Hey!
This one is super important today.
There are 10 rules the sharpest drafters use every single year, and most people have no idea about them.
Here are 10 Unspoken Rules Experts Use To Win Their Fantasy Drafts:
#10 Don't Let Bye Weeks Determine Your Picks
Bye weeks don't matter as much as you think.
By the time your bye rolls around, you'll have made plenty of waiver moves, trades and maybe even had a bench player break out as a starter.
Draft the best available player and figure the byes out later…
#9 Don't Fill Your Starting Lineup First
Just take the best available player.
If it's Round 6 and you have 2 RBs, 2 WRs, and a FLEX but the QBs and TEs in that range are trash, don't force it. Take another RB or WR. Never take a worse player just because you don't have a QB or TE yet…
#8 If The Same Position Goes 4+ Times In A Row, Pivot
This mostly applies to middle and later rounds, not the first 3-4.
But if you're in Round 9 and 4 RBs go off the board in a row, there's a strong chance the RB value just dried up. The 5th RB in a row is usually the worst player in that tier compared to what's available elsewhere. Pivot to WR, TE, or QB…
#7 Draft With Player Tiers, Not Rankings
Tiers open up everything for you in a draft.
They let you see the board in 3D compared to one-dimensional rankings.
Tiers make it obvious when it's time to leave one position and target another, and which players have similar ceilings…
#6 Don't Ignore Preseason Games And Usage
So many people think they're cool by calling the preseason useless. It's not.
Starters won't play the whole time, but even 1-2 drives tell us a ton.
Which players are running with the starting offense? Which alignments are we seeing? In crowded backfields, who plays passing downs? Every snap is another data point…
#5 The Later You Take Your QB1, The Earlier You Draft Your QB2
If you take a QB in Rounds 2-7, you don't need a QB2 until Round 12 or later.
But if you wait until Round 10-14 for your QB1, take your QB2 shortly after, you're drafting a far less reliable option. A Kyler Murray in Round 10 followed by a Malik Willis in Round 11 is a very viable build this year.
Bonus: draft mobile QBs. They have a much higher weekly floor AND ceiling…
#4 It's Okay To Be Different
This doesn't mean you take a Round 4 guy with your 1st-round pick.
But it's okay to draft the guy the "experts" think will bust. Last year George Pickens went in Round 5 and finished as a Top-5 WR. It’s okay to reach a round on guys like this.
Being different wins leagues…
#3 Seek Out Reliability In Rounds 1 & 2
These are not the rounds to be taking shaky profile players.
Ashton Jeanty fits that risky profile in 2026.
Why spend a 1st round pick on a guy with question marks all over his offense when you can take Justin Jefferson or Amon-Ra? You cannot afford to whiff on your first 2 picks.
Bonus: prioritize upside in the middle-to-late rounds and avoid aging players who are already injury risks…
#2 Queue Up Your Target Players
This one is so obvious and nobody does it.
Queue up your wants list before the draft, and before every round make sure you have multiple targets in the queue.
The worst feeling is studying all offseason, then having your guy sniped 1 pick ahead leaving you 60 seconds to make a panic pick you'll regret…
#1 Know The Needs Of Fellow Drafters
Spy on your leaguemates.
If it's Round 8 and everyone has a QB, you can wait even longer on the position.
If the guy picking behind you already has 3 RBs, you know he won't take another one, grab your WR and the RB will fall back to you.
Bonus: never draft a kicker early. Take an extra RB/WR & stream a kicker before Week 1…
— Sal
P.S. Want me to help you win your fantasy league this year?