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Fantasy football: 5 winning strategies to ace your draft for 2018

By Peter Panacy

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 21: Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates his fourth quarter touchdown pass against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 21, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 21: Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates his fourth quarter touchdown pass against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 21, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – NOVEMBER 19: Alex Smith #11 of the Kansas City Chiefs calls out the play in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants on November 19, 2017 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – NOVEMBER 19: Alex Smith #11 of the Kansas City Chiefs calls out the play in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants on November 19, 2017 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Draft for Value, not Need

You say you’ll never do it. But then there you are… the late rounds of your fantasy draft, and you’re still looking for a backup tight end, defense/special teams or something.

More from SF 49ers Fantasy Football

Heck, you might not even have your quarterback yet. And you’re looking at taking a guy with an ADP of 10 or higher.

Not good, right?

Well, don’t panic. Just like the actual NFL Draft, it’s always a good strategy to go with value over need. And this includes the late rounds too. Just because your roster is short a WR2, tight end, D/ST or a quarterback doesn’t mean you should reach.

A year ago, Alex Smith had an ADP of 14.05. And all he did was finish with the league’s highest passer rating (104.7) and fourth most ESPN fantasy football points at the position in 2017 (295.2).

Those fantasy players scrambling for a quarterback at the end of, let’s say, Round 10 and grabbed someone like Eli Manning or Andy Dalton were likely kicking themselves over the rest of the year.

Next: Fantasy football: 5 49ers who can bring value in 2018

Don’t be that player. If you’re heading into the deeper rounds of your draft, go with value over need. Even if you wind up having something of a stockpile at a particular position, you can always trade off excess commodities to wind up with the position you need to fill.