I have been playing fantasy football since 2010. So, as a seven-year veteran I feel obligated to share my fantasy football knowledge with the rest of the world.
For the most part, I've enjoyed success in each of my seven years, albeit with a few disappointing seasons. I've played in multiple leagues, employed different strategies and with hours of preparation and a little luck, I regularly compete for championships throughout my leagues.
Research
The draft is without a doubt the most important part of your fantasy experience. After all, this is when you'll be recruiting your "championship-worthy roster." The first tip I have is as good as any: be prepared.
After all, fortune favors the prepared mind and I can't tell you how many hours I put in looking at fantasy big boards, position rankings and sleeper and bust predictions online. The more fantasy knowledge you cram into your brain the more lethal you'll become draft day.
There are millions of articles online from experts telling you who to draft and who to avoid, and with many of the sports pundits possessing inside information that we fans can't possibly have I trust them.
And while sports analysts are in fact good people to take advice from, you never want to overdo it. Unless you're brand new to the world of fantasy football, trusting your gut still applies when it comes to picking players
Strategize
Even with all the fantasy knowledge in the world, a good strategy is equally important if you want to win games. For the sake of this article, lets assume you're in a standard 10 team league. If you think you were lucky enough to land the first pick, think again.
While you will have the choice of any player you like, you wont get your second pick until the 20th pick which will no doubt kill your team's depth. On the other hand, getting the 10th pick isn't as bad as it sounds, as you'll get to pick two players in a row and will get the first in even number rounds.
Now, I've told you how to prepare for the draft but more importantly you'll need to know who to draft. The number one mistake for new fantasy players is one that veterans like myself know to avoid. The quarterback is often the star of the team — they lead teams to victory and score points. However, in the world of fantasy football, they garner much less importance.
A player should always pick either a wide-receiver or running back in their first three rounds. Running backs and wide-receivers usually consist of five of your starting spots every week while you can only start one quarterback every week.
So, I'm advising you to wait to draft a quarterback until at least the fourth round, maybe even longer. You may miss out on elite quarterbacks like Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers but second tier quarterbacks like Kirk Cousins or Derek Carr can easily get the job done and you wont have to sacrifice a high draft pick for them.
Running backs are arguably the most important position in fantasy football. If you have a top three pick you should no doubt take a flier on elite backs like Le'Veon Bell and David Johnson.
However, let's say you're stuck in the middle of draft order. In that case, wide-receiver might be the answer. While you'll miss out on the elite running back getting 20+ carries a game, top tier wide-receivers like Julio Jones and Antonio Brown can often lead your fantasy team to victory and with enough monster performances, all the way to championship glory.
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