Fantasy Football Strategy: Stealing Talent

We addressed the less-fortunate teams last week, hopefully you all got a win this week and are sitting pretty at 2-2 or at least 1-3. If you are still fishing for wins, hang in there and make some moves this week as we are seeing even more injuries and some potential talent will be available for you.

However, this post is going out to the 3-1 and 4-0 teams. You’ve got a solid lineup and likely don’t need to make any big sleeper moves, but in fantasy football, you should never be sitting idly. Time to move on to a favorite strategy of mine. It will likely make you kind of an asshole, but it’s worth it.

It’s time to start stealing. And this is how it’s done.

In Week 4 we saw some performances that caught our eye, and they are likely still sitting in free agency. But they won’t be for long. These players are hot commodities and will be snatched up by the other teams in your league. Time to steal them.

In one of my leagues, I am 4-0.

I have Adrian Peterson and Matt Forte as my starting running backs, and I have Beanie Wells on my bench. Needless to say, I’m pretty well off at running back.

My bench still has a few leftover experiments from the draft that didn’t pan out as I had hoped. So, what is the point in wasting any more time on Steve Breaston or Caddilac Williams?

I have already put my waiver wire picks in to grab Stevan Ridley, Ryan Torain and {insert Houston Texans wide receiver not named Andre Johnson here}.

I don’t need these players, and (knock on wood) will never have to use them because my starters will remain healthy. But by snatching these sleepers up and getting rid of my players that have already let me down this season, I am doing something just as valuable as picking up starters. I am making sure that other teams can not start them.

With Peterson and Forte getting me 20 points per game, I don’t care a little bit if I see Ridley make 15 points on my bench. And I can rest assured that he is not giving 15 points to my opponent.

It’s a simple, douchebag strategy, but it is definitely one to consider. Playing defense and not allowing other teams to pick up the sleepers is keeping you safe. Make the move. Even if you are not hurting at running back or wide receiver, it is worth the investment to keep them out of your competitions’ starting lineups.