- Practice makes perfect: Fantasy football managers will be more prepared if they take more opportunities to run drafts similar to their actual draft.
- Pay attention during the draft: While it’s great to have a plan when the draft begins, don’t be afraid to change it depending on what’s happening.
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Whether you're a rookie or a seasoned pro, these 10 essential tips can guide you toward fantasy football success in 2026. While they're designed with newcomers and casual players in mind, even veterans might find a helpful strategy or two.
Dive in and get ready to dominate your league.
1. Know your league settings
Understanding your league settings is crucial for draft preparation.
This includes knowing how many players you start at each position and the number of flex and superflex spots. While most leagues follow standard formats, superflex leagues make quarterbacks more valuable, leading to earlier picks. Commissioners often tweak settings to make their leagues unique, such as starting only one running back or two tight ends.
It's also important to know how points are awarded for each stat, especially for receptions. Points for receptions can vary widely: Standard leagues award no points for receptions, PPR leagues give a whole point and half-PPR leagues grant half a point. Additionally, the number of participants in your league can influence your strategy.
PFF's fantasy football draft kit provides extensive research areas. While some content applies to all leagues, other sections are tailored to specific league types.
2. Practice, practice, practice
Just like anything in life, practice makes perfect, and fantasy football is no different. The more you practice before the draft, the more prepared you'll be on the big day.
Luckily, PFF offers a mock draft simulator to help you get the practice you need. You can sync your league settings if you use Sleeper, Yahoo! Fantasy or ESPN, or you can manually enter your league details, such as the number of teams, scoring settings and starting positions.
You can also customize strategies for yourself and your fellow drafters. For instance, if you know someone in your league is a fan of a particular team, you can set the simulator to have them draft more players from that team.
The repeated practice allows you to experiment with different strategies. Try drafting a running back in the first round and see how it goes, then try another draft with a wide receiver in the first round. Comparing the results can help you decide which position to target initially. The mock draft simulator also provides suggestions for each pick based on my rankings, PFF's projections and average draft positions.
3. Come up with a plan, but be prepared to abandon it
After you've done enough practice drafts, you should have a general plan of what you want to do heading into the real thing.
Mock drafts and our fantasy draft kit can help you create a strategy outlining the positions and players you aim to target in each round.
While having a plan is crucial, it's equally important to stay flexible. Drafts are unpredictable, and players you wanted might get picked earlier than expected.
Be prepared to pivot if someone becomes available unexpectedly. The mock drafts and draft kit will prepare you to adjust your strategy on the fly.
4. Pay attention to positional runs
During a draft, you might encounter situations where multiple players at the same position are picked consecutively. For example, if two teams select a quarterback earlier than expected, it can trigger a rush on quarterbacks as others fear missing out.
This is another reason why it's crucial to modify your approach as the draft plays out. Paying attention to tiered rankings is key. Tiers group similar players together, highlighting the gaps between different clusters within a position.
If a positional run is happening and only one or two players within a tier are still available, it might be wise to grab one of them. Conversely, if an entire tier has just been picked clean, it could be a good time to focus on a different position.
5. Pay attention to nearby drafters' picks
If you're picking near the start or end of the draft, it's beneficial to note what the people drafting after you might need.
For example, if you're picking 11th in a 12-team league, you'll have one pick, then the 12th team has back-to-back picks, followed by your next pick.
Suppose you want to draft a quarterback and a running back with your next two picks. In that case, it’s wise to check the roster of the team picking 12th. If they already have a quarterback, you should probably pick a running back first, knowing they are unlikely to pick another quarterback. Conversely, if they haven't picked a quarterback yet, it might be best to draft one first to prevent them from taking the player you want.
This strategy is particularly useful for those picking early or late in the draft. It’s less helpful for those picking in the middle, but it can still provide an edge.
6. Draft two running backs in the first three rounds
Volume is the most important part of fantasy football. A great player who rarely touches the ball isn’t going to score as many fantasy points as a subpar player who constantly receives the ball.
Last season, 18 running backs averaged at least 17 touches per game last season, and those are generally the same running backs that you should target early this season. The only one of those running backs who doesn’t rank among the top 20 in our rankings is Travis Etienne Jr., who now will share a backfield with Alvin Kamara. The running backs who didn’t average 17 touches per game last season but are expected to this year are Kenneth Walker III, who is now with the Kansas City Chiefs and no longer shares a backfield with Zach Charbonnet; Cam Skattebo, who was a backup to begin last season; and third overall pick of the 2026 draft, Jeremiyah Love.
