When I first started playing fantasy football, there was ONE way to play. In the fine year of 2024, there are probably a hundred different variations. And guess what? I love them all. Whether it’s PPR or standard, redraft or dynasty, best ball or managed, guillotine or vampire – there’s a format out there for everyone. And possibly my favorite version of all is the one and done fantasy football contest.

As someone who has won the Baby Bowl before, an industry one and done league that raises money for charity, I figured I could share a few tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way. There’s no one way to go about winning and you’ll still need to work out your own weekly rankings at some of these positions, but these general tips have helped me cash in in multiple of these leagues – including that large industry one. So, let’s get down to the brass tacks on how to win a one and done fantasy football league!

 

 

 

How Do One & Done Leagues Work?

It’s actually fairly simple – you make a weekly lineup, and you can start any player you want. The rub? Once you use a guy, you can’t use them again. Hence “one and done”. There are some different variations on lineups or requirements but that’s the one big rule that is unique to the one and done format.

Where Do I Play?

You can set your own up with your friends which is always fun, but I recommend joining one of two big, charity contests that are open to the public. You get a shot to win something, show off your skills to the entire industry, and raise money for a good cause. Here are the two I play:

Fantasy Cares One & Done

This one is cool because, if you win it, you get a coveted spot in the biggest industry fantasy football tournament in the world – the Scott Fish Bowl! You’ll also get a custom trophy from sponsor Trophy Tiers for your league and your name will forever live as the 1st tier on the Fantasy Cares Trophy! A random participant will also get an autographed jersey so you can win just by signing up.

Baby Bowl

This is the first industry One and Done league I was involved in and, as I mentioned before, I did win it a couple years back. Rob Norton runs this and, if you DM him on Twitter, he’ll get you set up. This one raises money for charity but there is also a cash prize as half the money goes to charity (¼ to March of Dimes and ¼ to Ashlies Embrace), the other half is a cash prize for the winners. 

There are a lot of folks in this one so you can win some money and some bragging rights here while also supporting a good cause! They also have a playoff version which is even more challenging as you need to balance star players with teams getting eliminated so keep an eye out for that!

 

 

 

One & Done Fantasy Tips & Tricks

Running Back

Everyone has heard of “Zero RB” but a folks might forget that the original article in 2013 by Sean Siegele was titled Zero RB, Antifragility, and the Myth of Value-Based Drafting. A huge part of this strategy is the notion that running backs are a “fragile” position and get hurt at a higher rate than any other position. They also flat-out lose their starting jobs more frequently than some other positions, as we saw with guys like Damien Pierce and Tyler Allgeier.

At WR, getting demoted to the WR2 isn’t the end of the world but it can be a killer at RB. So this is my number one piece of advice – USE THE BEST RUNNING BACKS WHILE YOU CAN. The year I won Baby Bowl, I started Christian McCaffrey in Week One when he had 187 yards from scrimmage on 21 carries and 9 receptions. 

Then he got hurt in Week Three. This strategy goes for handcuffs and handcuff plusses too. Use them any chance you get. For instance, if Jaylen Warren misses Week One with this hamstring issue, you better believe I will be starting Najee Harris. It might be the only game they don’t split. Plus Najee himself could get hurt before I have a chance to use him. Use em up.

Quarterback

There is often a misconception here that you want to start good QBs vs. bad teams. Sometimes that works out but sometimes it’s not much of a game and they don’t rack up the numbers. For instance, last year in Week Four the 49ers CRUSHED the Cardinals 35-16. You’d think Brock Purdy would have a great game throwing the football. And technically, he did, completing 20 of 21 passes. But Christian McCaffrey scored three rushing TDs so Purdy only passed for one. It was too easy. 

We want shootouts baby. That’s the game. Look for two teams playing against each other that have good offenses and bad defenses. The over/under with Vegas is a dead giveaway – we want that number to be 50+ like the Rams against the Lions Week One. You don’t want to start a quarterback going up against the Jets with their smothering secondary and Aaron Rodgers slowing the game down to a crawl.  

 

 

 

Wide Receiver

Stack em up. You are already predicting where the shootouts are going to be right? The year I won, I started a wide receiver with the quarterback I used in virtually every single week (sometimes with mobile QBs I wouldn’t stack them but typically I did). There is a reason this is such a valuable move in DFS and best ball. And you’ll want to use wide receivers on the other team as well if it’s a true shootout.

Like running back, I’ll also start whatever wide receivers might get a temporary injury boost. For the last two years you could be your bottom dollar that, at some point, Keenan Allen or Mike Williams would be out and Josh Palmer would be good. Every year there would be the “Tyler Boyd game” when one of Ja’Marr Chase or Tee Higgins missed a game and he’d get like nine targets. Every time you use one of those guys and they hit, you save a star for another week.

I’ll also add that wide receiver is simply a deeper pool of players than any other position. So, when you can, use a wide receiver in the flex. I personally use a wide receiver in the flex virtually every week unless it’s the very end of the season and I know for a fact I have multiple running backs at my disposal to use.

Tight End

This is where we get our biggest advantage. Because I’m contractually obligated to follow this position incredibly closely, looking for matchup advantages and possible breakouts. The year I won Baby Bowl, I didn’t even use some of the top tight ends in the league, like TJ Hockenson. It was like those shooting video games where you keep saving your grenades for the big boss but then you reach the end of the game and realize you never ended up needing them.

If you want all the coordinates at the tight end position this year, there’s two ways to get them. If you want the rankings for your remaining drafts and first waiver moves, grab a copy of the Fantasy Alarm Draft Guide or Cheat Sheet NOW (promo code COOPER just might still be active giving you 20% off any product…). And, if you follow me on Twitter @CoopAFiasco. I’ll be posting my waiver article on Tuesdays as well as tweeting out my weekly rankings for the positions with notes. If you follow along with that info, you’ll know EXACTLY who to start in your one and done fantasy contests each week!

 

 

 

Get Involved In 2024!

There, you have all my top secret tips and tricks now. Why did I share them when I also want to win these contests myself? Well, because charity, that’s why. Both of these leagues support the folks who need it most and you can win a little something for yourself while you rub elbows with the industry’s best and brightest. So I don’t mind writing a free article to help you out since you’re doing your part to help out as well. Good luck out there!