How to Begin Playing

Starting a league

There are many types of fantasy football games but for the purpose of this blog I am going to stick to the basic version of fantasy football. First, you need people to be in your fantasy football league with you. I recommend anywhere from 8 to 12 people. The more people you know in your league the more fun it is, but you can join Internet leagues where the people are random strangers. Once you have the amount of people in your league you have a “draft.” During the draft, each person selects NFL players from any of the 32 teams. Your draft order is predetermined (usually selected out of a hat). The object of the draft is to select the best players available to be on your team. In order to have a successful draft, you need to know what position players you can play in your game. A traditional team looks like this:

1 Quarter Back

2 Running Backs

2 Wide Receivers

1 Tight End

1 Team Defense

1 Kicker

8 Bench players (can be any position)

During the draft, you select players for these positions until you fill your team with 16 players from any of the 32 teams.

Once the draft is over each team now has their team of 16 players. They are now ready to play the game.

Playing the game

Each week of an NFL football season, you assemble your roster of the best players on your team for each position. You then play one other team from your league. The object of the game is score more points then your opponent for that week. In order to score points, your players on your team need to do well in their NFL games. A traditional scoring system looks like this:

4 points for a passing Touch down (TD)

6 points for a receiving TD

6 points for a running TD

1 point for 10 yards rushing

1 point for 10 yards receiving

1 point for 20 yards passing

3 points for a field goal

6 points for a defensive TD

1 point for a recovered fumble

1 point for an interception

The scoring system for each league varies and is easily customizable based on each leagues preference but the above is a standard league.

So let’s say that one of your running backs scores 1 TD and rushes for 90 yards. Your running back would earn you 15 points (6+9). You would add up the rest of your player’s scores for that one week and you would compare it to your opponents player’s scores for that same week. Whoever has the most points wins the game for that week.

You then play the other teams in the league alternating who you play each week. Typically around week 13 the regular fantasy season is over and the teams with the most wins go to the playoffs. The playoff system in any fantasy league can vary but typically it lasts 3 NFL weeks. The winner of the playoffs is the winner of the entire league and usually wins a pot of money.

That is basic fantasy football in a nutshell. My favorite thing about fantasy football is that every game during the entire NFL season you are either routing for or against a player. It makes every game fun to watch and very entertaining. I hope you get the jist of how to play. I look forward to sharing strategies and player information throughout the season. Good luck!

For more information on fantasy football or if you would like to join a league check out ESPN's Fantasy Football page.

-Riley