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***8-Team Draft Strategy*** (1 Viewer)

Sweet Love

Sweet Love

IBL Representative
I've been invited to participate in an 8-team, pretty high-dollar draft.  Honestly, I have not played in an 8 teamer in 19 years, so I thought I would start a thread just in case someone else out there could use the input.  If not, then help me out  :D .

To take this seriously, would someone go BPA in something like this, or is there really no strategy to it?  Do bench spots play into it?  I looked at the FBG pay content and did not see anything there but am curious what the strategy is on something like this?

Again, trying to keep the initial post general in case someone else is in the same boat, but will answer some more specific questions about the league...and yes, feel free to call me a noob for being in an 8 teamer.

 
I'm in two big money 8 teamers.....both live drafts....both long running....both very unique scoring....non ppr....both rely heavily on yardage bonuses and distance TD's.....I came in to both leagues within last few years, and was skeptical of 8 teamers at first.....I can honestly say that now I love both leagues for many reasons...live draft, the unique scoring, unique waivers system that is keeps it fun.....by unique, I mean it's restrictive, and since there is only 8 teams, there is always great talent on the WW, which makes it interesting.

So my first question is, is it pretty standard setup?  If so, you'd prolly be better off just drafting like you normally do.

 
Only one I’ve ever played in was about 5 years ago. Best advice I can tell you is swing for the fence as often as you can. Everyone has a stacked team. Guys like Crowell who are a warm body are not worth rostering IMO because the ceiling is low. I wouldn’t settle for a Stafford or Ryan in an 8 man, I’d either go Rodgers or try to hit on a Mahomes or Jimmy G breakout.  Hard to play the wire in an 8 teamed because it’ll mean dropping somebody like Landry or Ajayi, just because you’ll have so much apparent depth. 

 
Imo, an 8 teamer needs to have very restrictive waivers.....in both my 8 teamers waivers cost money that goes into the pot.....timing is also pretty restrictive......at first I was annoyed, but as I got used to it it''s just different strategy.....and I always go back to the fact that no matter what the rules and settings are, everyone in the league has to follow them.

I played in another 8 teamers years ago on the yahoo site and it was very unsatisfying.......I think it was ppr and pretty much open waivers.....I do not think this kind of setup adds to an 8 teamer.

 
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What are your starting lineup requirements? What's the acumen level of the other Owners? Although it's been a while, I've organized, run and played in my share of $$$ 8-Teamers over the years. In terms of competitive Leagues, which acumen-rich Owners tend to be more likely to be involved in, the general rule is that the fewer # of Owners, the larger the starting lineups should be. That's a defining factor that skews them from luck-based towards skill-based, as the larger lineups impact the '8 Super Teams' dynamic. It's my experience that at this moment in time, with the advent of Super Flex and 2QB, almost all recently established 8-Teamers incorporate one of these parameters, which would mean you'd have to formulate your draft strategy around the ability to start more than 1QB...if the League is more luck-based, I agree with the poster above who suggested a 'swing for the fences' approach. 

 
wlwiles said:
Only one I’ve ever played in was about 5 years ago. Best advice I can tell you is swing for the fence as often as you can. Everyone has a stacked team. Guys like Crowell who are a warm body are not worth rostering IMO because the ceiling is low. I wouldn’t settle for a Stafford or Ryan in an 8 man, I’d either go Rodgers or try to hit on a Mahomes or Jimmy G breakout.  Hard to play the wire in an 8 teamed because it’ll mean dropping somebody like Landry or Ajayi, just because you’ll have so much apparent depth. 
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This is important.  It is important to win at every position in 8 team leagues.  Gronk and the elite QB's are worth more than in normal leagues.

 
Draft studs early regardless of position.  You can always backfill later.....even at RB, there isn't as much scarcity.  So I would never pass on Gronkowski or Aaron Rodgers for a RB like say Devonta Freeman or Jerick McKinnon.

So go BPA for at least 6-7 rounds.   But we could give you better draft advice if you say what your scoring system is.  When I did an 8 teamer years ago, we started 2 QBs, 3RBs, 4WRs, TE, K ,D, and 1 flex at RB/WR/TE.  Your strategy would be a little different if you start 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, TE, K, D and 1 flex. 

Depth doesn't matter as much as in larger leagues.  So I try and fill out my best lineup before I start drafting backups.  Might not work that way, but I still go into the draft with that mentality.  Trading is harder in 8 team leagues because the WW is plentiful.  So draft the best lineup you can.

