10 Rules to Win Your Fantasy Football League
It’s hard to win at fantasy football—and it’s even harder to win while also having fun playing each week. Here’s a guide to (hopefully) help you do both.
If you’re in a 10-team fantasy football league, you enter the season with a 90 percent chance of losing. If your league has 12 teams, you have a 92 percent chance of losing—which means that your odds of winning are about the same as getting a coin toss to come up heads four times in a row.
This article is designed to help you improve your chances while also building the most fun and enjoyable team possible. Here is how to win your league in 2025.
1. Know Your League
Winners know the rules.
This is the oldest and most important rule for a reason (Matthew Berry was writing about it back in the Cretaceous period). Sometimes, this will just help you make nerdy marginal gains that stack up incrementally throughout a season, but other times, rule changes can greatly affect a player’s value.
The biggest thing to know is your scoring settings. Do you get a full point per reception, a half, or zero? Has your commissioner made any cheeky changes without telling anyone, like adding a point per 100-yard game bonus, to “spice it up”? Knowing the rules matters. Go to your settings, hit that little gear icon, and read what’s there. How do waivers work? Do you have a budget of $100 to spend on free agents for the season? Do waivers reset by standing each week? Or is it a rolling order? Reading and understanding the rules is essential.
The Tiers of Fantasy Football
2. Know Your Lineup
The single most important thing to do before your fantasy draft is to check how many “WR” and “flex” spots are in your lineup.
This makes a bigger difference in how you draft than your league’s scoring settings. As an example, let’s look at Yahoo’s and ESPN’s default lineups. They both have two WRs and one flex, so let’s start with that. That lineup looks like this:
QB
RB
RB
WR
WR
TE
Flex (RB/WR/TE)
D/ST
K
If you do the math, in a 10-team league where each team has two wide receiver spots, a minimum of 20 wide receivers are starting each week. Add in the 10 flex spots, and there is a maximum of 30 receivers each week. That means that the worst starting receiver in a given week might be Pittsburgh’s DK Metcalf or Philly’s DeVonta Smith or Detroit’s Jameson Williams. Those are some of the most explosive players in the NFL! It is not hard to fill two wide receiver spots in a 10-team league.
But if you are in a 12-team league with three WR spots per team, you have a minimum of 36 wide receivers playing each week. Add in a flex spot, and the maximum is 48. Now you’re talking about playing guys like Buffalo’s Khalil Shakir, Green Bay’s Jayden Reed, or Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin. Add in bye weeks and injuries (fitting, since all three of the guys I just mentioned are dealing with injuries in training camp), and you’re more likely to go 50-55 wide receivers deep in the starting lineups—now your league will have to start drafting Indy’s Josh Downs or Michael Pittman, New Orleans’s Rashid Shaheed, or Buffalo’s Keon Coleman.
This is what nerds call “supply and demand.” There’s a big difference in demand for 24-ish wide receivers each week and 40-ish, and almost all fantasy sites fail users by not giving you rankings that are sortable by format. These numbers are important to extrapolate from: If you are deciding between a RB and a WR who are ranked close together—say, RB Bijan Robinson and WR CeeDee Lamb in Round 1 or RB Chase Brown and WR Tee Higgins in Round 3—and each team in your league starts only two WRs, you probably want to go with the running back because the supply of receivers is so high and the demand is relatively low.
The TL;DR is this: If you are starting two RBs and two WRs, it is a much more viable strategy to get two running backs in your first few rounds and fill out WRs later. If you are starting three WRs each week in a league with 12 or more teams, it is more viable to get just one good running back and focus on wide receivers in the first few rounds (or no early running backs, if you have the chutzpah).
To be clear—don’t avoid a receiver with awesome value just to reach for a running back purely because of their positional. But if two players are close, the RB usually has better value in a two-WR league, especially if the league has 8 or 10 teams.
3. Use Different Rankings
The simplest thing you can do to gain an advantage against your league mates is to use rankings that are different from the ones they’re using.
We have our rankings here, complete with a draft tracker. But if you don’t want to use ours, no hard feelings. If you are drafting on Yahoo, try having our rankings or ESPN’s handy. If you are on ESPN, use Yahoo’s. If you are on Sleeper, use ours, Yahoo’s, ESPN’s, or anyone else’s.
Now, why is that so important?
The late economist Daniel Kahneman introduced a concept called "anchoring." He asked people to guess how tall the tallest redwood tree was: over or under 180 feet. Then his second question was: How tall is that specific redwood tree? The average guess was 282 feet.
