What are some ‘rules’ that you like to draft by

[Rainmaker90]

When I mean rules, I mean like strategically .

 

for me 

 

1. I try to reduce risk in rounds 1-2 if I can. Everyone is getting great players early. If your top picks  go down or for some reason don’t have a great year, you’re in trouble. 

2. After that I shoot for high ceilings ESPECIALLY later. I want week winners. Guys whose ceiling games can win weeks. 
 

I also don’t expect my bench to remain the same. I’m going to bet on the Sky Moore, Rashad Penny, Zay Flowers , Elijah Moore etc. because if they don’t hit, you can move on. If one of them

hit and your early picks hit, you’re in great position.

 

3. I don’t care about a balanced roster. I will load up on a position group if the value is there. I don’t care if I’m weak at a position. S*** happens during the season, if you’re active on waivers you can find serviceable pr better players. My main focus is hitting on my picks. 

 

4. I get my guys even if it means over drafting them . There are times in the draft where I see a tier of players that I just don’t like ( Deebo, DK, Ridley, DJ Moore, Cooper ) im not going to take these guys where they’re slotted, even if I need a WR. I’ll look for value elsewhere, or I’ll get my guys early (Watson, D Johnson, Jeudy, Hopkins) 

 

what kinda ‘rules’ do you draft by ?

Edited August 12, 2023 by Rainmaker90

[AFF]

I also prefer the “safe” approach in the 1st few rounds…I mean “safe” is relative but you get my point.

TE is either Kelce/Andrews/Waller if value is there and maybe Muth….if not I’m punting til the end with Higbee or Everett.

WR seems top heavy this year…seems to really To die off after round 5 or so…I prefer to have at least 2 by the end of round 5 in PPR leagues.

I prefer to have a stud QB or a stud TE…I like the advantage at the “onsie” positions and I think I can make it up later.

[NYRaider]

Zero RB master race checking in

[Sllim Pickens]

I agree on safer early picks.  I don't like guys who change teams, WRs who change QB or are getting old/coming off injury early on.  Give me the WRs with a track record or the RBs in good situations who have higher floors.  

I also like to get my guys and agree with tiers that aren't for me.  I would much rather find someone with a slightly lower floor but higher ceiling after the first couple of rounds than settle for guys I don't like.  

I have a general plan going in but I am not stuck on it.  If talent falls I will grab it even if not needed.  The only times I don't do this is if I am in leagues where there is very little trade activity.  I am in a 16 team league and if I don't like what is left to me at the end of Rd 1 or early 2, I will grab Mahomes, Hurts or Allen (QBs get .25 points per comp so QB has a lot of value and you can't miss out in a 16 team league).  

My biggest rule is know your league players and know your settings.  Adjust your board for your league and not enough people do that.  That same 16 team league is also skewed towards WR (You can start 2 WR/RB and two WR/TE) which one decreases Kelce's value some but tanks most anyone after the top 3/4.  Fortunately the site doesnt adjust ADP for our settings so sometimes guys draft players rated higher but not for our league.  Similarly know if the guys trade a lot or not.  If they don't trade, I tend to lean more on needs.  If its active, give me talent and I will make moves to fill holes.  

My biggest issue is after doing all of these dynasty leagues, I can be too rookie focused in redraft leagues.  I do prefer taking a chance on guys like Mingo, Mims, Reed etc later opposed to vets that have higher floors like Theilin, Lazard etc who have low ceilings too but sometimes I get done and have a complete lotto ticket bench and am mad at myself.  Thats where the being willing to cut your losses and drop guys is important. 

 

[Dr LBC]

On 8/12/2023 at 11:58 AM, Rainmaker90 said:

2. After that I shoot for high ceilings ESPECIALLY later. I want week winners. Guys whose ceiling games can win weeks. 

 This is a big recurring theme in my drafting.  I draft with the mentality that I'm aiming to either finish Top 2 or Bottom 2.

With that in mind, in PPR format (all versions) leagues, I tend to go with a 1 Hero RB approach, but I stay water enough to be flexible to swap over to 0 RB or 2 Hero RB strategy if the board falls right to me.  Happy to go more in depth on that, but basically I'm content to load up on WR's (particularly ceiling WR's - I stockpile 2nd-year WR's like it's going out of style), take a max of 1 RB in the first 4 rounds, and then sweeping back in in the later rounds to snipe passing-down backs and backs that would have a clearly higher-ceiling if they weren't blocked by an entrenched starter.  This allows me the flexibility to ensure I snag an elite QB (that doesn't mean I'm reaching for Mahomes or Allen unless it's at value), but basically my aim this year is to come out with someone Herbert/Fields or north of there - knowing that if I have to "break glass" I can fall back on streaming the position with the likes of Geno, Dak, or Watson.  It also gives me the flexibility to ensure I get a stack through my flex spot (again, not reaching, but I'll forgive a spot or two in my positional projections in favor of a WR or TE that stacks with my QB) and also allows me to make a play for Mark Andrews, who I think is going to be a massive beneficiary of both a healthy Lamar this season and Todd Monken coming in as a new OC with a system that's aiming to increase the pace of play.

[Dr LBC]

6 hours ago, Sllim Pickens said:

My biggest issue is after doing all of these dynasty leagues, I can be too rookie focused in redraft leagues.  I do prefer taking a chance on guys like Mingo, Mims, Reed etc later opposed to vets that have higher floors like Theilin, Lazard etc who have low ceilings too but sometimes I get done and have a complete lotto ticket bench and am mad at myself.  Thats where the being willing to cut your losses and drop guys is important. 