The rest of the backfields are expected to be two or three-man committees. Only a few running backs finished between 13-17 carries per game, and outside of Skattebo and Walker, all are expected to see a decrease in touches. Rico Dowdle and Jaylen Warren both garnered over 15 touches per game last season, but now share the Pittsburgh Steelers backfield. Alvin Kamara, Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Woody Marks are all backups now. J.K. Dobbins, Tony Pollard and D’Andre Swift all have younger backs who are expected to see more time this season.
While there will be a couple of gems selected outside of the top 20 running backs, there is no guarantee you will be the fantasy manager to find them. To help make sure you have a balanced fantasy lineup, it’s important to have two running backs who are assured of volume as long as they stay healthy.
7. Wait for a quarterback, and then keep waiting
In 2024, the top fantasy quarterback scored 25.6 fantasy points per game, while the 16th-best quarterback averaged 16.3; that’s a gap of more than nine points. That chasm has been at least seven points in every recent season, except for last season. The top quarterback scored only 22.0 points per game, and the 16th quarterback was at 17.1; a margin of less than five points.
Teams are running the ball more often and are more conservative with their passing, making it harder for the elite passers to reach fantasy stardom, and the best rushing quarterbacks are running less often. Players like Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen aren’t taking off as much as during the peaks of their careers, so it’s unlikely they reach the same ceilings. On the other hand, there has been an influx of good quarterbacks in the NFL. Drake Maye, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels were all part of the 2024 draft class and have all shown they can be fantasy starters in most matchups when healthy.
Unless you’re in a superflex league or 20-team league or larger, every fantasy manager should be able to find a quarterback they are happy with. If you draft two quarterbacks late, you can start whichever one has the best matchup each week, and find similar production to those who draft a quarterback early.
Let most of your leaguemates pick quarterbacks early while you stock up on great running backs and wide receivers, and then pick two quarterbacks to maximize your chances of success.
8. Use rankings instead of projections, and draft for upside late
When drafting late, focus on rankings rather than projections.
The goal with these late picks is to choose players who have the potential to be great, even if there’s some risk involved, rather than selecting players who are consistently good but unlikely to improve. Having a player on your bench who never starts isn't helpful. It's better to draft someone who, if things go well, could become a fantasy starter. If they don’t pan out, you can easily drop them and pick up someone else.
For example, Khalil Shakir scored the 36th-most fantasy points last season as the Buffalo Bills‘ slot receiver. He consistently played in 11 personnel and rarely appeared in other personnel groupings, and there is little reason to expect that to change this season. He is a fine bye-week fill-in or flex option in a deeper league, but he is not the kind of player who will win you your fantasy league.
Instead, someone like Jayden Higgins of the Houston Texans is a better pick. Higgins only finished 47th in fantasy points per game last season, but he is younger; there is more reason to expect his role to increase, and more reason to expect his quality of play to increase. There is no guarantee that those things will happen, leading Shakir to have better projections. If things don’t go Higgins’ way, you can drop him and add another player. If they do, he could help you win your league.
9. Only draft a kicker or team defense if you have to
If your league uses kickers and defense, it's best to wait until right before Week 1 to pick them up rather than drafting them. There isn't much advantage to drafting a kicker or defense early, so it's fine to delay as long as you remember to add them before the season starts.
Instead, consider drafting a player with potential upside, like Isaac TeSlaa. If Amon-Ra St. Brown or Jameson Williams were to get hurt between now and the start of the season, you would have a potential top-36 fantasy wide receiver. Then, at the start of the season, you could drop someone else on your roster for a kicker or defense and keep TeSlaa. However, if St. Brown and Williams stay healthy, you can consider cutting TeSlaa at the start of the season instead. The gap between the kicker or defense you would draft and the top ones available is relatively small.
This strategy is less relevant if your draft is only a few days away from the start of the season.
10. Have fun
Whether you're playing for money or fun, it's important to remember that fantasy football is a game meant to be enjoyed.
While it might not make sense to draft your favorite player several rounds earlier than his average draft position (ADP), it's perfectly fine to choose your favorite player when deciding between two similarly ranked players.
Similarly, it's OK to avoid players from teams you dislike. If everyone in your league does this, someone will eventually get some steals in the draft. However, if two players have similar ADPs, passing up players from teams you dislike is acceptable.
These decisions might slightly impact your team's performance, but the difference is usually minimal when players are close in value. Even at the top of the draft, there isn't always a consensus on who the best player at a position should be.
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