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The Herd with Colin Cowherd
FantasyPros - Top 12 Draft Tips to DOMINATE Your 2025 Fantasy Football League (Ep. 1612)
01:01:29
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- [00:00]
Ryan Wormley
This is an iHeart podcast. Hello, everybody. Welcome into the Fantasy Pros Football podcast. I am Ryan Wormley, joined today by Jake Seeley from the Athletic and by Tom Strachan from across the pond. Tom, you know you said it's not that late where you are right now, but it's a lot later than it is for us. So thanks for making the time to be on the show today, buddy.
- [00:21]
Jake Seeley
Yeah, man. When it comes to football season, you just got to get into it no matter what time of year it is.
- [00:26]
Ryan Wormley
And we're. We're getting ever closer to football season here. You know, past 4th of July is typically the. The kind of milestone where we really dive in and start getting. We. We do stuff all offseason, of course, but we really start getting, you know, even more into the weeds and having a little bit more fun. Jake at the Athletic, you just released your tight end breakout switch. I don't know how fun that was to come up with for you.
- [00:48]
Tom Strachan
I think the best part about it so far, at least on the feedback, was what I called Kyle Pitts. And I said going back to Kyle Pitts is like trying to look at Taco Bell at 2am when you're 30 years old and being like, man, that's going to good. And then you immediately regret it and you probably get diarrhea. That. That's Kyle Pitts.
- [01:03]
Ryan Wormley
I have never had Taco Bell in my life. I have drafted Kyle Pitts, though, so I can.
- [01:08]
Jake Seeley
That's outrageous. Like, me, I've had Taco Bell.
- [01:12]
Ryan Wormley
I don't even know if I've stepped inside a Taco Bell, let alone eaten food there ever. I just, like, as a kid, I was really picky and I didn't want to, you know, like Mexican food or anything. And then as an adult where I, like, expanded my horizons, it just never came up. I was never like, why would I go to Taco Bell? Go to, I don't know, like, Chipotle or something else if I want like a fast food Mexican.
- [01:34]
Tom Strachan
So Tom and I might as well just jump. Nobody's listening to this podcast anymore. Like, everybody just immediately like, I'm not listening to a guy who's never been to Taco Bell. You have to go before our next podcast.
- [01:44]
Ryan Wormley
It is like a pretty good, fun fact for people. Like, you need one of those, like two truths in a lie or something. There's icebreaker moments that. And not being able to smell are usually my two. But yeah, like, it is. I just, I just have never come across. I'm not opposed to it. I'm not like, actively, you know, digging my heels in. I just.
- [02:02]
Tom Strachan
Yeah, sounds like you're less American than Tom.
- [02:04]
Ryan Wormley
What? What? Yeah, what, what should I order if.
- [02:07]
Tom Strachan
I go, oh, Crunch Wrap? For real? Like crunchwrap.
- [02:10]
Ryan Wormley
Okay.
- [02:11]
Tom Strachan
Yeah.
- [02:11]
Ryan Wormley
All right, let us, let us know in the comments, the listeners who are still with us, empowered through that. Let us know what, what item I should order when I finally make it to Taco Bell. Maybe on a team trip or something.
- [02:20]
Tom Strachan
You missed, you missed your opportunity. Twenty years ago, you could order the entire menu to find out what and still only spent $10. Now it's like two things and you spend $10.
- [02:28]
Ryan Wormley
My dad used to tell me a story. He used to do that with my grandpa when, when, like, my dad was a kid and my grandpa would take him to Taco Bell, they would, like, see how much money they could spend at Taco Bell before getting full. And it was never, never a lot. So it does run in my family to like Taco Bell. I've just, maybe it skipped a generation.
- [02:45]
Tom Strachan
Taco Bell will run in your family.
- [02:48]
Ryan Wormley
Yeah, Good. Good phrasing on that one. Let's dive into our episode. Our tips today will not include going to Taco Bell, but maybe that's, that's my tip to dominate my draft. We're going to be giving you guys going from six to one from each of the two of you. We're going to be giving the listeners our top 12 draft tips to dominate your league this season. So this is going to be, you know, less player driven. We can mention players if there's a guy that maybe fits an example you're trying to think of to make one of your points. But this is more macro level, more conversational, more just, hey, these are the tips that we try to remember every year. This can be something that you're applying specifically to 2025 drafts, however you want to approach it Again, we're going six to one for our top draft tips here for the next couple of months in draft season. Quick reminder for everybody, too. All of our 2025 consensus rankings and tiers can be found at fantasyprose.com rankings. Tom, let's start with your number six tip.
- [03:44]
Jake Seeley
So this one is probably going to seem a little bit obvious, but I think it's always worth reinforcing some of the simple stuff here. And that's remember that the Dr. Draft, it's not one, you know, you don't win your championship based on your draft. Like, you can go back to last year and we had a number of players who were really meaningful for fantasy who probably weren't drafted. Like Baker Mayfield, had an ADP of around about 160 to 170, depending on your platform. Probably wasn't getting drafted every draft. Johnnu smith, undrafted tight end 4. Sam Darnold, QB8, undrafted. Zach Ertz, tight end 10, undrafted. You go back to 20, 23 and of course like that was the motherload for guys who were like on the fringe of being drafted in Kyron Williams and Puka Naku. So like draft day for me is about building that solid floor. And then the moment the draft is over, it's time to analyze the weaknesses, work out what's still on the waiver while look at your opponent's rosters and just say, well, I like what I've got, but maybe there's an opportunity for me to start making a trade, whether it's a two for one or anything like that, and not get glued to those draft picks that you've just drafted a few hours before. Because, you know, staying glued to your draft picks is one of those awful situations where you get to week four and you still like, yeah, I drafted that guy in round three, I've got to start him, I've got to start him. It's like the draft has to go and it's time to just turn the page and start trying to look at it with fresh eyes.
- [05:05]
Ryan Wormley
Yeah, almost like sunk cost fallacy type stuff. I've had this conversation on the dynasty side before where at one point I made a trade offer. I forget the specifics, but I was trying to get sky more. This is early in his career. And, and the person I was trying to negotiate with said, oh, you want me to give up a first round pick? Cause he had taken Sky Moore with a late first. And I said, no, I want you to give up Sky Moore. The pick is done. Like you, you have that. You have spent that capital. I'm trying to acquire the player now and thank thankfully he declined the offer and I did not get get saddled with sky more. But I think it's a good example of, you know, once a draft is done, it is done and this is now your team. Jake, do you agree with this? And, and also on the, on the flip side of this, you know, remember the draft isn't where championships are won. Can it be where you lose your league though?
- [05:49]
Tom Strachan
I'd say it could be. I mean, but you'd have to really screw up your draft. I go all the way back to the Justin Forset year and I say that because he got hurt. And I drafted C.J. anderson, as everybody well knows, in the first round that year. So you have bust of a first pick Justin for set injured that year. And this was an industry league that I still won. Like I think it's hard to really lose your league, but it's the same way what Tom's saying. It's hard to say that you have definitively won your league on the draft. I completely agree because I'll always say this. I think there's 1/3, 1/3, 1/3rd, 1/3 is the draft. There's still 2/3 left, 2/3, another third being roster management and then the other third, unfortunately being luck. Like you're just not going to get away from it. But even if you throw out luck and then say, okay, what's the rest? It's still only 50, 50 in that aspect. Like the trading, as you said, taking advantage of the highs and the lows, the waivers, the roster, management up and down the line. So yeah, it's only one piece of the puzzle as your draft.
