The NFL season kicks off in a few weeks. So that means it is about to be my favorite time of year…Fantasy Football Draft time. I’ve already started mock drafting to whet my appetite for the real thing because I just can’t get enough of it. All the possibilities for your team are in front of you. Sometime over the next month you will sit with your other league members and divvy up NFL players into fantasy teams. Naturally, you want to come out on top. Here’s the good news. You can!
Whether the league is serious or not, the purpose is to have a good time. You want it to be fun and not a stressful chore. Everybody knows that one friend that takes forever to make up their mind. They are the one with scattered papers & sweating their decisions while trying to use a “phone a friend” lifeline for every pick.
No one wants to be sweaty guy. They want to be that cool guy who makes confident picks. The good news is that drafting well isn’t hard. Like a boy scout, just be prepared. Here are 5 simple keys to remember as you prepare so you can be calm and collected on your own draft day!
Key #1. Create your own rankings.
There are plenty of player rankings out there and they are not hard to find. But no two experts will have the same list. Be careful to grab just one published list of players because these lists are going to have likes and dislikes of certain players and those likes & dislikes can vary a lot from the rest of the expert community.
It is important to know that while expert player rankings are well researched they are still just guides for the upcoming season. There are no Nostradamus fortune tellers able to predict the future for any upcoming season.The unpredictability is what makes the game so great. So how can you find balance in your research?
Take a look at different lists because it helps to normalize outlier players from one list to the next. This will form the base from which you can create your own draft list and put your own spin on where players rank. Have confidence to like a player better than others.
Remember you are building your team so it is okay to have your own rankings. In fact, for every player for a reason why to draft him there will be a reason not to draft him.
And this is another important part of drafting a winning team because it isn’t just about getting the players you want but getting them at the right value.
If the consensus has a player ranked 40th and you think they are a top 20 player, you might not want take him at 20 when could take him at 30. Get your guy but be careful not to reach for a player. This is especially helpful at later points of the draft. If you think someone is undervalued going at pick 150, there’s no reason to jump too early. A few rounds should be enough to get your underrated guy. With a little planning, you can get players at the right time.
Which leads me to the second key…
Key #2. Have a plan of attack for your draft.
You just spent time deliberating players, positions, sleepers, busts, and value players before your draft. But before the big day comes, one last thing you should check is the league score settings. Some leagues will give bonus points for receptions or a premium bonus point for tight ends, points for return yards and other variations. Understand how your league scoring works because that can also impact who you plan to draft. There are many variation options available to the one setting up the league so know before you draft.
Ok, so now it is draft day, where the picks are actually made. This can be nerve wracking for the unprepared and if you are drafting online, most leagues have a pick clock that is only about a minute long. That means when you are “on the clock” there is little time to make debate and pick.
You don’t want to hit the panic button during your draft because you were unprepared. There is no faster way to become ‘sweaty guy’ than to make your picks on the fly. Having a plan and sticking to it keeps you cool under the pressure of the pick clock.
If it is an online draft, most sites will have a list of players for you and will also remove drafted players. That’s a big help. However, you will want to note your guys and where they fall on the league draft list. Because you spent the time to look at the players ahead of time and you know which guys you want and where you want to take them.
Now having a plan is great but even best laid plans are tough to go perfectly. That leads to key 3
Key #3. Don't lock yourself into just one player each round.
This is really a post-script to key #2. Best laid plans can still send you on a detour. Have options so you aren't panicking when someone grabs your top target right before your pick. It’s okay to miss out on the player you are targeting provided you have another waiting in the wings.
I often have several players I am looking at as the pick approaches my turn so that when it gets to me I am not dwelling on a player I wanted being taken by the person right before me.
While someone taking your targeted player right before your pick is frustrating so is regretting the replacement player you chose 30 seconds after he is locked into your draft board. Having multiple options can avoid that.
Having a plan also avoids chasing. I’ve seen the unprepared drafter pass on a position like running back until later in the draft and spend the rest of their draft scrambling and chasing running backs the rest of the draft. You don’t want to be chasing players. With a little research, you will find the players come to you.
Key #4. Don't take extreme gambles in the first two rounds.
When it comes to drafting a fantasy team, you don't win your league with the first two picks, but you can lose a league with those early decisons. They call top picks ‘Studs’ for a reason. They are tried and true fantasy blue chips, delivering consistently strong numbers week in & week out. Make these picks count by using your head not your heart. It’s great to take a player whose uniform is your favorite or someone getting a lot of hype from fantasy gurus. There are plenty of rounds in a draft to pick a player because you like them. In the early rounds, get studs. They are easy to spot. Because when you did your research before the draft, you find very little variability in the top 20 to 25 players. Knowing where players you like are ranked lets you know where to take them based on value versus your passion for the player. The time to take gambles are mid to late rounds. It’s not a huge risk to take a player at pick 100 who is ranked 140 because at that point in the draft your studs are locked in and the foundation of your team is set. Make solid choices early so you can gamble later, which leads to the final key.
Key #5. Have your nucleus built in first 6 rounds.
No two drafts end up the same. You can see trends from draft to draft like running backs going early or quarterbacks going late. I typically like to have my starting Quarterback, 2 starting Running Backs, and 2 starting Wide Receivers set by the time I get through my first 6 picks. It is fair to sub out one of those 5 for an elite TE. But don’t get too far off drafting for value when trying to construct a team.
If you stockpile too many WRs early at the expense of your starting quarterback or running backs, it will be hard to find quality starters that inspire in the back half of the draft. You don’t want to be chasing a starter in later rounds because the next thing you know, you have 4 late round quarterbacks on your team and don’t like any of them. Get the core of your team drafted early so you can then spend time getting value picks & sleepers later.
This isn’t to say you can’t find starters late, but you don’t need to make the draft hard on yourself. Ultimately you want your key player set early on and then draft players late that you aren’t relying on to start. Once the core of your team is set, the rest of the draft is all upside.
To sum up, create your personalized rankings, come up with a plan, give yourself options, grab blue chips early and focus on your core team before targeting sleepers and upsiders. You’ll be cool, confident, and laughing at ‘Sweaty Guy’ because it won’t be you.
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