It's said that disasters are often the result of a number of small mistakes rather than a single big error. Small errors in fantasy football draft strategy can have the same result in fantasy football leagues. One early draft mistake can have a cascading effect on the following rounds and that can leave your squad playing at a deficit starting from Day 1.
But you can avoid the most common fantasy football cheat sheet mistakes. Learn the downside of relying on outdated rankings and projections and ignoring ADP and draft room trends. Also, find out the benefits of customizing cheat sheets for league scoring and format, the value of using tier breaks and what happens if you fail to prepare for multiple draft scenarios.
Mistake 1: Relying on Outdated Rankings and Projections
One of the easiest errors for fantasy managers to avoid is using outdated fantasy football rankings. At this point there is simply no reason for a fantasy manager to rely on anything other than a fully updated set of rankings and projections. This applies both in the preparation time before your fantasy draft, and on draft day itself.
These updated rankings should account for injuries, depth chart changes and preseason news. They should also be synced with the latest projections and NFL injury reports. The fastest path to success is to subscribe to RotoWire. This will provide you with access to up-to-date RotoWire fantasy football projections that account for all of those factors and more.
Mistake 2: Ignoring ADP and Draft Room Trends
The world of fantasy football ADP is anything but static. These draft rankings are constantly moving in response to various types of news, including changes to NFL depth charts and injury reports. Fantasy managers who ignore these changes will be at a much greater risk of reaching too early for an overvalued player or waiting too long to select a potential value pick later in the draft.
ADP isn't the only area of concern. A strong cheat sheet should also balance personal rankings with realistic draft timing. This can be a tough balancing act, which is why you should use the draft prep and draft day tools available through the RotoWire fantasy football draft kit. These tools allow you to customize your rankings with your preferred draft strategy. This means you can push for high upside in one league type and play the percentages in another, and have cheat sheets that are a perfect fit for each league.
Mistake 3: Not Customizing for League Scoring and Format
Generic cheat sheets sound like a good idea in theory, yet the reality is that the constant movement in player values can make a general cheat sheet obsolete quickly. It can mislead managers in all scoring formats, be it PPR, half-PPR, Superflex, dynasty, keeper or Best Ball.
This customization should carry over to your pre-draft preparation. This includes usage of the RotoWire fantasy football mock draft. The key here is making sure that you adjust positional values and tiers to match your league's rules. When you customize your cheat sheets in this manner and use them during your mock drafts, you will be sharpening your draft day skills and putting yourself well ahead of other league managers.
Mistake 4: Overlooking Tier Breaks and Positional Drop-Offs
Clearly defined tier breaks are a major benefit of well-designed cheat sheets. These breaks show you where the value changes are likely to occur in a fantasy football draft. When you try to manage your draft day process without the use of tier breaks, you will find that it is much more difficult to recognize value cliffs before and as they occur.
Many leagues have managers who don't pay much if any attention to tiers. You can easily identify these managers because they are the ones who often panic during positional runs. When you spot this draft day panic, take a moment to relax and focus on watching for value propositions that can occur after managers make rushed decisions. Play your cards right and it might land your fantasy squad an upside value pick.
Mistake 5: Failing to Prepare for Multiple Draft Scenarios
The most successful fantasy managers know that it is not a good idea to lock in on a particular outcome when it comes to draft scenarios. All it takes is one league manager going in an unexpected direction, or late news from the NFL injury report, to throw off the best draft day plans.
That's why managers shouldn't stick with one rigid cheat sheet. Instead plan for potential pivots and build in contingency plans. This includes marking alternate targets that can account for any unanticipated draft room behavior. This type of planning will likely require additional use of mock drafts, but peace of mind stems from being fully prepared for any of these changes.
