Fantasy Football Draft Tips
by Jeff Christiansen
1. Prepare ahead of time * Get a copy of the rules, which should include the drafting method, scoring system, and prize disbursement for the league * If you're a first timer, learn all the terminology with our FF Dictionary * Make a cheat sheet / projection sheet (or use ours) * Read up on who other people think are sleepers (check out our Sleepers Page) 2. Bring your drafting equipment * Money, for entry fees (if any) * Cheat Sheet (no sense in working on it if you're going to forget it) * Old FF Magazine (to loan to the guy who wants info from you) * Several Pens/ Pencils * Highlighters (1 color for your picks, another for other's picks) * Clip Board (do you want to write on your knee for 2 hours?) * Folder to keep things private (see #6) * Paper (to jot down trade ideas & notes to yourself) * Blank Draft Roster Grid -- Print out ours 3. Encourage the commissioner to be innovative * Check out the commish tips page * Suggest a fantasy football draft kit like UltimateDraft 4. Keep your eyes peeled (and your mouth shut) * Pay attention to others picks, if everyone else already has 4 running backs and you only have 2, you're in trouble. * Try not to say too much, you don't want to get a bad label * Just by watching the other drafters you can get a good idea of what you should (and shouldn't) be doing. 5. Be careful about bye weeks Never draft a backup QB that has the same bye week as your starter, it defeats the purpose of drafting him. Here's our list for this season. 6. Draft the best player available (don't fill your roster in order) Some people (not knowing any better) will draft QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, K, D, QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, K. But it's much more important to get your third RB before a kicker. In it's simplest form, the value of a player is determined not by the number of points he scores, but by how much he outscores his peers at his particular position. Your league's particular scoring system is very important in making these kind of decisions.
7. Keep your cheat sheet to yourself It doesn't do you a lot of good to "share" your cheat sheet with the owner next to you. Years ago I made this mistake and then he ended up with a better record than I did. 8. Bring the beer (if you're over 21), but don't drink * I'm sure you know, but just in case, the human brain does not function at 100% when it's under the influence. * You will be seen as a great guy, but you're really just helping yourself because your opponents won't be at full speed. 9. Consider trading In between picks is a good time to think about trades. Maybe you're sure your big sleeper is going to be picked before your next turn, so try trading your next 2 picks for a higher pick. Or maybe you realized you made a mistake like #4, trade that player now and you can still come out ahead by getting 2 lower draft picks. Check out the draft pick calculator on our tools page. 10. Finishing up Your last few draft picks should be on some long shots. Don't waste these picks on older veteran players that have consistently scored a couple points a game. Take a chance on that rookie quarterback or a backup running back with a big upside. 11. Double check everything Before leaving the draft, make sure you: * Pay all your fees * Agree with the commissioner on your roster * Check each other's phone numbers and e-mail addresses * Know what time transactions and lineups are due. 12. Have fun Too often we over-analyze our hobby and drain the fun out of it. Remember that the whole reason we play fantasy football is for fun. Good luck!
NFL Fantasy draft tips
Posted by Ross Devonport August 20, 2008 7:32PM
Categories: football
Ellis Lucia / Times-PicayuneReggie Bush was second in the NFL in targets last season with 98, 22 behind Brian Westbrook. We have about two and a half weeks until the start of the 2008 NFL season, which means those respectable Fantasy Football leagues out there will be getting ready for their drafts very soon. (Only amateurs draft before this point -- so those of you who already drafted Kevin Curtis deserve what you got!)
So, I figured it's right about time I gave you some draft strategy tips to help you from being that guy or girl who wins two games and is laughed at by every owner in your league for drafting such an awful squad. Look, no one can foresee injuries, so you have to just expect to get them now and again. The key is to be prepared for things like that by having a solid draft that doesn't leave you scrambling on the wire every week. So, with all that said, here are my five best draft tips for the upcoming season: 1. Don't try to be a smart ass -- take Tomlinson or Peterson with either of the first two picks I've noticed a few drafts recently in which people have tried to be cool and taken Tom Brady with the second pick. Looking at the CBSSports.com draft averages, someone even took Brian Westbrook with the second pick of their draft! I mean, even with points per reception, that pick is ludicrous. LT might be coming off an injury, but he's still a Fantasy stud who plays on a team capable of putting up lots of points every week. Remember how we were all down on Clinton Portis last year when he was coming off an injury? Yeah, well, just keep that in the back of your mind if you start thinking about skipping Tomlinson. As for Peterson -- OK, so he might be only a second-year player on a team that lacks a QB, but he plays behind an excellent offensive line and did just fine last year with Tarvaris Jackson handing him the ball. Oh, and the Vikings defense is ridiculously good, which means Peterson will see the field a ton. Don't be a dummy, OK? Take LT or AP (or AD, whatever you want to call him).
