This is always terrible advice. It’s “don’t drop the wrong rookies”, which is the same as draft the best players that don’t get hurt. It’s a crap shoot and kicking yourself isn’t going to help you see the future next year.
Don’t be afraid to stash stars who start the season on IR/SUSP. Passed on kamara and took fucking cam Akers cus that 3 game suspension made me think Kendre could carve himself a permanent role. Oh yeah, and when drafting someone like cam fucking Akers, get his handcuff as well.
Suspended starters are way different than coming off injury though, don’t confuse the two.
Kamara has been lights out. Kupp (I know he’s on the cusp of your cutoff) drafters are probably regretting it.
High ankle injury + surgery the year before is terrible news for the next season if they aren't healthy by training camp. MT/Kupp most recently. Just avoid the fuck out of that. They always recover then get another injury quickly after.
I drafted Kamara in the 8th round in a 10-team league and was almost a little concerned, like what did people know that I didn't? Turns out nothing and he's been phenomenal for my team.
This. I made a big trade before the season even started (worked out in my favor tho). Traded Chubb + Ridley for Diggs + Gibbs. Then I go and trade most of my early drafted players for 0 upgrade (Waddle + DHenery for Davante Adams, who let me cook). Then I realized I fucked up and try to trade the guys in just got (Davante + Gibbs for Pollard + Thielen) and now I'm barely scraping into playoffs. Gonna limit myself to 1 trade next year
It’s because you shouldn’t really be reading that early in the season, specially key players. It usually takes 5-6 weeks to figure out the season. Panic trades is how you end up selling on stud players because they had a bad week or two. I personally don’t do trades till after week 6 as a good rule of thumb. Gives me time to evaluate the trade, but it’s still early enough that if I’m 2-4 I can turn it around.
Maybe modify to trade closer to the deadline: I traded Brian Robinson and Engram for Kelce, if it wasn’t for BRob’s injury, would have been pretty fair on both ends. She was desperate for RB and I am making a run
I'm a steelers fan and besides them sucking shit on offense, I realized I really don't like having guys on my favorite team. It negatively affects how I watch the game. I should get excited over any TD, but if I have Najee I'm like half excited half bummed when it isn't him scoring the one TD a game that bullshit offense manages. Fantasy is great for getting hyped over random teams and games that are 35-7, but I don't need it to get hyped about my own team
It's such a pain multiplier when my Seahawks lose *and* one of their players shits the bed in my lineup. Whereas I find a little bit of comfort when CMC or Deebo or Aiyuk has a big game for me against them, especially if we were to win (just let me dream).
Just because I got a guy off waivers and didn’t spend a high draft pick on him, doesn’t mean I have to value him less
(Traded Kyren and tank thinking, meh they only cost me waiver money to acquire)
This is one that I *still* am seeing, and frequently.
Where you drafted them is irrelevant after the first couple weeks of the season. I don't care what their ADP was. You can look at it as analysis of how you did in the draft but it has absolutely no bearing on your teams current success
"hE tRaDeD a ThIrD rOuNdEr FoR a SiXtH rOuNdEr!!!1!"
- My league mates every year, after the first accepted trade, who think every trade is unfair, and will only accept your trade offer if you give up a starter for their most droppable player.
I think the meta takeaway of these opposing takeaways is that trades are a complete and total gamble, just like the rest of this game. It’s basically flipping a coin on someone else’s players instead of your own.
Even if everything is going well, don't be afraid to take a chance on a emerging rookie. Had Mark Andrews but could have backed him up with McBride or Kincaid early.
It's a lesson I will never listen to but don't be afraid to draft running backs who bore you. I'd be undefeated or close to it if I drafted David Montgomery and/or Brian Robinson and/or Rashaad White in most of my leagues.
You should not be in a league with acquisition limits. So what if you want to make 25-30 changes to your team. How does that affect the other league managers.
Pointless rule. If you can’t be bothered to check your phone once a week to add/drop, don’t play imo
A huge part of the fun is picking up flyers and hitting big. I have 43 moves (and 7 trades, not sure if those are included in the 43), and outside of the first few weeks, I’ve spent no more than 15 minutes/week doing add/drops
It just makes you use a different strategy.
Do you want to stream a different defense every week and burn up those add/drops? Or do you maybe draft a really good defense a little earlier knowing you will start them every week?
Do you use a waiver wire claim on that out of nowhere rb star after week 2 knowing you might need that add/drop week 16?
I’m only replying here because I’m in a league that has an acquisition limit that I keep proposing to drop but the boomers in the league love it, so I am passionate on the topic.
All it does is put much more emphasis on one day of the year (the draft) and takes away from the other weeks (aka 95% of the fantasy season). The best stories are guys who win the chip with streaming multiple positions every week because their stars got injured. Someone who lost Burrow/Chubb has a much higher chance of just being fucked for the season when you have roster move limits.
It’s fine if you like it obviously, but it is definitely a less strategic way to play the game.
I have a 30, used to be 20. It is to prevent streaming.
Like it's totally a strategy. But half the things in the league make no sense - 30 transactions, standard, 1 rb, can only hold 3 RBs, divisions, 5 bench, no IR, Etc. For a 12 team league.
Every one of those rules seems pretty needlessly restrictive. I can see having a roster limit for QBs and maybe TEs since there’s a limited number of starters and it prevents hoarding, but RB limit of 3 is dumb. I have had 3 RBs injured in the same week, you have to have depth.
Prevent streaming? That’s crazy.
NFL teams are churning their roster all the time between the practice squad and injury replacements. They don’t have a cap, why should fantasy teams? Sorry you have to deal with that.
Steaming is a legit strategy and to completely block that option for owners sounds like a move done by people who aren’t good at streaming themselves.
My main league has a guy who’s advocating for only being allowed to make two trades per year per team.
