On a rainy night in a New York hotel in 1962, three men – Bill Winkenbach, Scott Stirling and Bill Tunnell – created the rules for what is now known as fantasy football. Five decades later, fantasy football has grown into a billion-dollar industry with more than 20 million participants.
If you’re planning on hopping on the fantasy football bandwagon, the following tips can help you draft the best squad possible:
1) Make Sure You Understand Your League’s Rules
Fantasy football leagues can vary in terms of drafting method, scoring system, roster format, waiver/free agency rules and prize distribution. The value of certain players can vary significantly based on the rules, so understanding how your league operates is essential when drafting your team.
A Beginners Guide to Fantasy Football
2) Do Your Homework Before Draft Day
All savvy fantasy football owners do their homework before draft day. Research player evaluations, look at positional rankings and try to select your targets ahead of time. Make sure to write down your strategy and have this “cheat sheet” on hand during your draft. Also, never share your strategy with other owners in your league.
3) Check Bye Weeks
Make sure you keep an eye on bye weeks when drafting your backups. It defeats the purpose of having a backup if he has the same bye week as your starter.
4) Take Gambles in Middle/Late Rounds
Picking sleepers is a necessary part of crafting a winning fantasy football team. However, you don’t want to take gambles in the early rounds of the draft. Instead, you should wait until the middle-to-late rounds to take chances on rookies and young players with a lot of upside. This way, you minimize your risk and maximize your reward by not investing a tremendous amount in sleepers.
5) Have Fun
While becoming a successful fantasy football owner does require a bit of work, it’s important not to lose sight of the ultimate goal of the game – to have fun!
