Fantasy Football 101 - Part 3

By Brandon Anderson
8/02/07
A Sports Outlaw Exclusive

It’s time for the third and final installment of Fantasy Football 101. This has been a special series for those of you just starting out in fantasy football, a chance to learn the ropes and gain some basic strategy to help you on draft day and throughout the season. You probably haven’t gone from a novice to an expert – hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day – but you’re not going to look like a rookie anymore either. And you just might be in a decent position to win yourself a big championship trophy and some cash. Let’s get a quick reminder of the rules we’ve seen so far:

1. Don’t be “that guy” who takes a quarterback in the first round.

2. Recognize the value of running backs, but don’t overdo it.

3. Don’t even think about drafting a kicker or defense before the 8^th round.

4. Don’t be the guy at the end of a long run at the same position – start a new run.

5. Watch those bye weeks.

6. Don’t reach on that player from your favorite team – you’d be better off avoiding them until the value is just far too good to pass up.

7. Know your scoring system.

8. Remember that your goal isn’t necessarily to draft the highest points available – it is to outscore your opponent.

9. Take a look at a few mock drafts, or real ones if you have access, before your own draft.

10. Come to the draft with a plan, but don’t stick to it to a fault.

So that’s ten rules, with five left to go. You’re mostly set with basic draft strategy and ideas, but it’s time for some final preparations. These are the little things that will make you look good and put you over the top. Off we go… 

11. Find your own sleepers.
Sleepers are a must have in a fantasy football draft. Everyone pretty much agrees on the top 50 players, and it’s not too difficult to make your first few picks if you just read a magazine or a couple websites. But now it’s the 7^th round and it’s where the rubber meets the road. There are no more standard lists or easy picks left. And even though the guys you have so far will score the bulk of your points, it might be one or two of these latter picks that determine the difference between you winning the championship or finishing a distant fourth or fifth place. 

So naturally, you’re looking for sleepers. And where better to look than a couple major fantasy websites and a magazine or two? You ready? You’re going to find Reggie Brown on many lists. You’re going to find Santonio Holmes all over the place. You’ll see Vince Young and Chris Cooley and Marshawn Lynch. Enjoy your generic sleepers. Do you know what generic sleepers are? They’re generic!! Chances are pretty good that your buddies all read the same stuff, and now your sleepers aren’t sleeping anymore. 

Last year Matt Jones was a favorite sleeper of many. And he was a solid sleeper early in the preseason. But pretty soon your friend Joe liked him too and instead of being an 8^th round steal, Jones was a late 7^th round pick. And not long after, Bob and Jerry fell in love with the upside as well. By the time your draft rolled around, some idiot drafted Jones in the early 6^th or maybe even the 5^th. So what happened? Your sleeper got so overhyped that he stopped sleeping and turned into an overpriced bust. Meanwhile your buddy Jimmy down the street used the pick right after that on a real sleeper he found, and 16 weeks later Frank Gore was helping him win the championship. 

So what makes a real sleeper? Well first of all, you have to find him yourself. Here are some tips. First, try to watch for opportunity. Too many people are blinded by the brilliance of upside, but the real sleeper is the one who has a chance to play a lot of extra minutes this year. The fact is that almost any player in the league is talented enough to produce numbers given the chance, so find the guys who have a new chance. Also keep a special eye out for particular coaches or offensive systems who help out with stats. And of course watch how the player finished last season – a hot finish often carries over into the next year. 

In the end, find yourself a couple sleepers and see how you do. All the “experts” are just making educated guesses just like you. Pick your own – when you nail one, it will be that much more satisfying.

12. Know the injury status of your draft picks – before you show up to draft.
It doesn’t take too long to pull up the internet and see what the status is for the important fantasy players. Of course it also doesn’t take too long to blow an entire draft by taking an injured guy too soon – it can leave you reeling for the whole rest of the draft. 

