Relax
Most of the work is already done for you. Math nerds who also like sports (they exist) have already done like 90% of the work for us.
On the day we draft you will log into your account on NFL.com and enter the draft room.
The list of players available will visible and ranked by how well the experts think the player will do. You can draft the best player available or whoever you want.
Draft Order
When the draft starts, we all take turns choosing players. Once a player is chosen, that player is taken off the board and it’s the next team’s chance to choose. It will progress like this until all of the teams have drafted one player. Then Round 2 will start but the order will be reversed with the last team first and so on until every team has filled every position and 6 back-up bench players.
Advice
This is some quick advice for newbies. I’m going to try to keep it simple for those who may not be steeped in football knowledge.
Your goal is to create a team that scores the most amount of points.
Whether the real-life teams they play for wins the game is a completely irrelevant to Fantasy Football.
Translation: Drafting everyone from the Patriots is not going to help you win.
Rounds 1 & 2
Your focus for the first couple of rounds should be on getting the best running backs and wide receivers that you can. Because these guys do all the running, receiving and touchdowning.
Running backs (RB)
These guys get the ball handed to them or increasingly catch short passes and run with the ball. An elite RB will be responsible for a lot of the yards their team gets (points) and will be called upon to make touchdowns when on the goal line (even more points).
Top ranked RBs: Todd Gurley, Le'Veon Bell, Ezekiel Elliott, David Johnson More
Wide ReceiverS (WR)
These guys catch the ball down field getting lots of yards (points) and get thrown to in the end zone (even more points)
Top ranked WRs: Antonio Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, Odell Beckham Jr., Julio Jones More
Rounds 3-5
Rounds 3 and 5 should be focused on getting a second RB and or WR, a good Quarterback and maybe an elite Tight End if available.
Tight End (TE)
These are big guys who have been traditionally used to block- get in the way of the other team (no points). Some teams also use them to catch the ball and score touchdowns (points!) There are not a lot of high scoring TEs so if these guys aren't available wait until the later round to get a TE.
Top Ranked TEs: Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz More
Quarterback (QB)
These guys throw the ball down field. They get points for completed passing yards, running if they run the ball, and touchdown passes (although less points than the receiver). They do not get points for runs.
Top Ranked QBs: Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, Cam Newton More
Rounds 6 -10
Focus on filling out missing RB, WR, TE positions and getting backups in case of injuries and bye weeks.
Rounds 11 -15
Get your Defense/Special Teams and Kicker and get the rest of your bench players.
Kicker
I should have to explain this one. The problem with kickers is that they are pretty much the same and get similar scores so save this for towards the very end
Defense/Special Teams (DST)
You get points for these guys a group based on sacks, interceptions and how few yards/points the other guys score. There are some elite DSTs out there but it's tough to get consistent points from them week after week. Most experts recommend waiting until the later rounds to get your DST.
THINGS TO CONSIDER: BYE WEEKS
Every team in the NFL has a week off at some point during the season. After 4 weeks into the season 2 – 4 teams a week won’t play. This means that players on these teams won’t earn points. You will need to have someone on your bench to replace them for that week. If all of your players have bye weeks on the days you will not do well on that week.
THINGS TO CONSIDER: INJURIES
Injuries are an issue in the NFL. Most players will miss a game a two and I've never had a fantasy team that didn't lose someone for injuries. Make sure to get good backups.
A Final Note: Autopick
We're all busy. If you miss the draft or decided it's too complicated, the system will automatically choose the best player available to fill a hole in your roster. Sounds great but it may draft you a kicker in 3rd round because you need a kicker and the best kicker is available. Autodraft will also ignore bye weeks so might end up with a team that's all taking week 6 off.
A hybrid approach is to log on and pick all the major positions yourself and then switch to autodraft after the 6th or 7th round.