Fantasy Football Draft Advice to Help You WIN!
Top 10 Fantasy Football Draft Tips
- Don’t Listen to All the Sheep Fantasy Football Analysts
- Aim high on the depth charts
- Load up on RBs
- Have a Back-Up Plan
- Anchor your team with an ace QB
- Grab the right tight end
- Take Calculated Risks
- Anticipate everything
- Implement the Cuddy system
- Adopt the lion mentality
1. Don’t Listen to Sheep Fantasy Analysts
Everyone in the fantasy football industry except the Fantasy Counselor is playing it safe and has no balls. They always suggest you draft on last year’s copy-and-paste rankings and don’t put your best interest at heart.
You see it everywhere, where they are suggesting you draft all the top finishers from last year in the same order they finished last year. They don’t take into account all the new variables that change every year. These include things like depth charts and team changes, players coming off pinnacle years, QB changes, etc.
2. Aim high on those depth charts
Time and time again, the mainstream sheep suggest you draft a WR in the early rounds of your draft. An example of this was last year, when everyone was telling you draft Tee Higgins in round two. He busted as I said he would, and yet everyone who suggested him has not apologized for their terrible analysis.
When you are in the early rounds or even the entire draft, you need to focus and aim high on those depth charts making sure you get the Alpha on each team. In 2024 and pretty much every year, there are always WR’1’s you can draft later that will out perform the early high draft capital WR2’s.
Never settle for less, and always aim high on those depth charts.
3. Load up on RBs
The most scarce and sacred position in all of fantasy football, the RBs. You need to load up early and ofter on this position. Running backs that are in a minimal or noncommittee are few and far between these days, and you need to have the workhorses.
I can’t express it enough that running backs need to be your priority in draft and especially early on. Do you need to go robust RB? Not necessarily, but you need to aim high on the depth charts and get those workhorses on your roster.
4. Have a Backup Plan
Never rely on certain players to do the job, and always have a backup plan. Injuries and lack of performance are expected in players in the NFL, and you must have depth in all positions. For example, if you are in a 1 QB league, ensure you always have 2 QBs on your roster.
I like to have at least 5-6 running backs on my roster that are of course high on their depth charts and the main guy on their teams.
5. Anchor your team with an Ace QB
Quarterbacks that are proven are fantasy football gold. It would be best if you always had a QB that will get you your 20-30 points a game. Regarding QB, I don’t compromise and look to anchor my team with that ace.
This year you can get some value in mid-rounds. Guys like Justin Herbert and Jordan Love are value that could finish in the top 10 at the position.
6. Grab the right tight end
Tight ends are the position I worry about the least. I have to get 10 points out of this position each week. Last year, I said the upside of Sam Laporta while the sheep slept on him.
I tend to grab a safe tight end in the mid-rounds and then take some risks on an upside rookie later. Remember that the tight end has to be in a position where he is potentially going to get a lot of volume.
7. Take Calculated Risks
When playing fantasy football and wanting to win, you need to take risks. You have to make sure they are the right ones.
I tend to draft safer and more secure players in rounds 1-5 and then look to swing for the fences in the mid to later rounds with upside guys and even rookies. I make sure that the rookies are primed for success. If it’s a WR for example, I look to see who is throwing the ball to him and who else is in that WR committee.
Review ana look at the situation your players are in before you commit to draft them, but don’t be afraid to take some risks.
8. Anticipate Everything
You have to be light years ahead of the sheep. Knowing who all the sleepers are and when to draft them is a big part of this. You don’t want a guy that you have been wanting to draft get sniped in the draft by your league mates. So you have to know when players are coming off the board.
9. Implement the CUDDY system
When selecting a player, you have to have the CUDDY system in mind. The player must fill in a criteria. Consistency, Upside, durability, Depth, and Youth. This is a system I founded on a series of criteria I run through my head before I draft any player.
10. Lion Mentality
You must believe in yourself and the player you draft. You have to have conviction in your team and your picks. Confidence is key to fantasy football success. If you are following the Cuddy system and drafting players that have a ton of upside and youth on top of their depth charts, you will thrive.
Go into your draft and the fantasy football season with that Lion Mentality and your Smash it Lion Shirt!
