6 Simple Rules to Your Best Draft

Many call it Christmas in July.   Some call it where the rubber meets the road or when we put our money where our mouth is.

I like to call it simply “draft time”.

This is when our wives, girlfriends, children, and friends just shake their heads and ask why you are doing this. Many of us with the “sickness”, which is what I call an addiction to fantasy football, can’t wait for the draft. This is when the hours of scheming, studying, game watching, reading countless blogs and listening to podcasts, are finally rewarded.

Since fantasy football drafts have already started and will continue up through September, I thought it might be a good time to figure out some simple rules to have your best draft. I must confess this is a hodgepodge list and much like the Constitution can be added upon when great men feel that modifications are needed:

1.)  “Be like water” is something that the great Bruce Lee used to say and is important to keep in mind when drafting.

Water is all-powerful, it can fit any container but is strong enough to carve mountains i.e.: The Grand Canyon. DO NOT have a set way that you want to draft: RB/RB in the first two rounds, WR/WR at the turn, or a QB in the first. The draft is ever-changing, players drop all the time. No two drafts are alike, just like snowflakes. Just because 20 experts think that Aaron Rodgers is the #1 QB, doesn’t mean the owner right before you agrees with them. He may love some jambalaya and love him some Drew Brees. Allow yourself to read how the draft is going and make adjustments on the fly. If you let it, value will find you.

2.)  Don’t listen to Yvonne Elliman’s “If I can’t have you, I don’t want nobody baby” before your draft.

I love to watch “Saturday Night Fever” every once and a while, but focusing too much on one particular player and not having a backup plan is foolish. How many times in drafts do you see a player that you highly value keep dropping in the draft and then you are just hoping that player falls all the way to your team and someone takes him the pick right before you? It happens to me a lot. DO NOT be that owner that isn’t prepared. If your pick is four picks way, have four picks that you would take. Nothing is worse for an owner who is attempting to recover from a “snaked” pick than making a bad reactionary pick.

3.)  Know your fellow owners.

How did they draft last year? What web sites do they read? Who do they follow on twitter? Who is their favorite team(s)? Do they have a blog, podcast, or post on fantasy football message boards? As G.I. Joe said “knowledge is power”, use it to your advantage and throw people off if they can anticipate your moves. I like a little disinformation.

4.)  Use the power of position.

It isn’t just for Texas Hold’Em tournaments anymore. In snake drafts, continue to watch the rosters of the teams that are close to you and anticipate where they are drafting. You can pass on a player that you know the teams behind you won’t pick as they have enough at that position for now. Then you pick them up on your next turn, but don’t get too cute and wait as it is hard to say no to value even if you already have enough players at a position. In auctions, throw out a player that will go for a lot of money that you don’t like. They will soak up other owner’s money and you will have more to spend on the players you are targeting.

5.)  Don’t follow someone else’s advice, follow your own.

The website that you subscribe to doesn’t put in the time away from the people who you love for you, the people who you follow on twitter don’t front you the cash for your league, and the NFL analyst that just started playing fantasy football because his boss told him to doesn’t know what he is talking about! Follow your gut, sometimes with all the information overload; you know more than you think.

6.)  Have fun.

This is the most important rule. Don’t rush it. Enjoy the draft and your fellow owners. We always want to rush everything. My buddy Ted always tells me “you can enjoy the journey as much as the destination.”

Good luck.

Andy Miley can be found on Twitter – @RealAnakin