National Fantasy Draft Day is on Aug. 26. So while you’re preparing with draft magazines, podcast and draft kits, here are five tips to take with you on this glorious day.
5. Mock draft once per day.
This is the easiest thing to do to get yourself ready, but most people shrug it off and feel it’s pointless. Mock drafting allows you to get a feel for what you should expect. If you have a guy you like in the sixth, it shows if you should grab him a round ahead. There are plenty of places that have the ability for you to mock draft on the application. So not only is it helpful — it’s very easy to do.
4. Know your league.
What this means is to know the scoring, lineup and roster rules of your league. Is your league a superflex where you can start two quarterbacks? Is it a tight end premium so tight ends get more points per catch? Do running backs get points per carry? You need to know scoring because there will always be people coming into the draft like it’s a normal standard league.
Adding onto this: Do you have to draft a defense or kicker in the draft? If not, you can draft two more deep sleeper players at the end of the draft for a dart throw.
3. Safety early/Chances late.
Don’t start your draft with a flyer because you can lose your draft with your first two picks. You need to be safe and build a foundation for your team with the early rounds. Say you get an AJ Green and Jordan Howard in your draft. This gives you a safe foundation for your team and allows you to take chances on guys in the mid rounds who could truly push your team over the edge to the top. So, do you feel lucky? Because the first two rounds you shouldn’t be asking yourself that. Be safe!
2. Late-round quarterbacks are king.
Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady are the two best quarterbacks in fantasy. They both have a second- to third-round value to them. Everyone wants to have that stud player at the spotlight position, right? WRONG! For example, Rodgers had 380 points in PPR leagues according to FantasyPros. Kirk Cousins had 300 PPR points — 80 fewer (five points per week difference) for six rounds later (eighth-round value).
The big reason to this is positional scarcity in the running back position. Where you get Rodgers or Brady you could get someone like a DeMarco Murray or Todd Gurley to shore up that running back position. After that, go and get Cousins in the eighth.
1. Fantasy championships aren’t won on draft day.
Everyone walks away from draft day thinking their team is the one to win it all. Most of them fail and the reason is they don’t keep track of waivers through the season. You need to work the waivers weekly. Set an alarm on your phone or notification to help you remember when waivers are going to be processed.
Keep track of who has dropped who. This is a big part of snagging up talent due to people in the league dropping someone of desperation because of bye weeks or injuries. So just watch the waiver wire like a hawk. Last year if you got Jay Ajayi or Jordan Howard off waivers, you were very happy and possibly bathing in your fantasy football winnings.
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