Tiers are an important aspect in every fantasy player’s arsenal. You need to know what tiers guys are in, and there are lots of ways to make tiers. In this article, I tell you you are an idiot for not using them, and I explain why you should. But don’t worry, tiers are pretty easy. And they are more useful than you could imagine.

Tiers, what are they?

Tiers are a way to rank guys in groups, a way to clump together guys you expect to produce similar numbers. For example, my Tier 1 RBs in PPR are Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, and Ezekiel Elliot. I see these guys outproducing the guys below them consistently. I am seeing people put Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson as Tier 1 quarterbacks. If you think those two are far and away the best QBs, then that makes them the Tier 1 guys. So, as the tiers go down, the quality of guys goes down. A team full of Tier 1 guys is going to smoke a team full of Tier 4. Make sense?

Tiers are used by many experts to give an idea about what kind of performance you can expect from a group of guys. Grouping them this way allows you to manage the value of your current pick. For example, I am drafting in the 10 slot, and I am up. I have four queued RBs, all Tier 3. There is also 1 WR, who is Tier 2. I need a WR and RB to fill my starting lineup.

If I take the Tier 2 WR, the chances are good one of those Tier 3 backs makes it back to me. (Your draft board will give you clues as to how to use this in the moment. Pay attention to what other peoples’ teams look like, this is incredibly useful in attempting to project picks.) If I draft an RB and that one tier 2 WR is taken, I am stuck with a tier 3 RB and a tier 3 WR. But if I go WR, I get a tier 2 WR and tier 3 RB. Make sense?

These situations occur throughout a draft, in many different ways. Learning how to analyze tiers to build the best roster is a useful, and helpful, skill to gain.

No Tiers, Know Tears

If you don’t use tiers in any way, you run the risk of becoming position poor at certain positions. A balanced roster is a surefire way to give yourself a chance to compete for a championship. Optimally, you want to ensure each position does not become a weakness. If you RB load early, it should be knowing you can get high to mid-tier guys at WR later. The same goes for any position. Focusing solely on one position early is only the right call if you think you can grab value later.

Tiers help you identify that value. If the difference between RB12 and RB20 is only 10 total points, your pick is better spent at that slot grabbing the last of a higher tiered position and waiting on that RB20. Alternatively, you could snag both, but know where the value is at other positions and stay aware if that position starts dramatically dropping tiers.

Recognizing tier value is key to forming a lineup with the highest scoring potential possible. Know how you value guys in relation to other guys, so you can make the smartest pick for your team. If people know their tiers, they are at an advantage over people who have not considered them, plain and simple. Tiers can also help you know whether or not you want to join the QB run going, or the TE run, or any positional run really. Use your tiers to know who you project available next round and hop on to that QB train, or get your value later.

How do you make your own Tiers?

It’s simple really, and there is no one right answer. Some people do it by rank, for example top 12 is Tier 1, 13-24 tier 2, etc. I personally do not like this route, and prefer the alternate method of projecting what the guys will score, and then grouping them based on those point totals. Example: I have one tier 1 QB, five tier 2, and eight tier 3. At RB, I have three tier 1, six tier 2, and eight tier 3. At WR, I have three tier 1, thirteen tier 2, and twenty tier 3. And at TE, I have two tier 1 guys, three tier 2 guys, and fourteen tier 3 guys. So manipulating my draft around that to ensure each position doesn’t get left with low-tier guys, I can ensure no positional weaknesses in my roster.

If you are new to fantasy, or just getting your feet wet, use other people’s tiers until you feel comfortable enough to make your own. But if you are like me, making projections is worth it for the tier value alone. Do it, make your own, and know your stuff before that draft timer starts. Look at what you are expecting, make judgment calls on your own rankings. People say you have to do something different to win leagues. But I do the same thing every time, and it works. I trust my own stuff. Get yourself to the point where you can trust your own stuff, or find someone you trust, and use their rankings(and tiers), to smoothly sail through any rough draft waters.

Thanks for the read, I hope you got something out of this piece. Tiers are not the end-all-be-all, but they are a useful tool that you can utilize to help make your draft go optimally. Follow me on twitter @realryanhicks, and follow @BellyUpFantasy for all your sports needs. Special thanks to the awesome Dylan Herbert for the title picture graphic. You can follow him @dylanjhebert12. Happy drafting!