A Bad Draft is not a Deathblow: 23/24 Free Agents FC Review

During the 23/24 EPL season, I took on the seemingly impossible task of trying to win a 12 team league with NO draft picks, and NO waiver claims, only free agents. The whole purpose of this exercise was to try and show the importance of Waiver Wire and Free Agent pickups, staying active all season, and thinking "outside" of the box. Below I will present my takeaways to give Fantrax managers some key strategies to gain an edge in their leagues next season. For more in depth articles to help you plan for your upcoming draft take a look at our 24/25 Draft Kit.

Check out our 24/25 Draft Kit for all the pre-season information you could ever need. We've got a Live Draft Aide, Draft Rankings, Team Previews, Cheat Sheets, Strategy Articles, Draft 101. Dominate your draft!

23-24 Season Result

Free Agents FC Recap

This experiment was first attempted during the 22/23 season with a solid 6th place finish. However, to up the difficulty this season, the league was started during the first international break so everyone had player data to use. In addition, I was not allowed to submit any waiver claims making it a true "Free Agents" team. Suffice to say this was a tough year for Free Agents FC! The league was packed full of experienced managers with multiple years of Fantrax experience, and FAFC finished in 11th place overall with a 14-20 record. With the delayed start to the league picking up those "hidden gems" after the draft became nearly impossible. The best post-draft pickup came in Luton star Alfie Doughty. He became a mainstay for FAFC staying on the roster the entire season getting a total of 322.5 points for me. From November on, Ryan Christie also entered the fray who gave FAFC 187.5 total points, giving me 2 set and forget midfielders to build a team around each week. The other FAFC top scorers were - Maguire (159.5), Ogbene (136), and Ayew (106), no other player scored more than 98 points across the season for FAFC.

More often than not between 5-10 players would be dropped every gameweek (GW) allowing for a full team change to strategize pickups based on short-term fixtures and form. Having no real forward to rack up goals meant taking other routes to "high ceiling" type scores. A lot of different strategies were taken to try and win each matchup. This consisted of defensive stacking, streaming as many attackers as possible playing against Sheffield United, and jumping ahead on solid scorers with double GWs. In the end the lack of true "firepower" was the ultimate downfall of FAFC. No amount of strategizing and planning can help you prepare for Cole Palmer dropping 52 points, with Eze and Solanke dropping another 25 and 18 respectively to sink you.

A big draw in my pickups was going for a combination of ghost points and "boom or bust" type players. While it was important to have those 7-9 point type players in your Casemiro mould, it was important to punt on assets like Martial, McBurnie, Ayew and Antony whenever they started. These types of assets offered high upside on their day but outside of McBurnie little to no floor.

Experimental League Takeaways for Fantrax Managers

The Importance of Waiver Claims

Waiver claims are a key part of a successful fantasy season. A lot of managers will overlook waivers in many GWs for a number of reasons. Whether it be a successful week, not wanting to drop your assets or just thinking there are no players worth rostering. While all these reasons have merit, I do not think there should ever be a week where you skip out on waivers, unless you roster 16 players all in the top 50 overall. Submitting waiver claims can be about more than just winning that upcoming GW. Getting ahead of the league on players set for a bigger role, double GW sleepers or those assets about to have an easy run in the next week or so, can be the key to a successful title challenge.

Another big reason could be seeing a potential "spark" in a player who might slowly become a fantasy star. Players such as Semenyo, Adingra, Ogbene, and Johnson are all assets who had a poor start to the campaign. Odds are they were undrafted and dropped multiple times in the early stages. Putting in a claim for "high upside" players like this who showed bits of hope in cameos could have helped your season head towards a title challenge. While these players weren't ones to single handedly win you a title (Cole Palmer style), they still would have offered more value than you holding on to that 6.5 PPS defensive midfielder with a very low ceiling.

Letting Go of Your "Duds"

Letting go is never easy. Labelling one of your high end draft picks as a dud is never easy as well. Unfortunately at some point you have to chalk things up as a sunk cost and move on. There are many examples of higher end draft picks becoming duds early in the season. Players such as Gakpo, Mount, Ouattara, Moreno, and Madueke were all held far too long in many leagues. Shedding these players after giving them 4-5 weeks to show some promise could have helped free up spots for more early season pick ups.

