The Rookie Draft
Will this be the year I draft the next Jayden Daniels to turn around my dynasty team, or will I continue to struggle in the mire of mediocrity? The buildup and stakes are often overwhelming leading up to the Rookie Draft. No other event during the year quite compares to it. Many of my greatest fantasy football lessons have been tested and refined in the crucible of the rookie process. In the final installment of the Attacking The Draft series, this article will cover the wisdom and strategy for navigating the Rookie Draft. I would like to thank Mike Liu, Peter Howard, Jax Falcone, Jakob Sanderson, Scott Conner, Adam McFerran, Mike Chrystal, and many others for their knowledge and for making this article possible.
Auction Drafts
There’s nothing more American than an Auction Draft. In an auction, you can draft whoever you want and construct however you want. You want your favorite player? Great, you can have him. You don’t feel like drafting for a while? Fuck it, go get sauced at the pub. That’s the problem with Snake Drafts. In a traditional draft, everything is given to you in an orderly fashion. In an Auction, no one gives it to you. You have to take it. This style of drafting rewards preparation, experience, and strategy in a way Snake Drafts never come close to. Similar to poker, the main focus of the Auction is reading and manipulating your opponent, making it the World Series of Drafting. The only downside is managing a budget, which can be problematic for someone who never looks at price tags. But don’t worry, you don’t need an Accounting degree from Cambridge to draft a team. By the end of this article, you’ll understand the Cardinal Rules of drafting and hopefully wake up to see what you’ve been missing with Auctions.
The Trade Chart
The Startup Draft sets the tone for the league. From the onset, those with a champion mindset want to pursue every advantage they can. Trading during the Startup is one way contenders separate themselves from the rest of the league. Trading up at a value for a cornerstone player or trading back to accumulate assets are great paths toward imposing your will on the league. All juggernaut teams are conceived during the Startup Draft. This article will explain how you can navigate through the frenzy of the draft and position your team for future success.
Snake Draft Checklist
Keep in mind that your drafted team isn’t your FINAL team. Your roster could look significantly different by the end of the season if you’re active in free agency and trading for players.
But at the end of the day, this is your team and the one you’re taking into battle. So draft the players you’re willing to get in a bunker with and Unleash Hell!
Playoff Odds & Strategy
We’ve all seen it before. One minute your team is sweeping across the league like a tidal wave. The next minute, you’re down by 20 points with only Rico Dowdle left to play. Then it hits you “I’m fucked.” All of that hard work and success over the last four months has turned to shit, ready to be flushed. Panic creeps up your spine and you remember Switch’s last words from the Matrix, “Not like this. Not like this.”
Playoff Odds & Strategy
The overwhelming sentiment during the playoffs is to leave no stone unturned when chasing a Championship. Move heaven and earth if you must, but do not finish the season with regret wondering, “Could I have done more?” But how often do you go “All-In,” mortgaging your entire future by trading away valuable picks and players, only to be bounced early in the playoffs? These trades inevitably define your roster for the next few seasons and with no draft capital they can be almost impossible to dig out of.