mock drafting

[redsrback 30]

My best line-ups have been picking 6 straight rbs with first 6 picks. If people respond to this post ill elaborate more, but for now ill wait.

[murf74 461]

Mock drafts do more harm than good in prep work

[ralphster 274]

a little mocking is good. too much mocking is very bad. like most things in life.

[Ray_T 591]

Mock drafts do more harm than good in prep work

The real problem with Mocks is that most people dont behave the same as they do in a real draft.

 

some will just draft a player cuz they feel like it. Not cuz they think 'I gotta win this draft'

 

also, its tough for a mock to duplicate the draft that has the one or two unique GM's in some leagues who will do unpredictable things.

[polecatt 403]

I used to do a whole lot of mock drafting about this time of year but I don't do nearly as much as I used to.

Mock drafts are extremely predictable. Real drafts are extremely unpredictable.

It is a helpful tool but if you think you are going to micro strategize a draft and line up before hand, I strongly advise against it

 

Mock drafting is good for planning out the first couple of rounds or so but not much after that. If you want to try out some unorthodox strategy, like no RBs or something, it is good for that to see if it's a real strategy you may use.

It is helpful in getting you familiarized with the players and sorting out your rankings. Sometimes you don't know which player you will choose until the moment of truth. Mocking can help. There are always players you don't know, or players who have changed teams.

I have never been a part of a real draft that goes like 90% of the mock drafts I have participated in.

In mock drafts, RBs and sometimes WRs always dominate the first couple of rounds and a QB is rarely picked early. I real drafts a QB or two, or three, is always taken in the first round and most quality QB1 caliber players are gone by the time people start drafting the top QBs in mock drafts.

[knight11e 10]

Disagree that mocks are not useful. Like anything, practice makes you better. Yes, too much mocking can cause you to get in your own head a bit, but on the whole I find it quite useful.

[Vikings4ever 496]

I don't really mock draft outside of FFT's June Mock, but I do think they're useful in large numbers (large being the community in general, rather than a large number of mocks involving a single person). You can get a general idea of who should go when, and can plan accordingly.

 

That being said, flexibility is very important. Maybe someone will fall in love with a player, and take him a couple rounds earlier than they "should". Maybe a position run starts half a round "early" and wipes out who you thought would be there. So while mocks give a general outline, every real draft will throw something screwy your way.

[weepaws 2,460]

I think that sometimes mock drafts can be fun for practice.

 

But over all I don't get much out of them but away of passing some free time.

 

I think they can hurt in some cases, I've known people who have changed their draft rankings because of them, and it turn out to be a mistake.

 

They don't really do me any good as far as rankings.

[Kent 228]

I mock on the site we use for the draft. It's a huge advantage knowing where the site ranks players for the guys using it in the real draft. The biggest benefit is I don't reach for players as much since I know they will be almost always be there later.

 

Mocking is good just to get a feel for how it's gonna go down. I always do one each day the week before the draft.

[Ray_T 591]

Disagree that mocks are not useful. Like anything, practice makes you better. Yes, too much mocking can cause you to get in your own head a bit, but on the whole I find it quite useful.

I didnt say they were not useful, I'm just saying that there are certain areas where mocks dont always help.

 

in a Mock, most guys will pick the concensus best player on the board, while a real draft will have GMS who go off the board to pick their 'Sleeper' and a Mock cannot predict that.

 

but, a mock can give you a good general idea of what players should be available when your pick comes up. and if someone drops who was higher on your list that means you may have to change your mind and pick them.

 

in general, I find that when picking late (let's say I pick at 11), I rank my top 12 expecting that one or two players who I had ranked higher will slip to me.

 

so the Mocks will give me a few scenarios to work with.

 

as you go deeper into the draft, the variability increases. so at 35, I'd expect my top 25-30 players will all be gone.

 

The remaining you need to choose from.

 

so going through 3-5 mocks will give you the most likely scenarios you are likely to deal with.

 

if you go through more Mocks, you can even chart the likelyhood of each scenario occurring. (although I think that's a lot of work for very little reward)

 

I generally prefer to go with my list, but the mocks often tell me if I am over or undervaluing certain players. That's the most helpful part of the Mock draft.

[Hawkeye21 1,853]

I do a lot of mocks on FFC all off season. Mostly because I just enjoy it but also because I like to see what players are rising and falling. I like to see how ADPs are changing. I know that a real draft is not going to be exactly the same and that's just fine.

