Your draft day is arguably the biggest date on the calendar for all fantasy football managers. Preparation is key to dominating your draft, but even then, it’s too easy to get caught up in the moment and make choices that you’ll regret. Your decisions during the draft generally have a higher chance of wrecking your season than winning you a title. Remember, top-notch in-season management skills are usually at least as important to winning the championship as crushing your draft is.
Your journey to the postseason begins on draft day, and our analysts are here to shed some light on what you should do and who you should target to avoid starting off your season on the wrong foot.
Now’s the time to try your new secret weapon for your draft: Draft Intel! Draft Intel analyzes up to 5 years of drafts and breaks down all your league-mates’ draft tendencies. See who waits at quarterback, how people approach the early rounds, and tons more insights to get an edge in your draft. Best of all, it’s totally FREE! Check out your league’s Draft Intel today!
Your draft day is arguably the biggest date on the calendar for all fantasy football managers. Preparation is key to dominating your draft, but even then, it’s too easy to get caught up in the moment and make choices that you’ll regret. Your decisions during the draft generally have a higher chance of wrecking your season than winning you a title. Remember, top-notch in-season management skills are usually at least as important to winning the championship as crushing your draft is.
Your journey to the postseason begins on draft day, and our analysts are here to shed some light on what you should do and who you should target to avoid starting off your season on the wrong foot.
Now’s the time to try your new secret weapon for your draft: Draft Intel! Draft Intel analyzes up to 5 years of drafts and breaks down all your league-mates’ draft tendencies. See who waits at quarterback, how people approach the early rounds, and tons more insights to get an edge in your draft. Best of all, it’s totally FREE! Check out your league’s Draft Intel today!
Andrew Erickson’s Last-Minute Draft Tips & Targets
Don’t draft a kicker or DST
Instead of drafting a DST or kicker, take a chance on upside RB/WRs who could see their value boosted with an injury between now and when you actually have to set your starting lineup.
Target DSTs with favorable opening schedules
Eventually, you’ll have to grab a DST (either in the draft or before Week 1), so make sure they have good matchups to start the year. The 49ers, Broncos, Browns, Saints and Ravens all have great long-term outlooks in addition to plus matchups in Week 1. The Titans (vs. Giants) are also in a solid spot for the opening weekend if you are caught scrambling.
Rounds 3-6 is the WR Shred Zone
The middle rounds are chock-full of wide receiver talent, which should be the primary focus for drafters. Shifting to pass catchers in this range will also make it easier to avoid reaching on RBs for need.
Joe Pisapia’s Last-Minute Draft Tips & Targets
Be prepared. Be flexible!
Every draft unfolds in a unique way, regardless of ADP. The best thing you can be is prepared with your knowledge of the player pool and your pivot players if “your guys” get drafted before you can take them, and flexible with your strategy.
Build core roster strength
The biggest mistake fantasy players make is trying to fill roster spots instead of building core roster strength. Don’t just take an RB who doesn’t move the needle, or a TE just because you don’t have one yet. The draft is for acquiring talent and assets. Filling roster spots will happen as the draft unfolds and the waiver wire opens.
Favor WR
My heavy WR receiver builds this off-season in drafts have been my favorite rosters. The NFL game is evolving, and you need to be open to grabbing one early RB in the first few rounds and attacking WR early and often.
Beyond our fantasy football content, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you prepare for your draft this season. From our free mock Draft Simulator – which allows you to mock draft against realistic opponents – to our Draft Assistant – which optimizes your picks with expert advice – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football draft season.
Pat Fitzmaurice’s Last-Minute Draft Tips & Targets
Base your draft strategy on the number of starting WRs required
Does your league require you to start two WRs every week, or three? If you only need to start two, an RB-heavy start is fine. If you need to start three, you would be doing yourself a disservice by not aggressively attacking the WR position in the first 7-8 rounds. Think about it: If the configuration is 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE and 1 flex, 37.5% of your starters (excluding defenses and kickers) will be WRs, and it jumps to 50% if you start a WR in the flex spot. You can’t afford to fall behind your competitors at such an important position. People talk about how deep the WR position is. You might not agree if it’s midseason and you’re throwing Robbie Anderson into your WR3 spot every week.
