There’s no better time to be a fantasy football team owner than in the month of August. The NFL season is a month away and teams are meticulously preparing to finalize their rosters and get the best squad ready by week 1.
This is the best time for fantasy football team owners to prepare for the fantasy football draft. The draft usually happens in late August or early September, before the beginning of the NFL season.
Drafting is important to build a good roster that will help you compete for the championship. There are various factors that affect the drafting process from understanding the injury history to strength of schedule to past performance of the player.
The following page will give you a complete understanding of drafting in fantasy football.
Also Read: How long does a fantasy football draft take? All you need to know
Fantasy Football Draft Guide
To draft a fantasy football team, you have to sign up to a league which is hosted on popular websites like ESPN, Yahoo, CBS Sports, Sleeper and NFL’s fantasy football site and create your team.
Drafting a good fantasy football team requires you to wear a manager’s hat. There will be a pool of all the NFL players made available for you to select from. Your fantasy draft picks should be calculative. As a fantasy football team manager, you have to pick players who will help you score more points through the NFL season.
There are usually two types of draft in fantasy football. The first type is the standard draft. The second type is the auction.
The “standard draft,” also known as “snake” is when the league follows a draft order to select players to their fantasy football team. Every team in the league selects players based on the order and after every team has selected a player, the draft order is reversed. This type of draft is very similar to the draft process in the NFL where you draft players to build your fantasy football team’s roster and fix the loopholes.
The second type of draft, “auction,” as the name suggests is where there is a budget for the fantasy football team owners to spend. The team owners collectively bid for a particular player and the team with the highest bid gets to draft that player.
One of the most important things to understand here is that as a team owner, you can only bid for the player given you have enough money to afford the player.
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Best Fantasy Football Draft Strategies & tips
Drafting a fantasy football team can be tricky and confusing. Sometimes, it becomes overwhelming. There are lots of questions to answer. Do you draft your favorite player or do you draft the player who will help you score points? Do you draft more running backs or wide receivers? Do you trust your gut or data?
Do not worry. Here are a few tips and strategies that will help you prepare your fantasy football draft.
Also Read: What are Dynasty Leagues and Keeper Leagues in Fantasy Football?
Running backs and Wide receivers
The climate of the National Football League is changing. The running backs are highly valuable in the NFL yet we’ve seen problems in the RB market with the likes of Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and co. So how does this affect the draft?
Running backs have been production houses in fantasy football. Quality RBs are becoming harder to find. Hence it is wise to draft a quality running back early in the draft along with a high quality wide receiver. Drafting a top RB right off the top will go a long way through the course of the NFL season.
Whether you go all-in on RBs or go with the zero RB strategy, it is important to have an understanding of the position you’ll be drafting in the early rounds of the drafts. This will determine if your picks compliment your roster or not.
Also Read: 700+ Funny Fantasy Football Team Names To Try Out In 2024
Balance is the key
Balance is an important factor while building a good championship contending roster in fantasy football. Balance of the squad refers to the depth and the strength available in other positions.
Drafting the right picks off the board is as important as filling the roster. Do not be afraid to stack up players of a particular position, especially if it’s the RBs or WRs. There’s always an option of trading and as a manager you can make the best use of it to get value in exchange.
Value is the currency
In fantasy football, the NFL players are your assets. They are the key components that help you score points. And one of the most crucial factors to consider while drafting a player is the value they bring to the table. You consider not the number of points they have, but the difference in points between that particular player and the remaining bunch at that position. This type of drafting is also called value-based drafting.
FAQs
A. Standard draft or snake is where you draft players in order. Auction is where you bid for players based on a budget and the highest bidder gets the player.
A. Fantasy football draft usually happens at the end of August or the first week of September before the beginning of the new NFL season.
A. Many popular websites like Yahoo, ESPN, NFL’s fantasy football site. Sleeper and CBS Sports host fantasy football leagues. Fans can join.
A. Irrespective of the league you play in, public or private, you will have to pre-rank the players you prefer. In case you miss your draft, autopic will accordingly draft the players and fill the roster based on your pre-rank settings.
A. The best way to prepare is to do your own research. Check the player rankings, injury reports, draft predictions, updates, player analysis. And also participate in mock drafts and have a plan for the draft to be well prepared.
