How to Draft a Fantasy Football Team

Drafting a Fantasy Football Team

When fantasy football started, computers rare not to mention the internet was really only used by scientists. In the past a group of guys would gather at a local tavern, or someone's house to conduct their draft. Everything was handwritten and points were calculated manually. With the emergence of the internet the popularity of fantasy football is growing.

In the NFL preparation is a big key for success, the same is true when it comes to fantasy football. If you want to be successful, you must prepare for draft day.

The first thing you want to do is familiarize yourself with the league rules. The rules include things such as scoring, roster size, starting lineup and waiver wire transactions. You will want to pay special attention at how the scoring will take place; this will help you determine what position will be the most valuable in your league.

Next look at the roster settings, there are two keys things to look at. First thing to know is the starting lineup, and the second thing is how many players will be on the bench. This coupled with the scoring may give you a little insight on how other managers will conduct their draft.

The next step is completing some research; look on the NFL schedule for a team's bye week, along with injuries. In doing this you will avoid being the laughing stock of the league by drafting a player who already had a season ending injury. Every year there is a couple big name players holding out for more money, make sure you know who they are. These two pieces of information will have a big impact on your draft. A piece of advice, DO NOT WASTE any money on those fancy fantasy football magazines. Today is the information age, use the internet to gather information. There are hundreds of websites out there geared towards fantasy football. Some websites will allow you to enter the scoring of your league; in turn it will give you customized cheat sheets. This is something a magazine will not do. These cheat sheets will take into account current information such as injuries. It may give you a list of "sleepers"; which are players that may not be anyone else's radar which you can pick up late in draft. You will also want to visit this website weekly, most sites will give you injury updates, along with some players you may be able to add to your roster throughout the season to improve your team.

While doing research and ranking your players, keep in mind the scoring. If your league gives out points for receptions, it could be beneficial to take a top wide out rather than a mid-level running back. Everyone in your league will have the same names in their top 20, but the order will different. There is saying in the NFL it states "defense wins championships", this is not the case in fantasy football. . Therefore, while researching and ranking your players, keep