Good luck.

 
abbottjamesr said:
This is important.  It is important to win at every position in 8 team leagues.  Gronk and the elite QB's are worth more than in normal leagues.
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Drafting well is always important.  In the 8 teamers I play in, the WW is usually where you win though.....there's always a bit more emerging talent on the WW in an 8 teamer......this also limits trades typically.

I guess my 8 teamers would be considered pretty short bench leagues and fairly typical lineup requirements......so the WW is very important.....vs more lineup spots and deep benches, which obviously de-values the WW and puts more emphasis on the draft.....just different strategy.

 
Another factor that can limit the unprepared guys is unique scoring.....my leagues are very hard to project because of this.....also, one of the leagues we start two QB's.....I highly recommend this style, as I believe it typically puts the proper value on the most important position in football.

 
Agree with a lot of the comments above.  The name of the game in 8-teamers is difference makers.  Guys you think of as high-floor “solid starters” (RB2/WR3 types) are net negative players in 8-teamers.

you need as many uberstuds as possible, even if t means rolling the dice on riskier players with higher ceilings.

 
Ted Lange as your Bartender said:
Guys you think of as high-floor “solid starters” (RB2/WR3 types) are net negative players in 8-teamers.
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This is exactly it. Marshawn Lynch is waiver fodder in an 8 team league.  Fill out your entire starting lineup with studs before building depth anywhere (don’t go for a bench RB if you still need to fill your third starting WR for example) because depth means nothing in an 8 team. Everyone has depth in these. 

And if you really want to succeed on the wire, you absolutely can’t be married to your backups or bench players. Like I said earlier, you’ll have Somebody like Goodwin as your RB4 and he’ll be a drop candidate for you in Week 3 if Hyde gets hurt and Chubb beasts out on the wire.  Don’t hesitate to drop someone to try and catch lightning in a bottle on the wire. If you miss, there’s always someone else worthy of a pickup  

 
wlwiles said:
Best advice I can tell you is swing for the fence as often as you can. Everyone has a stacked team. Guys like Crowell who are a warm body are not worth rostering IMO because the ceiling is low. I wouldn’t settle for a Stafford or Ryan in an 8 man, I’d either go Rodgers or try to hit on a Mahomes or Jimmy G breakout.
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abbottjamesr said:
It is important to win at every position in 8 team leagues.  Gronk and the elite QB's are worth more than in normal leagues.
Click to expand...


Ted Lange as your Bartender said:
you need as many uberstuds as possible, even if t means rolling the dice on riskier players with higher ceilings
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Threads like this are where the Shark Pool is at its best IMO. @Sweet Love posts the question at noon and by 3pm he's got all the key strategies he needs to dominate his draft.  :D

I'll throw my  :2cents:  in on topics that haven't been touched on yet:

  • Guys with talent that are downgraded due to injury, suspension, etc. are worth reaching for a little because the opportunity cost is lower. People drafting Ingram as their RB2 this year are nuts given the guy's gonna miss half the fantasy regular season, but if he's your RB4 in a league like this, why not?
  • Offer lots of trades where you try concentrate your assets into studs (a winning strategy generally, but especially in small leagues). In a normal 12-14 teamer the best RB on the wire might be a 5ppg guy, whereas in an 8-teamer it might be a 9ppg one.  That means the gap between your average RB1, say Melvin Gordon (17ppg) and your average RB2, like Jordan Howard (13ppg) is literally twice as big as you're used to. Trading the #16 RB and the #16 WR for a top-6 RB might be an overpay in a deeper league but it's a steal in an 8-teamer. The more so since you can usually get a name like Dede Westbrook (80% chance of being worthless in an 8-teamer, 20% chance of being a league winner) thrown in for free.
  • In shallow leagues you can really treat the wire as an extension of your bench. So in general you don't need to bother backing up the start-1 positions, and instead should keep your bench full of potential breakout candidates at WR and especially RB.
  • On a related note, don't be afraid to churn your bench ruthlessly. The bar for fantasy relevance in an 8-teamer is soooo high that if a guy isn't getting a large share of snaps or targets after a couple of weeks on your roster, it's usually safe to dump him. 
 
8 team league... might as well just put your money in a can and draw straws.

But seriously, the only way to play in <12 team leagues is to make the roster spots similar to a 12 team league. We're all used to 1QB,3WR,2RB,1TE,1flex leagues (at a minimum), so we're talking about 12x8=96 players (I prefer at least 12x9=108, although I do play in some 14x10 leagues). So basically you need around 13 starting positions. I'd suggest 2QB,5WR,4RB,2TE... 104 players. Making the lineup rigid without a flex adds a degree of difficulty to drafting. 

