Saturday, July 5, 2014

Tips for Draft Masters/Draft Experts/Draft Champions/Draft and Forget/Draft and Go Leagues Part 1

I have drafted in several draft masters drafts this season and decided to share some tips. This is an article from a few years ago but I have taken the liberty of updating it.

 The types of leagues have different names depending on who the operator is but most go by one of these monikers: Draft Masters (DM), Draft Experts (DE), Draft and Forget or a recent one Draft and Go.

 Tips
1) It is a total points league not H2H so you need to have a different mindset altogether. You always want to have at least two QB, TE, K and Defense. I suggest three of each but will explain why later. You need two of each because you cannot go to the waiver wire to add free agents on bye weeks. In a Draft Masters or Draft Experts league, it is draft and forget; meaning there are no free agent transactions. What you draft is what you get for the entire season. The format gives you the best score each week based on who is on your roster. Therefore, if you have only one kicker, then the week he is on a bye you will get no kicker points. Always have at least one extra player at each spot to cover for the byes and when injuries occur.

 2) Watch the bye weeks. Remember NO adds or drops. Therefore, if you have only two QBs and they are both on the same bye week you have hosed yourself out of QB points one week. Even if you have three QBs and only two are on the same bye week you lose their ability to back up the other one on a down week, when two are out on the same bye week. Granted it means you have more to backup the others on the one week where they might have been on a bye but the points you get from backing them up that one week generally will be far less then the potential points you could get while avoiding a zero if all are out on a bye the same week.
You cannot leave points missing like that.

 3) Try and get starters used for a flex position all from different bye weeks. This is tough and is not a must just a good to know type thing. In FFPC, you start 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE and 2 flex so that is 7 players starting from those 3 positions. There are 9 bye weeks (weeks 4-12). If each of the starters is out on bye on a separate week then you only need one strong replacement to step up each week from your bench to have steady points. If three or more starters are out on the same week that could potentially be a very bad week and reduce your overall points significantly. Note to everyone weeks 4, 9 and 10 have 6 teams out each week on a bye.

 4) If the roster size allows it, draft three QBs, TEs, Ks and Defenses. Why? The extra player at each position will give you on average about 30 points above most combinations of QBs, TEs, Ks and Defenses. Try it yourself. Look at the scores for most combinations of players then factor in an additional player from the bottom 25th -32nd. In many cases the extra player is used on the two bye weeks when only one of the combinations of players is available and then on a few more weeks he may be the top player and give you a few points more then you would have had. All in all 4-5 weeks as your top player at that position and giving you 6 more points each of those weeks means 25-30 extra points. Now if you do that at each of the positions (QB, TE, K and Defense) you have just guaranteed yourself another 100-120 points. What have you lost? Four players who were deep sleepers or handcuffs. You lost your RB8 and 9 and WR8 and 9. If you think one of the RBs and WRs at those spots can give you 100 extra points over your starters and backups, then by all means continue to draft them. I prefer easy extra points versus banking on a deep sleeper who will only start if my starters are hurt. I rationalize it that if my RB1 gets hurt and I need help and have to rely on my RB8 or 9, my season is over anyway. The FFPC expanded in 2014 from 26 to 28 man rosters. I suggest drafting 3/7/9/3/3/3 or 3/8/8/3/3/3 depending on how many RBs you draft early in the draft. If you go RB early and often then 6 or 7 RBs overall will work with a stockpile of WRs late. If you go WR early then you will need to stockpile RBs later and hope one or two hit. 
5) Never wait until the last round to draft one of those third QB, TE, K or defenses unless you absolutely know there will be enough for you in the last round. Bottom line is draft all of the third QB, TE, K and Defenses before the last round. Save the last pick for an extra WR sleeper. This way you know you will have them and do not run the risk of another team drafting the last kicker or defense. 
I recommend saving the 27th and 28th on WR sleepers and drafting your K3 in the 25th rd and DEF3 in the 26th round.

 6) Look at combos: QB by committee, TE by committee, defense by committee etc. FFGuys.com always has articles about which combos are best to go with. Look at these articles and plan whom you think you can get and who works best.

 7) Look at who is left and how best to draft. If you have three TEs with the same bye week to choose from for your TE2 and another TE with a different bye week, who do you pick? Go with one of the TEs from the same bye because chances are your third TE choices are less likely to be from that bye week now that so many were gone. Basically try and look ahead to which TEs will be left and their bye weeks. Try to draft a player who has a bye week that is not the same as the majority of the players from that position left to draft.

 Check back tomorrow for more Draft Master Tips!

Fantasy Football Tips (2nd Edition): 230 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($12.95) www.amazon.com/dp/1936635151
Books from Extra Point Press:







Fantasy Football Guidebook (2nd Edition): Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428650

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Fantasy Football Basics: The Ultimate "How to" Guide for Beginners available ($10.95) at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428634




Fantasy Hockey: The Ultimate "How-to" Guide for Fantasy Hockey Players ($14.95) www.amazon.com/dp/1936635100




Fantasy Basketball Handbook: The Ultimate "How-to" Guide for Beginners and Experienced Players ($12.95) www.amazon.com/dp/1936635097



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