Avoid These 10 Draft Mistakes (Fantasy Football)

Anything can happen during the season to crush your playoff hopes. So much in this wonderful game is based in luck, and sometimes you just don’t have it. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do everything we can to set ourselves up for success, though! The road to the title begins with the draft and limiting your mistakes there plays a huge role in how far your squad goes. Our featured analysts have gathered to share their top draft mistakes to avoid. Read on to see what you should avoid doing on draft day.

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Q. What specific draft mistake do you most commonly see, even among advanced fantasy managers?

“Rigidity is the enemy of success. Too many times, I’ve seen or heard fantasy managers stick to a specific game plan with no intentions of pivoting. Flexibility is the key to winning a fantasy championship. If you want to start the draft by going RB/RB/WR/WR, but your draft is making a run at running back in the second round, be OK pivoting to a Tier 1 WR instead of settling on a Tier 3 RB. I’d rather have a clear advantage at a few positions rather than a balanced team of mediocre players. I urge you to be flexible and willing to pivot if value dictates.”
– Jacob W. Dunne (New Life Fantasy)

“A typical mistake that most fantasy managers make when heading into the draft is sticking with one single plan. Too many times, managers will follow a single plan they made based on rankings and their favorite picks instead of adjusting to the board given to them. Following this mistake could easily derail your draft based on your leaguemates’ selections, leading to a poor draft. It’s essential to understand how to adjust and see what the board/other managers give you to make the best pick.”
– Steven Pintado (The Fantasy Coaches)

“Everyone is looking to draft multiple early RBs, opening the door for the top WRs and TEs to fall early in drafts. Last season, the WR1 and TE1 scored 65 and 25 more fantasy points than the RB5, respectively (half PPR). Positionally, the WR1 scored 70 more points than the WR5 and the TE1 had 110 more points than the TE3. Grabbing these players at the end of the first round provides an elite positional advantage. After all, the RB8 scored a mere 30 points more than the RB12. So if you miss out on the top tier, don’t be afraid to shoot for the WR1 or TE1 and grab an RB in the second.”
– Ellis Johnson (True North Fantasy Football)

“Not having their queue set up in advance. No matter how experienced of a drafter you are, there are always going to be times where you think you’ll be able to draft a handful of players, and then boom-boom-boom, they’re taken with the three picks right before you. That leaves even the best fantasy manager scrambling. When you’re drafting, you should always try to make sure that you have more players in your queue than drafters in front of you (once it starts approaching your turn). And after you make a selection, you should immediately fill your queue with players you’re hoping for with your next pick. If you do this in advance, you can eliminate those ‘freak out’ moments that plague even the best of fantasy managers.”
– Dan Harris (FantasyPros)

“This isn’t something that you necessarily see amongst the more advanced fantasy managers, but you can see it every single year in your traditional home leagues. This is where someone overdrafts players from their favorite team. While fantasy football should be about having fun — and if having players on your favorite team makes it more fun, go for it — it’s never a good idea to reach a round or two on a player simply because they wear a Dallas Cowboys jersey on Sunday, for example. Additionally, this can go too far and a fantasy manager will end up having half of their fantasy football roster from said favorite team. That’s never a good place to be in.”
– Kyle Yates (FantasyPros)

“One mistake I frequently see is drafters putting too much faith in average draft position (ADP). Remember, since ADP is an average, players are inevitably sometimes selected earlier than said average. As more drafts are happening and preseason hype ramps up, ADP often lags behind what’s happening in real drafts with real people. If there’s a player that you want on your team it’s perfectly alright, recommended even, to take him earlier than his listed ADP. The longer you have to wait between your picks and the later you get in the draft, the more important it becomes to take ADP with a grain of salt.”
– Aaron Larson (FantasyPros)

“When you’re in the middle of a draft and you’ve filled all of your RB and WR spots, there can be a temptation to take other positions earlier than you should. I’m not just talking about a QB or TE either. I’ve even seen seasoned managers reach way too early on a DST just because they’ve filled the rest of their roster. I’m not saying you can’t reach for a player you like, but don’t settle for someone you’re not totally sold on. Instead, draft depth on your bench and load up on more RBs and WRs in the middle rounds.”
– Bart Wheeler (Hail to Fantasy Football)

“Don’t get caught up in filling an open roster spot over taking a value on the board. By the end of the season, most rosters look drastically different than they did on draft day. Between trades and waivers, lineups alter throughout the fantasy season. Therefore, do not feel compelled to reach for a positional player to fill a slot when a good value player is on the board. ”
– John Hesterman (Dynasty League Football)

“Not knowing the league’s scoring system. It may seem obvious, but it is not. How many times have you heard or read from a member of your league minutes before the draft or, even worse, during the draft, to ask about the scoring system? It’s like pretending to build a car without reading the manual and not knowing where the engine, suspension, and steering wheel go. You may be able to do it, but it will surely be far from flawless. Know the scoring system; even memorize it if necessary.”
– Mauricio Gutierrez (Estadio Fantasy)

“Dismissing the greatness of running backs like Derrick Henry or Nick Chubb in PPR because they don’t catch a lot of passes is a big mistake. Yards are yards. More importantly, TDs matter, as does their role as the focal point in their respective offenses that set up efficient passing attacks. I’d rather have Chubb than Austin Ekeler in PPR any day, and that is not a popular opinion.”
– Joe Pisapia (FantasyPros)

Thank you to the experts for sharing which draft mistakes should be avoided. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter and subscribe to our podcast below for advice all year round.