Buyer’s remorse, regret, got hosed. However you slice it, a bad trade or draft pick is a part of the Fantasy Football season. There is no escape. The only thing you can do is hope it does not sink your season altogether.

I have been on both sides of the coin and let me tell you; it really is a gamble. It starts with the draft and no matter what you do, you will view one of your high draft choices as a bust. It is all in the eye of the beholder. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

One of the biggest “beware” moments is when someone offers you a trade based on “name value” and not “game value”. This means you are presented with a trade offer that features a big-name player who is not performing well, but the trade is enticing because of the big name. What to do, what to do? I always view this as even though it is a big name, if a player is struggling or even injured, I stay away from the whole thing. I would rather have a lesser-known player who is averaging 8-12 points a week than a player who has that big name but only scoring about 7-10 a week.

In my two-plus decades of playing this glorious game, I have seen many friends come and go over being “had” in a deal. (None of which happened due to a deal I was involved in, just to be clear.) It is petty, immature, and a complete bummer when this happens, but it does happen. As a commissioner, it is our duty to make sure the league’s integrity remains during the entire season. In my leagues, we vote on all trades. It took me a few years to adapt to this rule.

My biggest mistake as a commissioner was in my first year, we had the trade deadline set for Thanksgiving weekend. The only problem was I did not have the voting rule in place. This allowed any trade to go through without batting an eye. What a debacle. This altered the playoffs big time. Never again. It was an instant rule change moving forward.

It is easy to get wrapped up in the hype as well. The waiver wire is a fickle process as well. That one-week warrior who blew up for 139 yards and two touchdowns will be the top priority on the wire and everyone will be putting their claim in for him. Just make sure you do your homework first. Your responsibility is to figure out “Why did he have a huge game that week?”

Here are some things to consider: “Was this player’s performance due to an injury to the person ahead of them on the depth chart?” “Has the defense that they were playing against been weak all season long?” and “Who do they play the upcoming week?” I will never go after someone who has that one-time flash in the pan performance. I have a hard time dropping someone from my roster, just to get a shiny new toy that I will likely drop shortly after acquiring him.

I hope this helps as you move through your Fantasy Football process.