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After you draft your roster, you can't just sit there and do nothing with your team. If you want to win your league, you have to be proactive and manage your team each week.
Setting your lineup
The most important responsibility a fantasy coach has is to field the best possible team every week. The easiest way to stay in the game and in the championship picture is to make sure you have a complete and competitive lineup before the NFL games begin each week. Here are some common reasons why you need to change your starting lineup each week to stay competitive:
- Injuries: Injuries happen in the NFL often; they're part of what makes fantasy football challenging. If your best player gets knocked out for the season, you'll be hard pressed to find a worthy replacement. However, with a little research and by counting on your draft depth, you can insert capable players into your lineup each week.
- Matchups: Each fantasy team has a core of stud players that must start every week when healthy. But when making choices at your other lineup positions, you need to consider each NFL game and which of those matchups are more likely to give your fantasy players the best chance to produce.
- Bye weeks: During the season, each NFL team has one week off (its bye week); you need to bench a team's players during its bye week. If you prepare for your draft correctly, these open dates won't come as a surprise, and your bench players will be ready to contribute.
- Performance: Athletes tend to play in streaks, either hot or cold. When making the tougher lineup decisions, you can check the stats for the last few games and see who's playing well and who needs to take a seat on your bench.
Changing your roster
Every league provider has different rules governing player movement. Always know your league rules and settings before you draft your team and play the game.
During the season, you can add or drop players to replace injured players or to upgrade at positions of need in one of three ways:
- The free agency pool: In Yahoo! default leagues, all undrafted fantasy players begin the season as free agents, which means they're available to be added to your roster at any time. Many free agent pickups will surprise you and become staples in your lineup.
- The waiver wire: If another team drops a player, the player goes on waivers for a limited time before becoming a free agent. All coaches then have a set amount of time (usually two days) to decide whether to add him to their teams. To add a player on waivers, you must drop a player from your roster. If you have the highest waiver priority — set in reverse order of your draft at the start of the season — you're awarded that player. After a claim is awarded, your waiver priority drops to the lowest number.
- Trading with other coaches: If free agency doesn't help, it may be time to make a trade offer. Of course, making a good trade is easier said than done because you have to give up someone good in order to get someone good.
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