Preparing for your fantasy football draft is crucial for a successful season. Winning your league with friends, family, or co-workers in 2024 starts with a well-executed draft and following these strategies can give you a competitive edge. From prioritizing key positions to targeting the right high-upside players, these five draft strategies will help you build a formidable team and dominate your league. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a newcomer, mastering these techniques is essential for a championship-winning season.
BONUS TIP: Know Your League Rules and Scoring System
Before the draft, familiarize yourself with your league’s scoring system. PPR (points per reception) leagues value pass-catchers more, while standard leagues put more emphasis on yardage and touchdowns. Knowing these nuances can guide your draft strategy. Know the number of starting positions and roster spots as well as any alterations to other scoring system (specifically on the defensive side of the ball like Sacks). This knowledge helps you prioritize certain positions and avoid overloading on others.
The following draft strategies assume a standard league (1-point PPR, a 1 QB -2 RB -2 WR -1 TE -1 FLEX -1 DEF lineup, seven bench spots, etc.)
Draft multiple RBs within the first three rounds and even three within the first five is a solid strategy. Elite RBs are hard to come by and workhorse backs are the most valuable commodity to own due to their consistent scoring and scarcity. Players like Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, and Josh Jacobs should be high on your radar. You can never have too many good Running Backs because even if you have four good ones, someone who didn’t prioritize RBs is going to offer a lot of value for one of them.
Running Backs and Wide Receivers are the only players that should be on your team by the end of round five. There is so much depth at the QB and TE positions and only one quality player needed at each spot while RBs and WRs take up more spots, are more injury-prone, and have more trade value. Stock up on those two positions before even searching for a QB or TE to add. Potential league winners like QB Anthony Richardson and TE Dalton Kincaid can be found in the sixth and ninth rounds respectively (assuming a 10-person league).
Take some time to research what defenses you like and what their toughest matchups are. For example, the New York Jets should have a top-flight defense in 2024. However, it’d be great to have another option in Weeks 1 (SF), 6 (BUF), 9 (HOU), 14 (MIA), 17 (BUF), and 18 (MIA) when NYJ faces an elite offense. So a defense who isn’t a top-10 pick and will likely be available in one of those last few rounds, like the Saints, would be a great second defense to stash on the bench and be able to start when they have a more favorable matchup.
The one position yet to be covered in this article is the Kicker because they are pretty much irrelevant when it comes to drafting purposes. Sure, some Kickers like Justin Tucker and Harrison Butker prove to be solid choices every season but the difference in points between the top kickers and those within the top-10 are miniscule. The easiest way to mess up your draft is by taking a Kicker before the last round. It looks amateurish, likely won’t pay off, and even if they finish as the #1 or #2 Kicker, they barely provide more value than K8 or K9.
ESPN has a great mock draft lobby that will show almost every possibility you’ll run into to help understand player values and where guys are getting drafted. These mock drafts will help you adapt to different draft positions and possibly unexpected scenarios. Keep in mind that late-breaking news can significantly impact player values and draft strategies, which happens every year.
Essentially, doing some mock drafts helps with gaining the great competitive edge of knowing who’s going where. The only thing mocks don’t know is whether that huge Packers fan you know in your league will take Christian Watson earlier than his projected 8th-9th round slot or not, so think about moving him up your rankings if you want him and can always use him as trade bait early in the season.
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