Article 13

(Early Offseason Trading Strategies)

by Steve Stegeman (December 30, 2000)
Writer/Reporter, FootballInsider.com

There are three ways in which a fantasy football team is built: 1) the draft, 2) trading and 3) free-agency/the waiver wire. Though all three are important, trading is the key to success in fantasy football, especially for keeper leaguers because it is through making trades that a team is molded. Without argument, drafting sensibly, maximizing the talent you get with early picks and taking appropriate, calculated risks in later rounds, and picking up those freebies during the season are keys to success in fantasy football. However, trades allow you to make a conscious effort to tailor-make your team; whereas, in the draft the perceived value of a player at draft time, without regards to your positional need or your personal take on a player, has to be the prevalent/deciding factor more often than not, and free-agency is usually just a no-brainer to the astute fantasy footballer. When you make trades, you can go out and get the players you want at the positions you want to fill.

This is not to mention that in trading, unlike in the draft or free-agency, you bring your social/interactive skills into play. This is also the arena where you get to know your fellow fantasy footballers on a one-to-one basis as opposed to the draft which is a group atmosphere. This is particularly true when you choose to use the phone and not constantly rely on the sterile forum of cyber-communication where your adversaries remain faceless. Conducting drafts on-line is oftentimes the most efficient and inexpensive method. Nevertheless, the best fantasy leagues are the ones that host a draft at someone's house or a restaurant and most dealings within the league are conducted on the phone. But, this is a whole nother issue regarding the pros and cons of cyberspace in rotisserie sports. The point here is that the proper manifestation of trading is key to both a successful fantasy team and fantasy league.

That having been said, know that now, the next month or so, is prime deal-cuttin' time for keeper leaguer fantasy footballers. Guys are still into football with the playoffs, and wounds inflicted by players that hurt owners during the year and particularly down the stretch, i.e. Marvin Harrison, Isaac Bruce, Robert Smith, Curtis Martin, Jamal Anderson, Jeff George, etc., etc., remain raw. It is over the next month or so that you can win bigger than any other time of the year by trading, and being well-informed can afford you this luxury with little risk involved; i.e., you can get players with big upswing for their current value/their 2000 season value, the ideal situation being trading a player with downside next year for a player with upside while the statistics of both players for the 2000 season make them "arguably" equal and the trade offer reasonable. From there, you are just a persuasive voice away from making a great deal for yourself. Do not be hesitant to deal during the first month of the new year because as the offseason progresses, heads, perspectives and outlooks become clearer and big-time deals become harder to cut. So, get on the horn now or for 2001 hold the same pieces.

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Revised: 08 Oct 2014 11:56:20 -0700