Get ready for your fantasy football draft with my cheat sheet, draft tips, and players to target.
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Pat Fitzmaurice’s Last-Minute Draft Tips & Targets
Base your draft strategy on the number of starting WRs required
Does your league require you to start two WRs every week, or three? If you only need to start two, an RB-heavy start is fine. If you need to start three, you would be doing yourself a disservice by not aggressively attacking the WR position in the first 7-8 rounds. Think about it: If the configuration is 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE and 1 flex, 37.5% of your starters (excluding defenses and kickers) will be WRs, and it jumps to 50% if you start a WR in the flex spot. You can’t afford to fall behind your competitors at such an important position. People talk about how deep the WR position is. You might not agree if it’s midseason and you’re throwing Robbie Anderson into your WR3 spot every week.
Take advantage of bargains on rookie WRs
Back in the Paleolithic Age of fantasy football, rookie WRs were a value trap. Not anymore. Rookie WRs often hit the ground running, and they can often be acquired at bargain prices. Ja’Marr Chase‘s preseason ADP last year was WR31, according to Fantasy Football Calculator. Jaylen Waddle (WR42) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR64) were also fabulous values. In 2020, Justin Jefferson (WR49) and CeeDee Lamb (WR39) were terrific values even though they were first-round NFL Draft picks. Second-rounders Tee Higgins and Chase Claypool had ADPs beyond WR66 in 2020, and both finished as top-30 fantasy WRs. This year, no rookie WR has an ADP better than WR40 (Drake London), even though a bunch of them are poised to have prominent roles in their respective offenses. Capitalize on the value.
Don’t draft RB handcuffs
There is an opportunity cost to handcuffing one of your RBs. By dedicating two draft picks to a single position on a single team, you’re limiting the upside of your RB group. The fantasy managers who do best at the RB position are the ones who get a good return on investment with their early-round RBs and find one or two later-round gems. By handcuffing your starter, you deprive yourself of a chance to find one of those later-round gems. Handcuffing later in the season is fine. Don’t handcuff in your drafts.
Do NOT draft these players 🚫⤵️
From @DBro_FFB: https://t.co/WQdhS6e9JV
From @Fitz_FF: https://t.co/F3XUsWFxyt
— FantasyPros (@FantasyPros) August 30, 2022
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