Daily Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Tips, Advice, and Help to Win in NFL DFS

Daily fantasy football -- or NFL DFS -- can be a fun way to spice up your viewing of a Sunday slate.

And, once you learn the basics, it's not all that complex, either.

Today, we're going to run through the basics of NFL DFS, outlining the rules, key strategies to consider, and more in order to set you on your way to a more entertaining NFL season.

Rules and Salary Cap for NFL DFS

Filling out a lineup on FanDuel is relatively simple as there aren't too many rules to which you need to adhere.

• You roster one quarterback in traditional contests
• You roster a minimum of two running backs, three receivers, one tight end, and one defense and special teams
• You have one flex spot, which can be filled by a running back, receiver, or tight end

To fill those slots, you have a $60,000 salary cap, which you can allocate however you feel is best.

As far as scoring, FanDuel is a half-point-per-reception (PPR) site, meaning players receive a half point for every reception they record on offense. Here's the full breakdown of how points are scored.

You can see additional guidelines for single-game slates on FanDuel's rules and scoring page.

NFL DFS Strategy

Now that you know the basics, it's time to dig in a bit deeper on some topics that can help take your lineup to a new level.

We'll touch briefly on a couple of the bigger topics. If you want a more in-depth breakdown, check out this analysis of past perfect DFS lineups, outlining which trends emerged in the data.

Stacking in DFS

"Stacking" is when you pair players from the same team into a single DFS lineup.

The thought process here is simple: if your quarterback throws a touchdown to a wide receiver also on your roster, you get the points for both the passing and the receiving touchdown. You're double-dipping on a single outcome.

The most common stacks are a quarterback with one of his pass-catchers. But you can also pair other positions together in hopes that offense is among those that separate on the slate.

Game Stacking in DFS

Stacking typically refers to using players from a single team. But "game stacks" are where you have players on both sides of a contest within a single roster.

Let's say a game shoots out. It's big play after big play. If you have players on both teams, you can benefit in a major way as the two sides trade blows. There are plenty of downsides to this strategy, but the upsides of correctly pinpointing which game on a slate features the most points are massive.

Typically, when doing this, you'll want to target games with higher betting totals, indicating bookmakers expect there to be more points scored in that game. Which brings us to our next topic...

Using Betting Odds in NFL DFS

NFL betting odds are set by smart bookmakers who know the games and the teams well. Then, the public makes those lines more efficient by betting overs on totals that were too low, taking the moneyline on a team that was undervalued, and more.

We can use this information when filling out NFL DFS lineups.

In general, it's better to target games with higher totals. A higher betting total implies more touchdowns, and touchdowns are the key to big fantasy scores.

How you view the spread depends on which position you're targeting. In general, a tighter spread is more advantageous because it means both sides will have their foot on the gas for all four quarters. Running back is a bit different because a big lead means the team will be grinding out clock on the ground late, but overall, close games are your friend.

How Weather Impacts DFS

As you know, weather can play a big role in how an NFL game plays out. This obviously will impact daily fantasy, as well.

The higher the wind speed, the lower our expectations for the game should be. You'll see this reflected in betting markets as higher wind speeds typically correlate with lower totals. Thus, if we expect a game to be blustery, we should lower our interest in rostering a player in that game.

Rain, on the other hand, can work either way. It makes the field sloppy, but because the defense has to react to what the offense is doing, it can also lead to big plays for the attacking side. Thus, you don't necessarily need to bail on a game with rain in the forecast unless the rain is heavy enough to neuter offense.

NFL DFS Picks and Projections

All the above can be applied broadly each time you fill out a lineup.

But which specific players stand out for the upcoming slate?

For answers on that, you can use NFL DFS projections on FanDuel Research, which are powered by numberFire. You can also check out NFL DFS analysis from FanDuel Research's staff of writers.

Pairing that with your knowledge of the rules and scoring should set you on the right path toward a lineup that can add some extra fun to your viewing experience.

Which bets stand out to you across the NFL? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest NFL betting odds to see the full menu of options.

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