As the game grows more popular year after year, more first-time managers dip their toes into fantasy football, and the 2023 NFL season will be no exception. But without a baseline of understanding how it all works, things can quickly spiral out of control. While there are multiple ways to play fantasy football, here are some of the basics to help first-time managers get off on the right foot.

Did you get a trade offer in your dynasty or redraft league? Not sure what to do? Make championship-winning decisions with PFN’s FREE Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer and Calculator!

How To Play Fantasy Football

Whether talked into it in a work league, coaxed by a significant other, or jumping into the fray out of boredom or curiosity, every season, more and more people are joining their first fantasy football league. Generally, they don’t know what they’re doing. And who can blame them?

But by coming to this page, you’re taking an important step in your early development as a title-winning fantasy manager. So first of all, welcome. Pull up a chair, grab a drink, and enjoy your stay. Second, this might feel a bit overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to. Fantasy football is an incredibly simple game at its core, and if you’re not having fun, it’s time to find a new hobby.

Hopefully, after acquiring a bit of knowledge about what to expect, you can gain the confidence needed to draft, manage your team, and win like a champion. While there are probably dozens, if not hundreds, of different ways to play fantasy, we will cover the most popular ones, as most or all should apply to you and your league.

Drafting

For many people, the draft is the best day on the fantasy calendar. You have looked at the league rules, given your team a name, and are about to fill out your first fantasy football roster. It’s a big moment — or rather, a big hour or two (or three).

This won’t be a free-for-all selection of players. Instead, teams are built via a draft. And before the draft even begins, fantasy managers need to do some work.

The first step is knowing how many members are in the league. It’s important to remember when reading fantasy football recommendations that they are typically tailored around a “standard” 10-12 person league. You might need to tweak the recommendations and adjust them for the correct round for ADP (Average Draft Position).

Remember To Read the League’s Rules

When first learning how to play fantasy football, always remember to go over the rules, roster, and scoring settings for your league. Going into the draft blind could prove disastrous. Do players receive points for a reception, referred to as PPR (points per reception)? Is it half-point or full-point?

This impacts the priority of pass catchers who see significant volume, such as wide receivers, high-usage tight ends, and — to varying degrees — two or three dozen running backs.

Also, what kind of draft is it? This will have the most significant impact on your strategy. Is it an auction, Best Ball, 2QB/Superflex, DFS, dynasty, TE premium, keeper, or just a standard redraft league? Many first-time players are in a redraft league, meaning every player is available at the start of the draft.

There Is No ‘Wrong’ Way To Draft

Now it’s time to draft. And don’t worry: There’s no wrong way to draft/build a fantasy team. Period. Yes, there are optimal and sub-optimal ways to go about it, but anything can work with the right execution and a bit of luck.

Once the draft begins, managers go pick by pick in a draft order established before the draft until rosters have been filled. How many rounds this takes depends on how many roster spots your team needs to fill. It could be 15 rounds or even 25+ in some dynasty leagues. Most drafts have about 15-18 rounds.

Each week, in fairly standard leagues, fantasy football teams start one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, one flex spot (can be an RB, WR, or TE), a kicker, and a defense/special teams (i.e., from among the 32 NFL teams). Each fantasy roster also has bench players, frequently ranging from five to eight.

Some managers prioritize RBs and WRs early in these kinds of leagues. We start these players more than any others, making them the backbone of the roster. But as you learn how to play fantasy football, you will quickly realize how many different ways there are to build a successful team.

Luckily for us, we’re not tied at the hip to every single player. And no matter how good of a draft you had, midseason moves and managing your roster are what can make or break your fantasy fate.

Roster Management

This is what defines champions in fantasy. Outside of Best Ball, I doubt you’ll ever find a winning team that didn’t change their roster after the draft. Knowing when to add/drop or start/sit players can be the difference-maker.

Waivers

Once the draft is completed, this is the primary way to add talent to your fantasy football team. You will learn how powerful this can be as you continue to play. The waiver wire is the list of players who were not drafted and are essentially “free agents.” They can be added to your roster at various times during the week. The first run traditionally clears on Wednesday and then daily after that until Sunday’s games.

With that said, it’s vital to see if your league’s waivers are on a first-come, first-serve basis where there is no set time and date. In those leagues, you can add a player anytime you want.

Injuries happen, unfortunately. If you have an injured player, you could find someone from the waiver wire to replace him. Or did you draft someone who’s not playing well, and you’re not expecting a turnaround? Use waivers. Is it a bye week for some of your players, or do you want to get ahead of the following week’s potentially popular roster additions? The waiver wire is your ticket to improvement.

If your roster is full, you’ll need to drop someone already on your team so as not to exceed the roster limits. Otherwise, if you have an open spot, they can be added directly to your team.

Trading

There is an art to wheeling and dealing in fantasy football. Some are great at it, and some just don’t get it. It can be a powerful tool if used properly. Is there a stud player playing poorly but with a good shot at breaking out? Trying to trade for them before it happens could be a priority move.

The key to trading is to understand that no matter how much you value a player, he’s only as valuable as how much someone else is willing to give. Jonathan Taylor might be an elite RB. But if no one will give you market value, then you simply might not be incentivized to move him at a discount.

Much like the NFL, fantasy football also has a trade deadline. Beyond the set date, there are no trades. This tends to take place between Weeks 11 and 13 in many leagues. You’ll quickly pick up who is receptive to trading, who is leery of it from fear of being taken advantage of, and who values their players far differently than you do. Trading is an art form that is difficult to master.

Fantasy Football Playoffs

Weeks of work and lineup setting lead (for some fortunate managers) to the fantasy football playoffs. In most leagues, these begin in Week 15 and wrap up in Week 17. Leagues that play their fantasy championship in Week 18 are playing with fire because several teams rest their starters that week.

So while you might have the best team, if several of your key guys take the final week off, then you’ll have the misfortune of playing the most important game at the worst possible time.

Typically, playoff seeding is based on the win-loss record, though some leagues base it on the most points scored during the season. And for most leagues, the fantasy playoffs are a single-elimination bracket, with the winners progressing to the next round.

There are some sites, such as ESPN, that use two-week playoff matchups, with the total score of your teams over a two-week period determining who advances to the next round. However, the longer the matchup, the fewer the number of teams there are in the playoffs.

Winning is based partly on which team gets hot at the right time. Play fantasy football long enough, and you’ll realize the best teams do not always win. But often, the best managers produce great teams.

So while they might not win it all most or even some years, their talent at consistently garnering winning records and postseason appearances reinforces why fantasy football isn’t simply a game of chance. When you get good at it, you’ll see the difference.