It may sound like a cliché, but those who are hoisting their fantasy football championship trophies today are doing it because of their work on the waiver wire, not the work they did on draft day.

Yes, it is important to do your research and have a strong draft, but with the number of injuries and position battles won and lost throughout the season, it is the hard work and dedication to free agent pickups that win a league. And it’s not just one player either.

The tenacity to fight for a variety of players throughout the season is what brings home the тιтle.

The season opened with a number of waiver darlings who quickly became game-changers. Those who lost Christian McCaffrey to open the year never missed a beat if they added Jordan Mason.

His three 100-yard efforts through the first four weeks helped erase the loss of this season’s first-overall pick and for those who added Mason and didn’t lose McCaffrey, their start to the season was probably even more powerful.

But the early waiver treasures didn’t stop with Mason. Both Chuba Hubbard and Bucky Irving gradually became strong running back options while Darnell Mooney and Rashid Shaheed quickly turned heads for those in need of wide receiver help. No one likes to lose matchups to open the season and these players helped prevent just that.

During the middle of the season, we lost players like Nico Collins, Chris Godwin, Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs, Brandon Aiyuk and Jonathan Taylor. Fantasy owners were panicked by the loss of such marquee talent but we were all quickly introduced to the likes of Jauan Jennings, Andre Iosivas and Nick Westbrook-Ihkine.

We were also re-introduced to some retro names like Kareem Hunt, Jonnu Smith and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. But the big one might have been when Bengals running back Chase Brown took over in Cincinnati. He replaced Zack Moss around Week 8 and never looked back.

Even the end of the season was filled with a variety of waiver saviors. Zach Charbonnet took over for the injured Kenneth Walker, Tyjae Spears replaced Tony Pollard and the Dallas Cowboys finally started to lean on Rico Dowdle more. Jerry Jeudy jelled with Jameis Winston for a few weeks, Adam Thielen returned from injury and Jalen McMillan was finally leaned on to fill the role vacated by Godwin’s injury. His five touchdowns in a four-game span to close the season helped numerous people win their leagues.

Every year, fantasy football managers freak out over who they’re going to pick in the first round, when all along, all they really need is a little in-season elbow grease. ‘

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Next year, when your quest for a championship commences, be sure to remember that your first pick is just the first step in a 17-week process. It’s about your commitment to strong, in-season waiver wire work that puts you in the winner’s circle.

Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy football news and advice.