It's getting to be that time in fantasy football. That most wonderful time of the year.
Draft season.
Some leagues have already started drafting. But as we move closer to August, more and more drafts will take place. Friends will gather in basements and local watering holes. Co-workers will get together at Carl from Accounting's house (he has a pool table). Folks who have never met face-to-face will assemble online. Teams will be selected. The odyssey that is the 2026 fantasy season will begin.
It's a time of great celebration.
But it can also be a time of great anxiety. Anguish, even. Because as the old saying goes, "You can't win your fantasy league on draft day. But you can lose it."
There is a lot more that goes into a fantasy championship than just having a successful draft. There is in-season roster management. Hitting the waiver wire. The whole setting lineups thing.
But nothing—and I do mean nothing—will sink a season faster than blowing it on draft day. Building a roster that's about as sturdy as the houses built by the first two little pigs.
The thing is, most of the mistakes made by fantasy drafters can be avoided easily enough. We may not be able to predict with certainty which players will get injured in a given season. But we do know some draft-day pitfalls—and how to keep from getting eaten by the Big Bad Wolf.
Know the Score
The Problem: You roll into the draft brimming with confidence. Ready to build a team that will lay waste to opponents so badly that Genghis Khan would call it overkill. Two rounds in, you have gotten great value on a pair of running backs while the goons you are drafting against have been reaching for quarterbacks. Then the sickening reality dawns on you—this is a superflex league. And your season is over before it started.
The Solution: Know Your League's Scoring and Settings
This should really go without saying, but every year drafters tank their season from the jump because they assume that their work league is just like their home league. But there are a million variations in fantasy scoring.
Is your league superflex? How many flex spots are there? Does it award a point for receptions? Do tight ends get an extra bump per catch? Are there bonuses for long plays or big games?
All of those things have a significant impact on player valuation and draft strategy. It doesn't take that long to familiarize yourself with a league's scoring settings and lineup requirements. But it's absolutely critical that you know them before sitting down to put together a team.
Walking the Dogma
The Problem: After some research and preparation, you have decided on a draft strategy that is an absolute can't-miss. Those suckers you play with will never know what hit them. The problem is that apparently your buddy Doug bugged your house, because he seems to be doing the exact same thing, and by the seventh round you already hate your team—and Doug.
The Solution: Be Flexible
It's good to have a plan heading into a draft. And this analyst isn't going to tell you which draft strategy is the best strategy, because they can all produce a championship team, whether it's "Robust RB," "Zero RB" or "Take a Kicker in Round 1."
OK, maybe not that last one.
However, as the great philosopher Michael Gerard Tyson so eloquently put it, "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face." Going "Zero RB" is all well and good until half the league does it and you find yourself reaching for receivers while better values at running back just sit there and rot.
Successful drafts are all about value. And one of the keys to finding value is flexibility. If Plan A isn't working, then to hell with Plan A. Pivot. Let the draft come to you instead of forcing square pegs into round holes.