The fantasy football season is a marathon. Regardless if you are undefeated or winless, there is still plenty of season to go. How you attack the middle of the season will go a long way in determining if you have a playoff-caliber roster.
There are different ways to approach the rest of the campaign, depending on where you stand. Let’s dive into some tips to continue building the best roster possible.
Work the waiver wire.
This goes without saying, but we’ve all seen someone draft a solid team but do little once the madness starts. You should be actively adjusting your roster throughout the season, no matter how deep your team is. Even if you have three high-caliber players to fill out one position and the FLEX, you want all the talent in the world. You might not need Kenneth Gainwell or Tyjae Spears right now, but who’s to say that will still be the case later in the season?
Be aware of your waiver rules. Wednesday is typically the day that waiver claims get processed, but some leagues do a waiver system every day. Some leagues determine the waiver order based on standings. Others move to the back of the order after a claim. If you are in a league where a salary cap is involved for waivers, you realistically have a chance at every player available. It is important to know where your league stands because the decision-making process is different based on those settings.
Certain players require a waiver claim. Others only merit being picked up as a free agent or even Sunday morning. Make sure to follow all our content at PressBoxOnline.com for weekly waiver-wire updates.
Make that trade.
Have an abundance of running backs on your roster but not crazy about your receivers? Do you have two starting-caliber quarterbacks while another team is picking up streaming options each week? Find a team in your league that is the opposite and work out a deal. You are more likely to get an offer accepted when it fills a need for both parties.
Where you currently rank in the standings becomes a factor when finding a trade partner. If you are near the top, you do not need to make a move. You are looking to strengthen your roster, but not do anything rash, either. You have built a solid foundation and want to keep it intact while continuing to build through waivers.
If last place is looming, do not be afraid to do something drastic. You might not necessarily want to trade away your first- or second-round pick, but if you can get two players who upgrade your team the rest of the way, you need to consider it to salvage your season.
For those in dynasty leagues, it’s a completely different ballgame. If you do not like your chances of making the playoffs, do not be afraid to sell off assets now for the future. If you are on the other end of the spectrum, try to go all in and gather as much talent as possible.
Other than winning, coming up with trade offers might be my favorite thing about fantasy sports. It is a fun way to communicate with your league mates while trying to better your team. And what might be even more fun is when a trade does go through, the rest of the league will react in some way.
Look ahead to bye weeks and playoffs.
This factors into everything I mentioned above. We have reached that time of year when bye weeks become an issue. I mentioned in our previous print edition that you want to find replacements for bye-week players a week in advance.
Week 8 has six teams on a bye. You are not the only one who is going to be missing players, so beat the rest of the league to the punch. That is especially the case if you only have one quarterback and tight end on your roster.
It is also not too early to start looking at the playoff schedule. At this point of the season, we know which defenses are good and which are really bad. You want to target players who play bad defenses during the fantasy playoffs, and it’s not always your top teams. Teams with favorable matchups in Weeks 16 and 17 include the Buccaneers and Cardinals, in addition to powerhouse offenses such as the Rams.
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