The Re-Draft Roundtables Series
The Footballguys staff looks at various strategies to help you in redraft leagues.
Participating in a redraft league is a process that starts with the draft and hopefully ends with a championship. The Footballguys staff has answered several questions about various strategies to help you achieve your championship dreams. From the beginning to the end and everything in between, we've got you covered to give you the tools and knowledge needed to dominate your redraft league.
Managing the waiver wire throughout the season can greatly improve your team. Are there any specific strategies you use that would be advantageous for others?
JASON WOOD
Roster size is vital. You have to be realistic about the carrying costs for any position. If you have a shallow roster (e.g., 16 spots, but you start nine), you know you'll have to turn over your bench aggressively, dealing with injuries and bye weeks. In that case, you need to target high-upside players and be unapologetic in dumping almost everyone not in your starting lineup. But if you're in a deeper league -- as many experienced managers are -- then you know the available talent on waivers is thin. In those cases, you must be willing to commit a massive amount of free agent bidding currency on two or three shots at greatness.
SAM WAGMAN
Figuring out the waiver wire is possibly the key to winning your league. You have to be active enough to grab the players that will be popular but also have enough restraint to not grab every single player that is worth rostering. Also, knowing the size of your bench is key for knowing how often you need to turn over that bench for new players. Knowing what percentage of your budget to spend on each player is a big deal too.
BEN CUMMINS
Being proactive is the most important strategy. Picking up/rostering a player a week early or before a teammate’s injury can ensure you have the player if dealing with a waiver wire ranking system and can ensure you have the player and save you a ton of budget if dealing with FAAB. Mainly, this is rostering high upside running back handcuffs should you have the bench space to do so.
CRAIG LAKINS
I try to be as active as possible on the waiver wire because it's an immediate separator from the more casual managers in the league. If your league allows open waivers after the initial claim process, staying on top of news as it breaks will be a big help. I keep Twitter alerts on for a few trusted NFL insiders, so I'm ready to act as soon as they break valuable news.
ANDY HICKS
I have lost count of the number of times I have rescued a poorly drafted team through the waiver wire. I have also seen so many rosters where the owner just does not avail themselves to the waiver wire and loses because of a lack of foresight. Aggression is the key to managing the wire. Which starters are struggling? Do they have a quality backup that is up to fantasy relevance? If Cam Akers comes out and only manages two yards a carry and Darrell Henderson is sitting there, why wait for the team announcement or obvious change in team tactics? Fantasy points come from surprising places every year, often with a week or two warning on the waiver wire.
DAN HINDERY
I try to bid aggressively early in the season, especially if there is a running back available who has a chance to emerge as at least a medium-term starter. Many are hesitant to make higher bids in the first few weeks due to a fear that there is going to be a game-changing option that suddenly appears late in the year. However, that is a rare occurrence. Multiple owners have always saved their blind-bidding budget for just such an opportunity, so passing on good options early is no guarantee that you will luck into a more impactful pick-up later in the year.
GARY DAVENPORT
The best advice I can offer regarding the waiver wire is this—don't hesitate to be aggressive in adding a potential impact player. Far too often, fantasy managers are reluctant to use a high waiver priority or a sizable chunk of FAAB on a player early in the season for fear of missing out on someone else later in the year. This doesn't mean you should throw a high priority or a bunch of FAAB at every player who might have a measure of fantasy value. But if someone comes along in Week 3 who can legitimately help your team, go get them. Waiting until Week 10 to shoot your shot won't be much help in your team is 3-6.
RYAN WEISSE
The hardest part about spending waiver priority or FAAB is separating one-week wonders from players that just took over a more significant role. Don't go after the Browns' 3rd-string running back with all you have when he will give the job back in two weeks. But don't be afraid to pay up for Cordarrelle Patterson when we spent the offseason hearing that he might be the primary running back. Also, and this is my favorite tip: Pay attention to the dropped players on waiver day. While everyone else is disappointed they missed their guy, you might find a good player that should not be in free agency.
CHAD PARSONS
My keyword is proactivity. If waiting for the clear-cut sign from the fantasy heavens for auto-start players, now-starting running backs, etc., you will have to pay through the nose on the waiver wire. You might be able to do that 1-2-3 times during the season at most. Especially with running back, but it could apply to quarterbacks (Superflex) or wide receivers on occasion, being proactive with an evolving situation with the starter playing through injury, or a lingering possibility early in the week they miss the following game. You can get a discount through waivers due to the ambiguity.
DAVE KLUGE
Don’t shy away from making a splashy move early in the season. It was apparent very early last year that Elijah Mitchell and Cordarrelle Patterson would be important parts of their offense. Fantasy managers willing to pay for them got weekly starters off the waiver wire. I’d rather pay up early on a guy and be wrong than watch my leaguemate snag this year’s league-winner off the waiver wire.
ADAM HARSTAD
People wildly overestimate how likely any given free agent is to make an impact. Even the ones who make an impact are usually off-the-radar guys who were added for free or at a minimal cost a week or two before they break out. So I just blow all or most of my free agent bidding bucks (in leagues that have those) or my top waiver priority (in leagues where it's persistent between weeks) on the first player who catches my eye and then coast through the year on free or minimal-cost adds of guys who may or may not break out in the next week or two.
Is it perfectly optimal? Probably not. But it's very close and takes maybe 5% of the time and effort, so I consider it a win.
CHRISTIAN WILLIAMS
Proper waiver wire management is tricky, as it's sometimes difficult to discern between the one-week wonders and the guys who went and earned more snaps. Injury-filling performances are often the former, and I tend to search for guys who performed with no external factors of high impact. A guy like Tim Patrick in 2021 would be a good example. His best performances came early in the year with Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton on the field; that tends to stick more than the one-week, because-of-injury performance. Jumping on running backs early in the season tends to be beneficial. With the depth of the position, it's more likely that you'll find a waiver wire receiver that lasts before you find a running back.
JEFF BELL
Try to stay a move ahead on waiver running backs. These are the actual value risers in fantasy football. We get a significant reveal on depth charts and player roles early in the season. Anticipate the player set to gain value should an injury occur, and you will win the waiver wire over the entire season while saving yourself valuable FAAB or waiver positioning.
JUSTIN HOWE
Not really. I just make sure to use common sense and moderation. I'll fork over 30% or more of my budget only if a new high-high-high volume guy is suddenly in play. Say, Joe Mixon goes down for a couple of months, and Chris Evans has CLEARLY ascended into workhorse mode for the time being. Then, sure, I'll pony up. Otherwise, I'm not particularly active on waivers. Put it this way: I'm not the guy bidding frantically on Wednesday morning for the Rams' new but temporary WR3. I'd much rather let the season end with some FAAB dollars in my pocket than be left out of the race for a truly desirable sub in Week 12.