Whelp fantasy football season is upon us and that means it is time to prep for your fantasy draft. The one thing everybody always knows to look at is the ADP rankings of players but what is equally as important in my opinion as knowing the ADP’s of players is knowing where those players fit into each of the position tiers. Understanding positional tiers will help you not only find some value but also prevent you from potentially reaching too early for a player or waiting too long for a position and find yourself stuck with underwhelming players.

 

Knowing the Tiers

Placing players into tiers is really up to the person making the rankings. You try and group players together based off production and how likely you think they are to finish the season within range of one another. Now you can certainly make your own tiers for your prep but since you are clearly a Fantasy Alarm NFL Draft Guide subscriber you also have access to the Fantasy Alarm Preseason Rankings where we break the players into tiers for you. These tiers are also adjustable based off the scoring settings and league formats of your drafts.

 

Utilizing Tiers and ADP While Drafting

Having all the data and tables is useless if you don’t have a strategy on how to apply the information properly. A lot of times we find ourselves reaching for players because we are not recognizing the draft trends or we get caught reaching for a player because we feel like we are going to miss out on certain players or positions. Having a proper ranking and tier guide with you can help minimize those mistakes. Being able to visualize how quickly players are going from certain tiers can allow you to possible alter your draft strategy or take advantage of a lesser prepared player. For example, most drafts are always going to be running back heavy and while it is definitely a good idea to find yourself a back within the first few rounds the rush for a RB will often times leave Tier 1 WR’s available in the late second or third rounds so while the RB depth may already be in Tier 3 you can snag Tier 1 quality players and adjust your draft strategy to load up on more of the quantity over quality approach at RB while having elite receivers to stabilize your production.

 

Knowing When to Reach

We have all been here, it’s your pick and there is a player you really want but if you don’t pick him know you will have to wait a full round and if you are at the beginning or end of a draft what will seem like forever for you shot to take this player again. The question here is how early is too early? I personally live and draft with the motto of “Who you want, when you want” but having your ADP rankings and players broken down into tiers will give you a better idea of whether or not it really makes sense to take that sleeper you like now because you aren’t 100% sure he will be there later while passing up on players in higher tiers with more proven production.

 

Practice Makes Perfect

I end every strategy article with this philosophy and that is to practice. There are so many sites out there today with mock drafts and many experts that hold mock drafts as well. The best way to be prepared for your draft is to practice your draft strategy. Get an idea of how players fit into tiers, how the public perceives certain players and it also allows you to try out different strategies of your own. Mock drafting is the most important tool a fantasy player can utilize to prepare for the draft because nothing on paper can prepare you for the guy you wanted being taken two picks before and then your back-up play getting taken next. Have a play, mock it out and be prepared!