For the general public, a standard fantasy football league suffices. If you’re reading this article, you may have grown weary of normal leagues and would like to try something new. Crash Course, a Fantasy Football Universe series, delves into unique formats. So, let’s start with “Conquering the Crypts: Navigating the Fantasy Football Graveyard League”.
How Does it Work?
This format is similar to the rotisserie-style league we see in fantasy baseball. There are no head-to-head matchups and instead, the champion is crowned by the year-end points leader. Each week you set a lineup and accrue points like in a regular rotisserie league and the points from all 18 weeks are added up to decide a champion.
How is it different?
Unlike in rotisserie fantasy sports where there is a typical draft and you have roughly the same roster each week, there is no set roster in a Graveyard League. Instead, the entire player pool of the NFL is available to be played at any time.
Here is the catch. If you start a player in Week 1, you cannot start them again all season long. You have the full NFL player list, but with each player being limited to one start, you have to be strategic about which weeks you choose to use each player.
Planning for optimal matchups and bye weeks is the name of the game in this format. Trying to start each player during their “blowup” week is what you are aiming for.
The other important thing to note is that you have to balance planning for the future with surviving to see the future as the lowest-scoring team each week is eliminated.
How does the Draft work?
As I stated above, there isn’t a traditional draft. There is a full NFL player pool to choose from and each week the pool gets smaller and smaller as you use up options.
It is a quick and pain-free way to do a fantasy football league and involves little to no planning. Simply fill the league and pick away.
A look at the Rosters
Rosters are completely open for the start of the season leaving you free to choose any player you wish. After you use each player, they are moved to your graveyard and are unavailable to you for the remainder of the season.
The Bye Weeks and Matchups are key to managing your roster.
How does the Waiver Wire work?
The waiver wire is wide-open as you are free to select any player that you haven’t already started that season. Having said that, it’s an 18-game season and your options begin to get scarce quickly, especially at quarterback and tight end.
How the scoring works
Again, scoring is not impacted by the league and can be done in any manner of your choosing. There is no wrong or right answer here, it’s all up to you and your league mates.
The Consensus Strategy
- Plan Around Bye Weeks: This is common sense, as the player pool narrows, you will have to plan accordingly. Look ahead to see when each player’s bye week is to avoid painting yourself into a corner. There is nothing worse than surviving to the end only to realize all your best options at a position are on bye that week.
- Monitor the Matchups: This isn’t as crucial as the bye-week strategy, but it’s still important. You can’t start a stud at each position, every week, so look for favorable spots in the schedule to start marginal players. At some point you will have to start an undesirable player like Derek Carr, so look for a game where Carr faces a weak defense and fire him up. There is no better feeling than coming through a week even with your league mates when you started a low-end QB and they fired up and burned a stud.
My Strategy
- Don’t Look Too Far Ahead: It’s easy to get caught up in planning for the end of the season to try and save the best players for the end, but a Graveyard League is similar to an NFL Survivor Pool. If you are eliminated in Week 3, planning for Week 15 isn’t going to do you much good.
- Take Chances and Go with Your Gut: This piggybacks on the Matchups strategy above. If you have a hunch that a backup running back is going to put up a monster week with the starter out, then fire them up and save your studs for later. A well-placed long shot can set things up nicely for you in the long run.
In Closing
This format can feel a little more laid back and chaotic and it’s easy to give up early. Inevitably, one manager is going to use all the best players early on in the season and will jump out to a huge lead. Have faith, as they are forced to dive down into the bargain bin for players, you will get a chance to fire up your studs and battle your way back in.
Find yourself a balance of planning for Week 18, while also ensuring you survive the current week, and hope for the best.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Crash Course Series. Take a look at the Fantasy Football Universe 2024 Graveyard League to see how it played out.