If it is a normal 1/3/2/1 lineup then like everyone said, gotta go for upside and upside alone. Obvious guys to target outside of the 1st round would be guys like Josh Gordon, Corey Davis, Royce Freeman, Alex Collins, maybe Drake... I know somebody said Lynch is waiver fodder, but I think he was top 10-ish in his last 7-8 games, so to me he'd be a target. I also saw that he led the league in attempts vs. a stacked box, so if Gruden can get the passing game going then Lynch could easily be top 10 again.

But I honestly would not play in an 8 team normal lineup league for fun, much less for big money. It's just a crapshoot. And if there are things in there like long TD bonuses it just becomes even more of a crapshoot. Every week is like playing roulette. 

 
Manster said:
I'm in two big money 8 teamers.....both live drafts....both long running....both very unique scoring....non ppr....both rely heavily on yardage bonuses and distance TD's.....I came in to both leagues within last few years, and was skeptical of 8 teamers at first.....I can honestly say that now I love both leagues for many reasons...live draft, the unique scoring, unique waivers system that is keeps it fun.....by unique, I mean it's restrictive, and since there is only 8 teams, there is always great talent on the WW, which makes it interesting.

So my first question is, is it pretty standard setup?  If so, you'd prolly be better off just drafting like you normally do.
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Pretty standard. 1/2 PPR, start 1 QB, 1 TE, 2 RB, 2 Wr, 1 Flex (RB/WR), kicker Def and 7 bench roles.

 
It's a lot more boom/bust. I recently overpaid for Rodgers because streaming QBs was getting me a top 10 QB, but I would still get trounced by the elite ones.

Also, having a top 3 TE is clutch. Depth isn't very useful unless you have studs who surprise, like Kamara last year.

 
wlwiles said:
Only one I’ve ever played in was about 5 years ago. Best advice I can tell you is swing for the fence as often as you can. Everyone has a stacked team. Guys like Crowell who are a warm body are not worth rostering IMO because the ceiling is low. I wouldn’t settle for a Stafford or Ryan in an 8 man, I’d either go Rodgers or try to hit on a Mahomes or Jimmy G breakout.  Hard to play the wire in an 8 teamed because it’ll mean dropping somebody like Landry or Ajayi, just because you’ll have so much apparent depth. 
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Yeah, I did the math, and as long as no one rosters a second DEF or Kicker, I am looking at just 112 players rostered.  Guys like Cousins, ADP and Agholor may not be rostered...

 
fightingillini said:
Draft studs early regardless of position.  You can always backfill later.....even at RB, there isn't as much scarcity.  So I would never pass on Gronkowski or Aaron Rodgers for a RB like say Devonta Freeman or Jerick McKinnon.
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I think this is sage advice...because I would always pass on a Rodgers or Gronk for D Freeman in a normal sized draft.

 
steelers1080 said:
It's a lot more boom/bust. I recently overpaid for Rodgers because streaming QBs was getting me a top 10 QB, but I would still get trounced by the elite ones.

Also, having a top 3 TE is clutch. Depth isn't very useful unless you have studs who surprise, like Kamara last year.
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Basically the exact opposite of what we would normally do in a 12-14 teamer.

 
My 8 team league is my most fun. I love it! It’s a little maddening for sure always playing stacked opponents but the posters above Gabe good advice—grab studs you normally as a “shark” wait on. I think I took Gronk second round last three years straight and this year didn’t get him round 2 because I drew the 8th pick and snagged Kamara and Fornette but was able to get Kelce in the third. Not to give you a blow-by-blow of my draft but also to illustrate in addition to targeting TE and QB studs, have a scenario for each draft slot if you don’t know already where you are drafting. 

 
We are in our 29th year of 8 team FF.   I have to disagree on getting a QB early because there are so many good QBs.   For example, Wentz, Alex Smith, and Watson went undrafted in our league last year.   There are usually good QBs on the waiver wire so having a 2nd QB as trade bait does not have much, if any, value.

TE on the other hand I'd reach for with Gronk/Kelce (and maybe Ertz) quite a bit better than the rest.   

We have non-typical scoring, but the above is fairly generic advice.  

ETA -- if you can start 2 QBs then the above does not apply

 
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needanap said:
We are in our 29th year of 8 team FF.   I have to disagree on getting a QB early because there are so many good QBs.   For example, Wentz, Alex Smith, and Watson went undrafted in our league last year.   There are usually good QBs on the waiver wire so having a 2nd QB as trade bait does not have much, if any, value.

