Fantasy football beginners guide to salary cap drafts

Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase will be the first player selected in many standard fantasy drafts, regardless of format, and there is nothing wrong with that. We even recommend it! Chase delivered one of the top scoring seasons ever by a wide receiver last season, his fourth in the NFL, and he remains reliable and productive. Go ahead and take Chase first overall. It is the sensible move.

Then again, that advice won't do much for the fantasy manager picking ninth or 10th overall. Those managers, through no fault of their own in most cases, will not get Chase, Atlanta Falcons RB Bijan Robinson, Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley or anyone else who ends up going near the top of Round 1. Hey, things can still work out -- I quite enjoy picking last in Round 1, thus consecutively and first in Round 2 -- but the point is, nobody has much control in a draft.

As Mick Jagger has been telling us for more than 50 years, you can't always get what you want. He probably wasn't talking about standard fantasy football drafts, but let's pretend, for our purposes.

In a salary cap draft, however, you can always get what you want.

Don't be intimidated, folks. Perhaps you've always been a standard drafter and that is all you aspire to, but you should give the salary cap drafts a try. They're fun, far more intriguing and captivating, and there's nothing standard about them. Here you don't just make a pick and wait impatiently for the next one, watching players you desire join other teams. There's a whole lot more strategy involved in a salary cap draft and, to reiterate, if you really want Chase or Robinson or Barkley, you can get them. In fact, it is a legitimate strategy to try to get all three of them!

Let's start with the basics.

A salary cap draft is not really a draft

It is a very different, cool way to fill a fantasy football roster. Each team has a set spending budget of allotted funds to spend, typically a default $200. (Not real money, of course.) Managers nominate players in a pre-set order, whether they want the player or not (occasionally to induce others to spend money), then everyone bids on players until each individual process concludes with the player going to the highest bidder and everyone fills their roster. This is a timed process, moving along at a swift pace. It's a fun adventure, different every time.

There are myriad ways to fill a roster, and managers should strategize for multiple scenarios

Chase, Robinson and Barkley are superstar players, thus they cost a lot. Other managers will want them, too. Figure out what you are willing to spend for individuals, perhaps even for set positions. A stars-and-scrubs strategy works for some, and it comes recommended for newbies. Others covet more balance, attracting players that would typically go after the first few rounds of a draft, but more of them. Be open to possibility as the bidding process develops.

Patience is key when warranted, and managers should be willing to zig when others zag

Perhaps you enter the proceedings set on Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson and have scripted a plan to afford the last season's top scorer along with a strong set of running backs and wide receivers. Then a Ravens fan keeps outbidding you for Jackson, forcing you to alter your plan. Be willing to alter the plan. You may find that securing a lesser -- but still productive -- quarterback permits more financial flexibility at other positions.

Track your money spent and avoid extremes

In other words, try to avoid being the manager who aggressively spends nearly all their money in the first 30 minutes, but also don't be the one who conservatively retains most of their money. It is not a good feeling having money to spend and realizing there isn't enough talent left to create a formidable roster. See how others are bidding. Some players will be overpriced based on consensus. Others will be bargains. It is OK to spend freely on occasion and wait for values as well.

Utilize a tiered approach to evaluate supply versus demand

While ESPN provides tiered rankings (coming soon) and cheat sheets with salary cap values, everyone should produce their own based on their own strategy. Use our rankings/tiers as a reasonable base. These are your teams, after all! Bidding wars escalate quickly, so having a separate print out to gauge availability helps. Cross out names as you go along. If three running backs from a tier of four are off the board, perhaps you spend a bit extra for that last option. If it is a seven-player tier, perhaps not. Regardless, know what is left to bid on for later, and aim for a balance across the key positions.

Manage the back of the roster properly

Remember, the process of initially filling the rosters is hardly the end of the game. Managers are restricted by max bids, and they can bid on players if they have enough funds to fill all roster spots. As with drafts, there will be in-season movement based on injuries, performance, bye weeks, etc., so you don't need to leave the salary cap draft with a backup quarterback or a fill-in running back for Week 10. Also as with drafts, when team defenses and kickers (should) go at the very end, spend as little money as possible to fill these spots.

We're talking about practice

Trying out something new means there's a learning curve, so if you're looking forward to your first competitive salary cap draft, don't go in cold and hope to pick it up on the fly. Our Mock Draft Lobby offers salary cap mocks that will let you get the hang of where everything is and how it work, get a feel for the clock and try your hand at bidding on the players before you have to do it for real.

And with that, you should be good to go! And to complete Mick's thought, remember that while you may not always get what you want, if you bid just right, you might find you get what you need.