 

When I want a more accurate draft I will go on Yahoo and ESPN and actually join real public league drafts. These give me a much more accurate draft experience. I still manage these leagues throughout the season but I do not spend as much time on them. I usually have 5 to 8 of them and vary between snake, auction, standard and PPR.

[weepaws 2,460]

I agree with polecatt on this issue.

 

I don't do a lot of mocks, but the mocks I do participate in people tend to draft players just to see how their own team will turn out based n drafting outside of how they usually will be drafting In a real draft.

 

So I find it makes for unreliable rankings.

 

So it's just for fun.

[Ray_T 591]

I agree with polecatt on this issue.

 

I don't do a lot of mocks, but the mocks I do participate in people tend to draft players just to see how their own team will turn out based n drafting outside of how they usually will be drafting In a real draft.

 

So I find it makes for unreliable rankings.

 

So it's just for fun.

yes, sometimes someone will use a mock to test out an unorthodox strategy to see if it has a legitimate chance of working.

 

so no. the Mock will not always give you a realistic picture of how the draft would go. In that scenario, you need to have someone running the very same strategy in the actual draft for it to even resemble the mock.

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

We literally have this exact same debate every year

[jls8421 3]

Haha, I mock because I'm jonesing for the season...

 

That said, mocking gives a good round about idea of where players are going. It changes through out the summer and preseason. I like to keep track of who rises and falls in ADP. Just my thing.

 

The problem comes when people take it as "this is the team I'll get from this position" and taking it as gospel. As mentioned above, nothing goes according to plan and being flexible enough to work around the quirks is huge.

 

Haha now to the OP. Just screwing around with different outcomes, I've done a few mocks and skipped RB until the 4th or later and didn't hate my teams.

 

To each their own!

 

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

*Edited to accommodate/annoy weepaws*

[weepaws 2,460]

You forgot the haha at the end of your post.

[ralphster 274]

How many mock drafts does the almighty do in an average preseason little hands?

[giraldi02 470]

I use MFL10's as my mock draft. Sure the strategy is slightly different for bestball, the early rounds give a good barometer for the studs, and the late rounds can expose some bubbling under the radar guys to keep an eye on.

 

Whenever some of the industry folks like FantasyADHD or Mike Beers set up public ones, I love trying to hop in there to see some of the guys they target.

[redsrback 30]

Okay here is some of my talking points , and yes if people dont show up for mock drafts you get a false read. Do enough of them and you can get an overall feel. I also believed what was said last year on Lamaar Miller and was a bit disappointed. I also remember Tom Brady being close to undraftable 1 year and sits at 2 overall today.

 

Top 6 players chosen on a regular basis has been Bell, Johnson, Elliott, Brown Beckham, McCoy

 

Look at the list of Running Backs you are 100 per-cent sure gets close to all the carries.

 

If I choose a WR with first 2 picks with a running Back, I cant get a Running Back who I feel is a lock at pick 3. I'm stuck trying to pick somebody who may only get 10 -15 carries.

 

Now Look at tier 3 and 4 WRs. Lots of people in there that have the ability to do better but have been struggling with health.

 

Ive found I can take 6 straight RBs and get a joe Mixon or an Eddie Lacy with Thomas Rawls handcuff. Another thing ive noticed is theres been some QBs I can pick at the end of the draft that I would be happy with. By taking 6 Rbs and going to WRs and sprinkling in your TE when u feel is time your basically in the Eric Ebron area.

 

But everyone should try this method and find out how unhappy putting an early WR in your line-up makes you.

 

All this is early and things may work themselves out during pre-season but don't knock it till you tried it around 5 times my way and your own.

 

Appreciate feedback if somebody does it and gets back. By the way I don't want to post my WRs, but if there healthy I think they can be among the leaders at tier 3 and 4 and 2 players in tier 5.

 

12 team mock drafts

[weepaws 2,460]

I find that almost all online mocks teach me nothing.

 

Because most people quit drafting after one or so picks, and then you have the person that picks a kicker with their second round pick.

[Hawkeye21 1,853]

I find that almost all online mocks teach me nothing.

 

Because most people quit drafting after one or so picks, and then you have the person that picks a kicker with their second round pick.

 

What mock sites are you using? If you go to FFC this time of the year the rooms are full and almost everyone drafts till the end. There's even a good amount of discussion going on during them which is one of my favorite parts.

[Kent 228]

When is this site going to get a mock draft automated feature? Would love that and it would be tons of fun mocking with members here. Guess you need tons of traffic to make it worth the cost? I have no clue what it takes to put that tech in.