Point in case. Last year in my local league, one of our long time members had been pretty busy leading up to the draft and apparently didn’t have time to check the latest injury updates. We get to the end of the 2^nd round and his pick came up again, and he triumphantly calls out the name Domanick Davis, past fantasy star RB from the Texans who had been announced a few days before as being out for the season. The room went silent. Guess how many guys spoke up and told him his mistake? Nothing but a chorus of stifled snickers, a few more draft picks, and then someone made a wisecrack and the guy never heard the end of it for the rest of the whole draft. There was seriously a joke about every five minutes, and he never really recovered. 

The point is – know the injury status of the guys you think you will probably pick. Maybe you’re a big fan of Kellen Winslow II. Fine, so be it – but make sure you know his health status before you get to the draft. And don’t be “that guy” who says a name and asks if it’s okay, if that guy is hurt, and then your opponents feel obligated to help. Do your own work. Come prepared.

13. Look confident at your draft.
Looks aren’t necessarily going to make the best picks for you, but they can… well they can make you look good. And who knows, maybe looking good will stop your buddies from ripping on you all year and offering you awful trades that aren’t even worth looking at. So how do you look good? 

Well let’s start with what you don’t do. Don’t show up decked out in your team’s favorite gear. Everyone knows you’re a Packers fan. Don’t show up in your Favre jersey wearing a cheese head. Don’t be the guy that makes a cell phone call right before or during his pick each time. No one likes – or respects – that. 

Don’t make a big fuss when your favorite player or sleeper gets stolen right out from under your nose. No one likes that guy either, and it’s just bad composure. You need to look like you’re in control at all times. Don’t come in with a huge messy pile of papers and magazines and frantically flip through them when it’s your turn. 

There’s a guy or two like that in every draft I’m in. Guess which one is the first guy I go to for a big trade blockbuster… Yep, you got it. Don’t be that guy.

14. Don’t try to be a hero.
This is far too common a mistake in fantasy drafts. Everyone wants to look like the next fantasy genius. You’re sitting at the bottom of the first trying to figure out your pick. Rudi Johnson is there, but he’s kind of boring and everyone knows what he will be. Thomas Jones is there too and you’ve really heard people hot and cold on him. A few people like him a lot, but a few others don’t. Well you’ve looked at the numbers and you can’t understand why he’s not in everyone’s top 10. You’re sure that if everything falls into pace right with that young OL, hard-nosed coach, and increased carries, then you could see Jones putting up a combined 1400 yards and 12 TDs. And in the back of your mind you know what a genius you’d look like if Jones came through for you at the bottom of the first round. You take him. 

Okay, rewind a second. You thought and researched and prepared for the draft and then in one fell swoop you threw it all away. You convinced yourself into a guy who should’ve gone 10 picks later whose possible “upside” is just the same as the boring old Rudi Johnson already there. Now you’ve set yourself up to fail. The only way your draft pick works is if Jones meets your all world expectations, and even then you probably made a poor choice because you could’ve just taken the easy pick in Rudi and gotten Jones a round later. You were a victim of your own dreams. You saw that happened to your buddy Jimmy (remember him?) when he nailed Frank Gore in last year’s draft and won the title, and you want a piece of that for this year. 

But seriously, don’t try to be a hero. Just play out the draft and make a good value pick at each spot. The only “hero” is the one who wins the league. Just make good picks and you’ll be a hero soon enough. 

15. Have fun!!! 
Bottom line, this is a fantasy football league. It would be sweet if you won a trophy or some money, but the real point of what you’re doing is to enjoy some football, some friends, and a few minutes of your life as a real live NFL general manager. Anyone who is a fantasy football veteran has found himself taking things a little too seriously at one time or another. You’re not running a business here. This is not your livelihood, and you can still go home to your wife and kids whether you trade for Joseph Addai or not. 

Relax. Take a deep breath. It’s going to be alright. 

Now get out there, use those new fantasy tools, and have some fun!

Part 1 - Part 2