Typical Fantasy Draft Day Mistakes
Top Five Most Common Draft Day Mistakes
It's seems like you see him every year. He may be a close friend or even a relative, or he could just be someone you are meeting for the first time: He's the new guy.
He walks into your fantasy draft with three things: An outdated fantasy magazine that was printed in June, a pen and a bag of pork rinds. He's probably wearing some gear of his favorite team while he babbles on how 'His teams' QB is really going to clean up this season because it's finally 'His teams' year. Never mind the fact that 'His team' has a new offensive coordinator, lost two linemen to free agency and the starting running back is facing a four game suspension!
The one the one thing this poor soul is missing that he could probably use is a Clue!
We here at Huddlegeeks DON'T want you to be this guy. (Well, unless we are playing in the same league.) Be it your first year playing fantasy football or your tenth, you should stick by some common guidelines when draft day rolls around. Some of these tips may seem like common sense to the grizzled fantasy football veteran, but to those new to the game, they could be tips that vault them right into the playoffs your very first year.
1. Come prepared and be organized!
There is nothing more irritating to other team owners or more self destructive to your team than coming to the draft unprepared and unorganized!
It never fails to happen every year. It's the tenth round and someone announces they are taking a running back that was chosen in the third round! Have your information together where you can easily track players taken! Cheatsheets, spreadsheets and roster sheets can all help you out in this category.
Being organized takes minimal effort and can pay big dividends! Have your cheatsheets organized by position and mark players off as they are drafted. You can easily print out member cheat sheets from Huddlegeeks that will help you with this task. Remember, this is to your benefit. I almost guarantee that if you track your players correctly, you will make a pick in the draft where someone says, 'He was still out there???' It happens every year. Being organized will keep you from being the person who is asking that question and it will help you make solid picks in the latter rounds of your draft.
2. Get those RB's early!
There are a lot of different theories out there about drafting running backs. Some say your first two picks HAVE to be running backs and some say you might even want to take running backs with your first three picks. Either way you cut it, your going to have to take a running back within your first three picks or your going to be in trouble.
There are two major reasons for taking a running back early in the draft. The first reason is that running backs generally get more productive touches of the ball more than any skill position players. You may say, 'What about the QB? He touches the ball on every play!' Well, yes, but half the time he handing the ball off to a running back or he is passing it to a receiver, which can also be a running back. A running back presents your team with the most scoring opportunity per touch, so you want to land some quality ones before the board is clear of them.
Another reason to take a running back early is because many years there is a lack of quality players at the position and it's not likely that a stud is going to slide to you in the fourth round. There is a big difference in production from a second tier to a third tier running back. You don't want to lose out on the consistent points that tier 1 or 2 running back can give you.
3. Don't reach for players
Every year, there is a player or two that you really think is going to have a break out season. You think that you have done some quality research and these are a couple guys out there who are going to produce well above their previous year or years. That is all find and good. We all have our players that we may covet more than other owners, just don't go grabbing those players too early.
A common mistake that many owners make on draft day is reaching for a player early in a draft because they fear that others are in tune to their fine prognosticating skills. Don't fall into this trap! A good way to avoid this mistake is to take a look at a few mock drafts. Get a feel for where the players you have a good feeling on are falling in this year's draft so you have a good idea of where to take them. You don't want to take big gamble on a player in the third round and have that player produce at a seventh round level.
4. Watch your bye weeks.
This is a very common mistake made by even veteran fantasy footballers. It really comes down to being alert and being organized, but we thought it deserved it's own category.
When you draft, it's important to have some depth at important positions. It's also important that the player that you drafted for depth isn't on bye the same week that your starter is! Make sure that when you are drafting in the later rounds that you watch your bye weeks closely. You don't want that second quarterback, defense or kicker to be off the same week your starter is off. This could result in you making an unnecessary roster move or, even worse, taking a 0 for that roster spot on a certain week.
5. Don't be a homer!
It's almost guaranteed you will see this in any league you are in. The same guy will take his teams players no matter how bad his team is. This kind of guy is a die-hard fan and he follows his team very closely, in fact, he follows his team to a fault. He follows it so closely that he can't see the big picture and how his team relates to the rest of the league. He just thinks, 'This is the year' that his team puts itself over the top and he wants the players on his team on his fantasy team. You have to admire the guy for his devotion to his team, but when it comes to the end of the year when money is being paid out, it's not likely this guy is going to need to be present.
Be aware of how good your favorite NFL team really is by paying attention to the national and not only the local media coverage of them. Narrow down the legitimate fantasy value of the team and draft it accordingly if you must have a player from the team on your team. Pick with your head, not your heart.
So there you have it, a good list of tips that will improve the talent on your fantasy roster without even looking at a single stat. Granted, it will take more than this list to get your to your fantasy Super Bowl, but the draft is where is all starts and having good routines and rules can be your first step to a great season!
About the author: Jason Clarke is a writer for Huddlegeeks.com, a respected fantasy football analysis website.