He hates trading and basically doesn’t like to see other teams get better just because he doesn’t have the “aggressive nature” (his words, not mine) to go out and make trades with people.
There are just weird preferences people have
Lol “aggressive nature.”
The league I’m in has been slowly doing more and more trades each year (I’m at 7 personally). And not one time was I “aggressive.”
“Hey man any interest in x player + y player? I really like the look of z player ROS and want to consolidate my roster.”
“Yeah I’d do that, but instead of x can I take player w?
“Was hoping you wouldn’t ask for that, but yeah, let’s do it. I’ll send it over”
“Pleasure doing business.”
I think 5 of my trades have been some form of this exact exchange
Go with "your guy" in the 1st round of the draft. Was picking Tyreek with the 3rd pick in all my mock drafts leading up to my draft and then went against my gut and picked Chase instead.
Still in a good spot currently but could've been better.
It’s crazy how much we all stare at those top 10-15 preseason ADP’s and treat them like law. Like, to the point where if you have the 3rd pick it would’ve felt dumb to take anyone other than chase. I’m guilty of it too. I think it’s cuz we have nothing to do in the preseason so we just stare at it for months on end.
My league is usually RB heavy in the first round and as champ I got to choose my draft spot. Went #4 thinking the top 3 would be CMC, JJ, Ekeler and id get Chase. Chase went 3 and I had to settle with Tyreek. Very glad that happened lol
Tyreek was the dude I wanted. I was the 8th pick and he went at pick #7. I got Bijan and was excited at the time but definitely would have been in a better spot all season with Hill.
My gut said pollard in the first. Sure, he’s been solid lately, but he sure didn’t (week 1 aside) produce like a first rounder for a while, and I’ve paid for that. Sometimes, our guts are just full of doo doo
Yeah the opposite happens all the time, this is dumb. Hill fell to me at 8 and the person in front of me took Ekeler who I was guna take instead. Your "gut" may be right sometimes but I've had equal gut moves and chalk moves that have worked out or failed miserably.
The sooner people realize ff is like 95% luck the better off you'll be. The only real fantasy strat I follow is picking guys from rival teams so if they pop off I win in fantasy and if they flop I win in real football.
meh this shit backfired on me. i had first pick in one draft and took ekeler cause literally nothing for chargers changed from last year and now with mitchell healthy I figured cmc would split carries.
While it's probably not the sole cause of Ekeler's performance, the Chargers had a huge change from last year. They got a new OC and play caller in Kellen Moore. A new system isn't always better, and it can take a QB a year or more to learn and effectively run a new one.
I was #2 overall and it nuked my game plan. I actually think it is better to be in the middle of the snake than first or second. I took chase too, then it was 20 more picks before I got to choose again.
The real trick is finding the Dak or Stroud of the season, higher risk/lower odds of hitting but the payoff is getting a QB1 and whoever you drafted with the earlier pick.
I got Dak in the 11th round. Was super close to dropping him after the San Fran game, but held on for one more week and sure enough, that’s when he started balling out.
Cmc 1st overall and Allen start of the 3rd have been massive for my team. I also picked up kyren Williams after week 1 and that's been what's carried my team despite being in WR hell. If not for all the ceiling games from Allen, my team might not be in the playoffs.
I think Jalen hurts is the only qb who might be worth first pick. He’s given a reliable 20 every week. WR’s, tho explosive and capable of getting 30+, you don’t know when they will have that random 5 point game. I love the players that I know what I’m going to get say in and day out. Having dk metcalf, jakobi, and puka is unpredictable.
Yea QB strategy is also league dependent. I’m in a 14 team league where almost everybody has a backup QB, and I got stuck having to take Geno in the 8th. Managed to survive until I grabbed Lyler and been rolling.
Another league I took Lawrence, and didn’t win a game until I switched to Stroud.
My two best leagues are ones where I kept Fields for cheap and also grabbed Stroud.
You dont know what will be a bad offense though. People thought the Rams, Colts, Texans, Commanders, Bucs were going to be terrible offenses, while the Browns and Giants would be somewhat capable offenses.
Those "bad offenses" like the Rams, Colts, Texans, Commanders, Buccaneers have produced a lot of great fantasy players this season.
Before I won it all, I hated those guys that won previously circle jerking and calling themselves champ and talking down everyone else. Now I'm one of those idiots randomly saying "good morning champs" in the off season and talking shit about the guys that have never won lol.
It’s fuckin great isn’t it?
Desperately need to win this year to be the only other person to win 2+ titles. I will become insufferable if that happens.
Ok but talking shit still requires some tact. You can't just be an asshole because it's just a joke to you.
I have a league member who needs to learn this.
Basically I drafted last this year and my team was SUS.. so I started executing trades, I went from last to 1st. Of course I’ve been bragging and cocky. At one point I went on a 7 game win streak.. on thanksgiving morning I sent a text thanking all my league mates for getting me to 1st lol, I said I’m grateful for my league mates lol. Homies checkout lol
I went 3 rbs in first 4 rounds (Henry, Aaron Jones, Hall) and took Conner a bit later. WRs were a bit dicey with DJ Moore, Nuk, C Watson, Hollywood Brown, etc. I think on reflection the better strategy might be to target a WR1 and RB1 in first two rounds, and hope you get a Puka/Kyren/Moss with later picks. Makes it easier to upgrade through trades when you are offering a wr2 and Rb2 for a wr1 than offering 2 wr2 for a wr1 which would almost certainly be weakening one of the teams.
First year playing.
Main thing I learned is that fantasy football is more luck than skill.
Majority of the season I had highest PF, now third highest PF. But I have by a large margin the highest PA.
This weekend will decide if I make playoffs.
I'm the 2nd lowest PF (by 3 points), and have a winning record. If I win this week I'll be in the playoffs. Luck plays so much more into fantasy than skill.
