Fantasy Football: Why winning the month of September is imperative (and how to do it)

Andy Behrens

The following is an excerpt from the latest edition of Yahoo's fantasy football newsletter, Get to the Points! If you like what you see, you can subscribe for free here.

One thing we definitely do not lack at Yahoo Fantasy is data. After a quarter-century spent hosting fantasy leagues, we know a few things about winning and losing. Among the most important (and overlooked) traits shared by the winningest fantasy teams is that they rule the month of September.

Yup, that’s right: September. Successful fantasy teams tend to dominate out of the gate. If you’re looking for a true draft day cheat code, build a roster that wastes no time.

2023 Yahoo public league teams that ...

  • Started 3-0 made the playoffs 72.9% of the time

  • Started 0-3 made the playoffs 12.0% of the time

Sweeping the opening month was basically a golden ticket to the postseason, while opening 0-3 meant your squad was probably cooked.

2023 Yahoo private league teams that ...

  • Started 3-0 made the playoffs 83.8% of the time

  • Started 0-3 made the playoffs 24.6% of the time

Private leagues can obviously involve any number of teams fighting for any number of playoff spots, so there are more variables. But the lesson is, it gets late early in fantasy football.

Of course, you might be thinking that it's easy enough to talk about winning the month of September and quite another thing to actually pull it off. But there are certainly a few things you can do to maximize your winning odds early in the season. Here are three keys to a successful opening month:

Don't be the manager who drafts Nick Chubb, T.J. Hockenson and Jonathon Brooks, dreaming of the unstoppable roster you might eventually have and assuming best-case scenario recoveries. Allow yourself maybe one flier on an injured star, but don't fill the bench with guys who are out indefinitely.

As an alternative to the luxury D/STs, consider playing the matchup game. Give some serious consideration to New Orleans (vs. Carolina), Cincinnati (vs. New England) or Minnesota (at the Giants). There's a decent chance one or all of those streaming options will have ongoing value throughout the season, too.

It's great to take a shot or two on promising players with uncertain roles, but you cannot construct an entire lineup of talented part-timers. The thing about sleepers is that many of them will continue sleeping. We need a foundation of bankable high-floor players. Open your season with a roster that essentially sets itself. There's no dishonor in drafting the occasional Mike Evans, Joe Mixon or George Kittle.

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