Fantasy Football has taken the nation by storm over the last ten years. What started as a group of Oakland Raiders fans in the nineteen sixties has now grown to over 29.2 million people in the United States alone. The main reason fantasy football has grown exponentially over the last decade is smart phones, with apps such as ESPN Fantasy and Yahoo Fantasy it has never been easier to draft, score, and manage a team.
Unfortunately draft day has passed this year on most websites, but you can still start a manual league with a whiteboard and online stats. To start a league you need at least four people, if you don’t have four people to join you can join a random league and compete against people from all over the country.
“The leagues are more fun when you can have more people in them and more people who actively participate throughout the season,” said Shreyas Shretha 25’
The first step to Fantasy Football is the draft. Everyone gets together either online or in person to pick the players for their team. The draft is typically set up in rounds with the best player in the league picking last and the worst player picking first but rules vary from league to league. Players must carefully select players they think will help them score the most points throughout the year.
“I make a list of who I want and I take the best available player on that list when i get my next pick,” said Ryan Titus 27’
Teams are made up of a quarterback,two running backs,two wide receivers,two tight ends, a certain team’s defense, a kicker and multiple bench positions so you can substitute players in or out depending on what will be best for your team’s outcome.
Players score points based on what they do during the game such as completing passes, catching passes, getting the football, scoring touchdowns, scoring field goals and getting sacks. Your players can also lose points for making mistakes like throwing interceptions, missing field goals, and giving up points. The team with the most “fantasy” points at the end of the week wins the week and has a better chance to make the playoffs.
The playoffs are set up like a bracket with the best team playing the worst team or the best team getting a first round depending on the amount of players in the league. The playoffs take place during the last few weeks of the NFL season with the championship game taking place during the final week of the season.
The best way you can increase your chances of winning is using Wednesday and Thursday to make changes to your team. These are the only two days you can trade with players and edit your team. This time should be used to get ready for the upcoming week.
“I always make my edits Thursday night before Thursday Night Football,” said William Schmitz ‘27.
This year the most common number one pick was Christian Mccaffrey of San Francisco Forty Ninners who is currently hurt. Other good picks were Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings, Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins, and Bijan Robbinson of the Atlanta Falcons. Skill players such as running backs and wide receivers should be the first players taken because they score the most points. The second players that should be taken are quarterbacks and tight ends followed by kickers and defenses, and finally your bench positions.
“I try to take a high scoring offensive player with my first pick,” said Schmitz ‘27.
Overall over 25 million people enjoy fantasy football every year, and no league is the same. The more you participate the better your team will perform and the better your chances of winning will be.