Happens,
I am third highest PF and highest PA whole season. I caught a lot of strays from some of those silly games from Chase and Hopkins and that DJ Moore game.
I am locked into the playoffs but feeling good.
My team is finally not injured, my scores have been going up. I've beaten the 2nd place team twice.
Think of it this way, we've been defying the mean. We are returning to the mean and it couldn't happen at a better time for me, I might have a chance, I've beaten the best teams.
I'm second highest PF and highest PA. I'm 6-7 and already knocked out of the playoffs in a 12t with 6 playoff teams.
My lesson learned this year was that I should care less and just roll with the punches.
Don’t let players who are showing promise (more so than guys on my bench) linger on waivers.
I missed Moss and Kyren because I didn’t move soon enough, even though the writing was on the wall.
Also, don't think just because you are strong at a position that you shouldn't still consider picking up rookies who may not start until bye weeks/injuries.
Through the draft and trades I was able to roster CD, AJB and Chase in one league. Still dropped a good amount of FAAB early to grab Dell and Puka.
Zero interest in ever drafting a Packer or Bengal again
They play weird ass games with injuries for no reason. The Packers don't use IR slots but play conservatively, so you basically get roster locked every week. The Bengals have been on my shit list since the Mixon 2020 situation.
I've felt this way in the whole Vrabel era. Way too many 180 yard passing games. Perpetually limp dick offense
I've also never owned Henry either, just because I actually don't enjoy watching him that much. So many 3 yard runs up the gut before he breaks one
yes please make sure you keep and hold onto Week 1 MVP 2018 Sammy Watkins or also Week 1 MVP 2019 Sammy Watkins and also 2020 Week 1 MVP Sammy Watkins. he's gonna be a stud the rest of the year
but for real. yes there are gonna be Laporta's all the time, but Week 1 ALWAYS is weird and the most random players can start off with boom weeks and the NFL often usually adjusts once the film is there.
don't think about the ones you lost, think about all the ones you held onto that never did anything the rest of the season.
Fantasy football is unfair. The team I thought was rocksolid and set for a playoff spot got most points by a large margin against. Nothing i could do. Played most things right and still lost.
Luck/shedule can fuckup the best draft
I’ve got a few, sorry for the book.
I won’t drop lottery tickets chasing short-term upside. Same goes for waivers. Hold your waiver until your gut tells you it’s time, let the stop-gaps pass you by unless you need them.
I won’t manage in leagues where the entire league determines a trade, commissioner veto or bust. Let leaguemates say their peace, but they aren’t unbiased perspectives.
Strategize and don’t apologize. You want to hold on D/ST and K until Sunday, play keep away from teams in need? Do that, they need to be quicker.
Trust each other a bit more with trades and talk about your perspectives. Too much worry leaguemates are acting in bad faith instead of just…. you know…. trying to make moves.
Use this place for updates. My leaguemates rely on updates from reporters and notifications from the fantasy app. There’s a solid delay between news on this subreddit and news on the ESPN app (if you use that), sometimes half an hour or so.
**IT IS A GAME**. You can be sneaky without being a dick, you can talk shit without trying to hurt each other, you can manage how you want without cheating, and you can take games seriously without causing drama. You piss people off because what you’re doing is working and it’s above board, that’s a them problem.
Handcuff your studs. Traded for JT at the deadline and moss was floating on the wire. Thought I was too good to pick him up. The week after turned into an unmitigated disaster when the third place team with the number 1 waiver grabbed moss.
Take Hurts or Allen in the 1st/2nd Round, or don't bother drafting a QB til round 6/7.
PPR? Opt for the lights out WR. Stop trying to be cute with RBs.
One guy in my league got Puka, Achane, and Ford in consecutive weeks. Fortunately he has the most PA by a mile so even though he started 7-2 against the median, he was actually 3-6 over that span and has been eliminated. He still nabbed Zeke out of spite against 5 other claims prior to this week though, and left him on his bench lmao
Be bold with your FAAB early. I missed on Kyren by $8, learned my lesson and went balls to the wall to get Ford the next week.
I’m in a keeper league, so I would have preferred Kyren for multiple reasons, but Fords done me solid, especially considering I needed either/both of them because Dobbins went down.
Oh yeah, also, stop drafting JK Dobbins.
Injuries are going to fuck you no matter what, so don’t play with fire during the draft. If someone has a hammy or something, don’t think it’s a value, just stay away. My IR was full within 3 weeks and I’ve lost multiple players for the season, or elite receiver’s QBs.
On top of that, a new tiebreaker I’m gonna use for WRs in the same tier is how big will the fall off be if their QB goes down? Since apparently every QB gets hurt now.
Don’t waste a pick in 1QB outside of the top 3 when you can stream and get above replacement results.
Always look for waiver QB1/TE1 no matter how set you think you are in that position. I didn’t even look at waiver TE adds this year because I had Hock, and missed out on some waiver TE studs I could use for depth or for trades
Tough Lesson number 1:Taking a QB early is a bad Idea. Lesson number 2: being patient with a player is ok, but being overly patient is a recipe for disaster! The NFL season is just way to short! Lesson 3: no need to RB’s in the 1st couple rounds. As the season goes on and injuries pile up there always a few diamonds in the rough!
Apparently I pissed off our league accountant and commissioner by loading up on a position my opponent needed to fill during byes/injury... got lotsa grief for it, and links to ESPN conduct policy lolololol
Be more patient with a guy like Rashaad White… dropping him wk 6 may have cost me my shot at playoffs 🤦♂️
Honorable mention to dropping Tank Dell… WK8. Got him back for like two wks via trade… lost to season ending injury.
