Fantasy Draft Prep Part III - Ten Draft Tips!
(Posted August 19, 2021)
Welcome back, fantasy footballers. In Parts I and II of this series, we delved into “expert” player rankings and average draft position, and the related pitfalls of human psychology. Enough of that heavy and deep stuff. The Pigskin Papers is trying to provide you, the reader, with useful information on how to have a successful draft. So here are ten of our favorite quick drafting tips. We hope you find them useful, and as always, feel free to share your feedback and ideas in the comment box below. As a reminder, we are focusing on season-long redraft leagues, although some of these suggestions apply equally to other fantasy football formats.
Bye weeks don’t matter. At all. You have enough things to worry about and keep track of when you’re drafting - so don’t elevate the minutiae of bye weeks to another one of them. If your starting and backup QBs have the same bye week, you will find a streamer. If you picked two kickers that have the same bye week, well, someone will be saying “thanks for your league fee.”
Do one last news check shortly before your draft. Pick your favorite site that has an NFL news blogger and go through the latest news. Don’t be the guy who makes a pick and then has to suffer roars of laughter because the player you picked just got cut, or is scheduled for ankle surgery. The ridicule and humiliation sucks, and so does wasting a pick.
Use a highlighter. Take your draft board sheet, and using two colors of highlighter, indicate the guys you (a) like the most and would love to see on your team, and (b) like the least, either in relation to their likely draft price or just as an absolute. There are a lot of “name” players out there that you probably have no intention of drafting, but you still need to list them and rank them. Having high-lit draft sheets is a very useful way to keep your eye on certain guys as the draft progresses. Plus, we all have drawers full of highlighters collecting dust. This is a chance to use them for something important.
Resist the temptation to load up on players from your favorite NFL team. Yes, it is fun to root for the guys you’re also rooting for in real football. But dominating your league is more fun.
One thing you want to have handy when you’re drafting is a set of updated NFL depth charts. Multiple sites provide these. Depth charts are especially useful in IDP leagues, and also for identifying RB handcuffs. This is a good reference tool to have at your fingertips.
Be disciplined and stick with your draft plan as best you can. Yes, unexpected things always happen and drafts never go exactly as you envisioned. But good discipline is key to a successful draft. Be flexible, and adjust to what you’re seeing happen in your draft, but don’t completely abandon your strategy.
Targeting certain players is fine (I did after all recommend using a highlighter to flag the guys you really like), but don’t insist on securing specific players. You might not be able to get them, and/or you might have to overpay to a level that harms your team. In a snake draft, you don’t want to overpay by too much when you’re targeting a specific guy, and in an auction, if you and another owner both insist on getting Christian McCaffrey, only one of you will actually land him, probably at an inflated price if you’re both unwilling to yield for a long time. This is one reason why draft tiers are important - they can help you to focus on a group of players at a position who are in a very similar range, and that makes it easier to ensure you get at least one of them. More on tiers in a later piece.
Stacks are fine in season-long play, but don’t reach too far or spend too much in order to get one. We all love that feeling when we have Russ and DK and they hook up for a long TD. Points galore! But at the end of the day, points are points, and it doesn't really matter how you get them - you just want to get as many as you can, and you want to draft the players who will consistently get you the most points over the course of a season, at the best price. And if you reach for R. Wilson (or overspend on him) when you’ve already taken DK, just to get the stack, but could have waited another round or two or spent less of your salary cap to get Josh, Dak or Lamar, you haven’t helped yourself.
Wear a diaper. OK, just kidding - but the fewer absences you have from the draft room or from your computer, the better. Try to pay attention and stay engaged to the best of your ability. That really funny Tik Tok video can wait a few hours.
Have fun. Fantasy football is supposed to be fun. Even if it feels like the draft is slipping away from you, or you’re starting to hate your team, or you realize to your horror that you’ve taken two Jets and two Texans, crack a few jokes and break a few balls. You only get this day, with this group of people, once per year.
