Top 10 Fantasy Football Draft Tips
10. Monitor ADP - Knowing the Average Draft Position of players you are targeting in your draft will help you get the best value for your picks. There is no reason to draft a potential sleeper you like in the 5th round when you could probably get him in the 8th.
9. Strength of Schedule - During your draft when you are trying to decide between 2 guys of pretty much equal talent it may help you decide which one to choose when you see one has an easier schedule than the other. Just remember though that Strength of Schedule can be a little deceiving before the season starts because defenses often change drastically from season to season.
8. Know your Opponent - If you are playing with a group of friends that you have played with before you may notice that people tend to try and get the same players they had success with before. You will also see guys try and get players from their favorite team and also players that went to the same college as they did. Having this great piece of knowledge can help you predict if you need to hurry and draft a player you like or if you could wait and get him later. Of course you could always grab their favorite player and use him for trade bait later!
7. Playoff Plans - Yes, you have to win to get to the playoffs first, but when you get there wouldn't it be nice to know your players have some easy match ups that you could ride to a Fantasy Championship. This goes back to the strength of schedule, try and target guys that have potentially easy match ups during weeks 13 - 16 when making a tough decision over equally valued players.
6. Know your Leagues Scoring Rules - The scoring rules for your league are often overlooked when going into the draft. Don't just assume that you are using standard scoring rules and that a RB is a lock for your first and second pick.
5. Study - You have to study before your draft if you want to have success! Get a few different magazines and read up on what is expected this year. You never know, you may find a rookie or possible sleeper that leads you to a Fantasy Championship.
4. Mock Draft - Do as many mock drafts as you can! This will help you get a feel for what players you can expect to get in your draft and where you can expect to get them. If you know where you are going to be drafting in your live draft you should check out ESPN's mock draft program. It will let you pick your draft position for your mock draft so you can practice from your exact spot in the draft.
3. Defense and Kicker Last - It drives me crazy when I see people drafting Defense and Kickers in the middle rounds of a draft. The difference in the top scoring defense and the 10th ranked defense every year is usually around an average of 1 or 2 points per game. Same goes for kickers! In previous years in those middle rounds where some people are drafting defenses you could have drafted the likes of Michael Vick, Arian Foster, Peyton Hillis, Steve Johnson... you get the point!
2. Cheat Sheets - Bring ONE Cheat Sheet with you to your draft. Having too much info can be distracting and cause you to make a mistake. Of course you will want to have a few different reference sources handy just in case you need to make a tough decision on a player. If you like to make your own cheat sheet before your draft check out our Sortable Drag and Drop Cheat Sheet. Just drag and drop your players where you want them and then print it out for your draft.
1. Alcohol Intake - You may think I'm going to tell you to watch what you drink at your draft, but that's not my style! Actually, you should watch what your opponents drink. The draft is about having fun, so HAVE FUN, just make sure they drink more than you do.
