How to Win Your Fantasy Football League

🌈 Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive guide on how to draft a winning fantasy football team for the 2024 season. It covers various strategies and rules to follow, including understanding your league's specific settings, leveraging platform-specific player rankings, prioritizing running backs and rushing quarterbacks, targeting value at tight end and quarterback, and focusing on upside over consistency in the later rounds.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Winners know the rules

1. What are some important league settings to be aware of?

• Points per reception (PPR) and points lost for interceptions
• Starting lineup formats (e.g., number of receiver spots, flex positions, superflex)
• Injured reserve (IR) slots

2. How do these settings impact draft strategy?

• In smaller leagues, quarterback and tight end are more valuable
• In leagues with superflex, top quarterbacks like Josh Allen become even more valuable
• IR slots make injured players like Jonathon Brooks more enticing draft picks

[02] Differentiate your draft

1. What is the key to differentiating your draft from others? Avoid using the same rankings as the league's default platform. Instead, use a different set of rankings to identify players ranked higher or lower on other platforms.

2. Can you provide some examples of players ranked differently across platforms?

• Receivers ranked higher on Yahoo than ESPN: Raheem Mostert, Kyler Murray
• Receivers ranked higher on ESPN than Yahoo: Evan Engram

3. How can you leverage these platform differences? "Reach" a round early to draft the players ranked lower on the platform you're using, as this can give you an edge over other teams.

[03] Running back strategy

1. What is the recommended approach for drafting running backs?

• Target the top 11 running backs in the first 3 rounds
• Grab 1-2 elite running backs early (e.g., Christian McCaffrey, Breece Hall, Bijan Robinson)
• Fill in the second running back spot later, focusing on receiver depth in the middle rounds

2. What are some examples of running back values in the middle-to-late rounds?

• ESPN: Raheem Mostert, Tony Pollard, Chase Brown
• Yahoo: J.K. Dobbins, Kimani Vidal, Bucky Irving

[04] Quarterback and tight end strategy

1. Why are rushing quarterbacks valuable? Rushing yards are worth 2.5 times more than passing yards in fantasy, making quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, and Lamar Jackson highly valuable.

2. What are some late-round quarterback options to target?

• Anthony Richardson, Jayden Daniels, and Justin Fields (if he takes over the starting job in Pittsburgh)

3. What is the recommended approach for drafting tight ends?

• Target one of the top 7 tight ends (e.g., Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, Kyle Pitts)
• If you miss out on the top tier, consider the next tier of tight ends like David Njoku and Evan Engram

[05] Upside over consistency

1. What is the key principle for late-round picks? Focus on players with high upside, even if they carry more risk, rather than safer but lower-ceiling options.

2. Can you provide examples of high-upside late-round picks?

• Indianapolis's Anthony Richardson
• Washington's Jayden Daniels
• Miami's Isiah Pacheco

3. Why is it better to take these high-upside players over more consistent options? Players drafted outside the top 120 are likely to get cut in September anyway, so it's better to swing for the fences with potential game-changers.

[06] Avoid bad offenses

1. What is the rationale behind avoiding players from bad offenses? The highest-ranked receiver from a bottom-seven offense last season was WR29, indicating that players from bad offenses tend to underperform.

2. Which teams/situations should be avoided due to quarterback concerns? New England (rookie QB Drake Maye), Minnesota (Sam Darnold), Tennessee (Will Levis), Carolina (Bryce Young), Pittsburgh (Russell Wilson/Justin Fields), and New York (Daniel Jones).

[07] Have fun and don't stress

1. What is the key message about the purpose of fantasy football? Fantasy football is meant to be an entertaining way for adults to stay connected with friends, not a purely mathematical exercise. The goal is to have fun, talk trash, and not stress too much about the perfect draft strategy.