Fantasy football is a lot of fun, but it is much more enjoyable when your team is good. And, as a fantasy football team owner, keeping your team in tip-top shape is your job. From your drafting strategy to your waiver wire moves, every decision you make and every action you take will shape your team and your place in the standings in the playoffs.
Of course, making the right moves is easier said than done. There’s a lot of information to consider, and it’s impossible to know everything. Even if you did know everything, it takes a bit of luck to succeed in fantasy baseball. With that said, there are several tools that will make your decisions smarter and cut down on your reliance on luck. Here are a few of the essential tools every fantasy football team owner should be taking full advantage of.
Player rankings lists
Fantasy football decisions boil down to a pretty simple thing: You’re always choosing between players. Which of these two players should start? Which of these three players should be dropped? Which of these four players on waivers would help your team the most?
Podcasts, blogs, and magazines are all great, but sometimes you don’t need anything more than a list of players. Fantasy football rankings of various kinds can make your decisions simple and easy. A pre-draft player rankings list will help you get the best players available at your picks, and a tier list will help you know when a reach is appropriate. Weekly rankings will also help you decide who to drop and who to start. In fantasy football media, nothing is more helpful than a list. Just be sure to get your fantasy football rankings from a source that you trust.
Fantasy football-oriented news
Your fantasy football decisions will change based on what happens to players in real life. When a player gets benched or hurt, you need to know about it. When a player wins a starting job or comes off of an injury, you’ll want to know fast. That way, you can pick up that player before the competition does.
All of this means you need to be checking the news continuously, but regular sports news isn’t always going to put transactional stories and injury reports front and center, so find a fantasy football news website that you trust for the latest news. You may find that your favorite site offers great advice and player rankings, too. And as you read and rely on this information, you’ll start to get familiar with the experts that put together guides and rankings — and you’ll start to develop opinions on who you should and should not trust to help you with your fantasy football decisions.
The in-browser fantasy football app
These days, mobile devices are more popular than their full-sized counterparts. The convenience and simplicity of modern fantasy football apps is part of why there has been such an explosion in fantasy football’s popularity. But the next time that you set your team’s lineup, you should check out the full in-browser app on your laptop or desktop computer.
The full-sized view makes it easier to take in the stats and information, and you’ll actually see more details in many fantasy football platforms’ web apps relative to their mobile ones. Plus, the mobile apps can get a little unreliable — have you ever thought your lineup was saved, only to later find that it wasn’t? It may not have been your fault. Try the web app next time.
Fantasy football is fun and entertaining, but consider implementing these tools to take your fantasy league to the next level.
