No two leagues are alike. And as much as you want to plan and prepare for your own draft, a lot of that will end up going out the window when it actually kicks off. Therefore, I prefer going into my drafts with some general theories and ideas and letting the draft come to me. This article will discuss how I tend to approach drafting in deeper leagues.
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Defining a deep league
First things first, let’s define what makes a league deep. Most leagues these days are 12 teams and anywhere from 15 to 18 total roster spots. Most redraft leagues still use kicker and D/ST, but since I’m not a fan of reaching on them, I won’t really be talking about them much here.
Any league that has more than 12 teams and more than 18 roster spots is what I would consider deep. But they’re deep in different ways. I’ll address both, but the majority of the time when someone’s talking about a deep league, they’re referring to the number of teams, not the number of roster spots, although the term is used for both.
Drafting with a purpose
In larger leagues, I tend to go in with a general idea of what I want to leave the draft with. I try to come up with an overall purpose for my team. Do I want to be deep at each position but maybe be a little weaker in my starting lineup? Or would I rather have as many studs as I can and roll the dice that they will all stay healthy? In 12-team leagues, you can usually do both, but in deeper leagues, you kind of have to choose.
For the most part, I prefer drafting for depth, but depending on the opposing managers, I might prefer a studs-and-duds approach. Look at your league-mates and determine what you think they’ll do, then do the opposite. If they all seem like people who play it safe, then I would probably want to be riskier. The same goes the other way, too. The ultimate goal is to differentiate yourself from the rest to improve your chances of winning.
Know your league settings
This is true for every league but in deeper ones, it’s even more important. Does your league allow you to start a second QB in a Superflex spot? Does your league reward tight ends with bonus points per catch? Do running backs get a point per carry? These all change the values of players drastically but can also change the order in which you draft them, as well.
If your 16-team league has a Superflex spot, then there could be 32 starting QBs in lineups every week. There are only 32 teams in the NFL, therefore getting your hands on two solid QBs is going to greatly increase your chances of winning week in and week out. If there’s a tight end premium, then those elite tight ends will be even more elite because there are 16 tight ends in lineups instead of 12. Look at the rules to see what advantages you can find in your lineup prior to getting on the clock.
Let the draft come to you.
I say this for every draft, but I find it even more important in larger leagues with deeper rosters. Pay attention to positional runs and see if you can start them rather than finish them. If your draft allows trading, don’t be afraid to move up to get your guy. Paying attention in general to the draft can also help down the road when making trade offers. In other words, be active early and often, but stay liquid and don’t force things.
Deeper roster tips
For leagues that have 12 teams but allow for deeper benches, I only have a few specific tips. The biggest one is to take as many running backs as you can once you start filling your bench. Waivers could be pretty thin when you’re done drafting. Therefore, you’re much better off picking Tyler Badie over Devin Duvernay to ride your bench. Both may never see your lineup, but an injury to J.K. Dobbins will make Badie much more relevant than an injury to Rashod Bateman will make Duvernay relevant. Running backs tend to get hurt more and backups tend to be worth more, so load up on those whenever possible to help your team down the stretch.
On top of that, while I generally try not to draft more than one kicker or defense, in deeper-roster leagues, you might find yourself needing to do so. If you start seeing teams take their second or third kickers or defenses, don’t be afraid to follow suit as long as your starters are set with a few bench players, as well. The last thing you want is to be scraping the bottom of the barrel come bye weeks, even though those positions are the easiest to replace in the game.
Enjoy the ride.
Deeper leagues can be more challenging in some ways but more rewarding in others. Variety is the spice of life, as they say, so I highly recommend joining leagues that will challenge you to think in different ways and learn new tactics. If you’re bored with your 12-team work league, find a deeper one on Twitter or through the FantasyPros Discord channel to work your muscles. You’ll end up getting smarter and probably end up doing better in your smaller leagues as a result.
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Trade Analyzer – which allows you to instantly find out if a trade offer benefits you or your opponent – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
Andrew Hall is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his profile and follow him @AndrewHallFF.