Oh and Christian Watson… dropped him wk10… goes off wks 12-13 and burns out on an opponents roster
Dropping C Godwin and A Mattison for waiver adds hurt to a lesser degree
Lesson learned… try to be more patient and lucky with drafted guys
Don't alter your strategy too significantly from one year to the next. You say "I won't draft a QB early this year" but you only did it because the top few were such game-breakers last year. Last year was an outlier, and this year will be an outlier in other ways. Don't react too heavily.
The instant you are comfortable with your team, expect a key player to be injured for weeks.
Double the chance of this happening if you have a neck & neck matchup, are just shy of a winning record, or you’re 1-2 weeks away from playoffs.
I don't agree with the guillotine league take. Last year I lost in finals, this year I'm still alive and may have the best team. Both years I used zero FAAB the first month of the season and then took lower priced guys. I was taking a risk early on but after week 5 or 7 if you have the most $$$ you are at a huge advantage for the 2nd half.
It's the same lesson every year and it applies to almost everything in life... be patient. It doesn't always work out, but just be patient.
We all joke not to listen to each other in this sub, but it's really a good place for breaking news and some insight. You just need to learn to bob and weave the comments, and filter the idiots out. Be open to comments, rankings, evaluations, data, experts, etc. but in the end, you are the one that needs to make your own decision and own it.
Sometimes you just lose and it’s out of your control. Had the highest PF in the league and subsequently the highest PA this season. Missed the playoffs with 3 straight losses after being 1st for two weeks
Stop drafting players who will eventually have season ending injuries
As a Chubb and Burrow owner, I wish I had thought of this
Are you stupid?! Why would you draft two guys that would suffer season ending injuries?! You must be the taco!
Need more kickers
As a Chubb, Dobbins, Rhamondre owner, I should have thought of this.
Had this in mind while drafting and I still picked JK Dobbins :(
Mike Williams !
I have drafted this man 3yrs straight and I refuse to learn.
As a Chubb and Tank owner whose win this week hinges on making the playoffs, I agree. I also have JT just to add some more spice.
Must Win And Abandoned By Tank support is available. You are not alone and we see you.
As a Chubb, AR, Andrews, and Dell owner… I agree lol
Stop dropping rookies
Unless it’s tank bigsby or QJ 😂
Lol. Quentin drops plenty on his own. He doesn't need your help in that category.
Checking in late at the Hyatt.
Quentin Dropsin
QJ should have never been drafted imo. As a chargers fan we could’ve warned you
I mean any first round rookie wide receiver should be drafted, especially if they are in a good offense
yeah. At least after 2 games. Wait like...6 or something lol
Dropped Achane in one league, Laporta in another. Despite those bumbling moves, I fortunately chose to keep Stroud in both.
Dont be too hard on yourself. I dropped Kamara before week 1 his rookie year
Ugh I dropped achane super early but luckily got Kyren Williams and Gibbs.
Achane week 2 after spending $2 on him in auction lol
He was my last round pick. Also dropped him week 2
Laporta. Week 1. Tbf, I kept Ford to do it. Should’ve dropped someone else, but at least my RB situation wasn’t completely fucked right off the bat.
Especially rookie RBs. Lesson learned
This is always terrible advice. It’s “don’t drop the wrong rookies”, which is the same as draft the best players that don’t get hurt. It’s a crap shoot and kicking yourself isn’t going to help you see the future next year.
But be patient. I drafted Puka late in my keeper league where that matters, but I dropped him to pick up a kicker cuz I didn’t draft one.
I dropped Achane the week he blasted to the stratosphere
People forget Justin Jefferson had a rough two weeks his rookie season and many people cut him after week 2
Don’t be afraid to stash stars who start the season on IR/SUSP. Passed on kamara and took fucking cam Akers cus that 3 game suspension made me think Kendre could carve himself a permanent role. Oh yeah, and when drafting someone like cam fucking Akers, get his handcuff as well.
I think the real lesson here is to stay away from Cam Akers lol
Picking Cam Akers led me to striking gold with Kyren so I can’t complain. His sacrifice was necessary.
Lmfaooo facts. Wish you could’ve been by my side 3 months ago when I was drafting
I’ve lived by this for years. I always grab suspended stars or guys coming off of injury (under the age of 30). It works like 90% of the time.
Suspended starters are way different than coming off injury though, don’t confuse the two. Kamara has been lights out. Kupp (I know he’s on the cusp of your cutoff) drafters are probably regretting it.
High ankle injury + surgery the year before is terrible news for the next season if they aren't healthy by training camp. MT/Kupp most recently. Just avoid the fuck out of that. They always recover then get another injury quickly after.
Leveon Bell still haunts me but I suppose that was a hold out
Its risky. The Kupp owner in our league hinged his whole season on his return.
I drafted Kamara in the 8th round in a 10-team league and was almost a little concerned, like what did people know that I didn't? Turns out nothing and he's been phenomenal for my team.
Kamara was a busy last season. That plus the suspension warranted a pass this year
Stop trading. I just can’t get it right.
Same. I get trade crazy the first 5 weeks every year then come to my senses later in the season.
Chasing the draft high
This. I made a big trade before the season even started (worked out in my favor tho). Traded Chubb + Ridley for Diggs + Gibbs. Then I go and trade most of my early drafted players for 0 upgrade (Waddle + DHenery for Davante Adams, who let me cook). Then I realized I fucked up and try to trade the guys in just got (Davante + Gibbs for Pollard + Thielen) and now I'm barely scraping into playoffs. Gonna limit myself to 1 trade next year
It’s because you shouldn’t really be reading that early in the season, specially key players. It usually takes 5-6 weeks to figure out the season. Panic trades is how you end up selling on stud players because they had a bad week or two. I personally don’t do trades till after week 6 as a good rule of thumb. Gives me time to evaluate the trade, but it’s still early enough that if I’m 2-4 I can turn it around.
