POSITIONAL PRIORITY
Something that gets missed by many Fantasy Analysts is Positional Priority when drafting.
Understanding Fantasy Football Positional Priority is key to ensuring the success of your Fantasy team later in the season. It can also be the most important factor that determines whether a Trade is worth it when the time comes.
In traditional PPR that includes 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 or 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 Kicker, 1 Defense, and 1 or 2 Flex positions that don’t allow QBs to be flexed.
The Positional Priority is as follows
1 – Running Back
2 – Wide Receiver
3 – Tight End
4 – Quarterback
5 – Defense
6 – Kicker
Running Backs are the most important position because they fill multiple spots on your starting roster, and have the highest floors of any position other than Quarterback. They are also one of the most often injured positions so having depth at Running Back is usually necessary. The top tier Running Backs have the greatest potential to have game breaking performances each week. Most NFL teams only have 1 or 2 Fantasy relevant Running Backs on their roster. That means that there aren’t that many to choose from. So be sure to draft yours early. Whenever you are having a hard time deciding which player to draft. If one of them is a Running Back, that’s the one to go with.
Wide Receivers are the second most important position because they also fill multiple spots on your roster. Unlike Running Backs though they don’t have as high of a floor. They aren’t injured as often because the league has rules in place to protect them. They can also have game breaking performances, but they can also have terrible weeks of little to no points. Most NFL teams have 3 or 4 Fantasy relevant Wide Receivers so there are plenty to go around. That being said it’s a good idea to draft 1 or 2 top target Wide Receivers for piece of mind.
Tight Ends are third but only if you are after one of the better Tight Ends. Most NFL teams only have 1 fantasy relevant Tight End. That’s fine though because you only need to Start 1. The difference between a Top tier Tight End and a lower tier is huge. It’s a greater jump in points than any other position. So if you miss on a top tier Tight End, or aren’t interested in drafting one. Then Quarterback is actually more important to you.
Quarterbacks are next on the list because you only need to start 1, and almost every NFL team has a fantasy relevant QB. The difference between a top tier QB and a second tier QB isn’t huge so you can afford to wait. QBs are susceptible to injury but there is almost always a decent option as a replacement on waivers.
Defense and Kickers end the list because they both take up a roster slot. Determining how successful a Defense or Kicker will be is very situational. That’s why so many Fantasy Managers stream them week to week.
To sum up just draft a Running Back early, and another one asap before you even consider drafting a TE or QB.
If a top tier Wide Receiver falls to you go ahead and draft them.
If the top Tight Ends have been drafted then don’t draft one until you have drafted at least 3 Running Backs, 3 Wide Receivers, and a Quarterback.
Good Luck this season
Corbert de Ronde
Fantasy Football Expert