Five UFL Fantasy Tips For First-Timers

Is this your first year drafting a UFL fantasy team, or do you not have any clue who the players are? Read on for tips on how to make your first UFL fantasy season a success.

You just got invited to a UFL fantasy league, and you’re feeling great. You’re pumped for a new season of the UFL and are excited to see what the league has in store.

Until you realize that this is your first time participating in UFL fantasy football. Now you’re panicking, because you don’t know what to do. Maybe you joined so you can get to know the players better.

Whether you’re a diehard spring football fan and are trying fantasy for the first time, or a newer fan that doesn’t know the players, or anywhere in between, here’s how you can have a successful first fantasy football season.

Get Your 2026 AltFantasy Gear Here!

#1: Start With What You Know

When in doubt, don’t hesitate to start with what you do know. Let’s say you’re a Birmingham Stallions fan. You may want to focus on drafting the Stallions’ key players, along with players who you know will make a lasting impact. When you have a solid list of players, put them on your draft queue so you don’t miss a chance at snagging them.

(Big words of wisdom: you know the most about your team, and only you know who’s a star and who’s a bust. You’d probably have a better advantage in terms of drafting Stallions players compared to the guy in your league who is a Louisville Kings fan — he might only know the key players on the Stallions, but not the underrated ones.)

#2: Do Your Quick Research

You don’t have to memorize any stats or recall what happened during a specific game last season, but you can do a quick Google Search of a player’s stats to see how they performed in previous years.

You can utilize the official UFL website/app as well as the official FOX Sports website/app to access up-to-date information on UFL stats. FOX Sports occasionally provides video highlights of a player, so utilize those to determine whether a player is worth the pickup.

You can also check out altfantasysports.com’s blog for more articles relating to players, teams, and stats to help supplement your fantasy decisions.

It’s easy to pick up a player because of their name — but that isn’t always an indicator that they will be reliable this year. Read up on how their season went last year – if a well-known player sat out last year due to injury, you may want to be cautious about whether they can be a reliable player throughout the season.

During your fantasy draft, make sure to prioritize running backs first. RBs generally get more opportunities and are likely to score more points compared to other position groups, so aim to draft an RB in the first round, so you can rest assured knowing that you have a reliable running back to help your team.

Given the nature of the UFL – where things can change quickly – you should take snap counts and performance into consideration to determine who can consistently show up and produce at a high level. Depth charts can provide good information, but some starters may not produce as much or may not start every game. It’s important to recognize those players who are starting most games and consistently perform at a high level as players to consider for your roster.

#3: Check In On Your Roster

This applies to any fantasy league you join – make an effort to check on your roster throughout the season. Ideally, you should shoot for once or twice a week prior to the weekend’s UFL games – but given how wacky the schedule is, it’s best to find your own time to evaluate where your team is at.

Don’t just draft your players and then go MIA for the rest of the season – you aren’t able to learn the players or about fantasy football that way. Not to mention, players who go MIA during a season don’t make the league as fun to be in – having to play against teams whose rosters haven’t been frequently updated isn’t as competitive or exhilarating.

How do you check up on your roster, you may ask? It’s really simple. Log on to altfantasysports.com and access your team. Review your roster for the week and identify any players who may have gotten injured or benched. Read up on their timeline for return. If it’s not for a little while, find another player to fill your spot.

Afterwards, check for any players who may perform better than the ones on your starting lineup. Let’s say you have Hakeem Butler as your starting WR, but St. Louis is playing D.C. that week. You know that D.C. is a really strong team, so you exercise some caution against starting Butler this week. Then, you notice that Chris Rowland (ORL), who is on your bench, is playing a weaker opponent. Opt for whoever is playing against a weaker opponent — the weaker the opponent, the stronger the likelihood that the player will perform at a high level.

You don’t need to dive too deep into projections or stats – especially if you’re not familiar with it. The best way to know who can give you the best advantage at winning every week is simply evaluating the strengths of the matchups. Don’t be afraid to move your roster around. When in doubt, you can always guess who’s going to be good — it’s better than going MIA and not doing anything about your team.

#4: Watch The Games

This is an important aspect of fantasy football, especially if you are participating to learn more about spring football. Watch the games! It’s the best way to keep tabs on your roster and to be up to date about what is going on in the league.

Most UFL games will be broadcast live on ESPN and FOX every weekend, with some games being broadcast exclusively on the NFL Network, ESPN+, and FS1. The league will also post highlights on their social channels, with full game highlights posted on their YouTube channel following the conclusion of every game. If you’re really pressed for time, you can check out those highlights – but nothing beats the exhilaration and thrill of watching the games live.

You don’t have to commit to watching every week, but be sure to watch enough games to be able to understand what’s going on, which can help with your fantasy decisions. It’ll make your fantasy football experience a lot easier and enjoyable — and you can become a new fan of the league, so it’s a win-win!

Get A Royal Retros Discount Here For Your Retro Merch!

#5: Have Fun And Don’t Take It Too Seriously!

This sounds super corny, but the whole point of fantasy is to engage with other fans and serves as another way to have fun this season. Take your roster seriously, but don’t get worked up over the wins and losses — at the end of the day, you can’t control how well a player does a certain week. If you win one week, that’ll be a great feeling – and if you lose the following week, it’s another opportunity to win the next week.

Nobody likes the guy whose emotions are tied to the performance of his fantasy team – at the end of the day, fantasy is meant for having fun and being in community with other spring football fans. altfantasysports.com makes it easy for commissioners to set scoring rules and personalize their league settings to ensure an enjoyable experience for everyone.

Whether this is your first time participating in fantasy spring football or you’re a seasoned vet, have fun this season, and long live fantasy spring football!