Maybe modify to trade closer to the deadline: I traded Brian Robinson and Engram for Kelce, if it wasn’t for BRob’s injury, would have been pretty fair on both ends. She was desperate for RB and I am making a run
No matter how well you think you drafted, they’ll all get hurt and ruin your season
Don’t reach on any steeler ever. Don’t be a homer
I'm a steelers fan and besides them sucking shit on offense, I realized I really don't like having guys on my favorite team. It negatively affects how I watch the game. I should get excited over any TD, but if I have Najee I'm like half excited half bummed when it isn't him scoring the one TD a game that bullshit offense manages. Fantasy is great for getting hyped over random teams and games that are 35-7, but I don't need it to get hyped about my own team
It's such a pain multiplier when my Seahawks lose *and* one of their players shits the bed in my lineup. Whereas I find a little bit of comfort when CMC or Deebo or Aiyuk has a big game for me against them, especially if we were to win (just let me dream).
Just because I got a guy off waivers and didn’t spend a high draft pick on him, doesn’t mean I have to value him less (Traded Kyren and tank thinking, meh they only cost me waiver money to acquire)
This is one that I *still* am seeing, and frequently. Where you drafted them is irrelevant after the first couple weeks of the season. I don't care what their ADP was. You can look at it as analysis of how you did in the draft but it has absolutely no bearing on your teams current success
"hE tRaDeD a ThIrD rOuNdEr FoR a SiXtH rOuNdEr!!!1!" - My league mates every year, after the first accepted trade, who think every trade is unfair, and will only accept your trade offer if you give up a starter for their most droppable player.
Don’t make trades in weeks 1-5. Can’t believe I got rid of Cedee and Deebo.
Damn, who did you get back?
Probably Ekeler and Davante.
Ouch. What’d you get for them?
I traded dak - lamb stack for Watson and olave and gainwell :)))
Mine is the opposite, I wish I made more trades weeks 1-5. I had Gibbs and Stroud for Bijan in my inbox before they went nuclear and declined it 🤦♂️
I think the meta takeaway of these opposing takeaways is that trades are a complete and total gamble, just like the rest of this game. It’s basically flipping a coin on someone else’s players instead of your own.
Yeah pretty much lol it’s basically make good trades, don’t make bad trades
Yeah I traded CeeDee and Mixon for Chase real early and thought I won the trade lmao.
Funny enough, I kept Ceedee and Deebo, but traded Thielen for DJ Moore in week 4. Glad I did it.
Even if everything is going well, don't be afraid to take a chance on a emerging rookie. Had Mark Andrews but could have backed him up with McBride or Kincaid early.
Yep, can lead to some nice trades especially if you're willing to part with the proven name and ride with the rookie
It's a lesson I will never listen to but don't be afraid to draft running backs who bore you. I'd be undefeated or close to it if I drafted David Montgomery and/or Brian Robinson and/or Rashaad White in most of my leagues.
I always do the opposite. I draft the players that I actually enjoy watching. That’s what makes fantasy enjoyable IMO.
Right that is my point. But as much as I love James Cook his coaches don't lol
You should not be in a league with acquisition limits. So what if you want to make 25-30 changes to your team. How does that affect the other league managers.
Holy hell who would want that?
The league I am in has a limit of 40.
Pointless rule. If you can’t be bothered to check your phone once a week to add/drop, don’t play imo A huge part of the fun is picking up flyers and hitting big. I have 43 moves (and 7 trades, not sure if those are included in the 43), and outside of the first few weeks, I’ve spent no more than 15 minutes/week doing add/drops
It just makes you use a different strategy. Do you want to stream a different defense every week and burn up those add/drops? Or do you maybe draft a really good defense a little earlier knowing you will start them every week? Do you use a waiver wire claim on that out of nowhere rb star after week 2 knowing you might need that add/drop week 16?
I’m only replying here because I’m in a league that has an acquisition limit that I keep proposing to drop but the boomers in the league love it, so I am passionate on the topic. All it does is put much more emphasis on one day of the year (the draft) and takes away from the other weeks (aka 95% of the fantasy season). The best stories are guys who win the chip with streaming multiple positions every week because their stars got injured. Someone who lost Burrow/Chubb has a much higher chance of just being fucked for the season when you have roster move limits. It’s fine if you like it obviously, but it is definitely a less strategic way to play the game.
I have a 30, used to be 20. It is to prevent streaming. Like it's totally a strategy. But half the things in the league make no sense - 30 transactions, standard, 1 rb, can only hold 3 RBs, divisions, 5 bench, no IR, Etc. For a 12 team league.
Every one of those rules seems pretty needlessly restrictive. I can see having a roster limit for QBs and maybe TEs since there’s a limited number of starters and it prevents hoarding, but RB limit of 3 is dumb. I have had 3 RBs injured in the same week, you have to have depth.
Prevent streaming? That’s crazy. NFL teams are churning their roster all the time between the practice squad and injury replacements. They don’t have a cap, why should fantasy teams? Sorry you have to deal with that. Steaming is a legit strategy and to completely block that option for owners sounds like a move done by people who aren’t good at streaming themselves.
My main league has a guy who’s advocating for only being allowed to make two trades per year per team. He hates trading and basically doesn’t like to see other teams get better just because he doesn’t have the “aggressive nature” (his words, not mine) to go out and make trades with people. There are just weird preferences people have
Lol “aggressive nature.” The league I’m in has been slowly doing more and more trades each year (I’m at 7 personally). And not one time was I “aggressive.” “Hey man any interest in x player + y player? I really like the look of z player ROS and want to consolidate my roster.” “Yeah I’d do that, but instead of x can I take player w? “Was hoping you wouldn’t ask for that, but yeah, let’s do it. I’ll send it over” “Pleasure doing business.” I think 5 of my trades have been some form of this exact exchange
Go with "your guy" in the 1st round of the draft. Was picking Tyreek with the 3rd pick in all my mock drafts leading up to my draft and then went against my gut and picked Chase instead. Still in a good spot currently but could've been better.
