Football season is coming up fast, and that means fantasy football draft season is in full swing. Fantasy football has become a part of football fans' Sunday routine, and while you're on the go, either at the stadium watching your favorite team play or on the go and away from a computer, you can still manage your fantasy team and track how you're doing There are an increasing number of Android apps for your phone or tablet that can help you conquer your opponents and win a title. Hit the break to get started.
Depending on the online league you are in, you're going to want the app designed by your host to manage your team. The most popular fantasy hosts include ESPN, NFL.com, Yahoo! Sports, and CBS Sports. Some apps are better than others, but if you're already in a league, you don't really have an option on the app you use to directly change your lineup and manage your team.
1. Yahoo! Sports
Yahoo! has my favorite fantasy football Android client. It has a brand new interface for this upcoming season that is clean, easy to use, and seems to be pretty stable. You can even draft your team from your device, something other clients won't allow you to do. A complete list of features includes live and mock drafts, live scoring, team management, notifications, access to message boards, and player news. If you can, try to convince your league's commissioner to use Yahoo!, simply for it's great Android app.
Play Store Download Link2. ESPN Fantasy Football, Free
ESPN's fantasy appwas good. However, they haven't changed its design to keep up with the times in years, and it's a little outdated now. Before this year, it used to cost a few dollars, but they've made it free for this year. If you're in an ESPN league you're going to have to have this app because there's no alternative, and while outdated, it does let you manage your team. Features include team management, setting your lineup, adding and dropping players, live scoring and stats, news on your players, access to your league's message board, and push notifications for injuries, substitutions, and scoring updates.
Play Store Download Link
3. NFL.com Fantasy Football 2013, Free
From the outside, NFL.com's fantasy client looks good. It updated its design for 2013, added new features, and allows you to do almost everything you can on the computer. However, the app is very laggy and unresponsive because it's just the mobile web version of NFL.com Fantasy, which means bugs and no notifications. From my experience, going to NFL.com/fantasy in your Chrome browser works a lot smoother than using this app. It's your choice to make if you are in an NFL.com based league. The app's description vows that more new features are coming before kickoff, so I'll reserve complete judgement until those new features arrive. Right now, you can do all of the necessities, including live scoring, setting your lineup, transactions, registration, and receiving the latest news on your players.
Play Store Download Link
Player Information Apps
While all of the above apps feature player rankings and their own player news and info, sometimes you want more information on which players to start, which players to drop, and more. There are a few apps that can help you with this.
1. CBS Sports Fantasy Football, Free
CBS Sports is a trusted name in fantasy football, and through their Android app, you can get valuable information, including their stance on projections, the latest player news, depth charts, injury reports, and more. CBS has their own fantasy football leagues, but the beauty of this app is that you can use it regardless of what fantasy football host you are using. You plug in your team, input your league settings, and it gives you advice, simple as that. It really has all of the information you could want, from the time you begin your pre-draft rankings, all the way to your league's playoffs.
2. NFL Fantasy Cheat Sheet, $2.99
NFL.com also has an app to help dominate your league. With rankings, projections, injury info, depth charts, and more player news, this app calculates who to draft based on your league settings and draft position. During the season, stat predictions are given multiple times each week through Accuscore. It's well designed and has a lot of good information. Again, you can use this app regardless of the host site of your league.
Play Store Download Link
3. RotoWorld Fantasy Football Draft Kit '13, $2.99
This app isn't flashy, far from it, but it has good stuff. RotoWire is one of the most trusted names when it comes to fantasy sports, and this app provides detailed and updated player information to make your team better. Enter your league information, and RotoWire will build a rankings list tailored for your team.
These are just a few of my favorites. Have I missed any? Let me know in the comments.
Aditya ThawardasAuthor
Born in India and raised in Tennessee, Aditya is currently a marketing/finance student in the College of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh. Aditya started off in the world of smartphones with a first generation iPhone, until he realized what he was doing and quickly switched to Android. He then got an HTC Aria, followed by a Samsung Captivate, and today he is a proud Samsung Galaxy S III owner. Aside from writing for Talk Android, he occasionally writes for the Tennessee Titans blog MusicCityMiracles.com, as is a huge Titans fan. In addition to the Titans, Aditya also loves all Pitt Panthers teams, the Nashville Predators, Memphis Grizzlies, and Pittsburgh Pirates. He also enjoys playing the guitar.
