The NFL season is almost here. There is a lot of excitement for the 2023 NFL season because of various reasons from big splash moves in the 2023 NFL offseason to the 2023 NFL Draft, which saw some exciting rookie talents get picked up.
As the season nears, it’s not just the players who are excited. The fantasy football managers across the globe are also gearing up for a long season ahead. With yet another fantasy football season closing in, the team managers are in full-fledged research mode, understanding and studying key players and roles, strategizing their teams and draft plans.
Fantasy Football is fun. But it is also competitive. Like any other sport there are various aspects that lead to success. There are different draft strategies, different player and team compositions, player injuries, past performances, depth of a team and more that contribute to the success of a fantasy football team. This can get overwhelming at times.
However there are a few key tips and principles that are essential for winning your fantasy football league with consistency.
Drafting and trading are two of the most important aspects of building a championship contending roster. While managers spend hours researching and preparing for the draft, trading is often overlooked because of its polarizing nature.
Check out Sportskeeda’s Football Trade Analyzer, which will help you weigh in on different trade options and help you build a winning team. This is your one stop destination for all your doubts.
It all starts at the draft
The most important part of preparing a roster to compete in a fantasy football league is drafting. Drafting well is really crucial because it sets the tone for your upcoming fantasy football season. A good draft and team composition can set you up for a championship while drafting poorly will set you up for a disaster of a season.
To draft well there are a few things that need to be considered. One of the first things to be noted is preparation. If you fail to prepare, you’re preparing to fail. Through the NFL offseason, it is important for you to do your research. Be aware of the movements across the league including trades and free agent signings.
Understand whom you want to be drafting in each round and have an idea of the player who could be drafted around the same. Having backup options always helps during the draft.
Another important factor to consider before the draft is tracking the injury report. Through the training camps, there’s a lot of chances of players getting injured and sometimes never coming back for the NFL season. This plays a pivotal role in the draft stock of a player. Hence it is critical to be aware.
Last but not the least, while drafting your team, you’ve to take in individual player statistics from the previous NFL season as well as the fantasy football season to analyze before you formulate your draft strategies. Plan your draft. But also do not be too rigid. Be flexible to make switches and capitalize on the presented opportunity.
Fantasy football is all about matchups on different weeks during the NFL season. Before you move ahead with preparing your fantasy football team, take a look at the NFL Schedule to understand key matchups and player options.
Trading: A Necessity
As a fantasy football team owner, as a manager, it is important for you to make tough decisions that will help your team. It is part of the job. And trading players is part of building your roster to compete at the highest level. It doesn’t happen overnight. Your roster evolves as you grow and evolve as a manager.
Trading is tricky but essential in your pursuit to win the fantasy football league. As the season progresses it is important to understand the depth, the strengths, the weaknesses, injuries and of course the performance of your team, before you make a splash trade to move off a player. In fantasy football, managers operate in contrasts, meaning, too hasty and aggressive or too silent and restrained, depending on the league that they play.
An important factor to keep in the forefront while trading is studying your opponents and their rosters and understanding the value you can provide. In a nutshell, trading is all about providing and exchanging value. Hence, knowing who will be able to provide you the value in return for the picks you’ll offer is important.
Waivers: A New Opportunity
Waivers provide a unique opportunity for the fantasy football managers to fill holes in their rosters. They can set you up for the win or pull you down from contention.
Waivers are usually when the managers and teams pick up players who are usually undrafted free agents as well as players dropped from other teams. As the NFL season progresses, not every player performs to the set expectations.
The managers can then cut a player. And to find the replacement, they’ll have to submit a request to claim a player cut by another manager. The waiver period to claim a player is usually 24 hours. This is crucial because it gives the managers an opportunity to adjust as the season moves along.
Running Backs: Go All In or Zero RB?
The evergreen question on running backs remains the same in 2023 – “To draft or to not draft a running back in the fantasy football draft?”
Running backs are one of the most important factors in a team’s success. As the league keeps evolving, we’ve seen the problems in the running back market. We’ve seen it all through the 2023 NFL offseason with the likes of Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard. Young running backs have huge upside but also are more prone to injuries because of the hits that they take on.
So do you go all in on running backs or follow the Zero RB strategy? Zero RB strategy is where you let go of the running back position in the draft. You then focus on wide receivers and quality tight ends, and circle back to the RB position later on.
As you try to double down on your RB strategy, it is important to consider the player you will be drafting in your early rounds of the draft, to be more precise, the position. If you’re going to stack up quality wide receivers in the beginning, drafting an elite running back will compliment your roster formation. Having an elite RB off the board, at the top, will always prove crucial.
The fact of the matter remains that their contribution is essential. They are the workhorses of a team. This is important while forming your fantasy football team. You have to consider the workload as well as the RB who can sustain that workload as the season progresses.
Balance: The Ultimate Key to Success
Just like in life, balance is the key to success in fantasy football. Balance comes in different forms and shapes in fantasy football.
Balance is necessary in your team’s roster. One of the things to consider while forming your roster is the durability, upside and the trajectory of their performance. Stacking up your roster with too many players of a single position will affect your fantasy football team as the season progresses, as it opens up loopholes in other areas.
Another reason balance is important in building a squad is because of the requirements in different fantasy football leagues such as dynasty leagues, keeper leagues and IDP (Individual Defensive Players).
Hence as you prepare for the upcoming fantasy football season, make sure you first gave a game plan and then check all boxes as you go ahead to build a balanced, championship contending squad.
FAQs
Why is drafting important in fantasy football?
Drafting a player is important because it will determine the success of your fantasy football team. Picking the right players will give you more points which will help you win your fantasy football league.
Should I draft a running back or go with Zero RB strategy?
Running backs are an important piece of any football team. They provide a ton of value as they carry the weight load of the team. So before you decide on the strategy, decide on how you’re planning to draft and then zero in on the strategy.
What are the important factors to consider before drafting?
Some of the important factors to consider before drafting are past performances, draft value, bench strength, durability and upside and understanding the rules to name a few.
How to trade a player in fantasy football?
To trade a player, you have to first select the players you want to trade and the players you want in return via your fantasy football app and then propose the offer.
How to claim a player via waiver wire?
To claim a player via waiver wire, the team manager has to submit a request to sign a player who was released or cut from another team.
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