Let’s Be Frank: It’s Draft Day!
It’s August. Sweat is beginning to bead down your forehead. An ice-cold beer is the perfect solution. The moment it hits your lips, you are so refreshed, and then as you take a bite of your third slice of pizza you hear, “HE WAS ALREADY TAKEN!” That’s right, it’s your fantasy draft!
For most of us, this is the best time of the year. Training camps are in full swing, the first preseason game is out of the way, and your draft day is here. For me, the draft day is a whole day event. Nothing better than waking up and knowing that today is the day. Then it’s usually onto the computer (to Fantasyshed of course!) to check for any news that is pertinent to the upcoming draft. Then it’s making sure I got all my stuff, then some waiting around, back on the computer, then more waiting. But you have got to keep checking up on things. Because when it’s your turn to pick that night, you DO NOT want to be the guy that calls out, “Maurice Jones Drew”, and then get screamed at because he retired. After that, it’s all downhill.
Lucky for you, I’m here to ease your worries and hopefully help you avoid looking like an idiot at your draft. Everyone has his or her own unique draft preparation, strategies, etc… Here are suggestions I would recommend.
1. Please do not attend your draft with a magazine. It is the year 2015. There were some inventions in the past two decades such as the Internet, laptops, smart phones… Do yourself a favor, bring a device and use it. Even if you just stay on Twitter and follow any breaking news, you are better off than looking at an outdated magazine. It’s social media baby!
2. Don’t be the guy who takes forever to make a pick every time it’s your turn to draft. Come on. Have a strategy! Every pick that you make shouldn’t be a surprise. The guys drafting in front of you don’t always pick “the guy” that you wanted. That’s just a lame excuse. Be prepared and have multiple options ready to go.
3. Bring your league dues to the draft. You’ve had all year to prepare for this day, so don’t start it out unprepared. You can have all the research in the world, but you should never make a commissioner’s job harder than it has to be. Getting finances in order from the start makes it a very enjoyable season for all. If you were going out to dinner, you wouldn’t tell the waiter, “I don’t have the money, but I’ll get it to you soon.” That’s just poor taste. And you’d get stuck doing the dishes.
4. The last thing you want to do is leave positions like RB or WR in a state of disarray. Instead of being someone who has two TEs or two DEFs, how about you draft a 3rd and 4th RB or WR first. I have never drafter more than one defense, kicker or tight end in a draft. It’s a long season! Do you really think that you need to back up those positions before the season starts. RB and WR have to be your deepest positions or you are SCREWED.
5. Be open to change. Leagues are changing formats, scoring models, etc… FAAB, PPR, eliminating kickers are just a few new fads in the fantasy football world. I know that accepting change is hard. But as Rocky Balboa said in Rocky IV, “If I could change, and you could change, everybody can change.”