My first-time playing fantasy football was a stressful mess. I had no idea what I was doing, and I don’t think I had any fun until week 2 when I discovered stats were involved. My draft went something like, “Sign into the draft room and…Go, you’re on the clock! Shit! Already??! Do I pick D. Adams or D. Cook?!”. I didn’t know hardly any players, I had no idea who to pick, and also, I just hate being rushed. Well, I’m here to help you so your fantasy football experience is a blast!
ROSTER CONSTRUCTION (based off 1QB, 2RB, 2WR, 1 TE, 2 flex, 1 K, 1DST)
You’ll want to have the best starting roster you can with some good back-up players! Your roster is composed of:
1 QB (quarterback): Most of their points come from throwing touchdowns. 4 points is the standard for a passing touchdown. They get fractional points for all the yards they throw. Quarterbacks who run with the ball get fractional points for those yards.
2 RBs (running backs): They get fractional points for all the yards they gain from scrimmage. Running backs who catch passes get extra points for catching the ball. In PPC (Points Per Carry) leagues, RBs will even accrue extra points for their rushing attempts. Unless the running back is losing yards every carry, you should expect them to have some points. There are usually 1-2 main running backs per team.
2 WRs (wide receivers): They get fractional points for all the yards the ball was in the air before it was caught + yards they gain after catching the ball. If your league has PPR settings (PPR = Point Per Reception), they get extra points every time they make a catch. ½ PPR setting means anyone who makes a catch will receive ½ a point extra. Per NFL team, there are usually 1 alpha WR, a very good 2nd WR, and 1 or more additional WRs.
1 TE (tight end): Their points are accrued like WRs in the sense that they catch passes, but those tend to be shorter yards. Every team uses their TEs differently. Some QBs absolutely love throwing to their TEs, which makes them reliable fantasy options. In first time leagues, I would not expect to see TEP (Tight End Premium) scoring. However, if your league uses TEP, TEs will gain even more points for their achievements.
2 (W/R/T) (flex): extra spots where you play a WR, RB or TE of your choosing.
1 K (kicker): They will either get 1 point for kicking an extra point (after their team scores a touchdown) or 3 points for kicking a field goal
1 DST (defense/special teams): you choose the entire NFL team. In the actual NFL game, the less points the other team scores on them, the more points your defense accrues. The DST also receives points for special plays like kick/punt return touchdowns, sacks on the other teams’ QB, interceptions, etc.IR (injured reserve): when a player is hurt and not going to play in the game, they are going to have the designation “OUT”, “IR”, or “PUP”. Placing the injured player in your IR spot allows you to make room to pick-up another player without dropping them.
DRAFTING TIPS
Try to win each round by choosing the best player available for your roster. The better players are obviously drafted earlier. I like to draft by tier (e.g. draft as many tier 1 players first, then tier 2, then so on).
When researching players, one thing to look at is ADP (Average draft position). It will show you the consensus of where analysts believe players should be drafted. Fantasy In Frames has “2024 Draft Rankings” on their site, which is a great tool to cross reference during your draft. Fantasypros also has a good breakdown of players by tiers. Use your league’s settings (e.g. 10-team, half-PPR, 1QB). Fantasy Sharks has a nice one-page cheat sheet with all the positions, ranked.
More points = more wins. Draft the players that you think will get you the most points. If you have absolutely no clue where to start, look at this season’s predictions and fantasy analysts’ rankings. You could also look at trends from previous seasons. E.g. on the sleeper app under the player tab, you can search for stat leaders from previous seasons. Does a player have 1 awesome game followed by several dud games? I believe consistency is more desirable than a player who perhaps has a debatably higher ceiling, but has inconsistent production.
Have a plan, but be flexible. The first few rounds are when you are figuring out how you want to build your roster. You are probably going to get sniped at some point and the guy you want will be taken, forcing you to make other arrangements. E.g. If you planned to take an RB in the first round but the tier 1 players are gone, consider taking a tier 1 WR instead and pivot to a tier 2 RB. This is where setting your queue comes in handy. When you’re not on the clock, use your time searching for the guys you want, so you don’t end up on the clock with a handful of seconds to panic-pick your next player.
Prioritize RBs and WRs first! (*in start 2RB/2WR 1QB leagues.) RBs and WRs are arguably the most important positions to draft because you MUST play a minimum of 2 each. Elite QBs will likely score the most points so you’ll want to aim for one, but don’t draft one too early. You’ll miss out on the other positions if you do. Elite TEs will give you an edge because there are only a handful of TEs that will give you points. Again, you only need one so I prefer not to reach on TEs unless they will outscore the other WRs and RBs I am considering. It is worth mentioning, not every team has a TE that is good for fantasy.
Don’t reach for a kicker or DST. You only need 1 kicker and 1 DST. If you miss out on the top tier of either, don’t even bother drafting one! Draft more backups. Someone might get hurt, and you’ll be able to place your injured player on IR, making you able to pick-up an available kicker or DST prior to week 1. In that case, pick up a kicker and/or DST based on who’s projected to have a good match-up. In season, think of kickers and DST as one-week rentals if you are choosing a new one each week. Pick-up and play the best of the week, then drop them for the best option the following week.
