Say it with me now: ONE MORE WEEK!
The NFL season is right around the corner with the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers set to kick off the year just one week from now. While we would all like to hit fast-forward on the week and get straight to football, there’s a little more business we have to attend to first.
Unless you’ve already had your fantasy football draft (condolences to whoever drafted J.K. Dobbins), you’re likely cramming all the draft knowledge you can for this weekend, or whenever your commissioner has set the draft date. Amongst all the preparation madness, we’re here to remind you of a few things that are important to remember heading into a draft.
We aren’t going to waste your time with needless reminders like “make sure your WiFi is set up” or “make sure you aren’t working that night.” We’ll go a little deeper than that.
1. Write down your late round draft targets, and don’t wait too long to get them.
Yeah, you think you’ve got these guys all locked up, but when the heat of the draft is upon you it’s easy to forget. Write down the late-round players that you’re targeting and figure out the chronology of how you want to take them. While you can play the ADP game to a point, don’t be afraid to “reach” for players that you really believe in.
It doesn’t guarantee that you’ll score them, but it gives you a much better chance.
2. Avoid drafting both tight end and quarterback early on. Pick one, or none, but don’t draft BOTH early on.
It can be pretty tempting to scoop up Darren Waller at the end of the 3rd, and you shouldn’t feel any shame in doing so! Saying that, you may want to reconsider that Kyler Murray pick in the 5th round you were planning. While filling these “Weekly Starter” roles with elite talent is tempting, you’ll likely end up hamstringing your depth at wide receiver and running back.
3. Keep track of how the players you draft early affect later picks.
This point mainly refers to teammates. For example, say you draft Chris Godwin in the 4th. That’s a fine pick, but it may mean that you should avoid drafting Antonio Brown – Godwin’s teammate – later in the draft. While it’s okay to stack a QB with RB, WR, or TE, it is less desirable to stack non-QB teammates.
Write down the players you draft, and which players they affect later on in the process.
4. Don’t try to approach the draft with a concrete plan. Stay malleable.
There are two sides to this coin, and both are relevant to you as a fantasy drafter.
First, you want to be able to adjust if the players you wanted to draft a swiped up before you can do so. If you have a concrete plan based on whatever misleading mock drafts you were doing, just know that your league may squash that in a hurry.
Secondly, if a fantastic player falls to you and you weren’t expecting it, staying malleable allows you to scoop up that player and then adjust the rest of your draft. You should never feel like a good player falling to you is a “stick in the spokes” to your plan. It’s a gift, as long as you’re able to adjust the plan.
5. Find your happy place!
Make sure you’re set up for success by finding your happy place. Get yourself a bowl of ramen, order a pizza, or have some tea – whatever you need to feel comfortable. This will be a day with lots of anticipation, make sure your external factors are working for you to help avoid getting flustered.
