Anxiety sets in for many fantasy football players at the beginning of any draft, especially a rookie. If you're a veteran, you probably have experienced the rush after a long off-season when your draft finally begins. You also probably have experienced the later rounds when your mind begins to wander after a few hours of drafting. The excitement at the beginning and the wait at the end of a draft can make it easy to forget a basic principle, recognizing player bye weeks and their impact on your team. Some fantasy football players subscribe to taking the best available player regardless of bye weeks or position. This strategy is fine and may be the right one depending upon how your draft is going, but you must be aware of the consequences. If you draft with bye weeks in mind, you can lessen their impact and give yourself a chance to put together a great team.
The idea is to draft (at each position) players on different bye weeks. For example, you don't want to draft running backs Larry Johnson (bye week 3), Rudi Johnson (bye week 5) and Domanick Davis (bye week 5) because you will have two players at the same position on the same bye week. It's okay if you draft quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (bye week 5) in that group because he plays a different position. What you want to do is draft Larry Johnson (bye week 3), Rudi Johnson (bye week 5) and Jamal Lewis (bye week 7). This way each time one of them goes on a bye week, you will have another to play. The advantage to doing this is great.
First, you give yourself the option of drafting a back-up at each position. In my opinion, it's not necessary to do this but some fantasy football players like the safety it provides. I think it's better not to draft a back-up kicker or defense/special teams because two slots open up for you to get a little more creative during your draft and it's easy to find bye week replacements from the waiver wire.
Second, you won't have to scour the waiver wire or propose trades in order to fill bye week voids. This is important because otherwise you'd be making many transactions in order to find replacements week in and week out. Not only will you not have to deal with the aggravation every week, it won't cost you your season.
Finally, you give yourself the option to hang on to a sleeper, a risky pick or extra players at other positions that you grabbed in the middle to late rounds. If you messed up during the draft, you would probably have to drop one of them in order to grab a player off waivers to fill a bye week void. Many fantasy football championships are won because sleepers and risky picks drafted in the middle to late rounds go on to have great seasons. Don't let bye weeks dictate whether or not you will get to keep them.
It's easy to forget, but recognizing how bye weeks affect your team and drafting accordingly is extremely important. If you draft properly you give yourself the option to draft a back-up at each position, you won't have to scour the waiver wire each week trying to find a bye week replacement and you will be able to hang on to that sleeper you grabbed in the 7th round who just might help you dominate your league. Championships are often won and lost during the draft. Don't make mistakes that can ruin your entire season. Take this information for what it's worth and make great decisions.
Chris Masters runs Sofacoach.com, a fantasy football website that offers free rankings, cheatsheets, advice and more! Visit Sofacoach.com today to get more fantasy football information.
Written By: Christopher Masters
