How To Play Fantasy Football When You’ve Never Played Before

Fantasy football is a fun way to pass the cold winter months. Even if you aren’t much of a football fan, you will look forward to Sundays and Monday Night Football. When you aren’t a fan, it can be quite intimidating to play.

Luckily, you don’t have to know much about the league or players to have fun with fantasy football. You may even win when playing against diehard fans. It comes down to putting the time in to research. The more information that you have the better you will do.

In this article, we will go over some of the basics to get you started with your own fantasy football team.

The draft

Research is the name of the game when it comes to drafting. You should have a couple of weeks before the draft to be able to pore over the stats to find the right picks. Don’t go overboard, however. You just need to check out some of the depth charts for each position.

Try to not get too impressed with certain hyped picks. Johnny Manziel is a good example. He was highly touted as a college quarterback but was a terrible pro-NFLer. Instead, focus on players that have numbers to back up their hype.

Once you have a list of players that you would like, take a deeper dive. Look at their schedule for the season and see how they match up against other teams. It’s possible to have good overal numbers but not perform well against the matchups this year. This could play heavily when setting your Monday Night Football Showdown Strategy.

They could still be a good pick for the bye week or when you have injured players.

Many people focus on the quarterback. Many league’s reward yards gained very heavily so a running back should be higher on your wishlist. A good rule of thumb is to have your first two picks be running backs. A third pick should be an elite wide receiver so take the best one still on the board.

Make good trades

Many things will happen during the course of the season that will impact your team. Injuries happen frequently and hyped players fail to perform. It’s wise to have a plan to trade in your pocket. You have to give to get, however.

Remember to trade players that have decent numbers in return for what you need most. Struggling players won’t net you much. Know exactly what you need and have a running wishlist throughout the season. When you need to make a trade you’ll know exactly who you want.

Have a backup

Look to the teams that have a good system that allows players to shine. Then, pick the backup to some of your best players that are on that team. When you have an injury, his replacement will likely put up some good numbers in his place. Don’t worry about if they have low numbers. They are in a backup role and have a huge upside.