- [06:42]
Ryan Wormley
And also Tom, I know you kind of mentioned that this is like, you know, maybe a little more, I don't know, like obvious or more basic of a tip. I think those are very important. It's very easy to get. So just dive so deep into the players and the values and everything that you sometimes kind of need to take a step back and remember, like this is kind of the tried and true. Like you want to remember these tips going in on a more macro level. So I think it's totally fine to include stuff like this one. Jake, let's go to your number six.
- [07:09]
Tom Strachan
Yeah, I'm glad it ties into the draft here, honestly, because I'm going to say remember why you drafted a player and I can just go back to last year and pretty much ask anybody who dropped Bucky Irving after week two how they're feeling this year or even at the end of last year. And you said bring up players that you can make the comparison this year to a healthy Trey Benson or you know, look at it backfield, across the league. Anybody backup wise, Zach Charbonnet. You know, Ken Walker is probably going to get hurt at some point, but if he doesn't, like, don't drop him three weeks into the season. Kenneth Walker is healthy. Don't drop Trey Benson three weeks into the season because James Conner is healthy for the first three weeks because otherwise why did you draft that player? You drafted them because the upside, if said player in front of them gets hurt. Now I understand we get to buy mcgeddon and you just have nobody left to cut on your roster because you're not going to cut your starters. And I understand that. So I'm not saying you can't. You have to hold on to these guys till week 12. But if you're just going to drop them in the first three or four weeks because the lead running back stayed healthy, then you should have never drafted in the first place because you basically threw the pick away.
- [08:15]
Ryan Wormley
How do you approach Jake, those early season drops? Cause I think it's really an important part of, of most leagues is those first couple of weeks of waiver wires. There are always league winners that pop up in weeks one and two. And sometimes the really tricky part isn't identifying those guys, it is identifying the right guy to drop. So when there is somebody that becomes available that you are really excited about, what is your approach for deciding how to make room for those guys?
- [08:41]
Tom Strachan
So the first one gone is a tight end. Like, I'll give you example. Like, you brought up Kyle Pitts as a joke, but the thing is we'll know the book on Kyle Pitts very soon. Like, you can drop him after week two or three. If it's that's not working, move on. Those kind of players are like in their own classification, you took them for a reason. And like maybe like Jaden Higgins, like if he doesn't have the job on day one, like, yeah, you should probably try to hang on to him. But I'm more likely to give up on a wide receiver than a running back because there's a quicker path to the running back of an injury or opportunity. I mean, you can look at this whole situation of people not being enamored with Kyron Williams. If Kyron Williams has two or three bad games in a row, Sean McVeigh might pull the plug on him and turn to Hunter or Corum. Whereas if you're talking about the second, third, fourth wide receiver on a team and like the opportunities aren't happening, you know it's going to say, okay, well what if the injury happens? And even then it's not a guarantee. So I look for the clearest, quickest path to being a top 25 player. And then the second part of that, why I say top 25, mostly running back and wide receiver, maybe top 35 wide receiver. But if that player is just a wide receiver 5 or RB5, they're getting kicked off my roster too. I mean, I'm probably not drafting them in the first place, but if they somewhere on there, because maybe I had an injury risk. Those guys you're going to find on the waiver wire every single week, those should be the first to go if they have zero upside.
- [10:00]
Ryan Wormley
Tom, what do you think? How do you approach determining guys to drop early on that you drafted?
- [10:05]
Jake Seeley
Yeah, I think Jake summed it up so well and it just, it typically comes down to like those wide receiver three types. And obviously this varies depending on how deep or shallow your roster is. But if you're playing in a league where you're only starting a couple of wide receivers and a flex like the wide receiver types can be an absolute nightmare. The guys who are so heavily touchdown dependent and if we're seeing guys like Jalen Noel, who Jake mentioned, like not have a have a role immediately or like other rookies where we feel like they warranted the draft capital because they got the draft capital in the NFL and we're pushing them up in adp. If you can see that the role clearly isn't there, if you can see that the rapport's not there, if you can see that the coach and staff aren't fully trusting a player yet, then it's time to pull the plug. And very much so for running backs who it becomes clear aren't just one injury away. You know, you're talking about guys who, if the lead running back gets injured, are the team really going to give it all to this guy? And there are little hints. You know, you see stuff early in the season where it's like, okay, well, they've pulled the start, they clearly trust the RB2, but if you're getting none of that, then they become the guys who just start sliding down my roster and I'm ready to give up on earlier.
- [11:16]
Ryan Wormley
Obviously, I enjoy football and I'm always hoping for it to come back. And I don't enjoy the off season as much as in season. This conversation is already making me just so excited. I'm like, I need football to be here. We're talking real strategy now, not just a list of busts and sleepers. This is the stuff I love thinking about. You guys talk already. I'm sitting here like, man, I wish it was late August, early September. I can't wait for the season. Tom, let's go to your number five tips.
- [11:45]
Jake Seeley
Yeah, and honestly, for me, this could be if I was doing a list that was very just personally, for me, this could be my number one because it's adjusting from the best ball mindset. And I think it's so easy now to draft hundreds of teams in an off Season, like last year, I think I hit 400 teams. This year I'm at like 200 already. And moving from best ball ADP or the way that you construct the best ball roster into redraft is so different because in best ball we're building for ceiling. You're looking for late season breakouts. You've also got wildly different adp. Like you can look at consensus ADP as it starts forming. And the running backs in particular tend to get pushed up. My home league drafts running backs like absolute sickos every single year. So being aware of those nuances, not trying to stack as aggressively like, you know, the odd stack is fine, like, you know, quarterback and one pass catcher. But going out of your way to sort of add two, three players to a quarterback like you might if you want one of these massive best ball tournaments because you need that single weak upside, it just doesn't translate to redraft. And lastly, all the kind of micro strategies that we talk about like Hero RB, Robust RB, 0 RB, they look very different in redraft if you're playing in a shallower league compared to if you're playing in best ball where you've got 20 rounds. Whereas if I'm going 0 RB or Hero RB, I might be looking to take my second running back in round six, seven or my first running back in that range. But in home leagues, if you're in one like me, where the guys all take the running backs early, the running back quality that you get in round six or seven is going to be drastically different in best ball to what it will be in redraft.
- [13:28]
Ryan Wormley
Jake, I don't know if I've ever talked to you about this, but do you do a lot of best ball? Is this an adjustment that you have to make yourself as we get into redraft season?
