Fantasy Football 2014: Late-Round Draft Strategy For The Upcoming Season

Draft strategy is important in the early rounds of a fantasy football draft, but it’s very difficult not to land a top player in the first few rounds. Once the draft starts winding down, it gets tougher and tougher to make decisions about what players to select.

Fantasy football leagues are often won and lost in the final rounds. Teams that find sleepers with their final picks are the ones that can survive injuries to their first few selections.

Below are some tips for drafting in the late rounds of your 2014 fantasy football draft.

Backups

If a player can’t start on his NFL team, there’s a good chance he doesn’t deserve a spot on your fantasy football team. However, there are some exceptions that can end up being major assets as the season moves along. If one of your starting wide receivers or running backs has injury concerns, selecting that player’s backup can ensure you a starter at that position. You can always drop your pick after a few weeks and look on the waiver wire for someone who’s been more productive.

Kickers

Some kickers have proven to be among the best in the NFL year after year, but their production is largely out of their hands. An accurate kicker won’t do your team any good if his team’s offense can’t get past the 50 yard-line Draft a kicker on a team that will likely score a lot of points, even if he doesn’t have a proven track record. It doesn’t pay to take a kicker with anything but your last pick, but getting any advantage helps.

Rookies

Relying on rookies in the early or middle rounds can be dangerous, but taking a flyer on one with one of your final three picks might be a good idea. First-year players can be undervalued, since they have no NFL experience, and there’s always a few that seemingly come out of nowhere to have notable seasons.

Running Backs

Because touchdowns are so highly valued, running backs that don’t get a lot of yardage can be real assets on a fantasy team. Goal line specialists will often emerge as viable options to replace starter that has a bye week, even if they don’t get many carries. Injuries are so prevalent to running backs that it pays to take one when all of your position requirements are filled, with the chance that they could eventually become a starter.