There are a ton of different strategies to utilize for your draft. It’s no right or wrong way to draft your fantasy teams but you want to put your team in the best position to win in December. The key to winning your league comes down to being active on the waiver wire during the season. If you’re playing in a 1-point PPR league, drafting wide receiver-wide receiver could work wonders if your draft spot is between 6-10.
I can’t stress enough how you shouldn’t draft a QB or a TE in the first round. I know Gronk Smash and Andrew Luck are tempting but the numbers would suggest avoiding them in the first round. Last season, the difference between the #1 QB and the #10 QB was 80 points. That equates to 5 more points in each game over the course of the season. I was in 7 money leagues last year and only two people that took a QB in the first round made the fantasy playoffs (both loss). I know this is a very small sample size but do your own investigating Sherlock and see how the first round QB’s faired in your own league(s) last year.
Wide Receivers are at a slight advantage with the 1-point per reception format. From research of one of my 1 point per reception leagues, 9 out of the top 13 players were wide receivers. The number one WR (Antonio Brown) scored 178 points than the tenth running back but only 131 more points than the tenth wide receiver. As you can tell from that 40-point swing, wide outs score more points with this setup. I did a draft this weekend in which I drafted from the 6 spot (insert Damon Wayans voice “hated it”) and picked Antonio brown in the first round and Randall Cobb in the second round (pre-injury). This would put you in the driver’s seat of owning two top ten wide outs. Afterwards I picked up a RB/WR/RB in that order. I usually wait till the later rounds to pick a tight end because I feel it’s a crapshoot from TE4 to TE12 but I couldn’t resist taking Travis Kelce in the sixth round.
Here’s a more detailed look at my draft.
(6)
Antonio Brown (Pit – WR)
(15)
Randall Cobb (GB – WR)
(26)
C.J. Anderson (Den – RB)
(35)
Alshon Jeffery (Chi – WR)
(46)
Carlos Hyde (SF – RB)
(55)
Travis Kelce (KC – TE)
(66)
Jarvis Landry (Mia – WR)
(75)
Arian Foster (Hou – RB)
(86)
Ryan Tannehill (Mia – QB)
(95)
Danny Woodhead (SD – RB)
Here are a couple of tips to guide you through your draft. #1 Relax…I know you want to win and collect money or bragging rights but it’s nothing to stress over. #2 Mock Draft, Mock Draft, Mock Draft – Find out your draft position and mock it because you’ll need to have an idea of what players might be on the board once it’s your turn to pick #3. Expect Surprises – Don’t go in the draft with a set game plan because a guy might fall in your lap and redirect your strategy, which could be beneficial #4 Pay attention to the drafters behind you. For instance if it’s my turn to pick and I have 4 people behind me that already have quarterbacks. I don’t anticipate them taking a second QB, so I pick another running back or wide receiver then pick my QB after their picks. #5 Try to have fun. Good Luck Drafters.
