1) Start with a top running back
You might be like a lot of people in my league, from Arizona so naturally you will want to pick Larry Fitzgerald in the first round right? Nope! You will want to most certainly go with a elite running back first if at all possible. You say, “but this is a passing league so a quarterback should go first right?”
Who here likes economics? Think of it like supply and demand: There are a high number of quarterbacks in this league who put up really good numbers. Since this is a passing league, there are a large number of receivers who put up good numbers too. There are however, a smaller number of quality running backs. In fact, the difference between an elite back and average back is much higher than the difference between elite and average QBs or WRs.
| Position | Player | 2012 Fantasy Points* | Ranking by Position | Difference from Leader |
| RB | Adrian Peterson | 307.4 | 1 | |
| RB | Frank Gore | 202.6 | 10 | 104.8 |
| RB | Shonn Greene | 167.4 | 15 | 140 |
| QB | Drew Brees | 335.58 | 1 | |
| QB | Russell Wilson | 275.62 | 10 | 59.96 |
| QB | Eli Manning | 232.92 | 15 | 102.66 |
| WR | Calvin Johnson | 220.4 | 1 | |
| WR | Roddy White | 177.1 | 10 | 43.3 |
| WR | Reggie Wayne | 163 | 15 | 57.4 |
2) Do your homework
This is probably the step most people will skip. If you want to be good at fantasy football you MUST research. You must see which players are expected to get higher roles in their offense. You must check up on injuries or competition at their position. Check rankings and read articles. This will help immensely in your drafting strategy as well as your waiver wire pick up.
Checking waiver wires and free agency is something you should be doing very frequently. One persons trash could be your treasure. Look at Victor Cruz a few years ago. No one knew who he was, now he’s due a huge contract and is a top WR.
This also applies to knowing the scoring system of your league. Is it PPR? Do QBs get penalized for sacks and INTs? What about running backs for fumbles? Do RB/WR/TE receive different points per reception? This will help you target certain players over others based on their unique abilities and their team situation.
3) Who gets targeted the most
It is pretty simple. When receivers (and other players) get a high number of targets, they have a higher chance of putting up fantasy points. This does not always mean high targets = lots of points. Sometimes a quarterbacks performance or the teams opponent will negatively effect fantasy output in-spite of high targets.
| Player | Fantasy Ranking by Points | Targets |
| Calvin Johnson | 1 | 205 |
| Reggie Wayne | 15 | 194 |
| Brandon Marshall | 2 | 194 |
| Wes Welker | 12 | 174 |
| Andre Johnson | 8 | 164 |
| AJ Green | 4 | 164 |
As you can see many of the top targeted receivers also had the best fantasy output. Also many highly targeted WR did not put up elite numbers. This ties back into doing your homework. Is the WR the #1 target on their team? Do they receive a lot of double coverage? Was their fantasy output last year due to a high number of receptions/yards or a high amount of TDs? A high amount of looks plus their situation should effect your ranking.
4) Whatever you do, Kickers and Defenses are picked last
Please do this. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve played in a league where kickers and defenses are picked early. Last year in one of my drafts I picked Reggie Wayne after some people had their kickers and defenses picked. This goes back to economics and difference. A top kicker and defenses points will not be all that different from an average one.
5) Take chances in late rounds
Your late rounds are to help your bench. Guys to fill in bye weeks or incase of injury. That should not be the mentality of your late round picks. Late round picks are the ones you take chances on. Is their a guy who has talent up the wazoo but has character issues? What about a guy who is coming of a big injury but has put up numbers before? Is there a player who is in a new system who hasn’t gotten the chance to shine before? The late rounds is where you make a championship team. You hope that in a late round you find a guy who everyone else missed, who will not be a bench player only to see PT during bye weeks, but a guy who outshines your original starting lineup. Do not take late rounds lightly, they are very important.
Conclusion:
Hopefully that helps all of you out in your leagues. Again, this is what I have found to help me win in my leagues. It will not always work even if you do everything right. Some guys will have “off” years. Many times you will fight injury bugs (I cannot tell you how many potentially good teams I have had ruined due to multiple nagging injuries). Keep your head up and do your best! And remember, this is supposed to be fun!
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