The start of the playoffs is the first bit of strategy. If you want to win your league, taking players with Week 14 byes is probably a bad idea. There are six teams on a bye that week, including the Ravens, Broncos, Texans, Colts, Patriots and Commanders. So we would avoid players on those teams if you want to have a chance to win your league championship. It is going to be tough to win your league if you use a first-round pick on Jonathan Taylor. That said, if you aren’t too concerned about winning the league and want to just shoot for the overall championship, feel free to take any of those players on a Week 14 bye.

We also think being bold is a good move for the TFC. You have to take some chances if you want to win this unique contest with a ton of players trying to knock you off. Playing it safe is likely a losing strategy. You have to take some of those boom or bust players and hope you get the boom players on your roster.

You also have to maybe reach for some of those players you really want on your roster, taking them a round or two earlier than what the ADP tells you. Get the guys you want on your team, even if it means reaching sooner than the industry tells you. As we always like to say, ADP is not a ranking. This is a guide to where players are being drafted. You have your own rankings and use those come draft day.

Normally, this is a strategy for your DFS games but stacking players in the TFC is a smart play. You want to maximize your points during the fantasy playoffs. One way to do that is to have the top receiver or tight end on your roster to pair with your quarterback. You need to really hit big during the championship playoffs. For example, you have Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase on your roster. Burrow throws for 300-plus yards and four scores in Week 16. Chase goes off for 150 yards and two scores in that same game. You are really racking up the points if that happens. This is what you are shooting for in the championship playoffs.

And you don’t like to look too far ahead but getting players with really favorable fantasy schedules for the playoffs is another winning strategy. There are some teams with advantages in these areas. We have fantasy strength of schedule articles in our free Draft Guide. Give them a look before your draft. You might want to move up a few players in your rankings for the TFC after reading. Right now, a Dak Prescott/CeeDee Lamb stack is looking really good because both players have really good fantasy playoff schedules. There are others that fit the mold as well.

We actually think you should do this in all your leagues but it is especially important in the TFC. Please tier your rankings. If you have eight quarterbacks you feel comfortable as your QB1, make sure you leave the draft with one of them. If the quarterbacks are flying off the board sooner than you expected, you might have to go a few rounds earlier to ensure you get one of those guys in your QB1 tier on your roster. The same goes for all the positions. Tier them all and make sure you don’t miss out on any of your key positions come draft day.

Lastly, draft as much as you can before your TFC draft. Test out strategies and different draft positions to get a feel for how you can build a winning roster. Practice makes perfect, right? And we have all sorts of different options for you here at RTSports to draft. You can get in leagues for as cheap as ten bucks or you can just mock draft as well. We always believe that getting in leagues with a little skin in the game is the best move because people take it seriously, so if you can, get in some of these leagues to get ready for the TFC. Draft, draft, draft.

These TFC drafts are a ton of fun, especially when it comes to the playoffs. It is so fun to watch the huge leaderboard, seeing teams move up and down in real time. Get in a draft today for a chance to win $500,000.