Yup.  I religiously use my last pick on a guy who I'm legit giving a 2-week trial to - to see if he gets the reps and routes that best play to him making a strong play for his ceiling, and if not then he's easy to cut bait from and easy waiver wire fodder for me when I need a cut drop to balance a pickup.  This is my main reason for hating these low-ceiling vets, you accumulate them because of perceived workload but because they're producing a reasonable, if uninspiring, floor so you quibble about letting them go for the unknown of a WW guy.

[squire12]

4 minutes ago, Dr LBC said:

Yup.  I religiously use my last pick on a guy who I'm legit giving a 2-week trial to - to see if he gets the reps and routes that best play to him making a strong play for his ceiling, and if not then he's easy to cut bait from and easy waiver wire fodder for me when I need a cut drop to balance a pickup.  This is my main reason for hating these low-ceiling vets, you accumulate them because of perceived workload but because they're producing a reasonable, if uninspiring, floor so you quibble about letting them go for the unknown of a WW guy.

If you don't have 1-2 players that are roster churning spots, you're often not improving your overall roster.

[adamq]

1. Every draft is different based on the format

 

2. Draft value

[Rainmaker90]

The one problem I have with the 0 RB or Hero RB is that it limits your draft flexibility. Like say you take 3-4 pass catchers and round 5 comes and there’s not a RB or QB really worthy of the pick but there’s still pass catchers available . 

[adamq]

1 hour ago, Rainmaker90 said:

The one problem I have with the 0 RB or Hero RB is that it limits your draft flexibility. Like say you take 3-4 pass catchers and round 5 comes and there’s not a RB or QB really worthy of the pick but there’s still pass catchers available . 

You can only start so many, and if you are super confident in your top 4-5 that's all you need anyway. Trying to predict or even cover yourself for injury usually just leads to missing out on something useful. I prefer to just deal with injuries as they come via trade or waivers 

[Dr LBC]

38 minutes ago, adamq said:

You can only start so many, and if you are super confident in your top 4-5 that's all you need anyway. Trying to predict or even cover yourself for injury usually just leads to missing out on something useful. I prefer to just deal with injuries as they come via trade or waivers 

There's still injuries that can/will pop up.  In PPR formats I don't stop drafting WR's after I'm (total) starting WR slots and (total) FLEX spots +1 deep, I just place less of an emphasis on it.  The point to 0 RB and Hero RB strats are that you're taking a willing handicap at a position where you can still get fair floor from 3rd-down backs and goal-line backs, in order to improve you likelihood of having superior talent at the onesie positions (QB, TE).  If you're not getting those improved likelihoods because of how the draft is unfolding, that's where you need to be cognizant and remain fluid and willing to adapt your strategy on the fly.  It's also why 0 RB shouldn't be an option in any league that isn't at least 1/2 pt PPR (and even in 1/2pt, I still prefer there be some bonus incentives to pass catchers - be it bonuses for receptions of 40+, position-specific bonuses, etc before I'd fully engage a 0 RB strategy).

[JaguarCrazy2832]

Dont have a rigid plan but you need some sort of a plan. have contingencies, have a list of guys you are higher on than most because even if you have to reach by ADP, you would rather lose your league by drafting your guys than by ADP

[Rainmaker90]

1 hour ago, adamq said:

You can only start so many, and if you are super confident in your top 4-5 that's all you need anyway. Trying to predict or even cover yourself for injury usually just leads to missing out on something useful. I prefer to just deal with injuries as they come via trade or waivers 

What I meant was after drafting your starters at WR not being happy of the value of the other positions. 
 

but if you draft more balanced when you can, you’ll have more options 

[AkronsWitness]

- RBs>WR and I dont care how good the WR is. RB is still king and there are only like 12 relevant ones. I look to get 2 of them in the first 3 rounds. 

- No TE is worthy of being drafted in the first 8 rounds (besides Kelce). Its the last starting position I fill on my team. Why spend a 3rd on Mark Andrews when I can draft Pat Friermuth in the 12th and the production drop off isnt terribly different? If I cant get Kelce in the 3rd, Im not touching TE until Rd8-10 or Ill work the Waiver Wire all year.

- Handcuffs are a waste of a roster spot. Your going to have to drop them all eventually once bye-weeks hit and you need to roster spots.

*** I refuse to draft oft-injured players no matter how good they are. This means guys like Keenan Allen, Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, ect all get slid down in my rankings. How many times do people have to take CMC #1 overall just to have their whole season go up in flames when he suffers his annual 9 week injury before they stop ranking him as high as they do? I have him as RB3-4 this year and Saquon as RB7-8.

- I tend to put a premium on consistency. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to manage a boom/bust player. Guys like Mike Williams, DK Metcalf and Deebo Samuel drive me absolutly bonkers when their week-to-week looks like 19, 4, 15, 6, 25, 5.

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by AkronsWitness

[iknowcool]

27 minutes ago, AkronsWitness said:

How many times do people have to take CMC #1 overall just to have their whole season go up in flames when he suffers his annual 9 week injury before they stop ranking him as high as they do? I

I mean... it is entirely possible he gets hurt this year, but he has played 4 16/17 game seasons in 6 years in the NFL.  So saying he suffers an injury annually is a stretch.