Fantasy sports season is always an exciting time for enthusiasts. One of the keenly competed fantasy sports is the NFL, as expected from its legions of fans. A key motivation for competing is having the bragging rights of being a league winner and getting the predetermined prices.
A fantasy league team consists of 12 players and a host of substitutes. Every league winner needs a corresponding winning strategy. Hence, aspiring participants of the daily fantasy football league must adopt the right method from the very beginning. Since many unverifiable systems abound, here’s an ultimate strategy guide to use for aspiring winners.
- Draft Players Based On Their Skills And Queue Multiple Players
Leaving multiple potential players in a queue is a great strategy to do. It protects you from making desperate picks if your priority choices are unavailable during early picks. Having this kind of queue prepares you for the worst possible situation—that everyone has already been taken during the drafting.
Also, individuals who own NFL fantasy leagues have their favourite teams, and their love for the team remains unwavering even when the current team line-up is weak. However, there’s no place for sentimentality in a fantasy league because you want the best real-world players on your imaginary team to boost your winning chances.
- Use The Right Strategy And Make Instant Changes
Your drafting strategy must be written down properly or mentally recorded before proceeding with drafting. The importance of each position should be a primary guide to which ones come first. Conventionally, kickers and defence players should be left for the later rounds while the running back (RB) and wide receivers (WR) are given maximum attention. Tight ends and quarterbacks can fall within the middle rounds of the drafts.
Also, you must note that there’s a degree of probability involved in the fantasy league. Even though you have a strategy, you mustn’t pass over unexpected opportunities to draft top tier players. Such opportunities may completely disrupt your prepared strategy, but it shouldn’t bother you so much. After all, the ultimate goal is to get the best players out of the lot.
- Set A Preliminary Line-up On Monday Night
Drafting players on Monday nights allows you to know which players have bye weeks, reducing your risk of not updating your roster before starting another week. This should be after the final NFL matchup so that you can take a look at the most favourable and unfavourable ones.
For leagues with flex positions, you can start with a wide receiver or a running back. For Superflex leagues, you can start a second quarterback in that flex position.
- Pay Attention To Injury Reports
It’s essential to know the physical strength of your team. You can effectively do this by keeping up to date on injury reports. This knowledge gives informed league owners a considerable edge over the competition.
Make sure not to bet on uncertain players reported to have shown the slightest signs of injury. Midgame injuries do occur, but your best way to minimise risk is by knowing the latest on player injuries.
- Trade Carefully
Trading requires careful consideration and adherence to some basic rules. It’s not a strategic decision to switch one best player for two who are less than optimum. Neither is it reasonable to place your card on a player who has had a bye week over one who hasn’t.
Thus, always consider team depth and strength while considering a trade. The best strategy is to sell off average level players for better-performing ones based on stats. Some of the key weighing factors to consider are points per reception (PPR) scoring systems and fantasy football calculators. Both are available online.
Ultimately, you’ll need to learn to trade without sentiments and emotion-driven judgements. When needed, let go of a player to avoid jeopardising your winning chances.
- Minimise The Effect Of Player Risks On Your Team
Each player row and position have peculiarities that put them at risk of injuries. Hyperactive RBs and WRs are some of the most injury-prone players. Hence, it’s important to have backups and rookies for such positions.
Also, ensure to up your team’s ceilings when they’re low. You can do this by drafting players with high upsides. Minimise risks per position and ensure to keep a tab of player performances.
Conclusion
The NFL fantasy league is indeed a high-intensity game that requires key strategies and keen attention throughout the season. But preparing a good strategy guide from the onset would prove useful throughout the games.
Remember, your choices should never be emotion-driven but based on player skills and stats. By following the rest of these tips here, you’re all set to start.