- [13:36]
Tom Strachan
I don't. Well, a lot is kind of tough. I'll qualify it in the fact that's probably 20% of the leagues I'm in. So if that seems, I mean, and it's us, so that's probably more than most people are playing. But I'm not on the end where, you know, I have 50 rosters already at this point. There are people like that and I'm not coming for them. I'm just saying I'm definitely not on that end of the spectrum. But I do think it's a very valid point because you could argue both ways for it. You know, we're talking in best ball, we're like, okay, I'm looking at weeks 15, 16, 17, and trying to stack for these good matchups. Like everybody went for the Chiefs and the Bills and obviously the situation with that kind of skewed it that year. But point being is like these are the reasons we're looking for this the Bengals that year. So like that's a completely different strategy because in seasonal you're more adept to be able to adjust for, you know, best ball. I think the biggest thing here to go deeper with, Tom said, is like a lot of times we look at strength to schedule which we can change, we know can change in season. I go back to the one year, I think it was 2008 but like the Giants defense was do not play people against them in the first half of the season. And the Saints were start all your studs, anybody you could possibly think of, even bench options. And people were stacking and thinking of Julio Jones and Matt Ryan because they got the Saints twice in the last three weeks. And that season, this is why it always stands out to me that season it flipped 100% on its head. The Saints ended up being a top three defense down the stretch and Julio Jones got shut down one of those games and the Giants were just start anybody you could possibly find against them. So I say that to say we're stacking in best ball because we don't have any control. Like we're just hoping our strength of schedule plans play out in season you can adjust for these things. So you're not thinking as much for weeks 15, 16, 17, you're not thinking as much of like oh I got to get four guys from the Bengals offense because they're going to stack. So it's a really good point by Tom and I think too many people go with the best ball mindset into redraft and that ends up hurting them sometimes.
- [15:31]
Ryan Wormley
And for me it's the same thing. Not for best ball which I don't do as much of, but for dynasty. I have been thinking through the prism of rookie draft and through the prism of dynasty trading for so many months that it's the same. It's, it's in a different sense but right it's, it's a similar like transition. You have to adjust to the valuing these guys in redraft which is different in in a lot of cases. I want to let everybody know about the fantasy pros draft kit. Winning your fantasy league starts before draft day and the fantasy pros draft kit gives you the knowledge to do it right. Get insight on proven strategies, must haves players to avoid and more from analysts like Pat Fitzmaurice, Derrick Brown and Andrew Erickson. Don't walk into draft day guessing. Read up, lock in, win your league. Go to fantasyprose.com kit all right Jake, your number five tip.
- [16:17]
Tom Strachan
Yeah, my number five kind of goes back to the drafting again and this is more so for redraft. Obviously if you went this round and best ball it wouldn't work at all probably but I go within the mindset is a top tier quarterback or tight end or just wait till the end, do not draft in between. And now obviously this is going to be relative and people are like well in the 12th round Justin Fields was still there. I'm like okay of course like I'm probably taking Justin Fields in the ninth round but the overall strategy of if I don't get a top tier quarterback and it's about four guys, maybe five tight ends, three if I don't get those, I'm waiting till the end because the gap from 4 or 5 at both these positions to 15 is a point per game. Like think about like a point per game is not going to make the difference in your matchup. If it is, you have a really weird league because I've never seen that matter that much. So what I'm looking for is who can put up those 5, 6, 7ish kind of player numbers at the end of drafts. That's why the top five, I don't even wouldn't call them breakout tight ends. Just it was more from the lens of okay, what of these tight ends could actually be those guys that people are jumping on in the seventh and the eighth round Because I'd rather get more depth at running back and wide receiver than take a seventh eighth round quarterback or tight end because I know those are replaceable. As Tom said off the top we were talk he bringing up tight ends and quarterbacks that were undrafted finishing as ones top tens at their position. So I'm just going to avoid those in the middle rounds just because I find the strategy of your team being more adept to overcome injuries and potentially make trades if you have that depth at running back and wide receiver.
- [17:52]
Ryan Wormley
Jake, are you willing to take a top tier quarterback and a top tier tight end in the same draft or if you take one, does that rule you out from taking the other because you just can't pass on that many running backs and receivers?
- [18:03]
Tom Strachan
I would say it probably leans to ruling it out but I'm never going to not do something to throw out the double negative there. Like I want to get a bell cow running back in the first two rounds. But if I don't, like I've started a draft with three straight wide receivers because of how the draft fell to me. You know, the better question, I think we're not to say the better question because that sounds like that was a bad question. Really bad question. Worm, the better way I should put it is that if I were to take a tight end at the end, like Bowers is there at the end of round two, I would consider it. I want him in round three, but I would consider him at around two. If I did that, I wouldn't turn around around three and take Lamar Jackson. Now, you know, if Bowers or, you know, McBride is there in round three and then around five, I can take Hertz. That's still taking two top tier players at those positions. But there is more balance in the value for the rest of my team. So that's why I say, like, it could happen, but probably not because the majority of drafts that that's not usually how those guys fall out.
- [19:01]
Ryan Wormley
Tom, how do you approach these two positions? If that's a good enough question for.
- [19:04]
Tom Strachan
You.
- [19:06]
Jake Seeley
I won't push back. No, I love that. I think that what Jake's saying, like, I'll just expand a little more on that. Like when it comes to the Titan position, there are so few guys who command serious volume. There are so few guys who can hit 100 yards in a game. And it's those guys at the top who really are able to do that for three, maybe four games a year, which doesn't sound that much, but really that's all it takes at tight end to be a dominant force. Like you go back to the year where Sam laporta was tight end one as a rookie, he scored nine touchdowns. Nobody else scored more than six. So it's really easy to separate a tight end position if you're able to do that. And I do want the guys who are able to do it or who have shown us that they can do it in the past, but perhaps the situation is a little different. And you know, I'm not prioritizing guys like Mark Andrews or Travis Kelce this year because of wider concerns, but it's looking at Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, George Kittle, and then Sam Laporter as well, I think is definitely somebody that I want a lot of exposure to this year. Then at the quarterback position, for me it's dual threats or punt it later because if you don't, you know, I'm willing to take Drake May wherever he lands in kind of like around 910 range and Justin field similar. But otherwise if I'm just getting a pocket passer, then yeah, I'll just say, okay, I'm going to get 15 to 18 points most weeks from this quarterback and I'll play the waiver wire.
- [20:32]
Ryan Wormley
Do you have a preference, Tom? Like if you could only go top tier on one of these two, is it tight end just because quarterback is deeper or would if you could only pick one, would you rather go top tier at quarterback?
- [20:42]
Jake Seeley
Well, I mean, come on where. You know, I'm a Ravens fan like you, so it's quite hard for me.
- [20:46]
Ryan Wormley
I've said you out for.
- [20:49]
Jake Seeley
I mean look, when you have Lamar Jackson on your team, it's just, you know, every week is going to be fun.
- [20:55]
Ryan Wormley
Yeah. Jake, what about you? If you had to pick one or the other to go top tier on, would it be quarterback or tight end?
- [20:59]
Tom Strachan
It'd probably be quarterback. Mostly because that Bowers McBride cost a quarterback is usually around later to start and then on top of it. You know, I feel like that advantage is just stronger because you go back to even the best Kelsey seasons, like you have to be those three really good seasons which were seasons that he finished as a top 10 wide receiver at the tight end position. Those are the kind of seasons you need from Bowers and McBride to really give you that second round value because of what you have to give up. So it's hard for those tight ends even when you take them that early, even with the position advantage, you get to actually still return cost on their value.
- [21:36]
Ryan Wormley
And also it is really fun to have a Trey McBride or a Brock Bowers on your team, but it doesn't compare to just the pure fun as a fantasy manager every week, watching Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen or you know, Jaden Daniels last year, like, it just is so fun. So. All right, Thomas, go to your number four draft tip.
