How to Use Tiers in Fantasy Football

With an estimated 20 million people playing fantasy football every year, according to an article in the Jefferson Post, fantasy football drafting has grown competitive over recent years. There are many different strategies that people employ beyond just ranking all the players in order. One of these strategies is the idea of using tiers, which involves creating groups of players within a position and drafting players from the highest tier available with each pick.

Instructions

    • 1

      Create a list of eligible fantasy football players in a ranked order, from best player to worst. You can compile the list yourself or use a list provided by a fantasy football magazine or website. Collect lists for each of the positions your fantasy football league uses.

    • 2

      Study the projected statistics and fantasy points of each player and group together the players who are likely to produce similar numbers. For example, you can group together the running backs that project to score between 225 and 250 fantasy points, followed by the ones who project to score between 200 and 225 points.

    • 3

      Assign tier numbers to each group and draw a box around them on your list. Mark the highest group of players at each position as the first tier. Mark the remaining tiers in ranked order.

    • 4

      Bring your tiered list with you to your draft, and use a marker or highlighter to cross out the names of each player as teams select them. When it is your turn to draft, decide which position of player you want to draft and take a player from the highest tier available on your list.

    • 5

      Continue using this method to draft, choosing players in the highest remaining tier for each position when it is your turn to pick.