Draft Day Strategy (1 Viewer)

[David Yudkin]

I play in a lot of leagues with people that I know their tendancies and player targets fairly well and we pick our draft slots. In situations where you know your faves, player targets, and sleepers are very similar to another owner's , would you rather draft near each other or far apart?

On a similar note, would you rather take a draft spot near someone you know over someone you have no idea about at all as an owner? To me, there's nothing worse than having a player or two in your crosshairs but knowing that the odds of you getting that guy is slim because you suspect that an another owner wants him as well.

I understand that you get who you get player wise and that at some point all players will get picked up at some points, but any advantage is helpful when you play with a bunch of sharks . . .

 

[radballs]

Generally, I feel that I'd rather draft right next to the guy I know more about even if he has equal information about my targets. I still think that I'll be better at using that against him than he'll be able to use it against me. If that makes any sense.

 

[jswalker1981]

Generally, I feel that I'd rather draft right next to the guy I know more about even if he has equal information about my targets. I still think that I'll be better at using that against him than he'll be able to use it against me. If that makes any sense.

Keep your friends close, your enemies even closer....

 

[TheHosers]

If I'm drafting in a middle slot, I don't care too much who's around me because there's too many picks going either direction to try and let a player slide. But if I'm near one of the ends, I definitely see an advantage of knowing who/what/when they're looking at.

Ex. I'm drafting 4th and I'm targeting Willie Parker in the 2nd/3rd. My user ADP for our league says he should be there if I wait til the 3rd. But Owner #2 is a Pit fan that likes to take homers. I know I probably now have to take Parker in the 2nd.

 

[stickboy]

I play in a lot of leagues with people that I know their tendancies and player targets fairly well and we pick our draft slots. In situations where you know your faves, player targets, and sleepers are very similar to another owner's , would you rather draft near each other or far apart?

I would rather be far apart. If my targets are similar to someone else, being far apart means that one of us will have to stretch or let someone slide because the value proposition is likely quite different 8-10 spots apart. If we are only 1-3 spots apart, then we are fighting over the same players depending on the direction of the snake. In other words, a target or sleeper looks a lot different half a round ahead or behind until you get to the final rounds.

On a similar note, would you rather take a draft spot near someone you know over someone you have no idea about at all as an owner? To me, there's nothing worse than having a player or two in your crosshairs but knowing that the odds of you getting that guy is slim because you suspect that an another owner wants him as well.

An unknown is exactly that, and will likely only hurt your plans once or twice at most given the number of players being drafted. Someone I know means that I can predict them better, and they can predict me better. So clearly I would choose to sit near the unknown because the odds are much less that they will be targeting the same players.Some people would point out the fairness of an auction over a draft as a way to limit any advantage from position. While I generally agree with that, I have also found lazy owners who know someone has done their homework, and they automatically bid based on someone else's bids and end up either stealing players or jacking prices. It takes a lot of bluffing and posturing to get them out of this mode, which is a pain in the butt when you are trying to steal a player.

 

[pizzatyme]

DY, good topic! I play in leagues where you get to put your slot preferences. I know that most everyone wants the back end of the draft due to 3RR and therefore I know that's where most of the sharks will reside. Thus, I will likely zag and set my preferences towards the middle to front of the draft to increase my chances of drafting by an unknown.

While there is no guarantee on slots, any chance to get more of my preferred players, I'll take.

 

[buck naked]

DY, good topic! I play in leagues where you get to put your slot preferences. I know that most everyone wants the back end of the draft due to 3RR and therefore I know that's where most of the sharks will reside. Thus, I will likely zag and set my preferences towards the middle to front of the draft to increase my chances of drafting by an unknown.While there is no guarantee on slots, any chance to get more of my preferred players, I'll take.

Interesting take, Russ. I don't consider where other sharks will be. I pick my preferred slot in the leagues you speak of and know what I can construct from there.

 

[obxlegends]

I don't care about who drafts next to me or what slot I draft in. You have to build your own team regardless. It's the price of doing business.

 

[Captain Hook]

Q - What is the best slot to draft from?

A - The one between two idiots

I would be careful about overthinking about any opponent and what you think you know about them......or you may have made yourself one of the two.

I agree with Jack about determining where you want to draft given the choice (and assuming you can't have the postion above) - find the one that feels best to you and don't worry about who else is in the draft.

One further caution - and we have seen it play out in all the high stakes competitions - do NOT rely on ADP. When the REAL draft starts all of the info from the mocks and free drafts belongs in the crapper.

 

[David Yudkin]

One further caution - and we have seen it play out in all the high stakes competitions - do NOT rely on ADP. When the REAL draft starts all of the info from the mocks and free drafts belongs in the crapper.

I usually don't have much use for ADP in the first place, as drafting near the turns you have to grab who you want when you get the chance. So if PLAYER X is available to you, you either take him or hope that he'll still be there 20 picks later. If you really want the guy, you pretty much have to take him way ahead of his ADP. I have no qualms about doing this in the mid to late rounds, but early on it's tough to take a guy a round and a half to two rounds early.This is why I generally compile my own ADP data from recent shark only drafts to see where guys are REALLY going. For example, LT has been a Top 3-5 pick in every draft I have followed, so those thinking he might fall to drafters near the turn will never ever come close to getting him there. Compared to other years, I'm seeing the big tight ends fall farther than normal (at least a round later than usual).

 

[pizzatyme]

DY, good topic! I play in leagues where you get to put your slot preferences. I know that most everyone wants the back end of the draft due to 3RR and therefore I know that's where most of the sharks will reside. Thus, I will likely zag and set my preferences towards the middle to front of the draft to increase my chances of drafting by an unknown.While there is no guarantee on slots, any chance to get more of my preferred players, I'll take.

Interesting take, Russ. I don't consider where other sharks will be. I pick my preferred slot in the leagues you speak of and know what I can construct from there.

Jack, I agree. I prepare for several slots and assemble the teams I want based on my tiers. I'm just saying, in our case with the leagues we play, if I know the "preferred" slots are 12-14, I will likely shy away from there and plan accordingly. I know it's a crapshoot on what slot we get, but that's my plan anyhow.And to Perry's point, the unknown drafter may very well be as good or better of a fantasy player than the aforementioned sharks. However, I'll still take my chances there versus sitting between 2 of the top 20 known players of our event.

 

[pizzatyme]

Agreed about ADP. It is only mildly useful after about Rd. 10 and only if you aren't drafting from the hook.