- [21:53]
Jake Seeley
Yeah, so this one is don't just draft with last year's results in mind because it can be very easy to fall into the trap of okay, they were wide receiver one last year, so they should be the wide receiver one this year. And obviously at the top, there's probably less of a difference between the talent. Like this year's first round in drafts feels really fun across the board anyway. But as you get further down and there's guys like Lad McConkey who now goes ahead of AJ Brown in current best ball ADP and you know, we're not quite at the point where we've got enough redraft ADP to see if that's going to be the case. But lad McConkey, like did he, sorry, did the Chargers pass more because McConkey got healthier as the season went on, or was it because J.K. dobbins slowed down and wasn't finding those explosive run plays? Like, we don't really know exactly how the charges truly want to play things this year. So for me it's taking that kind of approach of going, yes, lad McConkey finished the year with that unbelievable performance against the Texans in the playoffs, but what is it that I'm getting when I draft him in the middle of round two? The same for Jonathan Taylor, a guy who won people championships. If you had Jonathan Taylor in the championship rounds. But he also got 42% of his total points for the season across week 16, 17 and you know, one over week, I think it was around week 13 he was RB14 or worse in seven of 13 games that he played last year. So just try to take a slightly zoomed out view and not just remembering the positional finishes and how things ended over those last few weeks.
- [23:30]
Ryan Wormley
What do you think about this one, Jake, in a pie chart of what you care about and what you're thinking about making your draft picks, what percentage is last year's results?
- [23:40]
Tom Strachan
16.83. It's definitely a factor. And to kind of what Tom did with my last one is I'll even take it a step further here with this is that I often find some of the best value it's an article I write is last year's players that burned people because all they remember is last year and like oh, not taking him again. You know what he did to me last year. You know how much that wasted my seventh round pick on that guy. And they don't go back because they're just bitter and angry and like I get it, like nobody wants to go back to players that burned you, especially if it was two or three times Kyle Pitts. But like if you go in with that mindset and like automatically write these players off, you're just going to miss on the value. Because the biggest thing like I threw at Trey Benson earlier, like Trey Benson, like you could be frustrated that he didn't do much and then got hurt on top of it last year. But if you go into this year and like just ignore the fact that he's still the clear number two behind James Conner who has an injury history and you're just like, well I'm not taking them and now he's coming at a discount on top of it. Like, like, why were you in on him last year? For a very good reason. You should be in on this year. You shouldn't just be because, oh, I never got to use them last year.
- [24:46]
Ryan Wormley
It's funny, I was thinking of a different Cardinal. I was thinking of Marvin Harrison Jr. At latest, Trey Benson. But like, where you took him last year, he definitely burned you. But in a vacuum, it was still pretty good rookie season. If he comes back, you know, and takes a step forward in year two, that's somebody that I could see. Managers say, well, why would I trust him? He didn't do anything. He was supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. And now at a discount, actually could be a value. And I would love to meet the person who hasn't been burned by Kyle Pitts at least once across their fantasy leagues. That guy should win a trophy or something. Jake, let's go to your number four.
- [25:20]
Tom Strachan
Yeah, I'm going to near and dear to our good friend Joe's heart. Remember positional, if I could say it, positional value and what this means. And he talks about it every single year in his black book. It comes down to the fact of as the draft is going to understand your roster construction, you're not going to come out of the draft being dominant at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end. It's just not feasible. Maybe in an auction, maybe, maybe your auction with some really dumb people, then maybe that's the only world you can do it in. But inherently, especially in snake drafts, it's just not going to happen. So too often you bring up taking a quarterback early and I'll go even to Super Flex on this one. You know, you take a quarterback early, take a quarterback in the first round, Worm, and then I'll see people not draft their second quarterback until it's like QB25. You threw all that value out because you started with a quarterback that's better than at least 10 teams, possibly the entire league. And now you've brought your quarterback position to level with the league because you waited so long on the second one. You went wide receiver, wide receiver to start, and then you start going running back, running back, running back. And you don't take your third wide receiver until the sixth, seventh round. And now you had an advantage as the number one, possibly the best number two wide receiver in your league. But now again, your position is brought back to league average because you waited so long on the third option. And I think too many people just kind of look for like, oh, I need a running back. I can't keep waiting. And sometimes it doesn't feel good to only have like three good or two good running backs out of your draft. But you're going to be so well positioned at the other opportunities that like, that makes up for it. So like, just remember the value that you drafted and how you're building your team and pay attention to that as the draft goes on.
- [27:00]
Ryan Wormley
Yeah, I think this is a really interesting insight. It's also really helpful. Like, let's say you really lean into the receivers even though you went them early and so now you're stacked there and, and you got a luxury tight end, a quarterback. So it's just running back that you're weak at rather than trying to be just okay everywhere now, you know, on the waiver wire, I don't need to waste my time thinking about all these other positions because I am already like the. There is. You can narrow your focus, I guess, is what I'm trying to get to. You can really dial in and say with my late round flyers, with my, you know, early waiver wire priority and fab, I can really focus in on the one area that I know I'm going to need help in. I think that that simplifies it and streamlines it, which I, which I always like with my rosters. Tom, what do you think about this one?
- [27:41]
Jake Seeley
Sometimes you see people in single quarterbacks, they'll pay up for the elite quarterback, but then later on they can't help themselves. They take the breakout guy, the rookie guy, you know, it's like going, okay, well I'm going to draft Josh Allen and then later on I've got to be the person who rosters Caleb Williams or something like that. Just because it's that feeling if they don't want to miss out. But it's like you were sacrificing everything that you paid for Josh Allen, by now wasting a roster spot on another quarterback who you're barely going to use. So yeah, just understanding what each draft pick that you're making means for what you're going to do for the rest of the roster.
- [28:19]
Ryan Wormley
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- [29:06]
Tom Strachan
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- [29:23]
Ryan Wormley
See pick6.draftkings.com promos all right, Tom, your number three tip.
- [29:29]
Jake Seeley
No, this, this one is quite a fun one, I think, because you can take this as deep as you want to go, but be mindful of your opponents and that can be whether you're on draft day, whether it's through the league season, knowing like, I have a guy who is one of my very best friends, but I know he will not trade unless the trade offer is heavily weighted to him because he's so attached to his players. And then there are other guys who will make trades for the sake of trades. And there's people within your league, you know, who are going to be incredibly on it when it comes to waivers. So there's all those little bits. But then at the draft, like which content, like provider do they lean on? And obviously this is easier in home leagues, but even if you're drafting in a dynasty league and it's a lot of people who you don't know, it can be quite easy to go with their Twitter account and see, see what they're interacting with, who they're following. My co host over at Fantasy Sanctuary, Rich Rich, goes as far with this as anyone I've ever met. And he keeps spreadsheets on his dynasty opponents. He keeps lists of like how much people will be paying attention on waivers, what team is for, because that's a big one. Like, like knowing that somebody supports, say, the Ravens for us Worm if they're somebody who likes to make sure they've got players from their team on their roster, you know they're probably going to reach at a certain point and be able to leverage this or somebody who's massively rookie heavy. Are they somebody who's obsessed with the draft? Are they going to be trying to grab those rookies and does that mean that you can then push veterans in the draft because they should slip to you or does it mean that you can try and acquire veterans off their roster in exchange for rookies?
