The 5 Deadly Sins Of Fantasy Drafting
By Bob Metz
As your fantasy football expert, I am here with a warning. Do not commit these common fantsy draft mistakes. If you do, you’ll likely miss your playoffs and wish you had heeded these 5 deadly sins of fantasy drafting:
1. Taking the D/ST or DEF and K positions early:
I’ll be short and sweet here. The D/ST or DEF and K positions can wait until the end of your draft. There generally is not that much discrepancy in defensive point totals for the top 10 defenses in the league each week. In addition, D/ST stats vary from year to year because there are so many altering factors. Every single year I find a D/ST that surprises and does very well in fantasy points on the waiver wire and I end up dropping the one I drafted by mid-season. If you drafted yours in the 8th round (in a 16 round league), you could have gotten a good WR or backup QB in that spot but wasted the pick only to find out that the better defense was never even drafted. The only thing I’ll say about kickers is that they are a bigger waste of a draft pick than the defenses. Please don’t come crying to me if you lose your league and you drafted a D/ST, DEF, or K before the third to last round. I’ll shun you!
2. Drafting with your heart instead of your head:
‘Homerism’ affects fantasy owners in ways that can really affect their teams. You may love your (insert team name here) but don’t draft a player because he plays for your favorite team. Draft a player because you really believe that he can help your fantasy team. I’ve seen owners draft players from their team because they let their heart convince their mind that it was a good move. Needless to say, they didn’t even have a chance to win. The same can be said for not drafting players from teams you dislike. You may pass on a player that can be the difference for your fantasy team. He could be that one missing piece who has a career year and wins you your championship! Pretend in your draft that each player plays for a team you like, and take the best player available that suits your team’s needs. Use your head instead of your heart, and you’ll have a much greater chance to win.
3. Going into the draft without a plan:
This is a very important, but simple concept. Look at bye weeks for players you want to draft, participate in some interactive mock drafts to get a good feel, or – most importantly – read my 2010 NFL FANTASY FOOTBALL MOCK DRAFT, and have a plan in place before your draft. Are you going to take the best player available each round? Drafting RB’s first? Taking a QB first to assure that you get your guy? When should you start drafting WR’s? In the draft, the clock is running. A plan will guide you so you don’t run out of time on a pick and draft players you really don’t want by mistake. It will also help you to visualize scenarios that may occur and be more capable of making a good decision if they do.
4. Drafting without regard to bye weeks:
When you are drafting, pay close attention to bye weeks. If you draft too many players that have the same bye week, you’ll have no players to use for that particular week and will likely end up trading for a lower valued player or dropping one of your good players to pick one up from the free agent list. This is another reason why it is a must that you go into your draft with a plan of some sort. At minimum, look at bye week conflicts. If necessary, make a cheat sheet of players listed by position and bye week. This could help you in your decision making while you’re on the clock!
5. Not doing your homework:
My second grader comes home from school each day with a math page and a spelling page to return the following day. He doesn’t always get the answers right, but being the attentive father that I am, I check his work for accuracy. I won’t give him the answers, but I will guide him by showing him what he did wrong and asking him to do it again, possibly with a pointer or two. My son is an Honor Roll student. He gets good grades at crunch time on tests. What does this have to do with your fantasy draft? He wouldn’t be an honor roll student or get those good grades if he didn’t work at it. If he didn’t do his homework. The same goes for a fantasy owner. Sure, one year an owner could surprise and even win a league without studying much. But if you really want to be a good fantasy player, do your homework. Look at statistics from a particular player for the past 2 years. Find out if injuries played a factor in a down year, if any roster changes might affect a certain player, and even the current NFL schedule for his team. I don’t expect you to check out every player, but it does wonders if you do a little research on at least a few and look at fantasy trends from the prior season. They could give you clues to get an edge on your opponent.