I’ve been playing a yearly draft version of fantasy football for nearly a decade, and below is a list of rules that I have developed to help draft a winning team.
1: Starting off with a simple one, running backs of value are much more limited than wide receivers. Unless you are looking at top-tier talent at the wide receiver position that is unmatched at the running back position by your pick (this year, around pick 8), go running back first. Also, stack this position first.
2: This one I can’t take credit for developing, and it is still in the testing phase, but here it is. To win your league you need a top talent at three positions (RB, WR, TE, or QB). As opposed to stacking two positions early, taking a top talent at three positions gives you an edge over your competition. Example: last year I had Allen, Diggs, and Kelce as my big three. It is risky to stack players from a team, but thankfully it worked out.
3: Stacking players from a team is risky. If you do it, do it carefully.
4: Draft to play the waiver wire- leave a position open. Depending on how your draft goes and your preferences, don’t draft a QB, TE, Kicker, or Defense. In my experience this plays into the algorithm and gives you high waiver priority. You can then troll the waiver wire after the draft and see if there is someone that everyone forgot about.
5: Don’t be afraid to ‘reach’. Obviously you shouldn’t take a guy four rounds too early, and if you are playing with friends and know who they like, take that into consideration, but if you really like a pick, take it. Don’t worry about it being a round too early.
6: PLAY THE WAIVER WIRE. I cannot stress this one enough. For example, last year I picked up Josh Allen before the season started and by week 10 had lost my starting RB’s (Zeke and Connor to poor performance, Mostert to injury). I picked up David Montgomery (who somebody dropped!?!) and strung along with backup RB’s to injured players. Then, after trading Kelce for CMC for my playoff run, CMC got hurt again and never played a snap for me. I had planned out my waivers accordingly, and still competed at the TE position. Waivers are why I won my league last year.
7: Pay attention to Bye weeks. Whether you want to stack your byes and take an L in one week or try and compete every week, that is your decision. But make that decision a conscious one as you draft.