There are advantages and disadvantages for every spot in a snake draft, which drives the competitiveness of selecting fantasy football teams. In the front third of the draft order, you get a very high-end player yet have to wait nearly two rounds to select again. Middle drafters are privy to a more balanced selection and don’t have to start or stress about any positional runs. From the latter end of the draft, managers have to wait a while to pick, but get several selections near each other in value. The Perfect Draft series at 4for4 is a wonderful way to see how drafts are playing out during the height of drafting season, with a round-by-round detailed draft from various spots, across several fantasy football platforms.

There are many valid approaches to fantasy football drafts that can lead to hoisting a championship trophy at the end of the season. While the do’s are plentiful when it comes to success in fantasy football, the don’ts are probably the most important. Do not reach for a kicker or defense no matter how much you like them or want them on your team. Save those for the last two rounds of a draft, and load up on depth at your core positions, you’ll need it. Unless it’s a 2QB or Superflex league, resist the urge to take a QB first, as there is so much depth and similar scoring for all the starting QBs, but a larger dropoff at the other positions after the first few rounds.

There are so many different drafting strategies when it comes to the best ball format since these leagues are essentially draft it and forget it, meaning once the draft is over there is no weekly management. Some choose to focus on different positions earlier than others, and there is no right or wrong approach. However, roster construction, or how your team is built is essential to finding success in this format. Underdog leagues are 18 rounds, half-PPR scoring, with 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE and 1 Flex as starters. In regular, not tournament formats, you want a pretty balanced roster talent-wise but want to be sure to disperse the positions in the best way possible to maximize points. You want at least 2 QBs and three if you’re going with a later-round approach to the position instead of grabbing an elite guy early. Data shows that five to six RBs is the sweet spot, while drafting anywhere from six to eight WRs works best since three start every single week. Similar to QB, the other onesie position, if you’ve drafted an elite TE taking just one more to cover the bye week is acceptable in order to focus on depth at RB or WR. However, if you're drafting TEs from the middle of the pack, taking a third one somewhere along the way is a solid strategy since the position is so volatile. For more information on everything Underdog best ball, 4for4 has an extensive article database that covers every aspect of this growing trend in fantasy football.

Average Draft Position, or ADP is the average pick number a certain player is being selected across multiple drafts conducted on a specific site or platform. This data can also be broken down further to include ADP by position. For example if you see Stefon Diggs listed with an ADP of 2.02 and WR3, that means he is being drafted on average as the second pick in the second round, as the third receiver off draft boards.

4for4 has proven to be highly consistent in both their preseason and in-season rankings, which is paramount for success in fantasy football. John Paulsen, 4for4’s Director of Forecasting was named the Most Accurate Fantasy Football Expert by FantasyPros in both 2010 and 2014, and was the runner-up in 2011 and 2019. In 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020 he finished among the top four rankers. The forecasting process at 4for4 places emphasis on teams’ offensive tendencies, strength of schedule and athlete talent via predictive modeling. This allows the rankings to effectively deliver fantasy football results that are measurable, objective and consistently replicated, and 4for4’s historical success in accuracy confirms that they’re good at what they do.

There are many outlets for fantasy football content, which allows the industry to thrive and grow. 4for4 is known for accurate rankings and projections, along with a whole host of actionable content for redraft, best ball, DFS and betting. Some sites are more hyper focused on dynasty content, or one specific type of fantasy football, so be sure to do all the research that you can.

A dynasty fantasy football league is one where you retain most or even all of your players from season to season. Hits or misses can have an impact on a team for many years, similar to NFL franchises. In dynasty formats, there are trades, including actual draft picks, and usually deeper roster pools, which encourages players to grab and grow with younger prospects. Looking at dynasty rankings certainly helps when tackling a new dynasty startup league, as does learning everything about the NFL rookies and where they are ranked to start their respective NFL careers. Researching and participating in mock drafts for dynasty formats is advisable when first starting out, so that you can get a solid idea of where players are being drafted.

Leagues where you either start two QBs or can use one in the flex spot require a mindset change when it comes to drafting. In single-QB leagues waiting to draft your signal caller can be advantageous in order to load up on depth for positions that require more starters, however if you play QB chicken and wait too long in a 2QB or Superflex format, you may be left with the bottom of the barrel. A sensible approach to drafting quarterbacks in Superflex is to pair an elite top-12 option in the first two rounds with a duo of fantasy signal-callers from the QB18-QB24 range you can mix and match on a weekly basis depending on matchups. This allows you to not invest all your early-round draft capital on one position while still coming away with a formidable quarterback room.

Drafting and starting individual defensive players weekly as opposed to a team’s entire defense is known as IDP fantasy football. Instead of awarding points for the whole unit, IDP scoring tallies points for plays made by each player such as tackles, sacks, interceptions and safeties, among other defensive categories. 4for4 has a wide array of articles, tools and rankings to assist fantasy managers in their quest to conquer IDP leagues. Rankings are broken down by defensive back, defensive line and linebackers, with additional content on rookie breakouts, as well.

Created by Shawn Siegele, the Zero RB strategy focuses on selecting elite receivers and/or tight ends early in the draft while waiting and targeting high-upside running backs in later rounds. The theory behind this strategy is that WRs have a lower bust rate in the earlier rounds than RBs, in particular when it comes to the fragility of the RB position. Even without injuries, WRs have proven to score more points than RBs in PPR formats at the same average draft position (ADP). Be sure to read up on and research the strategy before deciding to implement Zero RB in Underdog best ball formats in 2021.

Streaming is a term given to the act of picking up and starting certain positional players based on their weekly matchups instead of looking at their value for the season as a whole. This is particularly useful for QB, TE, DST and K, as they are considered “onesie”positions and so there is a smaller demand for inventory, thus leaving playable opinions on the waiver wire. If you have an elite or high-end player from any or all of these positions streaming is not necessary, but it can certainly be advantageous as a strategy in season-long fantasy football formats. By looking at a team's opponents and their weaknesses in positional areas, we can take advantage by picking up and starting their opposing players.

The ideal first-round picks are fairly dependent on what part of a draft one is picking from and the scoring format of the league. It’s pretty standard for the elite tier of running backs to leave draft boards in the first few picks, unless it is a Superflex or TE premium format. Towards the middle of the first round is when the RB value drops off and grabbing an elite WR or Travis Kelce is the best move. When you get to the back end of drafts, developing a strategy for both your first and second pick is beneficial since the snake draft comes back to you quickly. If deciding to implement a Zero RB construction, taking two top WRs is a solid plan, or if you’re going for balance, drafting the best available player should be in play. 4for4 has a very intuitive Perfect Draft series that covers ideal drafts from various spots on different platforms.