Fantasy football draft: Do bye weeks really matter?

In a perfect world, NFL managers would be free to draft the best player available at all times. Instead, positional needs and team fit come into play, affecting the decision-making process. To a much lesser degree, similar factors can sometimes influence fantasy managers' approach during the middle and late rounds of fantasy drafts.

Positional needs are obviously important in fantasy but often player bye weeks get over-analyzed. Bye weeks hold obvious significance in the fact that the player in question will not be of service for that particular week. But when examining the field ahead of fantasy drafts, bye weeks do not hold enough significance to warrant serious consideration.

In positions where only one player is active at a time, bye weeks will have more weight. In most leagues, that will only pertain to quarterback, tight end, D/ST and kicker. As we previously discussed, the latter two positions should not be heavily evaluated during the draft process anyway.

No matter how good your quarterback is, he cannot play if his real-life team isn't, guaranteeing at least one week where he will be out of commission. In this scenario, it makes no sense to draft two quarterbacks with the same bye week considering the backup will only be targeted for one specific week. The same goes for tight end, though that position provides its own issues with its lack of appetizing options.

Do not overthink bye weeks during fantasy drafts

For the primary skill positions in fantasy, act as if the bye weeks do not exist when drafting. That factor is too minute to affect the remaining players' ranking, especially at running back and receiver, the money-making positions in fantasy football.

Say for example Manager A drafts Bijan Robinson in the first round. By the time round six rolls around, James Cook is the best available running back, whose bye week coincides with Robinson's. If the next available running back is Ezekiel Elliott, the coinciding bye week should never prevent any manager from selecting the worse option of the two.

Of course, when Week 12 hits, Manager A will have his replacement ready in Elliott. But by then, 12 other running backs will pop up on the waiver wire as big-name additions. And God forbid anything happens to Robinson, Manager A would certainly be in a better position with Cook as a long-term replacement than Elliott.

At some point during the season, the bye week surfaces and causes a one-week problem. Managers need to remember that is all it is: one week. During fantasy drafts, they have to be considered a problem for a later date. Injuries, inconsistency and many more problems will arise during the year, making a player's bye week the least of any manager's concerns down the line.