Then Kahneman did it again with a second group, but the question was whether the tallest redwood tree was over or under 1,200 feet. When he asked the group to guess the redwood’s height, the average answer was 844 feet. By merely throwing a number out beforehand, Kahneman moved the guess about the tallest redwood tree by 200 percent.
If you are on a website and Brock Purdy has “Expert Rank: 84” next to him (his ranking on Yahoo), you’ll think that he has the value of a seventh-round pick—even if, in your heart of hearts, you think that’s wrong. Similarly, if that platform says “Rank: 107”—Purdy’s rank on the Sleeper site—you might think that Purdy isn’t worth a Round 7 or even a Round 9 pick, so you’ll wait until Round 10 to draft him. It’s the same guy, but where he’ll be taken is heavily dictated by the platform you’re on. Understanding your platform and how it is different from others leads you to find easy value.
Which we will get into right now …
4. Know Your Platform
Platforms have different default rankings. So knowing how your platform’s rankings are different from another’s can give you an easy edge.
I know that reading a “win your league” column without seeing specific player names can be annoying, so I’ll give you some names in this section. But first, here is a basic breakdown of the platforms most often used in fantasy football.
Sleeper
Sleeper is a newer platform that has become popular in recent years. Sleeper’s rankings have a couple of quirks that are easy to exploit:
- The quarterbacks, at their listed rankings, are all value adds on Sleeper, so don’t be afraid to reach a little bit. Jalen Hurts is being drafted 30th, on average, on ESPN. On Sleeper, he tends to go around 40th. Justin Fields is ranked 80th on Yahoo. He is 126th on Sleeper. Purdy, as previously mentioned, is 40 spots lower on Sleeper than on Yahoo. If you are drafting on Sleeper and plan to “wait” for a QB, remember that is already baked into Sleeper’s overall rankings.
- Do not take anyone who’s been in the news this offseason. Injuries, legal issues, or other concerns reported over the offseason haven’t affected players’ value on Sleeper. So those injured guys (Brandon Aiyuk or Khalil Shakir), players who might see suspensions (Jordan Addison, Rashee Rice, or Quinshon Judkins), or those who were traded to worse teams this offseason (Jonnu Smith) are ranked way, way higher on Sleeper than they are in other places. For example: Aiyuk is ranked no. 105 on Sleeper but in the 150s on ESPN and Yahoo, as he’s likely to miss the first month of the season. Smith is a top-100 player on Sleeper but is no. 139 on Yahoo and in the 160s on ESPN. As a general rule of thumb, anyone who could get suspended or was recently injured is ranked way too high on Sleeper.
Here are specific players who are ranked lower on Sleeper than on ESPN or Yahoo. These are not necessarily all good-value additions, but they are definitely more valuable on Sleeper compared with where they sit on other lists:
Guys ranked lower on Sleeper than on ESPN or Yahoo:
- 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (Round 1 on ESPN and Yahoo, Round 2 on Sleeper)
- Titans WR Calvin Ridley (Round 5 on ESPN, Round 7 on Sleeper)
- Ravens TE Mark Andrews (almost two full rounds lower on Sleeper than on Yahoo)
- Every QB, from Hurts at QB4 through to Caleb Williams at QB12
On the flip side, some guys are ranked much higher on Sleeper than on other platforms:
Guys ranked higher on Sleeper than on ESPN or Yahoo:
- Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (Round 3 on Sleeper, Round 4 on ESPN)
- Colts TE Tyler Warren (three or four rounds higher on Sleeper than on Yahoo)
- Falcons TE Kyle Pitts (almost three rounds higher on Sleeper than on Yahoo)
Yahoo
Yahoo is a platform where it pays to wait for a QB, unless you’re able to get one of the top four (Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Hurts, and Jayden Daniels). It is also very easy to get quality WRs like Pittman, Darnell Mooney, and Matthew Golden late in the draft. If you’re in a two-WR league on Yahoo, getting an elite QB and elite TE with an RB-heavy start is extremely doable because you can grab five solid wide receivers over your next seven or so picks (more on that later).
