you participate in a league with everyone drafting in person, chances are that everyone is a fan of the local team. Again, there is nothing wrong with that. But before the season starts, coaches and players are all saying the right things. Remember how much love Jay Gruden had for Robert Griffin III last August? Next thing you know, everyone is playing a game of chess over who will spend that early pick on RGIII. The “winner” in that scenario ultimately turns out to be the loser time and time again. In waivers it is the same thing. In 2014, Denard Robinson had a “breakout” game and the next thing you knew his waiver price tag soared into the 60-80 percent mark in leagues among big Jaguars fans.
When you have such love for your team, you are not thinking or acting rationally. You want your team and every player on that team to do so well that you trick yourself into believing they are better than they truly are.
That desire to see your team win will cause you to judge those players unfairly. This can be both positive and negative. There are times in which you think a player is far better than they are because he is on your team and there are times when you’ll cut bait on a disappointing player just because he let your team down.
I hold myself to this principle. I will not draft a player on the Chicago Bears until a minimum of one round after his appropriate ADP. Yes, even stars like Matt Forte and Alshon Jeffery. I stay away from all backups on the team as well unless absolutely necessary. This way I am drafting with my head instead of my heart, which is the only way that the best fantasy football players do it.