Draft Tip #1

[Thurman51 0]

I just wanted to share something that I believe is one of THE most important things you can do at your draft. Make sure you are keeping track of the players every team in your league is drafting, round by round. Make yourself a little chart and WRITE THIS STUFF DOWN.

 

Keep track of everybody's depth chart...not just your own. This will give you a huge advantage in later rounds because you will be able to easily see who STILL hasn't taken a QB, who still needs a defense, who you can afford to wait on and who you need to snag at your next pick!

 

This is old news to many here but it is the #1 mistake I see with people new to live drafting scenarios. I love when these newbs are drafting with me...it's like blood in the water.

 

Maybe this should be on the help board...I don't know, it's been a while since I've lurked around these parts.

[Belushi 9]

I've tried it. Unless you are in a slow-moving draft, I find tracking everyone's picks just means that you have less time to analyze your own team and your next pick. When things are moving fast, I don't like being stuck trying to type in player names when I should be planning my next move. Just my opinion, but I've never found it to be that useful. If you're in an email draft, then it would be pretty handy.

[jgcrawfish 232]

Disagree complete with you here Belushi. Every draft has a break/pause now and then, every 3-5 rounds probably. While guys are shooting the sh!t, I'm combing their rosters. After about round 8, when everybody has most of their RB/WR and the big name QB's are off the board, you're pretty much able to guess who's taking what and when. If I'm eyeballing a particular WR and know that 3 of the 4 guys ahead of me are light on RB and the other one is desparate for a QB, I can start looking at the best value for my pick because I know what they're probably gonna take. I'm using 10 minutes to study my pick instead just my 2 minutes.

[TD Ryan2 315]

 

absolutely watch the opponent's roster... and if you're near either turn, it's even more effective.

if you're choosing between two players (a WR and TE) and you see that both guys on the turn already have their TE... you can take your WR and let the TE fall around the turn.

No, it isn't rocket science but simple heads-up drafting.

 

you've got to know your league mates a bit for it to work, but overall it's a pretty good way to value with your picks.

[The_Mad_Cats 0]

I've tried it. Unless you are in a slow-moving draft, I find tracking everyone's picks just means that you have less time to analyze your own team and your next pick. When things are moving fast, I don't like being stuck trying to type in player names when I should be planning my next move. Just my opinion, but I've never found it to be that useful. If you're in an email draft, then it would be pretty handy.

 

What I did (prior to the Draft Buddy) was to simply write the positions down, since it didn't really matter who the exact player was. Just jot down 'WR'', 'RB', 'QB', and so forth.

[hotgumbo1 12]

I just wanted to share something that I believe is one of THE most important things you can do at your draft. Make sure you are keeping track of the players every team in your league is drafting, round by round. Make yourself a little chart and WRITE THIS STUFF DOWN.

 

Keep track of everybody's depth chart...not just your own. This will give you a huge advantage in later rounds because you will be able to easily see who STILL hasn't taken a QB, who still needs a defense, who you can afford to wait on and who you need to snag at your next pick!

 

This is old news to many here but it is the #1 mistake I see with people new to live drafting scenarios. I love when these newbs are drafting with me...it's like blood in the water.

 

Maybe this should be on the help board...I don't know, it's been a while since I've lurked around these parts.

Normally I would blast you for posting the plainly and insanely obvious. But I think it's a good segway and plug to:

 

BUY THE COMPILER AND DRAFT BUDDY. No typing needed. Track other managers players by simply clicking. The most userfriendly interface on the block.

[Bubbameister 0]

At my draft we have a big board where all of the teams' selections are displayed. I thought it was customary to do it this way unless, of course, you're in an on-line draft.

[dats007 1]

I agree with Belushi. I don't have time to write all this stuff down. We do a live draft with 10 of the 12 teams in our league woh are in Seattle, while the other 2 teams (1 in Boston, 1 in Ashland) follow online via instant messenger. My league receives a huge, "free" draft board from CBS.Sportsline after confirmation of $126 payment. It's great. With the included color coded labels (different color label for each position) one can easily track the draft by simply looking up.

[Belushi 9]

I have the Draft Buddy. We do an on-line auction for 2 dynasty leagues. You have 45 seconds to select a player to nominate, and 10 seconds to bid. There is just no time to enter that info. into draft buddy. While you are doing that, someone is bidding up a player you want.

 

I agree in slower drafts it can be to your advantage. But if things are moving fast I think you're better off concentrating on your own roster so you don't screw it up.

[Thurman51 0]

I argue, you DO have time. Do it the old fashion way. Write down the names of the teams in your league across the top of a sheet of paper. Down the left side of the paper list rounds by number. When it comes time to draft just fill in the blanks. Have your chart made prior to the start of the draft.

 

If you plan ahead and pay attention there is no reason not to have time. Make the effort and it could be the difference between a championship and another second place!

[jgcrawfish 232]

I have the Draft Buddy. We do an on-line auction for 2 dynasty leagues. You have 45 seconds to select a player to nominate, and 10 seconds to bid. There is just no time to enter that info. into draft buddy. While you are doing that, someone is bidding up a player you want.

 

I agree in slower drafts it can be to your advantage. But if things are moving fast I think you're better off concentrating on your own roster so you don't screw it up.

 

Yeah, that's damn fast for a draft. Draft Buddy is absoletly awesome on this front, but not fast enough to keep up with that kind of speed. With ours at 2 minutes, I can scan everybody's roster's before every pick. It doesn't help all that much early, but into the middle-late rounds it's supremely helpful.

[Belushi 9]

I only do auctions as well, so you'd have to track salary caps as well as positions for it to be of any use. Like I said, I see the use if it's a slow draft, but if it's distracting you from what you should be focusing on, it's a negative.

[Jarvis Basnight 119]

i'm shocked that there are guys who come on this site that don't do it.

 

it's tough to keep up sometimes but you have such a huge leg up on the guys that don't do it that it's worth it. i can predict what other guys are going to do and it gives me a great read on who's going to drop to me and when. i've gotten a lot of value picks that way while other guys, who don't track the draft, ask me how i keep getting guys to fall to me. it's common sense.

[steel827 2]

I have three sheets I use. The first is to mark down the player selected. The next I have a form that lists positions and I write in the player for the team, then I mark off the player selected from my personal list. It may seem like a lot, but I can get into a rythym so it doesn't take long.