As in any kind of game, luck must be on your side a little if you are to win. Fantasy football is no different. They do say that luck favors the well prepared, however, so here are some tips that might help make things go your way.
The first rule is to know the scoring system for your specific league. I was sitting next to a young woman at a draft once. I had never participated in this particular league, but she had. I asked her how many points quarterbacks got for touchdowns thrown and she replied that she didn't know; she just picks players.
It turned out that quarterbacks got six points for every touchdown pass, which is more than the usual four points awarded in most standard leagues. Considering that an average quarterback throws around 20 touchdowns per season, and an average running back only scores around 10 touchdowns per season, you can see how this scoring system would favor quarterbacks.
If you went in to that draft unaware of that scoring rule, you might pass up a great quarterback under the assumption that they only get four points per TD.
As silly as it sounds, some fantasy football commissioners will tweak the scoring systems with some little quirk, hoping nobody will notice it. They will then proceed to draft the appropriate players and win the league. I have seen this happen.
Once, a commissioner of a league I was in changed the scoring right before the draft to include one point for every reception. He wasn't hiding the fact from other players, but he didn't broadcast it either. Half the participants were completely unaware at draft time and a little surprised to see the commissioner taking Tony Gonzalez and Terrell Owens and other receivers in the early rounds of the draft.
Ideally, your commissioner will be an ethical person and not resort to such tactics, but the lesson needs to be learned. The lesson is simply to know the scoring system inside and out and pick your players accordingly.
Once you know your scoring system and have a game plan for what kind of team you want, go with your instincts as well as statistical analysis. Make sure to study statistical output of players from years past, but combine that with your own gut feelings on players to come up with the best picks.
If you watch a back-up running back in the pre-season and he is really lighting it up. Don't be afraid to draft him. I made the mistake of passing on Clinton Portis in his rookie year for Denver. He looked great in the pre-season, but was not listed as the starter. A few weeks into the season, he became the starter and went on to average over 100 yards of offense in each game he played in. If I had trusted my gut, I would have had those valuable fantasy points on my team.
So, now we know the scoring system and have a good idea of who we want to draft. Here are a few basic draft tips, just in case it is your first one:
1. Running backs tend to go fast in the early rounds, so make sure you get at least one of them.
2. Make sure you know the bye weeks of all the players. Don't make the mistake of drafting a bunch of players with the same bye weeks.
3. The best kickers are always the ones on the teams that score the most points. Don't analyze the kicker; analyze the offense of the team he is on.
4. Don't draft a kicker until you have all your other positions filled.
5. In most cases, you can wait to draft a quarterback. Most leagues only require each team to start one QB. The twelfth ranked QB in the league is usually still a very good one.
Finally, when the draft is over, don't make the mistake of thinking your decision making is done. The best fantasy football player is one who remains active throughout the season.
I am not saying you have to watch every little thing in the NFL, but make sure you actually do watch football. A lot of changes occur throughout an NFL season. Make sure you are watching closely, so you can take advantage of those changes.