Are you sick of finishing last in your Fantasy Football league? Are your friends laughing at you for wasting your first-round pick on a tight end? Do you want to end this constant cycle of losing, embarrassment, and forgetting to set your lineup? You need some easy steps to get your team back in contention, some that don’t cost you immense amounts of time or require that you redraft your entire team. Consider this your unofficial IHS pocket guide to not finishing last at Fantasy Football.
1) Set your lineup
This seemingly obvious step falls through the cracks more often than not. If you’re not setting your lineup, your team is doomed to slowly trickle down the standings. Bye weeks, injuries, and facing a good defense are all annoying phenomena that, unnoticed, can ruin your chances. Also, even though almost all of the games are on Sundays, some leagues will lock your whole lineup on Thursday night. Be aware of deadlines and get the right players in the right slots.
2) Pay attention to bye weeks
Look through your roster. If one of your backups has the same bye week as a starter at the same position, you should either drop or trade the backup and find someone else. Otherwise, you don’t accumulate any points at a certain position for that bye week. That’s practically an automatic loss.
Bonus Tip: It doesn’t hurt to have a backup at every position so you don’t have to scramble for a last-minute replacement off the waiver wire.
3) Opponents matter too
Let’s do an example here: if you have Derek Carr and Andrew Luck as your two quarterbacks, and Carr is facing the 30th ranked defense but Luck is facing the 5th ranked defense, you should start Carr. Their difference in opponent strength outweighs Luck’s talent edge. Here’s the rule of thumb: if you have a good backup and your starter is facing a good defense, change up your lineup.
4) Don’t draft a quarterback in the first round
Save this tip for next year’s draft. I know, to most football fans, quarterback seems like the most important position on the field, but it’s not in fantasy football. This year, Cam Newton, ESPN’s top-ranked Fantasy Quarterback, was ranked just 37th overall, behind eighteen wide receivers, two tight ends, and sixteen running backs. Most fantasy leagues only allow you to start one quarterback, but two running backs or receivers. This is even more important in a PPR (point per reception league), where wide receivers are the most coveted picks in early rounds. Bottom line: save the QB for later.
5) Think about the team defense
When you’re looking for a quarterback, you want one who plays on a team with a bad defense. That team will usually be playing from behind, and therefore looking to pass more, so players such as Drew Brees or Luck will accumulate better numbers. Conversely, when you’re looking for a running back, you want one who plays behind a good defense. Teams tend to run the ball to kill the clock when they’re ahead, giving players more carries and more yards. This makes players such as Adrian Peterson, Lamar Miller, and CJ Anderson good picks.
Oh, and one more: Finally, remember to have fun and not to stress about it. Most high schoolers (perhaps with a few exceptions) are playing Fantasy Football for free, so taking it too seriously or being overly obnoxious on your league message board can ruin it for everyone. Enjoy the season, and remember to never root against your favorite team just to help your fantasy team. Don’t be that guy. Good luck, IHS!