One of the most important aspects of fantasy football that everyone should master is drafting. Not only does it let you craft your entire team, but it also defines how you would fare against other teams throughout the entire season. Without the right knowledge and strategy, you would lose every game. Even if you picked all of the best players in the NFL, you would still fall short of winning.
Like any other league, such as fantasy basketball and Fantasy Football League, drafting complicates fantasy football and makes it fun. However, it’s not the same with new players. It can be incredibly terrifying for newbies, especially those who don’t know that much about the game itself. They’ll be surrounded by mostly veteran players who know more about the game and drafting players.
If you’re one of these new players, don’t fret. Knowing the basics of football, like the importance of each position, is already enough to make a decent draft. However, when it comes to positions, here are the most critical positions a fantasy football bettor should be wise about in drafting.
Running Backs
Running backs are the most critical players in an NFL team. Even if you have the most elite players like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Andre Johnson, or Randy Moss, your team would still be nothing if you don’t have an excellent running back. That said, in the first few rounds of drafting, you should pick a good running back on all your RB spots.
If you’re thinking of putting players in wide receivers instead of running backs, you’re making a mistake. Yes, they might be somewhat the same with RBs, but WRs don’t have a consistency in performance. The top 20 are always changing, so finding a decent WR is hard. Not only that, but WRs don’t make as many points as RBs.
Middle Linebacker
If you’re big on defensive teams, the inside linebacker should be one of your priorities. Not only should he be the toughest in the field, but he should also have the capability to get to the ball-carrier. Not only that, his job is to shield the team against the full-back or running back in every play.
Nowadays, coaches tend to pick middle linebackers with the size, power, and athleticism to stop running backs from scoring. Famous players who excel at all these aspects, like Patrick Willis, are the most picked when drafting linebackers.
Wide Receiver
The second most important position in the draft pick that usually gets filled in the first round is the wide receiver. More often than not, the top picks in this position tend to surpass those in the middle tier, but a top-ranked wide receiver with all these aspects is quite challenging to find.
Moreover, the wide receiver needs to have a good quarterback to make plays with. That said, even though your wide receiver is doing well, but your quarterback is not performing enough, you won’t acquire as many points. This is why people pick the running backs first because they don’t have this kind of dependency.
Quarterbacks
One of the leading scoring positions in a football team is the quarterback. Most people tend to pick the quarterback very late in the draft, but picking it in the early stages also has its benefits. If you draft the quarterback early, you won’t need to save a spot for it in the draft’s late stages.
Also, if you pick a top-tied QB such as Peyton Manning, you will be playing him every week, no matter what kind of team he’ll be playing against. This would also mean that you won’t need to pick a backup QB instead of having some room for some sleepers in the roster. Of course, this would only be optimal if you pick a top-tier QB. But be careful in doing this since if you pick a middle-tier QB, you can be stuck with him.
Offensive Centre
The centre is one of the most critical positions in the defence. A centre is responsible for run blocking, and without a reliable centre, the running backs and the escorts won’t be able to get it to the second level. Also, a centre has to work with the guards for the team to make plays.
What complicates drafting when it comes to centres is that your pick should be athletic enough to do their pulling while also not big enough to block the passes that the quarterbacks will make. Not only that, but the centre should also be able to read the opposing team’s defences and improve theirs accordingly.
Takeaway
By no means is this list a ranking of all positions in a football team. But as a fantasy player, you should know the basics of each position and how they can be utilized and be improved accordingly. But above all, you should do some research and see who’s who in drafting each position. With the right knowledge, you would be able to pick someone that fits the position perfectly.