Some specific players who are ranked lower on Yahoo than on ESPN or Sleeper:
Guys ranked lower on Yahoo than on ESPN or Sleeper:
- Eagles WR A.J. Brown (20th on Yahoo vs. 15th on ESPN—potentially the difference between going in Round 2 or Round 3)
- Packers WR Golden (three rounds lower on Yahoo than on ESPN)
- Texans WR Jayden Higgins (138th on Yahoo, two or three rounds lower than on ESPN)
- Bears TE Colston Loveland (Round 12 on Yahoo but Round 9 on Sleeper)
- Colts TE Warren (Round 13 on Yahoo but Round 9 on Sleeper)
- Chargers WR Keenan Allen (almost 40 spots lower on Yahoo than on ESPN)
Meanwhile, these players are ranked higher on Yahoo than on ESPN or Sleeper:
Guys ranked higher on Yahoo than on ESPN or Sleeper:
- Most quarterbacks. Yahoo has a higher price for pocket passers, and it’s worth waiting on the position—especially on Fields, who is somehow ranked five rounds higher on Yahoo than on Sleeper.
- Tennessee RB Tony Pollard (52nd overall on Yahoo, 68th on ESPN)
- Minnesota RB Jordan Mason (Round 8 on Yahoo, Round 12 on ESPN)
- Seattle RB Zach Charbonnet (Round 10 on Yahoo, Round 13 on ESPN)
ESPN
ESPN is a good place to find high-value RBs in later rounds—whether that be RJ Harvey, Pollard, Isiah Pacheco, Breece Hall, Charbonnet, or Mason. If you start RB-heavy on ESPN, it seems wise to vacuum up other positions in the middle rounds and then wait for RB picks with clear value rather than reaching.
Some specific players ranked lower on ESPN than on Yahoo or Sleeper:
Guys ranked lower on ESPN than on Yahoo or Sleeper:
- Ravens RB Derrick Henry (ranked 19th on ESPN, 11th on Yahoo, and ninth on Sleeper)
- Cardinals WR Harrison (ranked as a late fourth-rounder on ESPN but a late third-rounder on Sleeper)
- Broncos RB Harvey (Round 6 or 7 on ESPN but Round 5 on Yahoo)
- Vikings RB Mason (Round 11 on ESPN, Round 8 on Yahoo)
Meanwhile:
Guys ranked higher on ESPN than on Yahoo or Sleeper:
- Rams WR Davante Adams (ranked 27th on ESPN but 43rd on Sleeper)
- Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill (ranked 25th on ESPN but 38th on Yahoo)
5. Know Thyself
What kind of fantasy player are you?
Do you pore over the waiver wire for hours each Tuesday while listening to podcasts about RB handcuffs? Maybe you have what it takes to implement a zero-RB strategy (which means not taking a running back in your first five-ish picks) and you need to fill your bench with high-upside guys you can cut so that you don’t have to risk cutting quality bench players when an injury happens. Do you check your lineup only to set it on Sundays and make one or two moves a year? Make sure you have balance at each position and plenty of RB depth. Be honest with yourself about what kind of effort you’re putting in, and draft your team in a way that’ll let you enjoy your season.
6. Create a Balanced Roster
The simplest way to win in a league with your friends is to lock in your positional advantages at RB1, WR1, QB1, and TE1 early on, then spend the rest of the draft building an edge in other places.
To do this, aim to grab a running back and a receiver, in some order, in the first two rounds (if two great running backs fall to you, awesome). The ideal next two picks—in Rounds 3 and 4—would be Josh Allen or Jackson in Round 3 and maybe George Kittle at tight end in Round 4. Perhaps it would be even better if Arizona TE Trey McBride (or somehow, Las Vegas TE Brock Bowers) falls to you in Round 3 and Hurts or Daniels falls to you in Round 4. The idea is that after four rounds, you want to have something like this:
Round 1: Awesome RB or WR
Round 2: Awesome RB or WR
Round 3: McBride
Round 4: Hurts
Or this:
Round 1: Awesome RB or WR
Round 2: Awesome RB or WR
Round 3: Allen or Jackson
Round 4: Kittle
With that, you know you’ll likely be outscoring your opponents at QB and TE, and then you can spend the rest of your draft trying to find an RB2 and WR2 who will outpace other teams’ guys in those spots. A good example of this last year would be if you had taken Indianapolis RB Jonathan Taylor in Round 1, Philadelphia RB Saquon Barkley in Round 2, Jackson in Round 3, and McBride in Round 4. You would have been able to throw a bunch of darts at WR—and could have ended up with Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr., or Ladd McConkey, who all outscored whatever receivers your league mates took instead of McBride and Jackson.
Of course, it’s not always possible to just get whoever you want. The key is to be adaptable if you’re shut out of one of the QB or TE positions. My thoughts on the positions are simple this year …
Keys to Fantasy Football Victory
7. Get Five-ish Receivers in Your First 10 Picks
This is a rule of thumb. Don’t live or die by this.
