Fantasy Football Draft Strategy 2022: Blueprint to Forming a Winning Squad

There's more than one way to have a successful fantasy football draft. Plenty of managers go in with different approaches and then go on to have success, potentially even winning a championship by season's end.

While that's the case, there are some strategies that have proven to be more successful than others. And because of that, it can be wise to try to follow one of those blueprints when you're drafting with your leaguemates and preparing for a new season.

The 2022 NFL campaign is less than two weeks away, as the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills will kick off a new year on Sept. 8. So there isn't a ton of time left to prepare for fantasy football drafts. In fact, many leagues have already held theirs.

However, if your draft hasn't happened yet, here are some tips that could be helpful when it's time to construct your fantasy football roster for the start of the 2022 season.

There are 32 teams in the NFL, so in theory, there should be 32 starting running backs. It's not quite that simple, though. In this era, plenty of franchises go with a committee approach in the backfield, opting to split carries into equal amounts among various players.

That's not the case for every team, though. There are still star running backs who dominate the rushing workload. And those are the players you want to target the earliest in fantasy football drafts, given their scarcity around the league.

It's typically wise to take a running back in the first round. There are several wide receivers in the conversation this year, but the majority of picks in the opening round will be RBs, and for good reason. Studs such as the Indianapolis Colts' Jonathan Taylor, the Carolina Panthers' Christian McCaffrey and the Los Angeles Chargers' Austin Ekeler can win you your league (if they remain healthy).

But you can also get running backs who will get a ton of touches in the second round, and sometimes even into the third. And while you'll miss out on some star wide receivers and tight ends if you're taking RBs, those positions will be much easier to fill in the middle rounds of the draft.

You don't have to take a running back in each of the first two rounds (although that can work out great if you're not reaching for either player), but you should have at least two RBs by the fourth round. Otherwise, other managers are going to greatly outperform you at the position.

Star quarterbacks can put up a ton of fantasy points, so they can be enticing early in fantasy drafts. Especially ones who are capable of recording impressive rushing stats as well, such as the Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen, the Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson and others.

But this is an important key to fantasy-draft success: don't reach for a quarterback. Does somebody want to take Allen in the second round? Let them. Because that's a pick that will hurt them in the long run.

While stud RBs and WRs are scarce in the middle and late rounds, there will still be solid QBs on the board by that point. Quarterbacks such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Tom Brady, the Denver Broncos' Russell Wilson and more can still be available by the seventh or eighth round, if not later.

If you wait until then to take a quarterback, you can stack up at other positions early and have clear advantages over your leaguemates. Now if you can find tremendous value on a star QB early (such as Allen in the fourth, for example), take him at that point. But don't be the manager who reaches way too early on one.

Some people can think fantasy football drafts tend to drag. If you're doing it offline without a time limit, that can happen. Or if you're doing it online, maybe everybody is using all of their time before making a selection.

It doesn't matter how long the draft takes. Never quit early and leave your team up to the autodraft system, even in those final rounds when the core of your roster is already built.

During those late rounds, you can acquire high-ceiling sleepers who could potentially help lead you to success if they get opportunities to break out during the year. It's best to stack up on running backs and wide receivers, but you could also take a second quarterback if there's one you think could be a steal that late.

The best strategy for the end of your draft is to take a kicker in the final round after adding a defense/special teams in the round before that. And in all those later rounds leading up to the final two, keep stacking up those sleepers.

And if any of your leaguemates go on autodraft, that's all the more advantage you'll have.