The “Fantasy-pedia” page on this page includes some tips based on various FF4W posts:
http://www.fantasyfootballforwinners.com/p/favorites.html
One of the sections on that page is for “Draft / Pre-draft strategies.” There’s not much in there yet; I’ve been building it--and the whole website--from scratch this year. But there’s some basic thinking in there that might help some folks.
One concept I haven’t yet incorporated onto that page is whether one positionally focused draft approach is better than any other. The fact is, some experts will swear up and down that going RB-RB in the first two rounds is a winning strategy, as elite and near-elite RBs are precious commodities; there are plenty of high-upside QBs and WRs and TEs to fall back on in the third round and beyond.
Other equally intelligent people insist on a no-RB approach in the early rounds, instead stocking up on elite / near-elite WRs and a QB and maybe even a TE before turning to RB4s and RB5s—some of whom could become RB1/2s if strong play or a starter’s injury thrusts them into bell-cow status.
Still others fervently embrace a QB/TE strategy, locking in the best at each position and then feeling like the envy of the league.
And of course, some people will tell you, “I know the perfect approach,” and then lay out—round by round—which position managers should pick from. A very well known fantasy expert wrote an article a couple years ago promoting this very philosophy and walking through exactly how to do it, including (with no exceptions) holding off on a QB until the eighth round. My mouth dropped. It literally dropped. I’m not joking.
My draft approach isn’t as cut-and-dry. There are no expectations, except picking great players. There are no position quotas, except ensuring I can field a full lineup Week 1.
Primarily, I’m grabbing the best player at the highest positional tier available. So if one first-tier QB remains in the third round, and the league is already digging into second- and third-tier flex players, I’m pouncing on the first-tier QB. (Obviously, first-tier kickers and DSTs aren’t worth targeting that early.)
Secondly, I’m responding to positional runs. Imagine you’re picking in 10 turns. You “need” an RB. Eight of the next nine picks are RBs. Countless times I’ve seen and heard of managers desperately grabbing the next best RB, based not on what’s best for his/her roster, but instead on what’s “needed.” Need is a terrible draft emotion. Let the draft come to you. When there’s a run on RBs, there’s probably a bargain available at another position. If you can start a new run on that position, you’re giving yourself a chance to win that round.
Thirdly, I’m prepared. 300+ rank-ordered, tier-defined players are at my fingertips. Multiple undervalued, high-upside players at each position are identified. If a, then b. If d-f-e, then q-r-s. The ideal draft is stress free, because logic overcomes emotion.
So the next time someone tells you his RB-RB strategy rocks, wish him well. If he likes it, great. But just as in the game of chess, if there were only one optimal set of opening moves, everyone would do it. Find a strategy that works for you and try to perfect it.
My approach embraces all strategies by adopting none of them. It’s all situational, not pre-planned: focus on tiers, runs, and high-upside bargains.
http://www.fantasyfootballforwinners.com/p/favorites.html
One of the sections on that page is for “Draft / Pre-draft strategies.” There’s not much in there yet; I’ve been building it--and the whole website--from scratch this year. But there’s some basic thinking in there that might help some folks.
One concept I haven’t yet incorporated onto that page is whether one positionally focused draft approach is better than any other. The fact is, some experts will swear up and down that going RB-RB in the first two rounds is a winning strategy, as elite and near-elite RBs are precious commodities; there are plenty of high-upside QBs and WRs and TEs to fall back on in the third round and beyond.
Other equally intelligent people insist on a no-RB approach in the early rounds, instead stocking up on elite / near-elite WRs and a QB and maybe even a TE before turning to RB4s and RB5s—some of whom could become RB1/2s if strong play or a starter’s injury thrusts them into bell-cow status.
Still others fervently embrace a QB/TE strategy, locking in the best at each position and then feeling like the envy of the league.
And of course, some people will tell you, “I know the perfect approach,” and then lay out—round by round—which position managers should pick from. A very well known fantasy expert wrote an article a couple years ago promoting this very philosophy and walking through exactly how to do it, including (with no exceptions) holding off on a QB until the eighth round. My mouth dropped. It literally dropped. I’m not joking.
My draft approach isn’t as cut-and-dry. There are no expectations, except picking great players. There are no position quotas, except ensuring I can field a full lineup Week 1.
Primarily, I’m grabbing the best player at the highest positional tier available. So if one first-tier QB remains in the third round, and the league is already digging into second- and third-tier flex players, I’m pouncing on the first-tier QB. (Obviously, first-tier kickers and DSTs aren’t worth targeting that early.)
Secondly, I’m responding to positional runs. Imagine you’re picking in 10 turns. You “need” an RB. Eight of the next nine picks are RBs. Countless times I’ve seen and heard of managers desperately grabbing the next best RB, based not on what’s best for his/her roster, but instead on what’s “needed.” Need is a terrible draft emotion. Let the draft come to you. When there’s a run on RBs, there’s probably a bargain available at another position. If you can start a new run on that position, you’re giving yourself a chance to win that round.
Thirdly, I’m prepared. 300+ rank-ordered, tier-defined players are at my fingertips. Multiple undervalued, high-upside players at each position are identified. If a, then b. If d-f-e, then q-r-s. The ideal draft is stress free, because logic overcomes emotion.
So the next time someone tells you his RB-RB strategy rocks, wish him well. If he likes it, great. But just as in the game of chess, if there were only one optimal set of opening moves, everyone would do it. Find a strategy that works for you and try to perfect it.
My approach embraces all strategies by adopting none of them. It’s all situational, not pre-planned: focus on tiers, runs, and high-upside bargains.