Pro-tip: Drafting good players who are on the PUP or IR allows you to stash them on IR immediately and pick-up players from the waiver without dropping anyone. Don’t draft more injured players than you have IR spots.
Fill your roster first. Draft your starting RBs, WRs, QB, TE, and 2 additional starting flex positions before drafting back-up QBs, Ks or DSTs. In 1QB leagues, I often don’t grab a back-up QB. There should still be plenty of those on the waiver later in the season.
Always be one move ahead. Think about who is drafting between you and your next pick. E.g. Are you in round 8 and half the league hasn’t drafted a TE? It’s better to start the TE-run and grab one than it is to wait and possibly miss out. If you want someone but think they might get drafted before your next turn, “Get Your Guy”. It’s a much worse feeling if you miss out on a player that you really want.
Don’t worry about bye weeks. You will have plenty of time to panic and pick-up players later in the season. That being said, be mindful of drafting too many players from the same team. Bye weeks will suck if all your players are on the same team, and you are forced to drop great players that you like.
Temper Rookie Fever. Rookies are exciting but avoid drafting an entire roster of rookies (trust me on this. My toxic trait is that I have perpetual rookie-fever, which is why I play in a lot of dynasty leagues…) Rookies (especially WRs) may take a couple weeks to break-out and have good games. They are still learning their teams’ systems. Some rookies are worth drafting. They are 100% going to have a good season.
If drafting in person, be prepared and bring with you to the draft:
-Your computer or whichever device you plan to draft on
-Cheat sheets (I like to print them out. I will cross off players as they are drafted and circle the players I draft)
IN SEASON TIPS
Your league is NOT won at the draft. In fact, it is quite possible to have a terrible draft and still win your league through transactions!
The waiver wire is your best friend. The waiver wire is composed of players who aren’t currently on anyone’s fantasy team. Several times each week, you will have an opportunity to drop or pick up new players. If you want to pick up a free agent for your team, you will have to put in a waiver claim. Waivers will run twice each week, and you’ll have to wait to see if your claim was successful. If someone else is also trying to pick up that player, they will go to whichever team has waiver priority. Know which waiver system your league uses. A lot of leagues have a “rolling” waiver priority, which means after you have a successful claim, you will drop to the bottom of the waiver priority. If your league uses a FAAB (Free Agent Auction Budget), each manager will be given a set budget of fake money to blind-bid on players during the waiver period. The free agent will be awarded to the manager who wins the auction. This is where the combination of both having good budgeting skills and knowing your leaguemates comes in handy.
Make trades. You can trade players with your league-mates. If I have a lot of depth at one position and I am lacking in another, I look to do trades with league-mates who are the opposite of me in those areas.
Set your line-up. You will have to set your line-up each week. You have more players on your fantasy team than you can start. Therefore, you will have to make decisions on who to start and leave some players on your bench. A good rule of thumb is to always start your studs. There is nothing worse than watching a really good player get tons of points…on your freaking bench. Read “start-em, sit-em” articles. They will make suggestions on who you should and should not start each week. Fantasy In Frames does a “Weekly Plays & Fades” article as well as “Weekly Waiver Wire” to help you each week.
Listen to podcasts. During football season, I get in the car, put my seatbelt on and turn on a fantasy football podcast. The Fantasy Footballers is one of my favorites when I want to laugh and listen to something light-hearted but also informative. I listen to FantasyPros and The Late Round when I am in the mood for an uninterrupted hour of statistics. Fantasy In Frames’ “4th and Frames” does weekly podcasts with updates and advice for each week.
Follow fantasy analysts and content creators. Twitter is my favorite place to stay up to date with the fantasy world. Most analysts want nothing more than to help people win their leagues. Follow @FantasyInFrames and their team for advice, articles, pocasts and league-winning resources, all of which you can also find on Fantasyinframes.com.
Pay attention to game times. Put your TNF (Thursday Night Football) players into their designated spots and out of your flex position. If you put a Thursday player into the flex spot, you are making it harder for yourself to put players into your roster in case someone gets injured, or you have to make a start/sit decision later. I will always save later game players for the flex position, so you have FLEXIBILITY in your roster.
Don’t rage-drop. Players are going to have bad games and lose your week for you, and you are going to hate them. Rookies sometimes put-up horrible numbers their first couple weeks. Try not to rage-drop a player after they put up a bad performance. I do that every year because I am emotional. I don’t advise it.
Watch football! It is SO much more fun now that you are invested in the players! If you consistently see someone having breakout performances, pick them up for your team before someone else does!
Most important rule of all: Have fun, kick ass, and win the ship!
This is dedicated to my first-timer friend Katie, who, upon asking if she knew any NFL players, responded, “Dan Moreno” (sic).