How to Fantasy Football: The draft
by Zac Schmelzle
To start fantasy football, the league commissioner will set a time and date for the draft. The draft is where members of the league will draft NFL players onto their team, and has a few different formats. Snake drafts are the most common, as the draft order will be 1-6, then next round 6-1, and so on so forth until the end of the draft. Standard order has the draft order each round stay 1-6.
On the internet, you will find hundreds of draft boards and mock drafts for fantasy football. Those will be members' best bet when learning who to draft and where to draft. Fantasy football is quite different from an actual NFL draft because in fantasy you won't always be drafting the best players. In fantasy, you want NFL players that can fill the stat sheet, or have major volume on their team. An easy rule of thumb to start off with, defenses and kickers can be put off for the latter rounds of your draft.
In the draft, you want to be able to predict where players will land so that you can pick people at the correct time. For strategy, you also want to focus on running backs and wide receivers in the first four or five rounds, because the amount of players in the NFL that play those positions is vast. There are few exceptions for quarterbacks and tight ends because they are the focal point of their offense. Players like Aaron Rodgers and Travis Kelce have always been high round picks because of the stats they produce.
The problem also for drafting receivers and running backs is that nearly every team has a WR2 or RB2, which can cause some problems for players' stats because they may touch the ball less. "Running back by commission" players tend to be drafted later in the draft, even though they may be extremely talented.
There are also many different terms for players in the draft. Sleepers are players that may have not done well the year prior, but a situation may have changed or they may have the potential to become a star fantasy player. Lamar Jackson was a sleeper pick for many this year, from criticized rookie to now the top-scoring QB. Busts are players who had high expectations based on the year prior but have a high chance of failing those expectations. Baker Mayfield is a good example, as everyone saw the Browns as an offensive powerhouse led by Mayfield, but so far he has been the 23rd best QB out of 32.
In the draft, it's important to pay attention to a player's surrounding cast, schedule, and talent of the player. A good WR with a poor QB throwing the ball to them may be a bad fantasy option or a good RB in a pass-heavy offense may score less. Once you draft these players, though, don't get too comfortable with them. It's your team, and you're able to switch them out as the season progresses.
To start fantasy football, the league commissioner will set a time and date for the draft. The draft is where members of the league will draft NFL players onto their team, and has a few different formats. Snake drafts are the most common, as the draft order will be 1-6, then next round 6-1, and so on so forth until the end of the draft. Standard order has the draft order each round stay 1-6.
On the internet, you will find hundreds of draft boards and mock drafts for fantasy football. Those will be members' best bet when learning who to draft and where to draft. Fantasy football is quite different from an actual NFL draft because in fantasy you won't always be drafting the best players. In fantasy, you want NFL players that can fill the stat sheet, or have major volume on their team. An easy rule of thumb to start off with, defenses and kickers can be put off for the latter rounds of your draft.
In the draft, you want to be able to predict where players will land so that you can pick people at the correct time. For strategy, you also want to focus on running backs and wide receivers in the first four or five rounds, because the amount of players in the NFL that play those positions is vast. There are few exceptions for quarterbacks and tight ends because they are the focal point of their offense. Players like Aaron Rodgers and Travis Kelce have always been high round picks because of the stats they produce.
The problem also for drafting receivers and running backs is that nearly every team has a WR2 or RB2, which can cause some problems for players' stats because they may touch the ball less. "Running back by commission" players tend to be drafted later in the draft, even though they may be extremely talented.
There are also many different terms for players in the draft. Sleepers are players that may have not done well the year prior, but a situation may have changed or they may have the potential to become a star fantasy player. Lamar Jackson was a sleeper pick for many this year, from criticized rookie to now the top-scoring QB. Busts are players who had high expectations based on the year prior but have a high chance of failing those expectations. Baker Mayfield is a good example, as everyone saw the Browns as an offensive powerhouse led by Mayfield, but so far he has been the 23rd best QB out of 32.
Example of how a team can start and change. Photo by Zac Schmelzle
In the draft, it's important to pay attention to a player's surrounding cast, schedule, and talent of the player. A good WR with a poor QB throwing the ball to them may be a bad fantasy option or a good RB in a pass-heavy offense may score less. Once you draft these players, though, don't get too comfortable with them. It's your team, and you're able to switch them out as the season progresses.
Comments
Post a Comment