The receivers start to dry up after the first 50 guys or so, and fewer late-round receivers emerge as relevant talents than late-round RBs. If your first 10 picks are used on five receivers, an elite QB, an elite TE, and three RBs, you’re probably doing well. Don’t stress if you have only four WRs, especially if it’s a two-WR-per-team league. Just make sure to peek at which WRs are waiting for you in later rounds and think about whether you are OK with having them on your bench.
If you start by drafting RB-RB-QB-TE (or something like that), vacuum up WRs for the next few rounds. Even if you start WR-RB-QB-TE, you still probably want to be targeting high-upside receivers like Detroit’s Jameson Williams, Kansas City’s Xavier Worthy, or even San Francisco’s Ricky Pearsall or Green Bay’s Golden in each of the next few rounds. Even boring veterans like Pittman or Washington’s Deebo Samuel could deliver value late in the draft. Because of the way most rankings are structured, you want to be picking running backs late instead of receivers.
8. Grab a Top-Three Tight End, or Wait
The top three guys are easy clicks: Bowers, McBride, and Kittle. The potential of guys after that—Sam LaPorta and T.J. Hockenson—isn’t as easy to predict.
I believe that Baltimore TE Mark Andrews is underrated this season after a car crash and a separate surgery led him to have a funky first half last year. But if you miss out on a top-three guy, it’s OK to wait for a TE and go after the ole reliables (Jake Ferguson, Dallas Goedert, or Tucker Kraft) or a volatile, higher-upside guy (rookies Warren and Loveland or forever breakout candidates Pitts and Dalton Kincaid). Deeper-cut options include Chig Okonkwo. If there are still good RBs or WRs around, don’t feel the need to force a pick on a TE you don’t believe in just to grab a starter. When the other positions start to dip in quality, there will be decent TEs available in Round 9 and beyond. You can be flexible at tight end this year. They are all probably going to be disappointing in pretty similar ways.
9. Ricky Bobby the QBs This Year
Get a QB who runs fast. The rules of fantasy football are stupid, but until we change them, a rushing yard is worth almost three times as much as a passing yard.
As long as that is true, Fields will have a chance to be a better fantasy QB than Patrick Mahomes (which takes us farther from the light of God, but I digress).
As such, I want to be either one of the first people in my draft to take a QB or dead last. I would love to end up with Allen, Jackson, Daniels, or Hurts (I particularly love Hurts, who’s coming at a deflated cost this year). The only pocket passer who I think is worth taking early on is Joe Burrow. If I get one of these top-five guys, I’ll probably pair them with Anthony Richardson as my last pick. (Yes, I know that Richardson is bad and may not start in Week 1. I don’t care. Most people you are drafting in the 16th round are bad and may not play. The difference is that if Richardson does play, he would immediately have big fantasy upside.)
But if I’m not able to get one of those guys, I want to take a QB really, really late in the draft. To me, there is little difference between Baker Mayfield in ESPN’s sixth round and Jared Goff in the 12th. I want to wait on a QB and try to get a guy who’s mobile. After the top four QBs are gone, the mobile guys left are Kyler Murray or Bo Nix in the eighth round (still kind of pricey for me), Fields in the 12th, or even Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy after that. I’d want to pair one of those guys with a more traditional pocket passer, and I don’t really care which. I’d likely take Dak Prescott, Goff, C.J. Stroud, Jordan Love, or Justin Herbert as my other guy in a late round.
I basically never draft three quarterbacks, but this year could be an exception. If you take Fields and Love and Richardson is still there with that last pick, I do think that he has more upside than the running backs in that spot.
10. Take Fun Players
An important note as you do your draft: Remember that this is fantasy football. It’s supposed to be fun.
You might spend 100 hours watching your players. If you are on the fence between Hurts and Hall, may I suggest spending that time with Hurts?
This rule is 1,000 times more true if the NFL team you root for in real life sucks. I would know; I’m a Giants fan. I’ll spend this year watching Russell Wilson and Jaxson Dart facing off against potentially the hardest schedule in the league. Getting to adopt Baltimore or Buffalo because Jackson or Allen is my fantasy QB is frankly just a way more fun proposition than spending my season picking between Love or Caleb Williams each week. I’m not saying that you should take Allen in the first round because you want to watch him, but if you’re between two players, think about which one you’d rather root for over the course of four months. It’s often an easy answer. Do the Happy Gilmore happy place exercise. Yes, Jaylen Waddle may be ranked over Burrow. But is Waddle in your happy place holding out two pitchers of beer in your direction? No. Burrow is.
Remember, you have a 90 percent chance of losing. Take fun players so that you can enjoy the ride.