- [31:13]
Ryan Wormley
So I'm in a salary cap format league that I've been in for many, many years and there's like seven Ravens fans in there and I don't, I don't participate in this but literally every year in the first round somebody nominates Justin Tucker. Obviously not anymore, but somebody would nominate Justin Tucker and he would go for like $9. And it just wastes your money on this kicker. Even though he's a great kicker or was and was a Raven and some of the people wanted on their team, you could take advantage of stuff like that. I know you didn't pick this Tom, so I could seamlessly bring up this tool. But I have to mention I knew.
- [31:48]
Tom Strachan
You were going to do, I was going to say because you didn't do it.
- [31:50]
Ryan Wormley
I was too perfect. It's too, too perfect of an opportunity. This isn't even one of our ad reads on the show but like Draft intel and I say this all the time, it genuinely is my favorite tool of fantasy pros. I think it's so cool that they do that. If you're in any kind of long running league that you are synced with, you know, fantasy pros in my playbook and draft wizard, we can look at the history of all the guys in your league and say when you are on the clock you can have this in your actual draft during draft assistant it will say, hey, the person picking after you never has taken a quarterback before round 10. He's always a late round QB guy. So you can probably wait till your next pick to take it. It will actually analyze to that level. If you're in any kind of long running league that has a couple of years of data, we can look at that and let you know like oh this guy, he always takes a tight end early. So if I want one I have to take one there. It's super, super helpful. I use it in all my drafts. I think it's the best tool we have. So Draft Intel I would strongly recommend if you guys agree with what Tom is saying and being mindful of your opponents, there's no better way than then draft intel. Jake, what do you think about this one?
- [32:50]
Tom Strachan
I love it too and I even think about it. And I should have said this. I did a show with Alfredo Brown the other day and he was like, what's something that you would try to think that you're really good at that you hope other people can learn? And I think what I said on that show and what I think ties into this is trading. It's like also knowing what the other opponents in your league like. Do they like Cowboys? Do they like Ravens? Do they, do they like young players? And I'm just thinking to my home league, I like have a Cowboys fan. I have two brothers that are Vikings fans. I have a guy that always has like five rookies on his bench out of the draft, like, knowing these things. But it's not just the draft, because then, like I said, it carries into the season is like, hey, I know if I come to this person with like equitable two wide receivers that are basically the same exact thing, but one is the player from his team, like he's going to pay up more in the trade. One of them is the young player, he's going to pay up more in the trade. And it's just knowing that stuff about your opponents that just so it's a great point by Tom.
- [33:46]
Ryan Wormley
I also like when I can take advantage of it the other way. Like, I'm pretty down on Zay Flowers this year, but because I'm a Ravens fan, anybody that is talking to me about the Ravens or is in a league drafting with me is like, oh, I got to get Zay before Worm does because he loves the Ravens. Please go. Go right ahead. I happily pass on him this year. So I once gave some last year, somebody like DMs me and asked, you know, what I thought about Derek Henry and I think it was in a trade or something. And I gave my opinion that I was really high and I said very tongue in cheek, but I am a Ravens fan. And the guy literally followed up with, would you mind asking your other coworkers so I can get an unbiased opinion? I was like, well, no, I'm giving you my real opinion. I just also, I was. I was being joking when I. But yeah, sometimes you could take advantage of it the other way, too. Jake, let's go to your number three.
- [34:33]
Tom Strachan
Yeah, this comes back to it kind of ties into some of the things we've said already. But don't buy all the risk. And when I say buy all the risk is buying players. And of course first two, three rounds is tough not to do it because there's not much room to improve from there. But we're doing this show, and we're not talking about a lot of players, but all on the shows leading up to this. And for the rest of the preseason, from July and through August, we're going to be talking about players that'll probably get echoed on these shows by people with fantasy pros. It'll get echoed on other podcasts or other sites that you might visit and listen to. And the problem is, is because there's so much content out there, you kind of get like, industry. And I mean, industry is like, us, the people or whatever. Like kind of a group thing. Like, you'll see some. And I don't know any names off the top of my head, so I'm not coming for anybody. But you'll see some people that'll start to move their players based on things they've heard from other intelligent people that they respect. So you kind of get like a group think in the industry, which leads to group think in your leagues. It's like, oh, my gosh, I got, you know, Tom brought up Caleb Williams before. Like, Caleb Williams comes out hot. And then, you know, they start getting to the preseason and everything looks great with Ben Johnson and the reports are glowing and everything. And then it's like, oh, my God, got to get Caleb Williams. Got to get Caleb Williams. Got to get. And then all of a sudden, Caleb Williams is going off the board as the sixth quarterback in the draft. And, like, where is the upside return on Caleb Williams? Because you bought. He now has to be the breakout that anybody thought it could be just to return the value of the cost you placed, let alone positive return value. So that's why I say don't buy all the risk, because there will be players, probably 10 to 20 of them every single year, where they get so hyped that their cost ends up being prohibitive on trying to get any return on value.
- [36:14]
Ryan Wormley
Tom, what do you think about these guys who, you know, helium kind of makes it go to the risk? It's a great word for it.
- [36:19]
Tom Strachan
No, that's a good word.
- [36:20]
Jake Seeley
I love that. Yeah. And it is. Yeah, because we just. We see them fly up and, like, how many years in a row have we seen Chiefs running back two is getting all the touches in camp, and then it turns into nothing. I mean, generic Prince was such a hot name to talk about last summer, and I haven't heard his name whatsoever. This year, he is completely gone. So learning to take shots at risk where you feel like it warrants it and where the profile fits is massive. And not taking too much of it is a great point because redraft is so much about finding a high floor as much as anything. Like how many weeks do you go through the season? And it's like, I just needed 10 more points there or I just need five more points there rather than saying, well, if all this had worked out, then I would have scored like 200 points and been 50 points clear of anyone. Like, it doesn't do you that many.
- [37:15]
Ryan Wormley
Favors, Tom, let's stick with you for your number two tip.
- [37:20]
Jake Seeley
So this one is usually last pick to get ahead of the waivers and this is particularly useful if you're drafting a few weeks before the season starts. Like I've had my home league has drafted in July previously just because we couldn't get together any weekends through August and then other weeks where it's like, you know, you're drafting middle of August, ready to start when the league starts. So if you have kickers or defense, then I'm absolutely not drafting them unless I have to. I'm not drafting a second tight end, I'm not drafting a second quarterback in single qb. What I want to do at that point is start taking some shots at some of the guys who could rise in ADP who are starting to get a steady drum beat, who look to be getting playing time with the firsts in preseason or in the case of a team like the Rams aren't playing whatsoever. Those are the guys that I want to be trying to pick up cup at the back end of my draft rather than having to battle it out on waivers because we know come week one, if those guys go out there and have like Puka Nakua, Kyron Williams type week ones or go back to like James Robinson, then somebody in your league might be willing to drop 60, 70% of their fab on it. And I don't want to be battling like that. I would much rather try and take a few shots in the draft and then if I end up having to drop a bunch of people, I'm sure that I can get replacement level production for those last few spots.
- [38:45]
Ryan Wormley
I think what Tom is saying is to draft Daeneryk Prince with your final pick.
- [38:48]
Tom Strachan
That was absolutely it.
- [38:51]
Ryan Wormley
Jake, how do you approach these final picks? Do you do the same thing?
