In Daily Fantasy Tournaments, the objective for each participant is to get the most points possible out of your team. With enough points you can earn a profitable return on your entry fee. No matter the sport, for classic tournaments you will need to draft players from every position.
This means for baseball you will need to draft for each individual position and are not able to just stack up on outfielders or catchers. This is done not only to give everyone a fair starting point, but also due to having some positions being a little overpowered in certain sports.
This isn’t to say there are no bad days for these positions, or that they wont be outscored by other positions once in a while. Many star athletes can even compete outside of these position and be viable. However, these positions are commonly the highest-scoring in their respective sports.
Its to the point where if you’re planning on finishing in a winning position then you need to be sure you get the right player for these positions. Let’s get you prepared by listing the important positions you absolutely need to get correct when drafting in daily fantasy tournaments.
1. Goalies and Netminders in NHL Hockey
Oh my, drafting the netminders for any sport that uses goalies can be nerve-wracking to say the least. The NHL is no exception to this as hockey goalies are generally under intense pressure from the first opening whistle until the end. Around 30-40 shots will be fired at the netminder each game. This doesn’t include close plays around the net, loose pucks that find their way trickling around the red line and possible gaffs by the goalies’ own teammates.
With the possibility of negative point totals its a legitimate concern.
Looking only at positions and not star players, NHL goalies easily have the most potential to singlehandedly win or lose you a paid finishing spot in hockey tournaments. This isn’t solely because of their potential to get high point totals, but rather a few unique attributes that only apply to this position in hockey.
Like for others listed in this article, these factors make these positions essential to getting right when drafting.
What Makes Positions like NHL Goalies Unique for Scoring?
In DFS hockey tournaments, goalies are the only position that can actually lose your team points. If a forward misses a shot on an empty net, there won’t be any subtractions made from their point total. For the goalies though, every goal allowed is -3.5 points from their total.
In other words, this negates five saves for every goal. If goals pile up early on, the goalie can be pulled from the game and finish with negative points which will disqualifies you from finishing in a winning position most of the time.
There is a positive upside on the opposite end as well. Goalies are also the only position that directly benefits from their team winning the game. If the goalie’s team wins, an additional six points are added to their point total.
Goalies are on the ice the entire game, while every other position takes shifts. Being part of the action for the full 60 minutes means more opportunities to score points. Both the high and low scoring possibilities are good reason to not take your goalie selection lightly.
2. Wide Receivers for NFL Football
When you think of MVP-tier positions for football games, quarterback is probably most people’s first thought. Its a good answer, and will often be true for anything other than daily fantasy tournaments. Wide receivers absolutely reign supreme here though due to their massive scoring potential.
There is a good reason that the “utility” position is almost exclusively reserved as an unwritten rule for wide receivers. This position is known to make explosive plays that can change the course of a game in an instant. Likewise, they can do the same for your fantasy team too.
For every NFL team you assemble, you will be able to draft up to four wide receivers (thanks to the utility position) and you had better make them count if you plan on coming away with a profit. The reason receivers are so valuable is that they are the position most likely to go off in terms of points.
Each reception for a receiver is one point, plus 1/10th for every yard the reception counts for. One or two big throws to one of your drafted receivers can swing things greatly in your favor.
3. Pitchers for Baseball Teams
For most MLB teams you draft, there are two pitching slots you will need to fill. MLB pitcher are highly valued because outside of home runs they can rack up points quicker than other positions. They also have the potential to completely dominate tournaments singlehandedly due to how the scoring system works. For each strikeout, the pitcher will be awarded two points. This combines the points received for an out (.75) plus the strikeout itself (1.25). To put this into perspective a player gets the same number of points for getting a hit.
The strikeout average for MLB pitchers is currently around eight a game which would net them more than a homerun hitter.
They are not important for your team due only to their scoring ability, however. You need to be extremely cautious as well drafting pitchers. Just as there are massive upsides to drafting your pitchers correctly, there are negative consequences to making a mistake here. This is because pitchers, like goalies in the NHL, can have points removed from their score for poor game performance.
Also like NHL goalies, pitchers can be pulled from games early leaving a negative point total for your team. Therefore, getting your draft picks for pitcher at least moderately correct is essential for having a shot at finishing in a winning position.
4. NFL Quarterbacks in Football Tournaments
Now we get to the expected point that we thought of when first mentioning the NFL. While they are not quite the fantasy headliners that wide receivers are, they are not too far behind. There is still a lot on the line when deciding on which quarterback to draft.
Quarterbacks touch the ball on every single offensive play for their teams so the potential for gaining points is always there. Typically, quarterbacks would be most valued solely for their ability to accurately pass the ball and throw touchdowns. This has more or less changed due to the recent phenomenon of a more versatile quarterback who runs the ball more often.
Athletes like Lamar Jackson have made the quarterback a more dynamic position that can rival wide receivers when being drafted.
Now points can be reliably scored by completing passes, running for yards and throwing/running for touchdowns. Another important factor to consider for drafting quarterbacks is the possibility of “stacking” with one of their wide receivers. That way if they link up for a TD or two you will benefit in two positions.
5. Point Guards For NBA Teams
As you may have noticed by now, positions that are generally considered team leaders for their sport tend to make an appearance. Point Guards are often considered the generals of their teams with offensive possession almost always beginning with them. Consequently, NBA set plays will also be initiated by this position. In short, point guards have a larger role in determine how well their teammates perform than in other sports.
They are also pretty comfortably the most dynamic position featured on this list (aside from quarterbacks).
For NBA daily fantasy tournaments, the point guard is generally where you will drop the most salary. Like the rest of this list, point guards are consistently the highest-scoring position on their teams for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we already mentioned how dynamic the position of Point Guard is for NBA teams.
They are expected to captain the offense by scoring both twos and threes, assisting their teammates and playing exceptional defense on opposing guards trying to do the same thing. The versatility and leading role they take on makes them a position that takes careful consideration to draft.