101 Ways to Become a Better Fantasy Football Player (2021 Edition ...

Whether you celebrated yet another fantasy football championship in 2020 or had the kind of season that had you looking ahead to 2021 in October, we’re here to help you reach the pinnacle this year, and in fantasy seasons to come.Much like the cellists, javelin throwers and cup stackers of the world, there’s always room for improvement in your fantasy approach – and this article is designed to help you sharpen your skills so that you can go into each and every fantasy season ready to dominate and humble your league-mates (unless they’re also reading this article, in which case, you’ll need to work a little harder.)Here are 101 of the best tips and tricks I can offer to make you a better fantasy football player from start to finish – and while not all of them will necessarily apply to you, if there’s even one suggestion that levels you up from a fantasy perspective, then my job is done!Super-charge your draft preparation with our Fantasy Football Tools >>1) Read and listen to everything, everywhere, all year-round. The keys to a winning fantasy season are contained within these published pieces – and while it’s up to you to decide what to retain and what to ignore, the more you read, the more prepared you’ll be to navigate the fantasy season.2) Learn from prior mistakes … The overwhelming majority of fantasy football players don’t win their league title (that’s just math, folks.) So if you didn’t, go back and figure out why. Most fantasy players fit into a box – and the more familiar you are with which boxes your league-mates occupy, the better able you’ll be to minimize their strengths, expose their weaknesses and put yourself in position to win that ‘ship at season’s end. And that means starting from scratch – even in dynasty/keeper leagues, where many of your player values will likely change dramatically as the new season goes on.6) Mock draft early and often. That means doing a little more legwork, but knowing how each of your roster pieces fit into the bigger puzzle is vital to building a successful roster meant to win now and be competitive for years to come.9) Approach your fantasy league like it’s a poker game. But there are plenty of benefits to participating in an early-season Best Ball league; not only do you get to sharpen your draft game, you’re also at a potentially huge advantage over your competition based on how much research you’ve done to this point (and if you’ve followed our advice, you’ve done a lot.) Check out our vast library of Best Ball articles here.11) Pay attention to historical trends. Simply studying a player’s upcoming schedule and assigning value based on the strength of the opponent’s overall defensive prowess is a colossal waste of time – especially early in the fantasy season, when we really don’t know anything about how a defense will perform. Our Points Distribution page lets you see how much of a player’s fantasy scoring was created by rushing/passing/receiving yards versus touchdowns – and therefore determine which players are best-positioned to repeat or even surpass their 2020 results versus those who might struggle to reach those heights based on unrealistic TD conversion rates.14) Use quality starts rather than relying on raw 2020 stats. Would you rather roster a player who will score 10 points per week for the entire fantasy season, or a player who scores 20 points one week and zero the next? Some experts seem to be better at draft accuracy than others – and while we won’t do all of the legwork for you (you’ll need to peruse our yearly Fantasy Football Draft Accuracy rankings yourself), let’s just say that there are plenty of examples of experts who consistently rank among the best in the industry at projecting specific positions.18) Focus on vacated target recipients. What could be more fun in the weeks leading into your fantasy football draft than pulling some of your league-mates into a private mock draft for a little dry run? Here are the finishes for each player taken first overall in fantasy football since 2012 (using PPR scoring):2012 – Arian Foster (RB4, 15th overall)2013 – Adrian Peterson (RB7, 39th overall)2014 – LeSean McCoy (RB12, 61st overall)2015 – Adrian Peterson (RB2, 29th overall)2016 – Antonio Brown (WR1, 7th overall)2017 – David Johnson (RB111, 461st overall; appeared in 1 game)2018 – Todd Gurley (RB2, 3rd overall)2019 – Saquon Barkley (RB12, 46th)2020 – Christian McCaffrey (RB51, 222nd overall; appeared in 3 games)Of the last nine first overall picks, only four finished inside the top five at their position that season. Granted, you’re getting a very good player there – but most years, the hype surrounding the No. 1 pick far exceeds that player’s eventual fantasy contribution. So feel free to take whatever time you’re given, draft padawan: you’ve waited all year for this, and every pick in a fantasy football draft is just so important.32) Treat your draft plan like a dollar-store umbrella. Use the Manual Draft Assistant for a basic way of tracking your draft one pick at a time, or use the Draft Assistant with Sync feature to have your picks crossed off as they’re made while getting instant analysis and recommendations based on your league scoring, available players and roster situation at the time.34) Auction draft? So load up on skilled RBs on draft day; not only will you be well-positioned to maximize your