Fantasy football can be very fun...and very frustrating if you draft a team with lousy players. While there are many factors you can't control, such as when your star running back goes down with a season ending injury during the second pre-season game, there are a number of factors you CAN control. One of these things is the draft, and its important to make the most out of it. Following are 7 mistakes you want to avoid:1. Drafting A Kicker Too High
You might be tempted to draft a good kicker before someone else beats you to the punch. However, this is not a good strategy. Kickers fluctuate wildly in their production from year to year, and are rarely difference makers in fantasy fotball. Instead of picking up a kicker early, save your kicker for the last three rounds of the draft. Instead, focus on backups, difference makers, or sleepers at key positions, such as running backs, wide receivers, or quarterbacks, who are likely to put up much better numbers than kickers.
2. Drafting A Tide End Too High
Some people draft prominent tide ends such too early. With the exception of Antonio Gates, most tide ends are extremely inconsistent and put up lackluster numbers on a year to year basis. In fact, if your tide end is not named Antonio Gates, wait until the later rounds to draft one. Also realize that you are probably better off drafting a high caliber running back and an average tide end rather than using an early ick on Antonio Gates.
3. Drafting A Defense/Special Teams, Or Defensive Players Too High
Defenses, like kickers, often fluctuate from year to year, and it is always best to draft a defense only after your key positions have been filled. If, for example, there is a quality running back or wide receiver still on the draft board and you are short at these positions, you may be better off going for one of these players rather than a team defense.
4. Not Preparing For The Bye Weeks Or Player Injuries
In order to win at fantasy football, you need to prepare for the bye weeks when you starters will not be playing during their week off. If you do not have enough debth for the bye weeks, you may be missing out on a playoff spot if you lose a close game due to not having a good quality player filling in for you at a key position.
Additionally, if one of your starters goes down with an injury, backups are great insurance. For example, if you have to start two running backs and one of your starters gets injured, if you have a solid back up running back to fill in for your starter, you will have a much better chance of staying competitive with the rest of your league.
Backups can consist of players who start for a an NFL team, such as Frank Gore of the San Francisco 49rs, or players who are actual back ups to NFL starters, such as Michael Turner, who backs up Ladanian Tomlinson. While players like Frank Gore will usually get drafted in the middle rounds, players like Michael Turner will usually get drafted in the later rounds.
When deciding which players to get as backups, it is best to try to use actual starters as backups, since you will need to fill in for bye weeks, but it can also be beneficial to get actual NFL backups as well.
5. Paying Too Much Attention To Pre-Season Football
One thing pre-season football will accomplish is this: screw with your head. It is very common for pre-season players to play at very high levels in pre-season, but lackluster levels once the regular season begins. Similarly, it is common for NFL starters to play at lackluster levels during pre-season, but very well during the regular season.
Sometimes, pre-season does get it right, but more often than not, it can lead you to make bad decisions regarding which players to pick on your roster or which players to start. Having said all of that, don't look "too much" into preseason performances, whether player performance is good...or bad.
If you benefit from this article, please note that this is a part of a free e-course I wrote on fantasy football. You can get the whole ecourse for free at:
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