With the start of the season just hours away, now is the time to start finalising your team for your match of the season. No matter how your draft went – whether you nailed it or were dealt an awful hand because you couldn’t be there- you can drastically change the fate of your team by making smart decisions over the next 10-15 weeks. Here are a few tips to help you along the way.
Note- next week will see the return of my ‘Play your Cards Right’ series, in which I predict whether players will put up a higher or lower total than the week before. This year, I want to make it more interesting (and valuable to fantasy players) by taking suggestions from readers. So if you have a player on your team that you are unsure about and want me to cover, be sure to hit me up on twitter, and I will try to talk about as many players as possible.
Preparing Your Fantasy Football Team for Week One
Tip 1- Go over your roster
This may seem obvious, but make sure you go back and check over your roster again. Many people leave their team after their draft until the first day of the season, and a lot can change in that time. Firstly, make sure you team fits within your league’s rules (for example, some leagues allow tight ends or even quarterbacks in the flex sport, whereas in others you are restricted to RBs and WRs). Check to see whether you need to bench a player due to injury or suspension (or both, in the case of Wes Welker). In deeper leagues, it might even be necessary to see if players have been cut or moved up or down the depth chart. All of this can have a major effect on your team and should be taken into account.
Another often over-looked factor is bye weeks. If you didn’t read my article last week, or had no other choice due to a lack of other options (a situation I had in one draft); and are stuck in a really bad situation with your bye weeks, then there is still time to resolve any issues. If both of your top 2 QBs, RBs, WRs or TEs have the same bye week, then the best option is to make a trade for a player with a different bye week. Luckily you have at least three weeks to do this, but the earlier you diagnose and go about trying to resolve the problem, the better.
Tip 2- Keep an eye on the waiver wire
Once the season begins, the easiest way to upgrade your team is through the waiver wire. By staying on top of all breaking news, and keeping track of the weekend’s best performers, you can easily find diamonds in the rough. When picking players to put in waiver claims for on Wednesday, Tuesday morning, remember you can make an unlimited number of waiver claims. So if you want to drop an injured player, have two replacements in mind, but are not guaranteed to get your top choice; make sure you put in a claim for both players (ranked in order of preference). This gives you the best chance of getting a player you want.
Tip 3- Don’t be afraid to make a trade offer
If there are next to no free agents worth selecting, another way of improving you team is through trades. Negotiating a deal can be a complicated and difficult process, but never be afraid to make what may seem like an audacious offer to begin with. What may seem like lop sided in your favour to you may satisfy another person in your league because they value a player differently, or because they are in desperate need of help at a position (see my advice over backup QBs in last week’s piece). I’ve not yet heard of a league where trade offers are limited or reduce your score, so there is nothing to lose from proposing a deal- but there is a lot to gain.
Tip 4- Be smart when selecting your roster
The easiest way to throw away a fantasy matchup is by making mistakes when setting your line-up (and that includes doing nothing at all). There are lots of factors to consider when choosing who to start each week, such as consistency and matchup (which becomes far more important and useful as the season progresses). If unsure, a good idea is to check weekly expert rankings (I’d personally recommend the Last Word On Sports position rankings, although I am biased), and don’t just assume that your 1st round pick will carry your team every week.
But the best tip for week one comes from a fantastic former colleague Neil Dutton- don’t try to be the hero. It might seem like a great idea to start someone you have picked off the waiver wire because the person ahead of him on the depth chart can’t play, and he is projected to put up a lot of points by your host site, but hold your horses. If your top draft picks are playing for your team this week, you should almost definitely pick them. You drafted them so high for a reason.
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