I have a Fantasy Football League that hasn’t drafted yet, so I’m not going to spoil my pocket picks for myself (although I plan on doing a rundown of my picks in a later article). That being said, here is my formula of “scientifically proven” rules for winning your fantasy league.

First, let’s start with general rules:

1. Run a couple mock drafts ahead of time to get familiar with draft orders, clock timers, and when to select your favorite pocket picks.
2. Don’t pick players at the same position with the same bye week. If it is a running back or a wide receiver there is some leniency in the flex spot, just make sure that the bye weeks don’t clash between those positions.
3. Don’t pick offensive players from the same team. They’ll either be sharing the spotlight and give you nothing, or they’ll both suck and you’ll double down on failure for the week.
4. Always pick a running back first. If you have two really strong running backs you will finish top 3 in your league pretty much every time.
5. Save selections at tight end, kicker, and defense for later rounds (no sooner than round 4 at earliest, but preferably delay it as much as you can).
6. Strive to have a backup at every role. Otherwise, it will suck when the bye week comes and you have to trade someone out at the last moment for a second stringer.

Now for positional strategies:

Quarterback:

Pick players who have a lot of quality receiving targets at their disposal. Bonus points if the rest of their division has weak defenses. Double bonus points if the team your quarterback is on lacks any real run game.

Running Back:

Really the opposite of quarterback with the exception of the weak divisional defenses tip. Pick a team without a good quarterback or receivers so that you can be certain that your back will get all of the touches from rushing plays to checkdowns.

Wide Receiver:

You can probably pick up on the pattern by now, but we want to pick up players who can carry a game and often have to do it by themselves. Still acquire a receiver that has a quarterback who can hit them, but perhaps a receiver who is the only real threat at the position on their team. Then they won’t really be splitting touches with anyone else.

Flex:

If you can get a running back that is a starter, put them here, otherwise go with a wide receiver.

Tight End:

The only trick I have here is to look at players who get a lot of consistent touches. Touches equal opportunities to get fantasy points so max out your odds when it comes to this role.

Kicker:

All kickers are going to be about as consistent as one another, but I’d recommend optimizing this position around a team that is good on offense, but maybe lacks the key pieces to capitilize in the endzone like a running threat or multiple good receivers. A team that will get into field goal range and then stall out.

Defense:

Unless a defense is just that stacked, save this till the end and just pick a team that you think will steam roll their divisional rivals. Six guaranteed good performances is always a solid bet.