running back fantasy return on a weekly basis, you’ll also be a popular trade partner when the three guys who decided to go Zero RB realize you can’t win a fantasy title with D’Andre Swift or Myles Gaskin as your RB1.38) Snag one top-end wide receiver. You don’t necessarily have to wait until you have your entire starting roster (minus K and D/ST if you adhere to the previous tip) to start filling out your bench – but when you do, you need to ensure that you have the best reserve group in your fantasy league. You know what you want your post-draft fantasy football roster to look like – but alas, things don’t always work out for you. That leaves the 10-week middle as your focus: Build your team with the intention of dominating Weeks 4-13, and there’s a good chance you’ll be looking at the potential of a long playoff run.46) Take a shot on a Week 1 “stud.” One of the benefits of building a solid all-around lineup over the course of the draft is that it allows you to comfortably take a final-round shot on a player you would have no issue with dropping after Week 1. And that leaves open the possibility of landing a player that goes OFF in the opening week of the season, sending his trade value skyrocketing (and sparing you having to spend 90 FAAB bucks to acquire him in time for Week 2).47) Don’t rush to the waiver wire prior to Week 1. So try and prioritize players who have the lowest ceilings; not only are the chances decent that you’ll be able to pick them up again down the road if need be, it’ll also limit the chances of you dropping a boom-or-bust guy who goes BOOM in the opening week.Get all the weekly lineup advice you need with our Start/Sit Assistant >>51) Map out your post-draft outlook. It might not be the most useful long-term analysis tool at this point, but it’s a great way to identify if there are any potential trouble spots lurking at any point during the regular season.52) Immediately re-calibrate your player values after Week 1. If you’re in a good league, the number of panic-stricken fantasy owners or eager buyers of one-week wonders will be low – but they’re still out there. But be wary of buying low in the first few weeks of the season; not only are smart owners less likely to take a loss on an underachiever, but the player in a buy-low situation doesn’t always bounce back; in fact, sometimes his early struggles are the new normal.56) Parlay your high waiver priority into fantasy gold. If you’re going to properly value your players – particularly early in the season, when the practice is the hardest to do – you’ll need to consider every factor that played into his performances. And that research will only make you a stronger season-long player in terms of roster management, player value and stats that matter.Dominate your daily fantasy contests with our DFS tools, articles and analysis >>61) Don’t overcompensate for bad weather. Every year, a handful of games are played in adverse conditions like blustery wind, heavy rain and freezing cold temperatures – and every year, these weather situations force fantasy players into needlessly difficult roster decisions. Well, don’t expect to take that step with a tight end; here’s a list of the number of players by position to record four or more games of 20+ PPR fantasy points last season:WRs: 18RBs: 15TEs: 2 (Travis Kelce, Darren Waller)Of the 20 tight ends to record at least one 20+-point game last season, more than half did it just once. We keep our Fantasy Football Accuracy standings updated each week throughout the season, and even give you the option of sorting by category – so if you’re really keen on finding this year’s running back whisperer, we can help with that.72) Don’t miss our weekly analyst signature features. They spend countless hours researching and breaking down matchups so you don’t have to – and you won’t find a better collection of hard-hitting fantasy features anywhere else.73) Subtract – and don’t add – bye weeks in trades. No tool out there is as thorough when it comes to determining just how good a trade is for you and your opponent – both in the week to come, and over the balance of the fantasy season.76) Make your initial trade offer a good one. Doing that legwork now will only make you a better player in the years to come.Firm up your fantasy playoff roster plans with our Strength of Schedule tool >>91) On a playoff bye? For example, many fantasy players keep a late-game option in their FLEX spot so they can swap him out as needed – and that becomes an even more critical practice in the playoffs, when you might need to swap out a safe play for a home-run option – or vice-versa – depending on the score.95) Simplify your start/sit decisions. Week 17 (and 18, for those of you who play extended fantasy seasons) will feature plenty of roster decisions geared toward teams preparing for the playoffs, so you’ll need to pay extra close attention to what’s happening with your skill players.98) Load up on late-game players. In addition to leaving yourself maximum malleability from a lineup perspective via your FLEX spot, keeping several late-game players on your roster ensures you’ll have plenty of options (even if they might not be the most attractive, given what you’re likely to find on the waiver wire this time of the season). Okay, so this might not make you a better fantasy football player (though you just won the title, so how much help do you really need?).