In fantasy football, D/ST stands for Defense and Special Teams. What this essentially means is that as a fantasy manager, you're drafting an entire team's defense and special teams, who will essentially occupy a starting spot on your squad.

You need enough depth at each position to account for all of this. As your base approach, you should start knowing you will draft at least two quarterbacks, four running backs, five wide receivers, and two tight ends. Those are the minimums you should have at each position.

At its most base level, fantasy football is represented by the accumulation of points for players on a given fantasy team based on the REAL-LIFE statistics those players obtain on the NFL field. If you're able to score more fantasy points than your opponent, then you win that particular week's matchup.

Another way to put it is: D/ST and kicker should be your last two picks. I know some people will tell you that it's OK to pick a defense early if you really want to get a particular unit, but that has just never really borne out.

Position abbreviations in Fantasy Football

The “Zero RB” philosophy is to wait until the fifth or sixth rounds to draft a running back, loading up on premium wide receivers, tight ends and even a stud quarterback instead. In the later rounds, running backs with high upside are drafted. This is a sound approach because times have changed.

The best position to draft first in fantasy football 2023 is a matter of opinion, but the consensus among experts is that it is either a running back or a wide receiver. Running backs have traditionally been the most valuable position in fantasy football, but wide receivers have become more valuable in recent years.

A Standard draft follows a "snake" drafting order. This means that once each team makes a pick, the draft order is reversed in the next round. Each team drafts a player when they are on the clock. In a Salary Cap draft, players are nominated in a "linear" order.

The draft is when you pick your players. It consists of 15 rounds of picks and progresses turn by turn with each person in the league picking one player per turn. The order of the picks is chosen randomly when the draft starts. Each turn is between 30 seconds and 1 hour long depending on your league's settings.

Top 10 Fantasy Defenses for Week 1

Usually, we say you should grab a top running back in the first two rounds and hammer a bunch of wide receivers in the next few rounds. And you can still do that! But it's never been more acceptable to draft four positions in the first four rounds.

#1: Never be the First Person to Draft a D/ST Another way to put it is: D/ST and kicker should be your last two picks. I know some people will tell you that it's OK to pick a defense early if you really want to get a particular unit, but that has just never really borne out.