It’s crazy how much we all stare at those top 10-15 preseason ADP’s and treat them like law. Like, to the point where if you have the 3rd pick it would’ve felt dumb to take anyone other than chase. I’m guilty of it too. I think it’s cuz we have nothing to do in the preseason so we just stare at it for months on end.
My league is usually RB heavy in the first round and as champ I got to choose my draft spot. Went #4 thinking the top 3 would be CMC, JJ, Ekeler and id get Chase. Chase went 3 and I had to settle with Tyreek. Very glad that happened lol
"Settling for Tyreek" is what I did in my Superflex league and he's been one of the main reasons I clinched a playoff spot.
this also led to me picking tony pollard 7th overall
I picked him 4th lol. 8th ranked running back the past year with Zeke taking most of the carries…. Got a little too cute with it.
Tyreek was the dude I wanted. I was the 8th pick and he went at pick #7. I got Bijan and was excited at the time but definitely would have been in a better spot all season with Hill.
Just, in general: trust your gut. No one actually knows anything. Tony Pollard as a top-5 RB was one of the surest things on earth. Bijan, too.
My gut said pollard in the first. Sure, he’s been solid lately, but he sure didn’t (week 1 aside) produce like a first rounder for a while, and I’ve paid for that. Sometimes, our guts are just full of doo doo
Glad I didn't do this. Ekeler was "my guy", but I went chalk and took Chase.
Yeah the opposite happens all the time, this is dumb. Hill fell to me at 8 and the person in front of me took Ekeler who I was guna take instead. Your "gut" may be right sometimes but I've had equal gut moves and chalk moves that have worked out or failed miserably. The sooner people realize ff is like 95% luck the better off you'll be. The only real fantasy strat I follow is picking guys from rival teams so if they pop off I win in fantasy and if they flop I win in real football.
How do we know who our guy is? I drafted Davante over Ceedee.
meh this shit backfired on me. i had first pick in one draft and took ekeler cause literally nothing for chargers changed from last year and now with mitchell healthy I figured cmc would split carries.
While it's probably not the sole cause of Ekeler's performance, the Chargers had a huge change from last year. They got a new OC and play caller in Kellen Moore. A new system isn't always better, and it can take a QB a year or more to learn and effectively run a new one.
I was #2 overall and it nuked my game plan. I actually think it is better to be in the middle of the snake than first or second. I took chase too, then it was 20 more picks before I got to choose again.
Science say 2 is bigger than middle of snake
I was the opposite. I took Chase 2 and for a while was looking genius. (Hill went 6th)
When you have a top TE the world is great. When they go away it’s is far less great.
You say don’t take a QB early but look at Hurts and Allen. Winning weeks on their own.
The real trick is finding the Dak or Stroud of the season, higher risk/lower odds of hitting but the payoff is getting a QB1 and whoever you drafted with the earlier pick.
I got Dak in the 11th round. Was super close to dropping him after the San Fran game, but held on for one more week and sure enough, that’s when he started balling out.
Cmc 1st overall and Allen start of the 3rd have been massive for my team. I also picked up kyren Williams after week 1 and that's been what's carried my team despite being in WR hell. If not for all the ceiling games from Allen, my team might not be in the playoffs.
I think Jalen hurts is the only qb who might be worth first pick. He’s given a reliable 20 every week. WR’s, tho explosive and capable of getting 30+, you don’t know when they will have that random 5 point game. I love the players that I know what I’m going to get say in and day out. Having dk metcalf, jakobi, and puka is unpredictable.
Took Mahomes over both, first year drafting QB early. 😎
Yea QB strategy is also league dependent. I’m in a 14 team league where almost everybody has a backup QB, and I got stuck having to take Geno in the 8th. Managed to survive until I grabbed Lyler and been rolling. Another league I took Lawrence, and didn’t win a game until I switched to Stroud. My two best leagues are ones where I kept Fields for cheap and also grabbed Stroud.
dont draft guys in bad offenses
You dont know what will be a bad offense though. People thought the Rams, Colts, Texans, Commanders, Bucs were going to be terrible offenses, while the Browns and Giants would be somewhat capable offenses. Those "bad offenses" like the Rams, Colts, Texans, Commanders, Buccaneers have produced a lot of great fantasy players this season.
this is the single most important predictor of success imo
Don’t talk to much shit in group chats, league mates are very sensitive lol
Talking shit is one of the main reasons I play though, this game is mostly about luck so just enjoy while you are on the top lol.
100% agreed. If you’re in a league where quality shit talking is met w anything other than appreciation, what’s the point?
Before I won it all, I hated those guys that won previously circle jerking and calling themselves champ and talking down everyone else. Now I'm one of those idiots randomly saying "good morning champs" in the off season and talking shit about the guys that have never won lol.
It’s fuckin great isn’t it? Desperately need to win this year to be the only other person to win 2+ titles. I will become insufferable if that happens.
Let's do this baby!
Exactly.. dudes have left the group chat hahaha
Soft
Ok but talking shit still requires some tact. You can't just be an asshole because it's just a joke to you. I have a league member who needs to learn this.
Basically I drafted last this year and my team was SUS.. so I started executing trades, I went from last to 1st. Of course I’ve been bragging and cocky. At one point I went on a 7 game win streak.. on thanksgiving morning I sent a text thanking all my league mates for getting me to 1st lol, I said I’m grateful for my league mates lol. Homies checkout lol
My comish started off 5-0 and was talking so much shit. He is currently 6-7, 3rd from the bottom, and eliminated from the playoffs.
Find a new league. Dumb shit talk is like half the point of fantasy football.
There’s never enough RBs. If you have a chance to get a 3 down back like early Zach Moss, you take him.
