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 “Keeper Conquest: Unleashing Fantasy Mastery of Keeper Leagues”.
How Does it Work?
A keeper league is a league for those of you who think you are advanced enough to play above redraft but are not yet ready for the year-long grind of a dynasty league.
A keeper league plays similarly to a redraft league in the sense that every year you have a draft, there are just a few fewer players left in the keeper draft pool.
How is it different?
As I said, it’s the happy medium between redraft and dynasty. It still comes with your typical startup draft like in a redraft league, the only difference is you keep some players.
You are probably wondering how that is different from a dynasty league and that’s simple. In a dynasty league, you keep your entire roster from year to year. In a keeper league, you have a set number of players you are allowed to keep and the rest go back into the player pool for the draft.
How does the Draft work?
The draft is pretty much a redraft league draft that starts with the third or fourth-round players depending on how many keepers you were allowed.
Since managers were allowed to keep players, this draft is typically 2-3 rounds shorter than your standard redraft league as a lot of the high-end players were kept.
A look at the Rosters
Rosters are open to league preference, but a typical roster is between 20-30 players and usually features approximately five taxi squad spots that are for rookies only and serve as your minor league farm system.
The hardest part in this format is determining how many keepers to have. Some leagues allow a set number of keepers with no positional limits, while other leagues allow you to keep a certain position only.
There is no wrong answer, it’s all up to league preference to determine how deep the roster and keeper limits should go.
How does the Waiver Wire work?
As always, the waiver wires will depend on how deep the roster and keeper limits are. If a large number of players were kept or the rosters are deep, the waiver wire can be slim. Otherwise, it’s your traditional waiver wire.
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
- Keep Your Best Players: This is a common strategy. If you are allowed to keep three players, many managers choose to simply keep their three best players regardless of cost. It can be a good way to ensure you aren’t short on high-end talent.
- Compare Player vs Pick: It’s all about value. In most leagues, players have to be kept using the draft pick in the round they were drafted, or one round higher. So the simple question to answer for determining who to keep is: will this player be worth more than the pick I need to use on them?
My Strategy
- Keep the Best Values: Not everyone wants to just keep their best players. If you have the QB2 at a 1st-round cost and the QB5 at a 15th-round cost, the obvious choice is to keep the QB5. Sure, he may be a tier lower in production than the QB2, but the discount you get in keeping him adds another elite player to your roster.
- Try to read the Keeper Board: This one can be difficult and is easier when you have played in the same keeper league for a long period. It involves you reading your opponent’s rosters to project which players will be kept by each team and therefore determine who you want to keep.
In Closing
This format is a gateway format. If you feel you are too advanced for redraft but not yet experienced enough for dynasty, a keeper league is the perfect way to learn the ropes and transition into the deeper waters of dynasty.
The most enjoyable part of a keeper league is hitting on a late-round league winner and getting to keep them the next season at a massive discount. A few shrewd keepers can give you a massive leg up on the competition.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Crash Course Series. Watch the 2024 Fantasy Football League Keeper League Draft on YouTube.