- [38:54]
Tom Strachan
I think that's a really smart thing to do. Also, it kind of bleeds into the regular season. David Ganos, who's in the Fantasy Sports hall of Fame, used to do an article for us over at the Athletic and it was the waivers for next week and it's like kind of like it's the same thought process as those last few draft picks. It's like, okay, do I have some? And it's going to tie into my very last one. So I'm trying not to spoil too much of my last piece of advice. But like what does this person do on my bench for me potentially next week? Is there a path where next week, like okay, you bring up funny enough. Like, let's just say we'll use the narrator. Let's say he was clearly the number two running back sitting on waivers behind Isaiah Pacheco and he's still out there even in week two. It's like think of it that way. It's like, okay, if Pacheco gets hurt on Sunday, everybody's going to go nuts for this guy. And I think that's actually on Sunday mornings is really important too. Like maybe you have somebody on your bench as your fifth wide receiver because there's an injury risk and you don't know if the guy's going to be playing and then he actually does get rid of that fifth wide receiver, go pick up Marshawn Lloyd for the packers just in case Josh Jacobs gets hurt. And it like so it's not just the draft. It's like use that final bench spot or two which again is going to lead into my main point that is safe for last, but use that spot to get ahead of the waivers and beat everybody to the punch. So instead of spending 90 in fab, maybe you're spending $1 in fab.
- [40:13]
Jake Seeley
You know, I really should have thought of that point considering I write our look ahead waivers post for each Sunday.
- [40:19]
Ryan Wormley
Yeah, yeah, I should have been front of mine for you. I know I already talked about Draft intel, but I do want to let everybody know about Draft Assistant in general. Draft Assistant helps you make the best decisions during your fantasy draft. It connects directly to your draft and provides both real time pick suggestions and estimations on which players might get taken before your next pick. Draft Assistant fully integrates your customized cheat sheets and suggests picks based on your rankings, team build, ADP and other factors dominate your draft in real time without the guesswork with draft assistant@fantasypros.com assistant or on the Fantasy Football Draft wizard app. All right Jake, you've got two left here. What's your number two tip?
- [40:57]
Tom Strachan
Yeah, this one probably going to feel obvious these days at this point for everybody watching this show, but it's still it's important enough to worth mention for everybody is to use tiers and the reason why we Talk about them. And the reason we put players in tiers is not going to be like, oh, these guys are all the same. I'm like, yeah, that's part of the point. But part of the point is because they're the same, it helps you make these tougher decisions in your draft because you can sit there and say, oh, RB15 versus wide receiver 18, like who's really better for my team? Well, if wide receiver 18 is the last wide receiver in the tier, but RB15, they're still six other guys in the tier with him. And you're up again in five picks. Well then you should take the wide receiver because you're going to have to jump into that next tier when it comes back around if you want the wide receiver. Whereas you're probably still in the same range as running backs. And that's really what it comes down to is trying to get, it kind of ties into the tiers. What I talk about with the quarterbacks and the tight ends is trying to get similar value at the least cost possible and build your team the proper way.
- [41:56]
Ryan Wormley
This is also a great opportunity to mention the cheat sheet creator where you can make your own tiers on the Fantasy Pro site so you don't just have to follow the tears of whatever site you're using. And our corporate owners are.
- [42:06]
Tom Strachan
This would just be a podcast advertisement basically. Yeah, pretty much so heavy.
- [42:12]
Ryan Wormley
It's hard not to mention them when you guys are giving these tips because we, our tools can do this. So yeah, check, check out the cheat sheet creator. Everybody too. And sorry for those who hate the, the promos but it's, it's just too such low hanging fruit. But yeah, I mean using tiers is like not. I wouldn't like frame it as a no brainer because I don't want to make it seem like, oh yeah, it's too obvious but like, like it definitely is like the smartest way to approach your draft, I think like for sure if you're, if you are not. And again it doesn't have to be, I said it jokingly, but you should have your kind of own tiers of comfort in what you're looking for. It doesn't have to be just oh, I'm drafting on Yahoo. So where do they have kind of the breakdowns or, or ESPN or whatever it is that you're doing it. You should come up with your own tiers and the guys that if they're the last ones in the tier on the clock, you want to make sure you get. You should know that Ahead of time rather than trying to determine it during the draft. You, you should make sense before you.
- [43:04]
Tom Strachan
Toss it to Tom. I just thought of something too, is especially like this comes into value and I think might get overlooked because not enough people play this way. But in auctions too, because a lot of times you'll see and everybody who's been in an auction has probably experienced it is like, oh, you know, I get Derek Henry, he went for 30, Jonathan Taylor went for 28, Christian McCaffrey went for 32. And all of a sudden, you know, Bucky Irving's the last running back in that tier. And all of a sudden Bucky irving goes for 37. Because everybody wants to make sure they got the running back inside the top 12. And everybody else is like, James Conner level. And then you ended up spending money way worse than you possibly ever could have been in a draft, in an auction draft because you weren't paying attention to all of a sudden, oh my God, it's the last good running back that I wanted to get.
- [43:47]
Ryan Wormley
It's a great point. It's important in both formats. But in that format especially, it comes into play even more. And you're right, everybody who has played in that kind of format has been burned at some point in like, oh, I should have gotten the guy earlier, I shouldn't have saved the money because now he's the last one. Everybody knows it and they're going for way more. Tom, how do you use tears in your draft?
- [44:06]
Jake Seeley
Yeah, I mean, I'm a big believer obviously. Like it's easy for us to say that we rely on rankings and tiers and stuff, but I think that tiers, even if you aren't putting together your own rankings, it's easy to take something like the expert consensus rankings and just go through and just underline where you feel that you've got tiers. Unless you want to use the tier cheat sheet. But it's very easy to print them off and then just go, that is the point where I do not want any of the next four or five guys beneath that player. And it can make life a lot easier when you are on the clock. It's such a no brainer for me that I can't imagine drafting particularly a.
- [44:44]
Ryan Wormley
Live draft without, yeah, 100% and like, and to the point about making your own. You know, if you look at the tiers, I'm just looking right now, let's say I'm really down on Amon Ra St Brown this year when I'm looking at Tier 2 of the overall players, it's Puka, Malik, Amonra, Nico, and Ash and Genti. I want to know going in that, okay, there are five guys in this tier, but I actually don't even really like one of them. So now it's. I do like Saint Brown, but I'm just using an example where you want to know your own, like, who am I actually comfortable taking in this range of the draft and who are the guys that I would prefer not to take here? All right, we have one final tip from each of you. Tom, what do you got?
- [45:22]
Jake Seeley
Yeah, so this again, I mean, I hate to set you up for another plug worm, but leverage adp, whether that's through the expert consensus rankings, consensus adp, just being able to take a look at the inefficiencies of platforms. Like last year I did a video series which was just looking at the worst and best picks for each individual platforms. And the differences between platforms are so incredibly wild, even if they've got similar scoring. Like NFL's fantasy platform last year had the San Francisco 49ers defense going in round six as an ADP and I have no idea how they ended up there, but they were there for a good month of drafts being open. So looking across where the values are and you compare that against VECR and see where your favorite analysts rankings bring up those players and look, and then comparing it to ADP and saying, okay, well, that seems like a complete bargain. Maybe I don't need to reach 30 picks ahead of ADP, but maybe if I'm reaching around ahead of it, then that's still a great pick.