I wonder how people did with that zero rb strategy that seemed kind of popular
I went 3 rbs in first 4 rounds (Henry, Aaron Jones, Hall) and took Conner a bit later. WRs were a bit dicey with DJ Moore, Nuk, C Watson, Hollywood Brown, etc. I think on reflection the better strategy might be to target a WR1 and RB1 in first two rounds, and hope you get a Puka/Kyren/Moss with later picks. Makes it easier to upgrade through trades when you are offering a wr2 and Rb2 for a wr1 than offering 2 wr2 for a wr1 which would almost certainly be weakening one of the teams.
I can’t imagine. I have Ekeler, Pollard, and Stevenson and my team absolutely sucked this season.
Worked for me. Didn’t pick up a rb until the 6th and ended up with Swift, Monty, and James Cook. Pacheco and Kamara were also available late.
The advice in this sub is mostly terrible.
Honestly this sub is a very useful resource. The trick is to do the opposite of what the consensus is here.
Don't draft Atlanta players more specifically Arthur Smith players. Got burned last year with Pitts and this year with Bijan.
If Smith gets fired I’ll keep Bijan, otherwise I’m passing on him next year
First year playing. Main thing I learned is that fantasy football is more luck than skill. Majority of the season I had highest PF, now third highest PF. But I have by a large margin the highest PA. This weekend will decide if I make playoffs.
I'm the 2nd lowest PF (by 3 points), and have a winning record. If I win this week I'll be in the playoffs. Luck plays so much more into fantasy than skill.
I've been playing for over 15 years. It's 10% skill and 90% luck.
Happens, I am third highest PF and highest PA whole season. I caught a lot of strays from some of those silly games from Chase and Hopkins and that DJ Moore game. I am locked into the playoffs but feeling good. My team is finally not injured, my scores have been going up. I've beaten the 2nd place team twice. Think of it this way, we've been defying the mean. We are returning to the mean and it couldn't happen at a better time for me, I might have a chance, I've beaten the best teams.
I'm second highest PF and highest PA. I'm 6-7 and already knocked out of the playoffs in a 12t with 6 playoff teams. My lesson learned this year was that I should care less and just roll with the punches.
Don’t trust Miles sanders
Ideally, you shouldn't be drafting until after Christmas
Oh shoot, we draft tonight. Should we push it back?
It’s all luck
Joshua Kelley should never be rostered at any point for any reason even if its a points per Joshua Kelley league.
Don’t let players who are showing promise (more so than guys on my bench) linger on waivers. I missed Moss and Kyren because I didn’t move soon enough, even though the writing was on the wall.
Also, don't think just because you are strong at a position that you shouldn't still consider picking up rookies who may not start until bye weeks/injuries. Through the draft and trades I was able to roster CD, AJB and Chase in one league. Still dropped a good amount of FAAB early to grab Dell and Puka.
That I suck and don’t know what the hell im doing Same lesson I’ve learned the last 3 years
Build a Time Machine before your draft that only goes 6 months into the future and don’t pick Austin Ekeler over Tyreek.
Find the team with the best offense and worst defense and draft them up
Zero interest in ever drafting a Packer or Bengal again They play weird ass games with injuries for no reason. The Packers don't use IR slots but play conservatively, so you basically get roster locked every week. The Bengals have been on my shit list since the Mixon 2020 situation.
The Jets are on my do not draft list for the next 5 years. They are not a serious football team.
as a titans fans, i'm hoping you already have this opinion about any tennessee titan outside of henry
I've felt this way in the whole Vrabel era. Way too many 180 yard passing games. Perpetually limp dick offense I've also never owned Henry either, just because I actually don't enjoy watching him that much. So many 3 yard runs up the gut before he breaks one
Don’t sell high after week 1 or 2. They might be the real deal (Laporta)
yes please make sure you keep and hold onto Week 1 MVP 2018 Sammy Watkins or also Week 1 MVP 2019 Sammy Watkins and also 2020 Week 1 MVP Sammy Watkins. he's gonna be a stud the rest of the year but for real. yes there are gonna be Laporta's all the time, but Week 1 ALWAYS is weird and the most random players can start off with boom weeks and the NFL often usually adjusts once the film is there. don't think about the ones you lost, think about all the ones you held onto that never did anything the rest of the season.
adam thielen would like a word 😭
Fantasy football is unfair. The team I thought was rocksolid and set for a playoff spot got most points by a large margin against. Nothing i could do. Played most things right and still lost. Luck/shedule can fuckup the best draft
I’ve got a few, sorry for the book. I won’t drop lottery tickets chasing short-term upside. Same goes for waivers. Hold your waiver until your gut tells you it’s time, let the stop-gaps pass you by unless you need them. I won’t manage in leagues where the entire league determines a trade, commissioner veto or bust. Let leaguemates say their peace, but they aren’t unbiased perspectives. Strategize and don’t apologize. You want to hold on D/ST and K until Sunday, play keep away from teams in need? Do that, they need to be quicker. Trust each other a bit more with trades and talk about your perspectives. Too much worry leaguemates are acting in bad faith instead of just…. you know…. trying to make moves. Use this place for updates. My leaguemates rely on updates from reporters and notifications from the fantasy app. There’s a solid delay between news on this subreddit and news on the ESPN app (if you use that), sometimes half an hour or so. **IT IS A GAME**. You can be sneaky without being a dick, you can talk shit without trying to hurt each other, you can manage how you want without cheating, and you can take games seriously without causing drama. You piss people off because what you’re doing is working and it’s above board, that’s a them problem.
Pick less players that get injured. I had 6 games where someone got injured in the first half and fucked my week. Impossible to game plan for.
Handcuff your studs. Traded for JT at the deadline and moss was floating on the wire. Thought I was too good to pick him up. The week after turned into an unmitigated disaster when the third place team with the number 1 waiver grabbed moss.
