In draft leagues, we all know that the single most important event of the fantasy season is the draft itself.

How you do on draft day impacts your entire season. A great draft makes getting to the playoffs a ton easier. However, if you have a bad draft, then you’ll be running uphill.

Getting to the postseason is one thing. Winning the Fantasy Championship is another. I believe that making the right trade at the right time can make all the difference in the world, in achieving your goal of winning your league title.

Unfortunately, some find trading to be difficult, tedious, and often times a lot of work with little results. But why? There should be several blockbuster trades that take place every year in every league that go on to benefit both of the teams involved.

In my experience, some fantasy team owners refuse to even consider a trade. At the other end of the specturm, you have the owner that’s offering trades left and right. The problem with the over-trader is that he’s offering you Kevin Jones for Larry Johnson, because he knows you’re a Lions fan and he thinks he might just sneak one by you. Well, he’s not going to sneak one by you, obviously, and instead of talking some sense into him you decide it’s not worth your trouble when your team is pretty good anyways.

There in lies the problem, if you remain content and don’t attempt some trades, you’re not doing everything in your power to make your team better. Next, we’ll look at a couple easy steps to help you connect the dots.

#1 Draft with Trading in Mind
Drafting, while keeping trades in the back of your mind, is the first step to pulling off a trade later in the season. Last year I took Larry Johnson before the Priest Holmes owner could get him, with the intention of trading him down the road, as Priest got hurt. OK, maybe I didn’t know for sure that Priest would get hurt, but I did think that it was worth the chance to get a player who may be able to bring me something good down the line. Let’s just say, it worked out for me.

Also worth noting, last year, 4for4.com subscriber Patrick Ritchie went for Larry Johnson earlier than most had him slotted. Result? Patrick won the WCOFF Championship. In fact, Patrick ended the season with both Shaun Alexander and Larry Johnson in his backfield.

This year, it could be as easy as taking a backup RB late in the draft, such as Michael Turner of the Chargers or Michael Bennett of the Chiefs.

BTW, in regards to draft strategy, I also believe that you don’t have to take two defenses or two kickers in the draft. If you’ve got a defense or kicker with a late bye week, certainly there will be one for you on the waiver wire when you need it, and until then, you can take a chance on an extra RB, WR, or QB in the draft, and give yourself some flexibility in your roster as well. Late in the draft is when you can take a guy based on a hunch, and with a couple of roster spots freed from only taking one kicker and/or defense, you’ll have more opportunities to get a guy that could come up huge for you down the road.

EXAMPLE: You’re about to make your 14th pick, you’ve got all your starters except your kicker, including four RB’s, and you’re trying to decide if you should take a second Defense, with plenty remaining, Chris Simms as a backup QB, although you’re pretty confident he’ll be around next round, or Neil Rackers. Then you see Michael Turner still on the board and you think about the possibilities. What if Tomlinson gets hurt? His value would be sky high, and you could trade him to meet a need you have, or maybe he becomes a starter on your team. It might be a long shot, but it would be the difference maker that a second Defense or kicker could never be.

Again, keep in mind what Patrick Ritchie did with Larry Johnson last year.

#2 Know Your Team
You have to know what you need if you’re going to pull off a successful trade. If this sounds relatively easy, it’s because it is. All you have to do is know your own team. Where’s your weakness? Assuming you’re not going to lure away a #1 QB, RB, or WR from an opposing team, where do you need the most help? And where do you have the most value? Do you have a backup QB that’s ranked in the top 10, or a third solid RB when you only start two?

This brings us to an important topic: your backups. When you’re in week 11, with the trade deadline approaching, and you’ve got a stud QB who’s bye week has passed (aka Manning, Brady, Palmer, etc.), it’s time to trade your backup if it will help your team.

While some owners choose to hold on to that quality backup till the end of the season, just in case your big name goes down to injury, I say you can’t play that way. Winning a championship is already hard enough as it is, but keeping a decent QB or RB on my team as a backup, when I could really use a better starting receiver, keeps your team from being exceptional. When it comes to the fantasy playoffs, every edge is needed.

EXAMPLE: You’ve got Carson Palmer starting at QB, and there’s no chance you’re benching him. You’ve also got Jake Delhomme, who’s ranked 7th among QBs, but he’s on your bench. Now you could trade Jake for Derrick Mason, which would really solidify your WR’s, but that would leave you without a backup QB, unless you picked up Jon Kitna off the waiver wire. Do you make the trade? Of course you do.