- [46:27]
Ryan Wormley
Yeah, the ADP in whatever platform you're on is going to look very similar to the rankings in the draft room of whatever platform you're on. People are just naturally anchored to the numbers they see besides those games. And it's, it's, you know, a lot of casual users, but also even, I'm not going to say like industry experts or anything, but like it is just natural for your brain to want to kind of match the ranking that the platform is telling you these guys should be going in. So it's, it's one of the best things you can do every single year is familiarize yourself with, with the ADP and rankings in the system you're on and what the key difference is the player. Because you're right, you'll see these sometimes, like between ESPN and Yahoo, there will be like a 30 or 40 spot between certain players that you really like. And it's just because on that platform, for Whatever reason the rankings haven't moved in, the ADP doesn't change, and then it just kind of gets stuck there by the time you get to mid August. So this is extremely smart. Yeah, like fancy Bros.com rankings, if you want to see the expert consensus rankings, you know, consensus ADP data on there. But yes, just whatever platform you're on, find those differences before draft day and you will be the guy who takes somebody. And then everybody goes, oh, they didn't even appear in my window on my screen. They're like, oh, I forgot I was going to take this person, but I forgot about him. Yes. Scrolling down, going to page two, if that's the way the draft room is set up, is very, very smart. Jake, how do you use ADP?
- [47:50]
Tom Strachan
Yeah, 100%. And, like, it even ties to if you don't want to use consensus or you do, but you want to use it on specific three analysts or, you know, like to tout myself for a second, like, maybe like, I just want Jake's rags. I'm not saying. I'm just presenting it to make my argument here is that, like, just because I have somebody or another expert on the ADP or the ECR consensus has somebody 30 spots over doesn't mean you have to take them there. Like, that's why that's the other piece of the ADP that comes into play. It's like, oh, all right. Clearly they see something here and are saying, like, you know, this player is where he would be at the end of the season or his rankings or whatever it might be. But I know I can still wait a full round and a half and still getting before anybody else is taking them and not buying all the risk, but still getting the player you want to get over the consensus. I'm glad you brought that up because also I'm going to bring it up with my final pick is I actually just did a CBS mock with Jamie Eisenberg and I took Justin Fields, referenced him earlier in the show. I took him in the ninth round. I had to scroll down the quarterbacks to get them because CBS did not have them as one of the eight best quarterbacks still on the board. Even the fact that four quarterbacks had already gone, so he is outside the top 12. And I'm like, no, this is dumb. I need to scroll down to find them. So this exact point of, like, it just came into play for me earlier today.
- [49:05]
Ryan Wormley
Yeah. And before we get to your final point, Jake, I want to make another point on the adp, which is like, obviously within Reason you don't want to be crazy. You don't want to take a guy like 60 spots earlier, you know, around eight value in round two just because he's your guy and you really want him. That would be an insane waste of resources. But in general the idea that ADP is a myth and you can just get the guys you want on your team, if we're talking around maybe two depending on the player and where in the draft you are, just get the guys that you like. You're going to be kicking yourself if you, let's say you do really like Zay Flowers and you're like listen, I like him so much. I he's going in the sixth round, I think he should be a fifth rounder. But I just can't go against ADP and go against this value. It wouldn't be smart drafting to take him. Then he goes somewhere else and he has his breakout season. You're going to be so upset because you knew it was coming, you wanted to take it him and you didn't just be willing to pull the trigger and take the guys that you want. Again, within reason there is a rage where it begins to be kind of insane. But take the guys you want. Don't, don't worry, there's a perfect one.
- [50:07]
Tom Strachan
Last year Brian Thomas had as a fifth round value which actually undersold him last year and but his ADP, you guys remember this was like 9th, 10th round and everywhere I was I was taking this 7th to make sure I got him. So like you can, to your point Worm, you can do both sides of it is like know that like okay, the ADB has this enormous gap and I can still take them well over ADP to make sure I get them, but also not doing it at a sane rate 100%.
- [50:34]
Ryan Wormley
All right, let's wrap up with your number one tip, Jake.
- [50:36]
Tom Strachan
Yeah, and it just came into play and I think this is going to, I'm going to bring in some names for this is don't waste your bench. And that's why I was trying not to lean into too much with Tom's previous point and kind of echoing what he said. But I see too often that people waste their bench and where I say waste their bench is like the first two spots on your bench are going to be good players. Like I say that all the time. Like it's hard not to be like the first and I'm going to reference that draft but, but it's for a reason not to be like haha, look at my team but the first two players on my bench in that draft were Roma Dunze and Brian Robinson. Those are, if you're playing in a two flex league, those are drafted players that might even be starting on some teams. Those are good players. But after that, the rest of my bench. Jalen Wright, Tyler Algier, Trey Harris, Jaden Higgins. What is that? Breakout potential. Breakout potential. Injury Breakout potential. Injury, Breakout potential. And that's what I'm saying is like the other four spots are much better and I hate to come for two of your guys, but they were drafted in these last three rounds. Justice Hill and Rashad Bateman. Where is the upside? Like if something happens to Derrick Henry. We've seen Justice Hill. He is going to, to what Tom's point earlier, he is going to be part of some timeshare. He's not going to all of a sudden be a top 20 running back. Rashad Bateman. What is Rashad Bateman ever like? You hope you get a touchdown, you hope he's your wide receiver four in the week. Another one that went in the range. I won't just come for your Ravens. Is Romeo Dobbs like I'm sorry, Romeo DOBBS, but like 8.5, 8.2 the last two years. Do you know how many times Romeo Dobbs has hit 20 points in a fantasy season in a game? Zero. He doesn't even have a ceiling then. That's the thing is like why is Romeo Dobbs on your bench? Oh, because you might have a buy to slide him in as your wide receiver. 4. No, get rid of those guys. You want guys that could potentially be top 20, 25, 30 at wide receiver, running back again after those first two if you're in a deeper league, okay, maybe Romeo Dobbs actually needs to be there. But you get my point is that those first two spots, pretty good players. Those next four, upside, upside, upside and again upside. Which ties into Tom's point about using that last pick and looking at waivers and trying to jump ahead of everybody else.
- [52:39]
Ryan Wormley
Yeah, I think it's really worth emphasizing the difference between value and upside because I do think with those later on picks like and it's not just upside overall, it's week to week upside. It's. I want a guy who like realistically could, could, could help me win an individual week because it is a week to week game. Like Rashad Bateman. He's wide receiver 56 right now. Just use examples you brought up. Rashad Bateman is wide receiver 56. Justice Hill is running back 62. I'm actually reasonably confident that if those guys stay healthy, they are going to outperform those values, but it won't be in a way that helps you win their league if they are. If they're. Yeah, if they're wide receiver 40, you know, eight and running back 51, yes, those are technically values where you gotta. But that doesn't mean they're going to help you win your league like some of these other guys who may be. May fall lower than they are, but then could actually be real league winners if the situation changes or circumstance, you know, ends up in their favor. So I think it's a great call to highlight the difference really between upside and value. Tom, what does your bench typically look like by the time you're done with the draft?