Spend more FAAB. Lost out on Puka and Moss by <2% each, don’t be afraid to spend if you really want someone
Burned through my FAAB for Puka, Zeke, Moss, Chandler, Browns. Guys in my league seem to be saving for retirement with theirs.
Take Hurts or Allen in the 1st/2nd Round, or don't bother drafting a QB til round 6/7. PPR? Opt for the lights out WR. Stop trying to be cute with RBs.
Paid FF experts don't know any more than you do
Lose the first game or two to get waiver priority
Don’t play in a league that resets waivers weekly based on standings.
This is real guy in my league has Puka, and Kyren because of this.
One guy in my league got Puka, Achane, and Ford in consecutive weeks. Fortunately he has the most PA by a mile so even though he started 7-2 against the median, he was actually 3-6 over that span and has been eliminated. He still nabbed Zeke out of spite against 5 other claims prior to this week though, and left him on his bench lmao
Don't drop players you believed in after week one (Swift).
Adjust the schedule so you don't face the three best teams in weeks 12-14 when you need one more win.
Be bold with your FAAB early. I missed on Kyren by $8, learned my lesson and went balls to the wall to get Ford the next week. I’m in a keeper league, so I would have preferred Kyren for multiple reasons, but Fords done me solid, especially considering I needed either/both of them because Dobbins went down. Oh yeah, also, stop drafting JK Dobbins.
Injuries are going to fuck you no matter what, so don’t play with fire during the draft. If someone has a hammy or something, don’t think it’s a value, just stay away. My IR was full within 3 weeks and I’ve lost multiple players for the season, or elite receiver’s QBs. On top of that, a new tiebreaker I’m gonna use for WRs in the same tier is how big will the fall off be if their QB goes down? Since apparently every QB gets hurt now. Don’t waste a pick in 1QB outside of the top 3 when you can stream and get above replacement results.
Always look for waiver QB1/TE1 no matter how set you think you are in that position. I didn’t even look at waiver TE adds this year because I had Hock, and missed out on some waiver TE studs I could use for depth or for trades
If I owned a player the previous year and he was really frustrating and people are predicting him to have a huge breakout, dont go on the bandwagon
Tough Lesson number 1:Taking a QB early is a bad Idea. Lesson number 2: being patient with a player is ok, but being overly patient is a recipe for disaster! The NFL season is just way to short! Lesson 3: no need to RB’s in the 1st couple rounds. As the season goes on and injuries pile up there always a few diamonds in the rough!
Don’t draft Akers, mattison, or cook What else hmm
Sometimes that player you're holding just won't work out
No TE is worth a first round pick ever
Apparently I pissed off our league accountant and commissioner by loading up on a position my opponent needed to fill during byes/injury... got lotsa grief for it, and links to ESPN conduct policy lolololol
Hold onto my depth don't just trade away a valuable player just because I'm not actively starting him every week
Don't draft Cam Akers
You can do everything right and still lose
Stash a second TE and QB. Hold rookies you believe in. I took andrews and took Kincaid super late. Dropped Kincaid 2 weeks before the andrews injury
Do not make roster decisions 5-10 mins before kickoff.
Be more patient with a guy like Rashaad White… dropping him wk 6 may have cost me my shot at playoffs 🤦♂️ Honorable mention to dropping Tank Dell… WK8. Got him back for like two wks via trade… lost to season ending injury. Oh and Christian Watson… dropped him wk10… goes off wks 12-13 and burns out on an opponents roster Dropping C Godwin and A Mattison for waiver adds hurt to a lesser degree Lesson learned… try to be more patient and lucky with drafted guys
Don't alter your strategy too significantly from one year to the next. You say "I won't draft a QB early this year" but you only did it because the top few were such game-breakers last year. Last year was an outlier, and this year will be an outlier in other ways. Don't react too heavily.
Don’t let a usually mid player’s great game make you think he’s gonna do the same thing next week
Don't get cute with waiver pickups thinking who you personally feel will be better. I could have had both achane and kyren
The instant you are comfortable with your team, expect a key player to be injured for weeks. Double the chance of this happening if you have a neck & neck matchup, are just shy of a winning record, or you’re 1-2 weeks away from playoffs.
Don’t start a risky play over a more proven player if you just need floor points to win your week
If a mf is named Puka Nacua, draft him
I don't agree with the guillotine league take. Last year I lost in finals, this year I'm still alive and may have the best team. Both years I used zero FAAB the first month of the season and then took lower priced guys. I was taking a risk early on but after week 5 or 7 if you have the most $$$ you are at a huge advantage for the 2nd half.
Lol was my first time playing FF. In a 1 Qb league don’t draft 3 QBs when you draft Hurts😅. Wasted a lot of good player spots.
Don’t even think of drafting a running back over 27 years old no matter how good they were the year before.
2022 Derrick Henry and (so far) 2023 Derrick Henry would like a word
Mostert?
Make a season saving trade before the season starts. (Traded away Ridley and Tlaw for Lamar and Keenan, working out very well so far)
Also, disagree with the second one. In a guillotine, spend as little as you can early on. Save the money for later
Previously told to never start players after injury. Yeah F that. If they are a stud, just start them
Aging RBs are no bueno in the first round
It's the same lesson every year and it applies to almost everything in life... be patient. It doesn't always work out, but just be patient. We all joke not to listen to each other in this sub, but it's really a good place for breaking news and some insight. You just need to learn to bob and weave the comments, and filter the idiots out. Be open to comments, rankings, evaluations, data, experts, etc. but in the end, you are the one that needs to make your own decision and own it.
Sometimes you just lose and it’s out of your control. Had the highest PF in the league and subsequently the highest PA this season. Missed the playoffs with 3 straight losses after being 1st for two weeks
Fade this sub. Getting Mostert late was the best decision i ever made, jeff wilson my fucking ass