TE on the other hand I'd reach for with Gronk/Kelce (and maybe Ertz) quite a bit better than the rest.   

We have non-typical scoring, but the above is fairly generic advice.  
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Rodgers is the only QB that I would take early in an 8 teamer.  Early being rounds 1-4.

I would take stud RBs, stud WRs, and Gronkowski before I would ever take a stud QB.  I think there are 10 stud RBs and about 8-10 stud WRs and Gronk (you may include Kelce as a stud TE).  So in an 8 teamer, I would take Rodgers at around pick 19-22, which is in Round 3.  If I didn't get Rodgers in round 3, I wouldn't take a QB until I have filled out all the rest of my starting lineup spots at RB, WR, and TE (unless I missed out on Gronk and Kelce).

100% agree on reaching for Gronk and Kelce.  In fact, Gronk should be taken after the top 4 RBs, Brown and Hopkins......to me he's probably a top 7 player in terms of value.  But you probably can get Gronk in Round 2. 

 
Sweet Love said:
Pretty standard. 1/2 PPR, start 1 QB, 1 TE, 2 RB, 2 Wr, 1 Flex (RB/WR), kicker Def and 7 bench roles.
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Ive been thinkin about my leagues, what others have said above, and your setup...

First of all, some great advice above from some guys who truly have a solid grasp on how to approach different league settings.....you really can't help but go for studs at every position, and should be able to acquire a loaded starting lineup......i'll add that in a snake being right in the middle is typically the sweet spot, as you have little wait between picks....and it's really nice with 8 teams.

It's always interesting drafting with new people.....is it a live draft?

Curious what your waivers are like, as I do really believe that since there will be much talent on the wire, it can make the difference, especially if/when a stud goes down.

Since WR and QB are deep, you can load up on RB's, a stud TE, a top D, and pick up a good backup QB, WR depth for bench.

 
Kwai Chang Caine said:
My 8 team league is my most fun. I love it! It’s a little maddening for sure always playing stacked opponents but the posters above Gabe good advice—grab studs you normally as a “shark” wait on. I think I took Gronk second round last three years straight and this year didn’t get him round 2 because I drew the 8th pick and snagged Kamara and Fornette but was able to get Kelce in the third. Not to give you a blow-by-blow of my draft but also to illustrate in addition to targeting TE and QB studs, have a scenario for each draft slot if you don’t know already where you are drafting. 
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Own it dude!  My two 8 teamers are my faves.....both full of characters....both live drafts....one live waivers at a bar during halftime of MNF...you cant make it, you don't do waivers for the week!....both leagues have been around since the commish had to do stats from the USA Today on Monday!...I wouldn't trade these leagues for anything....not perfect, and not some people's cup o tea, but at the end of the day it's about fun, friends, beer, and food for me...smack talk is a lil more fun face to face too..

 
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Manster said:
Own it dude!  My two 8 teamers are my faves.....both full of characters....both live drafts....one live waivers at a bar during halftime of MNF...you cant make it, you don't do waivers for the week!....both leagues have been around since the commish had to do stats from the USA Today on Monday!...I wouldn't trade these leagues for anything....not perfect, and not some people's cup o tea, but at the end of the day it's about fun, friends, beer, and food for me...smack talk is a lil more fun face to face too..
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You’re a 100% right my man! I play in multiple “faceless” online leagues but my two home team, live draft 8 and 10 team leagues are the highlight of the year. The 8 teamer is decent money and the ten teamer has been around since ‘92. Wouldn’t trade them for anything! 

 
Ilov80s said:
I assume streaming QB would be incredibly easy in a standard 8 team setup. 
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Possibly?  It depends on whether people hold two QBs or not.  If so, then you are streaming guys who may produce 70% of the numbers as the top guys (which the top 6 will be on 3/4 of the teams) while you may have RB12 languishing away on the bench because you are so loaded there.

 
Sweet Love said:
Possibly?  It depends on whether people hold two QBs or not.  If so, then you are streaming guys who may produce 70% of the numbers as the top guys (which the top 6 will be on 3/4 of the teams) while you may have RB12 languishing away on the bench because you are so loaded there.
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Yeah pretty much. I've used the WW to play QBs in 12 team leagues where half the league rosters 2. I assume in an 8 team league it would real easy. I'm not even sure many will double at QB just because the names at RB/WR will look so juicy that it would be hard to drop one for a 2nd QB. 

