So you joined the office Fantasy Football league.
You don’t watch football.
You don’t know the difference between a running back and a linebacker.
You thought Patrick Mahomes should obviously be the first player drafted because he’s the best quarterback.
And now your draft is tonight.
Don’t panic.
Fantasy Football has become a pretty massive part of American culture. The Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association says more than 53 million people participate in fantasy sports, and its research has found that 79% of season-long fantasy players play Fantasy Football.
A lot of those people know way more about football than you do.
That’s okay.
You don’t need to become a football expert before your draft. You really just need to avoid doing anything crazy.
Here are 6 ridiculously simple rules that can help you put together a respectable Fantasy Football team, even if the only reason you joined the league was because everyone else in the office was doing it.
1. Use the rankings. Seriously.
This is the most important rule.
When your draft starts, ESPN, Yahoo or whatever platform your league uses will give you a list of available players.
Trust the list.
Those players are ranked for a reason.
If you’re deciding between the guy ranked #17 and someone ranked #83 whose name you recognize from a commercial…
Take #17.
You’re probably thinking:
“But what if I know something the rankings don’t?”
You don’t.
You’re reading a beginner’s guide to Fantasy Football because Kevin from Accounting convinced you to join the league.
Trust the rankings.
Yahoo actually provides rankings, cheat sheets and other draft resources specifically to help people prepare for their drafts.
Your goal isn’t to outsmart everyone.
Your goal is to avoid outsmarting yourself.
2. Start with running backs and wide receivers.
Here are the only four positions you really need to understand before your draft:
QB = Quarterback
The guy who throws the ball.
RB = Running Back
The guy who usually gets handed the ball and runs with it.
WR = Wide Receiver
The guy who usually catches the ball.
TE = Tight End
For our purposes, another guy who catches the ball.
There are obviously enormous differences between those positions in actual football.
You don’t need to care about that yet.
For your first few picks, concentrate mostly on running backs and wide receivers.
Why?
Your fantasy lineup will usually require you to start multiple players from those positions every week. ESPN’s traditional default lineup, for example, includes two running backs, two wide receivers and a FLEX position that can be filled by another running back, wide receiver or tight end.
That makes good running backs and wide receivers extremely useful.
So here’s your cheat code:
Rounds 1-4: Mostly draft RBs and WRs.
If you’re staring at the screen and have absolutely no idea what to do:
Pick the highest-ranked RB or WR available.
Congratulations.
You now have a strategy.
3. You probably don’t need a quarterback immediately.
This is where beginners get themselves into trouble.
You’ve heard of Patrick Mahomes.
You’ve heard of Josh Allen.
You’ve heard of Lamar Jackson.
So when you see one of them sitting there, you’re going to think:
“I know him! I’ll take him!”
Maybe.
But don’t automatically take a quarterback just because he’s the only person on the screen you’ve heard of.
In most normal Fantasy Football leagues, you only start one quarterback each week.
Meanwhile, you’re usually trying to fill several spots with running backs and wide receivers.
That means you can generally afford to wait.
Here’s the beginner rule:
Unless one of the very best quarterbacks falls to you at a reasonable spot, keep drafting good RBs and WRs.
Then grab your quarterback later.
And please don’t draft two quarterbacks early.
You don’t need Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts.
One of them is just going to sit on your imaginary bench while everyone else drafts players they can actually use.
4. Fill your bench before worrying about a kicker or defense.
Eventually you’ll notice two strange things on your roster:
K
and
D/ST
That’s your kicker and your defense.
You need them.
You just don’t need them yet.
Draft your main players first.
Then draft some backup running backs and wide receivers.
Then worry about your kicker and defense near the end.
Think of it like packing for vacation.
Running backs and wide receivers are your clothes.
Your kicker is the phone charger.
Yes, you need it.
No, you don’t pack it first.
5. Don’t draft someone because you like their team.
You’re a Cowboys fan.
Great.
That doesn’t mean you need six Cowboys.
You’re a Chiefs fan.
Wonderful.
You don’t get extra points because your entire fantasy team plays in Kansas City.
Fantasy Football is actually going to force you to do something uncomfortable:
Cheer for people you normally wouldn’t cheer for.
That’s part of the fun.
If the best available player happens to play for your favorite team, take them.
But don’t scroll down the rankings looking for players from your favorite team.
And definitely don’t draft someone because:
“I remember that guy. He was really good a few years ago.”
We’re drafting a Fantasy Football team.
Not putting together your favorite players from Madden 2021.
6. Do one practice draft before the real thing.
This might be the easiest way to dramatically reduce your anxiety.
It’s called a mock draft.
It’s basically a fake draft.
You draft a team against other people or a computer, see how everything works, and then none of it counts.
Yahoo specifically recommends mock drafts as a way to practice before your real draft. It also recommends entering your actual draft room at least 10 minutes early.
Do one mock draft.
Not 47.
You’re not trying to become Mel Kiper Jr.
You just want to experience:
“Ohhhhh. That’s how this works.”
That alone will make your real draft significantly easier.
Your Emergency Draft Strategy
Okay.
Your draft starts in 10 minutes.
You skipped this entire article and scrolled to the bottom.
Fine.
Screenshot this:
Rounds 1-4: Draft the highest-ranked RB or WR available.
Rounds 5-7: Keep adding RBs/WRs, but start looking for a QB or TE.
Middle rounds: Make sure you have one QB and one TE. Keep adding RBs and WRs.
Late rounds: Add backups.
Final rounds: Draft a defense and kicker.
That’s it.
Is this the world’s most sophisticated Fantasy Football strategy?
Absolutely not.
Could the Fantasy Football lunatic sitting three cubicles away poke holes in it?
Absolutely.
But that’s not who this guide is for.
This is for the person who joined because the office league sounded fun.
And that’s really the point.
Fantasy Football gives you something ridiculous to talk about on Monday mornings. Suddenly you’re trash-talking your manager because your pretend football team beat their pretend football team by 0.7 points.
And you’re far from alone. Fantasy sports have grown into a huge pastime. FSGA reported 62.5 million fantasy sports players in the U.S. and Canada in 2022, compared with just 500,000 in 1988.
So join the league.
Draft some players.
Come up with a ridiculous team name.
Talk a little trash.
And when you’re on the clock and have absolutely no idea what to do…
Just take the highest-ranked running back or wide receiver.
Nobody in the office has to know.