How To Play Fantasy Football

Learning how to play fantasy football will likely destroy your productivity at work, ruin your relationships, and greedily gobble up all your free time. Still want to play? Of course you do. The opportunity to put the biggest stars of your favorite sport on one team that you can call your own is just too good to pass up. Plus, you can demolish and embarrass your buddies and other opponents in the process. Use this simple guide on how to play fantasy football to set the course for many league championships to come.

1. Join an organized league. There are two directions to take in joining a fantasy football league. You can either go with free, basic service from sites like ESPN.com and Yahoo.com, or pay for the opportunity to join or create a more customizable league through sites like NFL.com. If you’re new to the world of fantasy football, you might want to try one of the freebies. It will give you a no-risk chance to develop your skills as a virtual GM. Whatever site you choose, make an effort to join with a few friends, as in-person trash talk makes fantasy football exponentially more fun.
2. Prepare yourself for draft day. Joining a fantasy football website is only the beginning – once you’re in, the real work begins. Much like a rookie draft in professional sports, fantasy football drafts work by doling out a certain number of picks to each player in a given league. The only difference is you can choose from almost every active player in the NFL. In the days leading up to the draft, do some research to determine which football players you might want. Look for “diamonds in the rough” and low profile players who look like they might have a big year. Remember to have a backup plan for each pick, as odds are a player you want will be snatched up before you get a chance to draft him.
3. How fantasy football works in the regular season. Each week, you will be matched up against another person in your fantasy football week head-to-head. Your players will score points based on their performance in a real-life football game that day. The team with the most points at the end of the day wins the match. Besides the draft, you have the ability to actively manage who starts and who sits during your matchup every week.
4. If you want to succeed, think like a coach instead of a fan. Don’t make the rookie mistake of just starting the players you think are “best” every week. Look at individual matchups for the players on your team. If, for instance, you have a second-tier wide receiver going up against a team with a weak secondary, consider starting him over your first choice WR. It is moves like these that separate the fantasy football champs from the chumps.