August 31, 2021 – We are now 9 days away from football season!
You know what that means, we are less than a week away from fantasy football drafting. Some drafts may have taken place, but for those who want to cut it closer to the season opener (both my leagues), then this blog is a nice introduction for you.
What is fantasy football?
A group of homies got together back in 1962 and decided they wanted to be the general managers (GM) and coaches of a team they ‘drafted’ themselves. If you want to read more you can check out the history here. Players were ‘drafted’ based on their performance from previous years and accrued points throughout the season. Today, we use this same concept with any number of teams. ranging from 8-16. The larger the group of friends the more stressful the draft turns out to be. Why you may ask? Well if you are a beginner in football, you’ll need to know a lot more players than the starting lineup from each offense to build your team off of. Sleepers are HUGE. What is a sleeper?
Fantasy terminology
ADP = average draft position. This is where players are ranked and rated based on their previous years performances and projected years performance.
Sleeper = a player who performs better than his ADP score (usually end up winning a game or the season for you.)
Bust = a player with a high ADP or is a solid starter and underperforms
Breakout = a player who reaches a higher ranking for his position based on the performance from his previous year for the first time. (Ex: a rookie who has a fantastic season.)
Waiver Wire = Think of this like free agency. Players who were not drafted are placed on the waiver wire. You can pick them up at any time before the start of the next week (depends on the time your commissioner chooses.)
Different leagues: PPR, Non-PPR and Keeper Leagues
PPR League (Points per Reception): This is the most standardly used league because the points are easiest to measure. You will draft your players based on the number of times they catch the ball. Every 10 yards is one point, a TD is worth six points and a reception is one point.
Non-PPR: This means players do not receive additional points per reception.
Vampire league: There is one player who only pulls players from FA. If the FA team beats you, they can grab a player from your team.
Keeper League: This also varies by league but for mine for example we are allowed to keep a player from the previous year but they are worth the price of 2 earlier draft picks. Ex: I drafted Lamar Jackson 8th round, I will lose my 6th round pick if I keep him.
Draft Day
Who do you draft first? The obvious answer would be a quarterback, right? He is the team leader, playmaker and can run the ball if needed. Unfortunately, this isn’t true. Running backs score the most points (depending on the league you play in, since the standard is PPR we will go off that). Start drafting heavy on Running backs and Wide receivers because these two positions (aside from QB) touch the ball the most, so they will earn you the most points. Around the 5th/6th round head for a strong QB that is available, then a TE, RB/WR, Kicker in the 8th and Def in the 10th. Then you are bouncing around to fill more bench spots depending on your WR/RB needs. An additional QB wouldn’t hurt if a strong rookie is available.
Any other questions? DM me on Twitter @ashmereprasad – let’s dominate this season 😎
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