Take advantage of bargains on rookie WRs
Back in the Paleolithic Age of fantasy football, rookie WRs were a value trap. Not anymore. Rookie WRs often hit the ground running, and they can often be acquired at bargain prices. Ja’Marr Chase‘s preseason ADP last year was WR31, according to Fantasy Football Calculator. Jaylen Waddle (WR42) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR64) were also fabulous values. In 2020, Justin Jefferson (WR49) and CeeDee Lamb (WR39) were terrific values even though they were first-round NFL Draft picks. Second-rounders Tee Higgins and Chase Claypool had ADPs beyond WR66 in 2020, and both finished as top-30 fantasy WRs. This year, no rookie WR has an ADP better than WR40 (Drake London), even though a bunch of them are poised to have prominent roles in their respective offenses. Capitalize on the value.
Don’t draft RB handcuffs
There is an opportunity cost to handcuffing one of your RBs. By dedicating two draft picks to a single position on a single team, you’re limiting the upside of your RB group. The fantasy managers who do best at the RB position are the ones who get a good return on investment with their early-round RBs and find one or two later-round gems. By handcuffing your starter, you deprive yourself of a chance to find one of those later-round gems. Handcuffing later in the season is fine. Don’t handcuff in your drafts.
Matthew Freedman’s Last-Minute Draft Tips & Targets
If you don’t get a top-three tight end, wait on the position
After Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews and Kyle Pitts, the TE position falls off. George Kittle and Darren Waller both have talent, but Kittle is likely to be in a run-heavy offense, and Waller will have more target competition than he has ever had. After them, the difference between Dalton Schultz (No. 6 in ADP) and David Njoku (No. 16) is marginal. In bypassing the position in the middle rounds, you give yourself more opportunities to add upside running backs and wide receivers.
Draft a second-year quarterback
I have a flow chart: If I miss out on Trey Lance, then Justin Fields is the next quarterback I want — and if I miss out on him, then I want Trevor Lawrence. All three of them have rushing ability and the opportunity to progress in their second NFL seasons. Best of all, they’re all outside the top-12 quarterbacks in ADP for friends-and-family leagues.
Draft Julio Jones
Jones is almost certainly more fragile than he used to be — but since 2020 he has still averaged 10.4 yards per target, and that’s an elite number. With an ADP well outside the top-40 wide receivers, Jones has tremendous upside relative to his acquisition cost, and he’ll have the softest coverage of his career playing alongside WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin while also having the best quarterback of his career in Tom Brady.
Now’s the time to try your new secret weapon for your draft: Draft Intel! Draft Intel analyzes up to 5 years of drafts and breaks down all your league-mates’ draft tendencies. See who waits at quarterback, how people approach the early rounds, and tons more insights to get an edge in your draft. Best of all, it’s totally FREE! Check out your league’s Draft Intel today!
Derek Brown’s Last-Minute Draft Tips & Targets
Elite TEs are a priority in 10-team leagues
Nearly every team will field what looks like an all-star lineup in 10-team fantasy leagues unless you face-plant during your draft. In these condensed league formats and even smaller ones (eight-team leagues), the name of the game is to exploit micro edges. An easy one is to have difference makers at onesie positions. Yes, quarterback, but also tight end. The elite tight end advantage in this format will give you the weekly edge you need.
Use your queue
A fantasy manager’s worst nightmare is to set your sights on 1-2 players with your next pick only to have them scooped up immediately before your selection. This can produce an immediate brain fart and a race against time before a dreaded auto pick. Avoid this nightmare scenario by looking ahead to your next upcoming draft position and build a shelf of 3-4 players (at least) in the queue. This will help you bypass brain freeze and the yearning to toss your computer (or phone) across the room.
Target rushing QBs or prepare to wait on the position
The high weekly floor and ceiling that rushing quarterbacks can provide is unmatched. Quarterbacks who have flashed exotic upside like Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray, Josh Allen and possibly Trey Lance all possess the ability to score fantasy points with their legs. For pocket passers to even sniff this realm of fantasy god status, they must walk into ridiculous passing volume and likely end up with passing TD outlier seasons. The fact is that statue quarterbacks, even at their best, will likely live in the QB7-12 range. If you miss out on the rushing quarterbacks, grab 1-2 pocket passing types late who can offer you weekly streaming ability based on matchups.
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If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, 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 Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
