This blog started in 2012 to coincide with the publication of my second book, "Fantasy Football for Winners." Five years and three kids later, I wrapped up book #3: "The 14th Annual Registry of Fantasy Sports Champions: 1986 Edition."
With cover blurbs from some very cool celebrities (they had nothing to gain from putting their names on this, so I'm eternally grateful), the book imagines what a registry of fantasy sports champions would have looked like in 1986--before fantasy sports was anything close to resembling what it is today. I chose 1986 because, in many respects, it was the professional sports heyday of the past 50 years. ESPN was still broadcasting Australian Rules Football. PBA (bowling) tournaments were still Sunday afternoon network television events. Major League Baseball was on the verge of its big-hitting (and steroid-induced) era, with guys like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Jose Canseco fairly new to the Majors. The NBA's popularity was skyrocketing with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in their primes and Michael Jordan in his pre-prime. The NFL was in the midst of a QB renaissance. And so on.
There's a "Look Inside" feature on the Amazon page that pretty much shows what it's all about. If you like the back page or Preface or "Featured Champion" anecdotes, you might like the book. Otherwise, no harm done, and I'll try again in five years if I can scrounge up the time to write another.
---
Tomorrow I'll offer my annual play-by-play of an actual fantasy draft. The idea is to show what I'm thinking each round, what mistakes I'm trying to head off (and what mistakes I'm making), etc.
Any of us could write a book on this stuff. But for now, here are a few things I focus on each time I get into that draft room:
(1) Know your league rules. Sounds obvious, but you'd be be surprised how often one or more of your opponents drafts without understanding all the rules, particularly positional scoring breakdowns. You also might be shocked by how many people know the rules but haven't taken the time to assess their impact on draft strategy. The league I'll describe tomorrow offers one point per first down for RBs, WRs, and TEs. Every one of these players on my draft board needed to be re-evaluated and re-assigned a ranking based on this criteria. Then there's TDs: six for QBs and five for everyone else. Then there's the option to flex a QB. How many of my opponents factored all of this into a revised draft cheat sheet? I guarantee at least one person--and likely a few--didn't, meaning they're drafting guys without entirely comprehending their fantasy value.
(2) Don't pre-determine draft picks. Too often folks are looking ahead and deciding which position they'll draft next. "I've gone RB-WR, so next I need a QB before the best ones are gone." Most of the time, a huge mistake. I don't know who I'm taking--much less which position I'm drawing from--until it's my turn. If I get the chance to start a positional run, perfect. If I need a QB but a much higher-upside RB remains on the board, I want that RB even if I already have two. When it's not my turn, I'm tracking who's coming off the board and eyeballing remaining bargains. Speaking of which . . .
(3) Most drafts aren't won in the early rounds. The fact is, we don't always get the players we want. Actually, we never do. One of my pet peeves is "that guy" in the draft room who keeps complaining that all the best players are getting snatched up ("I was going to take him next!"). Heading into each draft, assume you'll get only one or two high-impact players. Most of the rest will be high-middling, middling, and speculative. Among those, your hope (more of an expectation if your research was sound) is that one or two break out. Stressing about missing out on great players is useless.
(4) Take expert rankings with a grain of salt. Buying into them lock, stock, and barrel can damage your psyche. Remember that many of each year's highest-scoring players were largely undervalued or ignored on draft day. Identify bargains and trust your research, not the herd mentality urging us to embrace clearly overrated players.
(5) RB handcuffs are gold. Why take a top 16-20 #2 QB in a one-QB league? Why add a non-TE1 backup tight end? Why settle for a middling passing team's #3 wideout? Drafting mediocre talent leads to mediocre teams. If you have enough bench spots, load up on RB handcuffs. They present more upside than any non-starting NFL player and can be had in bundles at the end of the draft and on waivers. Many of the best RBs each season started as undrafted handcuffs.
There's a "Look Inside" feature on the Amazon page that pretty much shows what it's all about. If you like the back page or Preface or "Featured Champion" anecdotes, you might like the book. Otherwise, no harm done, and I'll try again in five years if I can scrounge up the time to write another.
---
Tomorrow I'll offer my annual play-by-play of an actual fantasy draft. The idea is to show what I'm thinking each round, what mistakes I'm trying to head off (and what mistakes I'm making), etc.
Any of us could write a book on this stuff. But for now, here are a few things I focus on each time I get into that draft room:
(1) Know your league rules. Sounds obvious, but you'd be be surprised how often one or more of your opponents drafts without understanding all the rules, particularly positional scoring breakdowns. You also might be shocked by how many people know the rules but haven't taken the time to assess their impact on draft strategy. The league I'll describe tomorrow offers one point per first down for RBs, WRs, and TEs. Every one of these players on my draft board needed to be re-evaluated and re-assigned a ranking based on this criteria. Then there's TDs: six for QBs and five for everyone else. Then there's the option to flex a QB. How many of my opponents factored all of this into a revised draft cheat sheet? I guarantee at least one person--and likely a few--didn't, meaning they're drafting guys without entirely comprehending their fantasy value.
(2) Don't pre-determine draft picks. Too often folks are looking ahead and deciding which position they'll draft next. "I've gone RB-WR, so next I need a QB before the best ones are gone." Most of the time, a huge mistake. I don't know who I'm taking--much less which position I'm drawing from--until it's my turn. If I get the chance to start a positional run, perfect. If I need a QB but a much higher-upside RB remains on the board, I want that RB even if I already have two. When it's not my turn, I'm tracking who's coming off the board and eyeballing remaining bargains. Speaking of which . . .
(3) Most drafts aren't won in the early rounds. The fact is, we don't always get the players we want. Actually, we never do. One of my pet peeves is "that guy" in the draft room who keeps complaining that all the best players are getting snatched up ("I was going to take him next!"). Heading into each draft, assume you'll get only one or two high-impact players. Most of the rest will be high-middling, middling, and speculative. Among those, your hope (more of an expectation if your research was sound) is that one or two break out. Stressing about missing out on great players is useless.
(4) Take expert rankings with a grain of salt. Buying into them lock, stock, and barrel can damage your psyche. Remember that many of each year's highest-scoring players were largely undervalued or ignored on draft day. Identify bargains and trust your research, not the herd mentality urging us to embrace clearly overrated players.
(5) RB handcuffs are gold. Why take a top 16-20 #2 QB in a one-QB league? Why add a non-TE1 backup tight end? Why settle for a middling passing team's #3 wideout? Drafting mediocre talent leads to mediocre teams. If you have enough bench spots, load up on RB handcuffs. They present more upside than any non-starting NFL player and can be had in bundles at the end of the draft and on waivers. Many of the best RBs each season started as undrafted handcuffs.