The 2015 NFL season is so close we can smell it, as preseason play finally gets going with the 2015 Hall of Fame Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings on August 9th. Normally no one cares about this game or even the preseason in general, but this tells us two things: the NFL and fantasy football are back.
Most years you’d still be a month away from your fantasy football draft and meaningful NFL games, but with daily fantasy football sites offering preseason games in recent years, we’re now being introduced to a culture where preseason NFL games mean more than player development and easy money for NFL franchises. Instead, we care more than ever about the young players duking it out for a position.
Of course, as with anything fantasy-related, there is still a strategy involved. Let’s break down the key selling points if you plan on playing in any preseason fantasy football games this year:
The Game Has Changed
In case you didn’t notice, the preseason isn’t the real thing. It’s okay to admit it, but the more important thing is to embrace it. Teams are rolling out vanilla concepts, rotations will be different and play won’t be all that clean. Naturally, the way you approach what fantasy talent you want to use will change.
Fade the Starters
Due to preseason being so different, you’re going to want to fade the top star players and normal starters. They just don’t accomplish much due to sporadic playing time. For game one, the big names usually play maybe a handful of series or less. For game two they stretch out to a full quarter sometimes, and game three they can play roughly 75% of a game if they need to. But for the most part, the star players you plan on using for the real fantasy football season are pretty much useless.
Find the Gems
With the star players off the table, you have to focus on the backups that can both get a good amount of work and also actually have the talent to bust some big plays and score some touchdowns. The backup fullback shouldn’t be on your list, but that explosive rookie running back certainly should be. Quarterbacks fighting for a job or having something to prove like a Johnny Manziel could carry tons of value in every single preseason game.
Note Injuries
Starter or not, the second football season starts we start to hear about nagging injuries. Stay away from anyone who is even remotely questionable for a preseason game, as the team simply isn’t going to risk a player’s health over a game that ultimately just doesn’t matter.
Stack up on Running Backs
The best fantasy strategy for preseason games is probably going to be stacking up on running backs – especially on DFS sites that let you use three. Wide receivers are a dime a dozen and the big trick here is to find out which young runners are fighting for a role and are also quality talents. Tight ends and receivers see sporadic targets and often work with inaccurate young passers, so the most trustworthy fantasy options by far are running backs. The name of the game here is touches and if you pick your rushers right, you should get a good amount of extra opportunities with some solid backup running backs.
Think you’re ready for the big show? Find a DFS site to your liking and go compete in fantasy football preseason action. Just remember to forget all of this stuff when the real 2015 fantasy football season arrives.