- [53:36]
Jake Seeley
I end up quite often going running back heavy for my bench. And that's because it's just, it's so easy to understand which of them have roles, which of them have the potential to a role and which of them are going to be relevant enough for me to use them quite quickly into the season. So I'm always willing to take shots on RB2s or rookie running backs. And even if it means I don't have much wide receiver depth on my bench. Well, generally speaking, the wide receivers I'm drafting, I'm hoping that they're going to be good enough to carry me to the bye week anyway.
- [54:08]
Tom Strachan
Oh, you know what, that's a really. Sorry, I want to jump in. You're about to quarterback. Tom said this earlier that you just hit me with this one. One of the biggest wastes I see people do is drafting Lamar Jackson and then not only drafting a second quarterback because you are never using that second quarterback. Except for Lamar Jackson's bye week. That is the only time he's ever getting your lineup. But so far, so is that they do that. And like you said, the Caleb Williams. It's not even like the Caleb Williams. They'll draft guys that don't even run. Which what is the upside? Like Jared Goff is your second. Why the hell did you take a top five quarterback and then draft Jared Goff just because he's still there in the 15th round? Like, that is one of the biggest wastes of running or bench space I ever see in my life.
- [54:50]
Ryan Wormley
Yeah, you shouldn't. And I've seen some people justify a move like that by saying, well, I just couldn't let somebody. It was too good a value. I didn't want somebody else to get him this late. I'm like, I'm worried about Your own team and like, like I like make your, make your team better. Not your, don't make your team more valuable. Right. Like what, what will be the, what will put your best starting lineup week in and week out out here? It's not whatever is giving you like, oh, I won the draft in terms of value based on what the ADP was or, or what consensus thought. It's what will give you the best chance to win. That's what, that's what matters at the end.
- [55:24]
Tom Strachan
I'll tell you what, if Yahoo or ESPN gives you an A on your draft, you probably did it wrong.
- [55:29]
Ryan Wormley
Yeah, and, and I see this with, with, with trading too, which is a little bit of a different conversation than we're talking about. But like I'll see it all the time where people will say like, well I, I, I need to win this trade. But even if you are sometimes taking a value hit, your team is now better if you have eight amazing wide receivers and no good running backs. If technically you're getting a value decrease in the receiver you're trading for a running back, it still gives you a better lineup to put out there. That's like kind of the in season version of the same idea which is your goal is to give yourself the best team possible and the best chance to win. That, that should really be your only goal in the draft. It is not to win the draft. It is not to have everybody walk away saying, did you see all the values that guy got? It's to win, to win the league. So that's kind of my final thought. Do you guys have any final thoughts here? I know we just threw out a bunch of tips, but Jake, any kind of last thought before we wrap up?
- [56:18]
Tom Strachan
I'll go back to trading one more time. And I'll say this. It didn't really fall into my top six, but for trading in general, I don't feel like happens enough. Mostly because people are scared. But here's the biggest part is I don't even think it's people are scared. Like you said, they don't want to look like the idiot. Like I can't believe I lose probably one out of four trades I make. Like it just happens. But the thing is, is be active. Everybody playing Fantasy. Well, not every 90% of the people playing Fantasy are lazy with trades they say they put. They used a trade block on all these apps because they want, want people to come to them. They don't want to put in the effort. They're just looking for somebody to come into their inbox. And then how many times have the people listening, are you guys even with me right now? Have you seen a trade go down and you'd be like, I would have given more. I would have done more than they're like, it's because people sit on there and they don't try to talk to people. Don't try to get the conversation going. What do you need in trades? What do you think of this one? This is why I was thinking be more active, just put in the effort and you are going to be a better trader and have a better team at the end the day of it.
- [57:17]
Ryan Wormley
It's such a great point. And I like, you use the word laziness like that. That might be right. I don't know what the right word is. But like there's, there's just no willingness to let, hey, I'm going to look at my team, I'm going to look at your team. I'm gonna find a deal that makes sense for both of us. It's just like here, I'm interested in maybe moving this guy. Let, let come to me with your best offer. Okay? Like that's not a give and take. This. Is this supposed to be a negotiation? It's not supposed to be like, let me blow you away with this offer just so you know, can go brag about how you got so much value for this player.
- [57:47]
Jake Seeley
So it's also like, once you see one trade go down in a league, how often do you then see a glut of trades? It's like, yeah, you making that can really spur people into action. Other people will see that you're making a trade and then other people will be like, hey, ever anyone else on my team that you fancy, like, making trades in general just helps the league become so much more active.
- [58:08]
Ryan Wormley
And I would say to this point this would be almost becoming like a trade advice show. But like, I think it's really important and I always talk about this on the dynasty side, but it is also true in the redress side. It's really important to be good at self evaluation and know what your team is actually good at or what isn't. So like I run into this on the dynasty side with like people who really should be rebuilding. Like, it's very obvious they have like two good pieces. They should be trading for as much as they can get. But then they're like, well no, I'm trying to win this year. I'm like, that lack of self scouting is going to hurt you in the long run. And it's the Same thing in the redraft. You need to know, like, hey, I actually am weak at this spot and it would benefit me to make a deal. Or I'm overly strong at this spot. I have too much depth here and it would behoove me to make a deal. Like, like that ability to self scout, I think is. Is really undervalued in fantasy in general, but it is really important.
- [58:57]
Tom Strachan
I see people too unwilling to give up the best player because it's the best. Meanwhile, their roster is constructed like the Giants. It's Malik Neighbors and nobody else. And it's like, well, you're not going to win this league with only two. I understand you don't want to give up Malik Neighbors, but at the same time, the only way you're making the playoffs is by a better constructed team.
- [59:18]
Ryan Wormley
Everybody's afraid to get screenshotted. Oh, can you believe I pulled out this trade? You know, what a loser. Tom, any final thoughts? We'll wrap up.
- [59:26]
Jake Seeley
Yeah, Nothing quite as deep as some of the stuff we talked about, but just particularly if you're in a home league, just enjoy it. I think it's so easy to go live drafts or be in drafts where people are so, so desperately worried about making a bad pick for all the reasons we've talked about tonight. Like, you can recover from making a bad pick and enjoying it is what this is all about. Like, and, you know, getting you guys where it works, getting the guys with upside and being at a stakey claims, that's all what this comes back to. And sometimes maybe we just lose track of that enough and it's just a timely reminder to enjoy it. But don't get, don't get too drunk at the same time.
- [60:09]
Ryan Wormley
Make a quote unquote bad pick, and then if it pans out, you get to just rub it in the face of everybody who laughed at you for the next four months. And that is super fun. Yeah. Yeah. It's all about having fun at the end of the day. And, you know, we might know more than the average person because we put a lot of time and effort into this as our, you know, careers, but at the end of the day, we don't have crystal balls. Right. You should just go out and get the players you want to root for that you think are going to help you win the league and have fun and, you know, have conviction and, yeah, enjoy it. You're. You're doing this with friends and family, maybe coworkers, and have a good time. I think that's a great note to end it on. So we will go ahead and wrap up there. Lots of good advice in this one even beyond just drafting day. Some trading advice in there as well. Thanks everybody for tuning in. For Tom and Jake, I'm Ryan Wormley. We'll see you again next time. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on apple podcasts@fantasypros.com review or on Spotify. Follow us on X Instagram and tik tok at fantasypros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube.com fantasypros this is an I heart podcast.