 
Ilov80s said:
Yeah pretty much. I've used the WW to play QBs in 12 team leagues where half the league rosters 2. I assume in an 8 team league it would real easy. I'm not even sure many will double at QB just because the names at RB/WR will look so juicy that it would be hard to drop one for a 2nd QB. 
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At first blush, I would think so too, but I am really starting to believe the approach for an 8 teamer is really different than a 12 teamer (which is the minimum I normally play).

 
Sweet Love said:
At first blush, I would think so too, but I am really starting to believe the approach for an 8 teamer is really different than a 12 teamer (which is the minimum I normally play).
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You can take more risks on upside for sure. I would absolutely go after Gronk. I would not reach at QB though. 

 
Ilov80s said:
I assume streaming QB would be incredibly easy in a standard 8 team setup. 
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Depends on how many other owners roster 2QBs (there's always some folks who just never feel safe without a backup on their roster and will hold onto Luck through the end of the season while he wastes away behind Rodgers), and it depends on how well you feel about the rest of your team during the draft.  In the 8 team league I played in (it lasted 6 years I believe), we had one owner who was dead set on streaming QBs and he won the league once, and finished 2nd once or twice.  The rest of the time it was always the Brees/Brady/Rodgers owners (pass TDs were 6 pts in our league, and interceptions were like -3 I think) just because QBs score so much and the difference between QB3 and QB8 was much greater (5 years ago when I had this league) than the difference between RB12 and RB24 on a per game basis

Yes it's easy to stream QBs in a small league especially this year when there's so many viable options, but in a small league you really need to win at each position.  Because every other team has a top 7 QB (in theory), you may be able to cobble together a top 8 QB by streaming, but meanwhile all that RB depth you drafted (in lieu of getting a top QB) may not be helping you overcome the gap at QB in a weekly matchup.  It's entirely possible that your streamers combined land you at QB6 on the year, but you lose the QB H2H matchup > 50% of the weeks you play.  

 
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wlwiles said:
Depends on how many other owners roster 2QBs (there's always some folks who just never feel safe without a backup on their roster and will hold onto Luck through the end of the season while he wastes away behind Rodgers),
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That guy is me. And it’s partly because by fostering a talented backup, it not only gives me insurance for a top starter getting hurt but it keeps a team that’s 1 QB away from being a world beater from achieving that goal. 

“Hey random opponent, sorry I beat you by 4 points because you had to start Ryan Tannehill against me. That’s sad. I have sad feels for you.”

-Said me, never. 

:)  

 
Sweet Love said:
Possibly?  It depends on whether people hold two QBs or not.  If so, then you are streaming guys who may produce 70% of the numbers as the top guys (which the top 6 will be on 3/4 of the teams) while you may have RB12 languishing away on the bench because you are so loaded there.
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It's a lot more than 70%. Last year the difference between QB5 and QB16 was 40 points for the season ... about 2.5ppg. And that assumes you can't do better than QB16 on a game-by-game basis by streaming - a bad assumption given that last year's QB1 and QB3 by ppg (Watson and Smith) were going undrafted in 12-teamers, never mind 8-teamers.

I'd prefer to get A-Rod or (if it's a 4-pt pass TD league) Wilson under the mantra of "studs everywhere", but if I can't, I'd be perfectly content playing the wire all season. 

 
Thinkin about firing up an 18 team league.....triple reverse snake auction....who's in?  It's gonna be intense!

 
Lessons Learned:

So last night was the draft, and I had the sixth pick (.5 PPR).  I chose to take Antonio Brown, feeling very confident I could get Gordon or Fournette on the swing (and I got Fournette), so all going to plan thus far.  As we discussed, it is important to get the best at each position since all benches will be deep.  At the 22nd pick, I selected Gronk.  After three rounds, I now have the best WR, TE and a top 6-7 RB...great!

Until it isn't.  In the next four picks, Freeman and Howard both go.  I select TY Hilton thinking this run of RBs (which is resembling a run like a 12 teamer) will cool off.  It doesn't, and I pass on Drake in favor of Hilton.  McKinnon and Collins go next and I am stuck with Henry (have Miller in all my leagues), and think I will get Miller as a backup on the swing (and he is gone, so I reach and go Freeman (I get Ingram in the 8th)).

In the end, I would have played it more like a 12 teamer.  I could have gone Kamara and Fournette (likely) at 1/2, then followed that with Diggs and Hilton or Diggs/Hilton and Kelce or both Diggs and Hilton.  I made a bad choice in Henry, but also felt there was just not a ton left there.

 
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