[Hawkeye21 1,853]

When is this site going to get a mock draft automated feature? Would love that and it would be tons of fun mocking with members here. Guess you need tons of traffic to make it worth the cost? I have no clue what it takes to put that tech in.

 

You'd need a lot more traffic than what this site is currently getting. If you want to mock with members here the best thing to do is to start a thread where people can invite others to join mock drafts on other sites. I've done that before. Basically just post in the thread that you want to start a mock up soon on FFC or Yahoo and add a link to it.

[weepaws 2,460]

Not to sure if I can post any names, but when I mock Oline it's basic sites like the one that starts with an E and as a morning radio show named Mike and Mike on it and the other is the NFl site.

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

Not to sure if I can post any names, but when I mock Oline it's basic sites like the one that starts with an E and as a morning radio show named Mike and Mike on it and the other is the NFl site.

Really you prefer those over ffc? Ffc seems so much quicker and smoother to me

[weepaws 2,460]

Prefer no, I've never used ffc.

 

But those are the sites I use.

 

I will check out this ffc.

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

Prefer no, I've never used ffc.

 

But those are the sites I use.

 

I will check out this ffc.

I think that site alone is a huge reason people over mock. It's just so easy and quick. Well peak times it can be a wait I guess

[Hawkeye21 1,853]

I've always found FFC to be the place where serious people go to mock and therefore you get a more accurate draft and serious conversation. Every Joe Schmoe goes to Yahoo and ESPN to do mocks and usually they leave after the first 5 rounds.

[polecatt 403]

yes, sometimes someone will use a mock to test out an unorthodox strategy to see if it has a legitimate chance of working.

 

so no. the Mock will not always give you a realistic picture of how the draft would go. In that scenario, you need to have someone running the very same strategy in the actual draft for it to even resemble the mock.

I find that stuff like people using an unorthodox draft strategy in a mock helps to simulate the unpredictability of a real draft.

It's not quite the same but you often have the person making some crazy picks.

[Hawkeye21 1,853]

I find that stuff like people using an unorthodox draft strategy in a mock helps to simulate the unpredictability of a real draft.

It's not quite the same but you often have the person making some crazy picks.

 

Seems contradictory doesn't it? Hearing people say they don't like mocks because they aren't random like a real draft but then complain when people use a random draft strategy in a mock. Not sure what they're looking for.

[polecatt 403]

I get what he's saying. It gets back to the point of there is no perfect mock draft.

That's why you have to do several and learn what you can from each.

If you over do it though, you will start seeing stuff that isn't there.

[weepaws 2,460]

I did must a mock in ffc and in the third round someone took J Tucker the kicker.

 

The first one I did was fun and was good, but that was the second one.

 

So no two are alike.

[Hawkeye21 1,853]

I did must a mock in ffc and in the third round someone took J Tucker the kicker.

 

The first one I did was fun and was good, but that was the second one.

 

So no two are alike.

 

You might get some odd ones but I've never seen that in the 20+ mocks I've done on there this year. I have seen a guy take 4 QBs in the spring though. That was about the worst I've seen.

[weepaws 2,460]

No question when you mock there going to be few times when you will have that issue.

 

Over all I don't take much away from mocks, just for enjoyment.

[Flgatorguy87 160]

It's like masturbating. Fun, but not overly relevant.

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

It's like masturbating. Fun, but not overly relevant.

It's relevant for me

[polecatt 403]

It's like masturbating. Fun, but not overly relevant.

And it's not going to cost you money...

[Ray_T 591]

 

Seems contradictory doesn't it? Hearing people say they don't like mocks because they aren't random like a real draft but then complain when people use a random draft strategy in a mock. Not sure what they're looking for.

I think it depends now unorthodox the strategy is.

 

I've found that in real drafts a lot of people are far more conservative in their picks. Yes, there is usually one guy who thinks outside the box in each draft (or gets drunk and does stupid things) but realistically, the mock has far more drafts that are unconventional.

 

That's not a terrible thing. When I think there are multiple scenarios possible on a situation, the mock can be especially helpful in terms of figuring out what happens in certain scenarios.

[shutdown 40]

I've found that if you are playing in a league of savy owners, mocking on a general internet site is useless. Between the combination of bonehead picks, people quitting after 4-5 rounds, and the domination of the rankings of whatever site you're using, it just never translates to an experience you can use in your draft. Mostly because the players you are targeting go rounds earlier when you are drafting with similarly experienced owners.

[weepaws 2,460]

Agree