Fantasy-Football-Draft

The Draft – Every competitive fantasy football owner’s Christmas. That special time you’re waiting for all year to finally put to good use the endless hours of research and mock drafts you’ve put in since last season ended. You’ve waited through the off-season, the combine, the NFL draft, off-season injuries, arrests, minicamps, rehabs, training camps, preseason games and now you’re finally ready to draft your players and set your line-up for week one.

When Should I Draft?

Setting a draft day and time might be the hardest part of the draft. Everyone has different schedules and different opinions on when the date should be.

1st – Check to see when the last preseason games are going to be played. Every year, players get injured in the preseason. Avoid the stress, frustration and “I should’ve drafted ____ instead” moments and wait until that last week before the regular season is set to start.

2nd – If you’re going to wait until that last week before the season starts, you’re going to need to find a time in everyone’s schedule to fit in your draft. Save yourself the hassle and headache and set your date in advance. Make sure everyone in the league has that date circled on their calendars well in advance. Last second drafting sucks – avoid it if you can, and good luck to you if you can’t.

How Do I Prepare?

Being prepared is key to drafting the best team possible. The team that you draft will set the foundation for your championship season. If you draft well and support it with a good waiver wire strategy, you’ll have a good chance at making the playoffs, but if you start your season off with a bad draft, you’ll be playing catch up for the rest of the season.

Do your research, your mock drafts, and get yourself mentally prepared. When you mock draft, don’t fall in love with a couple of players and ignore everyone else, or you’ll be disappointed when someone else grabs them in front of you.

Bring cheat sheets with you to the draft. I personally like hard copies that I can keep track of.

Don’t talk yourself out of getting certain players that you’ve researched. Get the players you love, but don’t reach too much for someone you can get in a later round (do your mocks and find a good balance). It’s easy to fall into a trap of “Well this guy is ranked higher, so he might be better”. Trust your research and instincts.

The Draft

Be prepared.

Things you’ll need:

  • Pencil
  • Rankings sheets
  • Computer (and charger)
  • Any other personal cheat sheets you’ve put together with personal rankings
  • Beer (or any other drink of choice)

After The Draft

If you’re serious about winning, you know that it takes much more than just the draft to win. Until the regular season starts up, stay on top of player/league news and always check your news sources (ESPN, bleacher report, twitter, etc.) for what’s happening around the league. Injuries, running back committees, who’s starting where, and matchups are going to keep you on top of your toes throughout the season, but especially in those first few weeks when there are a lot of unknowns.