The Waiver Wire: How to use it the right way! (fantasy football)

The draft will get you through the regular season but the waiver wire will win you championships.  What is the waiver wire you might ask?  Every player not drafted goes on the waiver wire, where he awaits his chance at glory.  If you happen to be in a small league of 8-10 players you will find plenty of talent there.  At 12-14 players, it takes some skill to navigate it.  Over that, and your pickings will be slim but you can still find something.  Most leagues have a reverse order for pickups.  This means if you are last in your league, you get first dibs.  Vice versa, if you are lucky to be first, you go last.  So pick your order of who you want carefully.

Every year a star or 3 will get hurt.  That is when its time to find the diamond in the rough.  However, that is where most players mess up.  They will only use the waiver wire for injuries.  I love to use the waiver wire to pick up good matchups.  If I know there is a running back on my team going up against a top defense, I will look for one that isn’t as good going against a poor defense.  So maybe I had Eddy Lacy last year playing against Denver defense.  We all remember how that worked out.  Less than 40 yards and only 1 touchdown.  So if you think your guy just might not do well, see who else is out there.  Pick up a lesser known guy who is playing a crappy defense.  I used to joke always pick the guy playing against the Jaguars.  Another theory that I use well to gain the most points is to change out defense often.  Now unless you drafted a top-ranked defense, like Denver, Seattle or Cardinals; you want to look for the best weekly match ups.  This allows you to gain more points on a weekly basis.

With Fantasy Football, you get in what you put in.  Playing the waiver wire takes time and research.  Most leagues have deadlines to put in.  Normally this is Tuesday and Friday.  If you have what it takes to be a champ in YOUR league, you can put in the time.  Check back here weekly for my waiver wire tips and pick ups starting week one!

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