Outscore your opponents and turn your fantasy team into a weekly powerhouse. Top-tier managers don't just draft well, they master the schedule.
By leveraging a smart fantasy football schedule strategy, you can unlock hidden points, exploit favorable matchups, and gain a massive edge over the competition. This powerful fantasy football rankings tactic isn't just for experts — it's your shortcut to climbing the standings fast.
Ready to boost your weekly totals and dominate your league? Dive into our expert breakdown of this winning strategy and learn how to apply it like a pro in fantasy football this season.
What Is Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule Strategy?
A fantasy football schedule strategy takes two forms. During draft season, it is using a fantasy football cheat sheet to find the players with the most favorable set of matchups in the upcoming season.
During the season, this is when fantasy managers look to make pickups via trade, waiver or free agency with plus matchups in mind. This works much in the same manner as custom fantasy football rankings in that your roster efforts are very focused.
Why Targeting Matchups Can Boost Your Weekly Scores
Targeting matchups can boost your weekly scores in two ways. The first is by focusing on defenses that have made NFL news headlines because of injuries. Bill Walsh used to say that successful defense comes down to having great personnel, so when a defense is using backups, it will usually result in your fantasy players scoring more points when facing them.
The flip side is avoiding a matchup against a powerhouse foe. This is the bane of many fantasy managers in leagues with D/STs, as facing a high-octane offense can lead to a negative point total. This is why these managers will use a draft kit to make sure they are selecting players (D/ST or otherwise) who aren't slated to go up against a lot of talented foes.
How to Analyze Opponent Strength and Defensive Rankings
There are many ways to analyze opponent strength and defensive ratings. In most cases, this is done by reviewing how each opposing team has fared in fantasy points allowed versus a particular player position such as QB, WR, RB or TE. Doing this during the draft will help you better tailor your auction values to your auction draft strategy.
RotoWire is a great way to save time in this arena during draft season. It has the best draft assistant managers can use and provides you with quick and easy ways to gauge opponent strength for all fantasy football roster prospects.
Using the NFL Schedule to Plan Start/Sit and Trades
Veteran fantasy managers will often plan ahead for D/ST matchups, knowing full well that having a D/ST with a highly favorable matchup can generate a double-digit point total. This also applies to quarterbacks, as facing a weak foe can turn a typical QB2 into a solid QB1 candidate.
Tools to Help Identify Soft Matchups Week to Week
Fantasy managers are comfortable using a mock draft simulator to help identify the best trades to make at a given time. The same rule can apply to targeting soft matchups.
RotoWire has many ways to identify these soft matchups. You can get info in rest of season schedule strength charts or via the multiple matchup analysis articles from some of the sharpest minds in the fantasy football world.
Turn Strength of Schedule Into a Strategic Edge
Schedule strength should not be seen as an uncontrollable factor in building a strong roster. It should instead be seen as a potential strategic edge that, if used properly, can turn multiple potential losses into fantasy football victories.
You can only maximize the value of this strategic edge with the best tools. Those tools are available through a subscription to RotoWire. This service will smoothly guide you through the schedule strength analysis process, so be sure to sign up for a new RotoWire account today!
