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Fantasy Football Beginners: How to find success even as a rookie

By Zachary Thompson

Aug 20, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; General view of a football before a game between the Houston Texans and the New Orleans Saints at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 20, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; General view of a football before a game between the Houston Texans and the New Orleans Saints at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 11, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive end William Hayes (95) looks at a tablet computer on the bench during the first half against the Arizona Cardinals at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 11, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive end William Hayes (95) looks at a tablet computer on the bench during the first half against the Arizona Cardinals at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

Tip #4: Cheating is good

Once you have the roster requirements and scoring system figured out, it’s time to start your draft setup. The easiest way to do this is with what are called “cheat sheets.” In this case cheating is good–actually its vital for fantasy football beginners.  Cheat sheets are a list of the players ranked in the order they should be drafted.

You can get these cheat sheets all over the internet and my positional rankings will be coming out over the next few days if you want to get them from here at FanSided.  While an overall “cheat sheet” of the top 300 players can be helpful, the real bread and butter of cheat sheets is having one for each position.

You’ll want a QB, RB, TE, WR, K, D/ST cheat sheet heading into the draft. The source that I like to use for this is again fantasypros.com where you can make your own cheat sheets or copy in rankings from “experts” across the internet (including me once my rankings are posted later this week).

What I recommend is just crossing players off (or deleting them if your list is virtual) as they are taken by you or by any other owner in your league.  That way you’ll know if you want to take a RB which options are the best on the board at that spot. You don’t always have to take the option on the top of your list, but its good to keep track of who’s off the board to avoid the embarrassing “He went three rounds ago” after you finally settle on a pick.

Next: Tip #5

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