The same logic can be applied when picking up waiver wire/free agent assets. A streamer who just got you 15 points the first week you roster him will surely have your hopes high. Let's say the next 3 weeks they score under 7 points, but you decide to keep sticking with them in the hopes you get another 15 pointer. At that point, you are getting too emotionally attached to this asset instead of churning your team with in-form assets. Remember a streamer is usually exactly that - a streamer. Of course there are those rare pickups that end up turning into season long studs such as Doughty and Palmer but those are usually found out very early in the season.

Going All In On Double Gameweeks

Double GWs can be a cheat code to free wins. Yes sometimes having "22 players" isn't always the best route of action, and sometimes you should start those high end single GW players, especially in good matchups. However, the remaining slots should all be filled with double GW assets, especially those players you know could rack up close to 180 minutes. In the biggest double GW of the season (GW37) - FAFC had 20 players for a score of 140 points - my second highest score of the season (the other being 143 in another double GW). Both these GWs were wins, desperately needed wins. It goes to show the importance of planning for double GWs without needing to trade away half your team, or make lopsided trades for just one week. Usually, I was able to pick up solid, and high upside double GW assets 2-3 weeks before the double GW. Assets such as - Welbeck, Mainoo, and Caicedo were all picked up and contributed to this much needed win.

The best strategies I learned through this experimental league for the double GWs would involve how to properly manage your roster through this portion of the season. Most managers will probably remember that in the latter half of the season there are quite a few double GWs. Some having more fixtures than other. Once these are announced it would be best to go straight to the FA pool and pickup any high end streaming asset available that is in the XI with multiple doubles. Someone like Caicedo was a prime example of this last season with all the doubles Chelsea had. You may be reluctant to drop some assets, but top of your list should be those floor-like assets with no double GWs upcoming. I'm not talking the higher end floor ones like Rice, but players like Lerma and Mainoo come to mind, as well as those "attacking" assets that are usually hooked early and need a return to do well. Players such as Kluivert and Almiron also fit into this category assuming they don't have double GWs themselves.3

Early Season Pickups are Game Changers

Jumping on those early season pickups within the first 5 GWs can really change your entire season. This point goes hand in hand with the "letting go of your duds" conversation. The quicker you cut ties the more room you have to try and find the next Doughty. Being extremely active on the waiver wire, and of course pre-lineup pickups in the first few weeks are the ways to find these assets. Especially when it comes to newly promoted teams it's always a mystery who will be the "big fish in a small pond". Trying to pick up set-piece takers, wing-backs (assuming they are attacking), direct wingers, or midfielders that have every play go through them, are the top things to look out for. All these players will have a lot more potential of becoming set and forget assets in your team, instead of holding onto defensive midfield assets, or DEF3s with some decent matchups. I would much rather drop someone like Mainoo for the new attacking winger and set-piece taker on Southampton than miss out on a potential MID3 or better.

The transfer window is also open throughout August, meaning after many drafts there will be within EPL transfer - for example Cole Palmer. Trying to get ahead on this news and pickup those assets who may not be getting lots of game time at their current club, but could have a very defined role at their new club will help you find more key assets. Early signs hinting at a transfer will be rumours across Twitter/Discord about said player expected to leave, less pre-season appearances for that player, and potentially missing out on the squad in GW1. The rumour mill will be swirling for players such as Madueke and Smith-Rowe. While people may draft these assets, they will likely be dropped in many leagues if they are not confirmed to move by GW1, so that can be a great time to take advantage.

Sacrificing Wins Can Cost You

Unless you are way ahead in your title race, there is never a week that is worth sacrificing the win for. Whether that means only starting 9 assets to avoid dropping those 7.5 PPS players. Of course there may be exceptions, but the only realistic one is not to drop or trade away your studs on the cheap for a win. Outside of that I truly believe you need to make whatever move is necessary in your XI, and through Free Agency to win that week. Yes, there was the odd week I sacrificed a win. A prime example was not wanting to drop an asset you think could crack the XI in the upcoming weeks for a streamer to get 5 more points for a win. But eventually, that asset was drop, and the loss was unnecessary.

Next Season's Experiment

After a much poorer season with a lot of seasoned managers, and the late start to the league, FAFC will take these learning points to try and finish in the Top 6 in the upcoming season.

2024-2025 Experiment Rules:

• 12 team league (Active managers only - selected via Twitter/Discord)

• League will start after the first International Break

• No draft picks for Free Agents FC

• Free Agents FC will pick up it's first set of players AFTER the first waiver run (No entering waivers the first run after the draft)

• 0 FAB for Free Agents FC, all other teams will start with 100 FAB

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