Fundamentals of Fantasy Football
By author
Finally.
The powers that be have heard our prayers and we are going to have NFL season. (I am relevant again) So let’s start talking about what matters most in my world: Fantasy Football! I’m sure there are a lot of us out there who are dreaming of having the perfect draft, “Oh I got Arian Foster, Aaron Rodgers, AND Andre Johnson in the same draft…” WAKE UP guys this is not going to happen (and if it does, congrats on cheating, I don’t know how you did it; but you did).
I am here to help you create a fantasy football team that can win in a league full of actual players and not one that consist of your little cousins who draft Ochocinco and TO in the first round (HA. Cheater).
Just like in the NFL it is not easy to make a winning team and it will take a lot of planning, so I wanted to give you my fundamentals of structuring that perfect team.
For me there are only three types of players in fantasy football:
Constants, High-risk, and Non-factor players.
When you create your team (QB, RBx2, WRx3 or 2 and 1 flex, TE, DST, K) you need to expect 2-3 Nonfactors; that’s life, it will happen so go ahead and plan for it. That leaves 6-7 slots left. My advice? 4 Constants 3 (or 2) High-Risk players; this will allow you to build a cornerstone for your weekly scoring (this helps you sleep at night) while adding room for growth (this will keep your mind racing all day).
I know what you’re thinking and I agree that this should be a pretty basic concept, but have you really ever analyzed your team this way? You should; I promise it will change the way you draft!
Here is quick overview of how I see certain players, keep in mind the WHOLE POINT of FF is for you to do the work. There is no better feeling than doing your homework and drafting the perfect team because of it. So try using this as a blueprint and place the players where you think they should go… and happy drafting!
Constants:
These guys are your workhorses; your weekly double-digits, the only thing stopping them from scoring is an ACL tear.
PROS
When your team is 100% “Constants” you can expect to be in every game, every week. Expect this category to include mainly strong QB’s and RB’s with hardly any catchers (WR & TE) and that is just because most WR’s will eventually have to line up against Asomugha or Reevis.
CONS
Welcome to mediocrity! Yeah you might go 10-4 (at best) but you will have an early exit when it counts as you drop out of the playoffs after round 1. Oh well, at least you had a good season right… right?
QB:
Top tier: Rogers, Big brother Manning, Brady, Brees, Rivers, Flacco, Ryan
Bottom tier: Roethlisberger (belongs in category above, but he likes to party)
RB:
Top Tier: Charles, Foster (oh what? You expect another year like last year? Well… ok yeah I do but he can’t POSSIBLY be that good again… right?) Turner, Mendenhall, Jones-Drew, S. Jackson, Rice, Forte, McCoy
Bottom Tier: Torain, Green-Ellis, F.Jackson, Stewart, Hightower, F. Jackson, Addai
WR:
Top Tier: Johnson (yes, that is it)
Bottom Tier: Megatron, White, Bowe, Welker, Bess
TE:
Top Tier: Gates
Bottom Tier: Clark, Both Patriots TE (oh wait, you cant play them both)
DST:
Top Tier: Steelers, Jets, Ravens, Packers
Bottom Tier: Patriots, Bears
High-Risk:
Expect to be a threat until the very end of your week; these players potentially could put up HUGE numbers.
PROS
Who’s going to lead the league in points scored? You will when you load your team up with this high intensity roster! Not only that, but you will have the single game record as well; just think about all the bragging you’ll have all season.
Multi threats like Vick and C. Johnson highlight this field. Most of your WR’s fall here as well.
CONS
Risk, risk, risk. Yeah you’ll have some bragging rights, but those rights will be mocked once you become the victim of your leagues version of the ’08 Lions (and NO ONE likes to be that guys only win).
Expect to go deeper into the playoffs, but also expect to leave the playoffs embarrassed when you lose by 50+ points.
To the players already named; remember when Larry Johnson was the greatest fantasy option out there and then fell off our radars completely? Yeah me too, watch out! This year may not be that for Johnson, but it’s close. And Vick? Please, he’s an injury waiting to happen and you know it. RISK.
QB:
Top Tier: Vick, Little brother Manning, Freeman, Schaub, Sanchez
Bottom Tier: Any Cardinals QB, Tebow, Gerrad
RB:
Top Tier: C. Johnson, Peterson (I have issues with him here, it’s just so hard to trust him) Hilis (overworked), McFadden, Gore (get hurt much?) Bradshaw, D. Williams (depending on where he lands)
Bottom Tier: Best, Moreno, Benson, Jacobs, Mathews, R. Bush (Reggie has one great game a year), C. Williams
WR:
Top Tier: Lloyd, Jennings, Wayne, D. Jackson (this guy gives me a headache), Fitzgerald (depending on his QB), Wallace, Colston
Bottom Tier: Harvin, Austin, Britt, Edwards, Boldin, Marshall
TE:
Top Tier: Witten, Davis, Cooley
Bottom Tier: Winslow, Keller, Gonzalez, Lewis
DST:
Top Tier: Raiders, Chargers, Eagles
Bottom Tier: Falcons, Giants, Cowboys
Nonfactor:
Kickers right? Well, you do HAVE to have them; but let us not stop there I really feel that the TE fit into this category as well; at least 90% of them do. So if you start off knowing that you will get hardly any production from your TE and K you WON’T WASTE A HIGH PICK ON THEM! Really guys, DO NOT DRAFT A K UNTIL THE END. Why do people think that the BEST K is worth drafting in round 9 when he’ll probably not lead the league and you can pick a player off of FA that will score only 15 points less?? Rant over.
PROS
It gives you something to do at the end of the draft.
CONS
You have to have them on your team.
Top Tier: Any TE’s that aren’t Gates, Clark, Davis, Witten, Cooley, Keller, Lewis, Winslow or Gonzalez
Bottom Tier: K, yes all of them.
Don’t forget; practice makes perfect… so make sure so do a few mock drafts to really get that strategy down!
Got fantasy football questions?
Shoot me an email: RemyStarkPhanatic@gmail.com and I’ll pick the best to feature here on the site!
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