Chuck Burton / AP PhotoMarion Barber would be a nice late first-round pick this season in Fantasy drafts. 2. The whole 'take two running backs early' strategy is a thing of the past I was always a big fan of taking two rushers early, but doing a ton of mock drafts over the last month or so and seeing how many NFL teams are going to a running back-by-committee approach nowadays, this system just doesn't make much sense anymore. The only exception might be if you're picking late in your draft, guys like Marion Barber, Marshawn Lynch, Clinton Portis and Larry Johnson are still available and Randy Moss is off the board. If you're in the top six or seven picks and get a stud RB, then take a stud WR in the second round, as they're going to be harder to come by this season and in years to come. 3. Unless you get one of the top four QBs, wait until later to take one There are four clear-cut stellar Fantasy quarterbacks heading into this season: Tom Brady (average draft position 3.92), Peyton Manning (7.91), Tony Romo (13.55) and Drew Brees (18.38). If you don't get one of those four, then don't jump too early for a guy like Carson Palmer, Ben Roethlisberger or Derek Anderson. Those three guys are all being picked in the third or fourth round, but I just don't think they're great value there. If you can get them a round or two later than that, then go ahead and do so, but you can get likely get similar production out of someone like Marc Bulger, Matt Hasselbeck or Jay Cutler in rounds six through eight. Just don't overpay for a QB, plain and simple, as there are plenty of decent ones out there.
Strattman / AP PhotoShawne Merriman is a key component of the stellar Chargers defense. 4. Unless you get the Vikings or Chargers, wait until the last two rounds to take your DST There are only two real elite defensive units in Fantasy play this year in the form of the Vikings and the Chargers, who are being taken in round seven of 12-team leagues, on average. If you're super-happy with your first six picks and feel like you can wait for a QB in round eight or nine, then by all means go ahead and take the Vikings or Chargers. However, if you don't get either of those units, then just wait until the penultimate or final round to take your DST. Honestly, I change my DST unit so much depending on matchups during the season that I wouldn't even take one in most leagues if I didn't have to. 5. Pay very close attention to targets While relatively new to some people in the Fantasy world, targets have been a key stat for Fantasy geeks over the last few years now. They tell you how many times a receiver, tight end or running back was thrown towards in the passing game -- regardless of whether they caught the ball or not. If you simply look at the box score every weekend, you'll only see how many passes a guy caught for how many yards and for how many touchdowns. What you won't see is how many times a guy was thrown towards, which is a key stat as it can tell exactly how involved he is getting in the offense. Sometimes a No. 2 wide receiver can get more targets than a No. 1 guy, which will be a key stat to know heading into any draft. Check out the targets on CBSSports.com's stat page as there are some interesting people high up on the list that you might not expect. Finally, don't draft any Miami Dolphins! Save yourself the misery, trust me! Tags: Fantasy Football, NFL Print This Page | Send To A Friend | Permalink (Learn More) Share: Reddit | Digg | del.icio.us | Google | Yahoo | What is this? COMMENTS (1)Post a comment
Posted by soyi3oy on 08/21/08 at 7:07PM
Taking two RBs early still holds true today. The drop-off in points between RBs is still significantly greater than the drop-off in WRs. For example, in my league Bryan Westbrook and LT were for all practical purposes, tied in points with 370 each (they were separated by a fraction of a point). After that, 3rd in points was 100 points behind and there were only 15 RBs that provided over 200 points that season. WRs on the other hand, the difference between first and second was only about 80 points (385 and 309). After that, there were still two other receivers you could have picked up with at least 300 points and then another 17 receivers with at least 200 points. That makes 20 WRs with 200 points or more, and that's in a PPR league where WRs hold more weight.
Inappropriate? Alert us. Post a comment