You can’t play fantasy football expecting your QB to get hurt, when you can significantly improve your team by getting more points every week and into the postseason. Know your team, know your needs, and know what you’ve got to offer.

#3 Know the Teams in Your League
To execute a trade that will help your team significantly, you’ll have to take a look at opposing teams and see what they need. After assessing your strengths, look at the other rosters to find out who has what you need and who needs what you have.

Every year I get these crazy trade offers, offering a backup QB for my number one WR, when I’ve only got two good ones to begin with. You can also go the route of announcing what you’ve got, and what you need, but that seems to rarely work. Your best chance of getting what you want is to find it for yourself. Be careful to not search too desperately for a certain player (ex. I want Eli Manning.), but rather keep your eyes open for the position you need, and go after it.

EXAMPLE: You picked up Frank Gore late in the draft as a third back, and he’s turning in a great season. You’re not starting him because you’ve got Edgerrin James and Julius Jones who are a step above Gore. You need a 2nd wide receiver bad. So you look through your league’s rosters, and from your assessment, there are only two teams who could really use Gore, and also seem to have three solid receivers. So you begin the offers. You pump up Gore’s stats and the fact that RB’s receive a lot more points than receivers in your league. It helps you, because you wouldn’t start Gore anyways, and while this guy is parting with his 2nd best receiver, he sees that what he really needs is a better RB in his number two spot. It’s a done deal.

NOTE: Before the season starts, be sure to check out 4for4.com’s Full Impact Weekly Assistant Coach (WAC). It’s a tool designed to help you each week of the NFL season. During the season, WAC is loaded with 4for4.com’s weekly projected player forecast data. BUT, as it turns out, WAC can also be used in the preseason to help you assess trades! To determine if a trade is advantageous, use WAC to do a Before/After Analysis. SEE: http://www.4for4.com/members/fi/wactradehelp.php

#4 Give Value to Get Value
You can’t expect to get something for nothing, at least not in most leagues. Aside from the occasional Browns fan that will trade almost anything to get Reuben Droughns, you really need to expect to give up some value to get some value. You may even need to really explain how this helps the other team so that they get it. Look at the points it will bring them each week by getting the player you’re trading versus the player they’re giving up, and show it to them. They need to feel like they’re not getting taken for a ride, and in most situations, you actually can’t take them for a ride. In then end, I really think it’s worth giving up a player of value, if it will help your team score more points each week. It’s as simple as adding up the points you’ll add to your starting lineup, and even if you’re trading away a running back who’s scoring 10 points a game for a receiver who’s bringing in 9 points a game it may be worth it.

Again, before the season starts, let WAC do the math for you!
SEE: http://www.4for4.com/members/fi/wactradehelp.php

EXAMPLE: You’ve got DeShaun Foster bringing in 10 points a game, and you can pull off this trade for Keyshawn Johnson who’s scoring 9 points a game. Now while it looks like you’re losing in this one, you’re actually winning. While DeShaun is playing well, he’s on your bench. He’s essentially bringing you in zero points a game. You’re starting a third wide receiver who’s only scoring 5 a game, so by making this trade, you’ll now be scoring four (9 minus 5) more points a week and the other guy gets a solid RB worth more to him than Keyshawn. If it’s a win-win for both, you have to make it happen.

#5 TIMING IS EVERYTHING
If you wisely leverage the NFL schedule, you'll also be able to cleverly time your trades, artfully target waiver wire pickups and most importantly, optimize your roster for the playoffs. Before you pull off any trade, be sure to see what the matchup implications are late in the season when your Fantasy playoffs are in high gear.

SEE: http://www.4for4.com/members/reports/hotsp.php

Unless you are in the FFTOC, going against 100’s of other diehard FF managers and looking to win the Online Championship of Fantasy Football, draft day is critical.

In draft leagues, you’ll focus most of your fantasy energy towards draft day, and rightfully so.

To be successful on Championship Sunday, you can gain an edge by making one or two key trades throughout the season. Typically, it’s not hard to make the playoffs, but it is hard to win the league. If you add value to your team during the regular season by making a trade, you’ve just gained an advantage over every owner in your league that’s sitting back and hoping that what they have is good enough. That advantage may be all it takes to win the championship. Take a chance, play to win, and make the trade.

For more tips on how to win your Championship, also see -
http://www.4for4.com/members/2006schedule.php – you must get hot at the end of the season!