Welcome to the Draft Strategies page on NFL10K.com! No matter what type of fantasy football league you’re in or which draft style your league follows, we’ve got you covered with expert advice and winning strategies. Below, you’ll find sections dedicated to various league formats and draft styles to help you dominate your draft and lead your team to victory.
Standard Leagues
Snake Draft
The snake draft is the most common format for fantasy football, with the draft order reversing each round. As a beginner, it’s crucial to understand the basics of drafting in this format. First, you’ll want to prioritize filling out your starting roster before focusing on depth. Next, pay attention to your draft position, as it will impact your strategy. For example, if you have an early pick, targeting a top-tier running back or wide receiver might be the best move.
As you become more familiar with snake drafts, you’ll start to grasp intermediate concepts like value-based drafting. This means always drafting the best player available, regardless of position. Understanding player tiers and monitoring positional runs during the draft can help you secure high-quality players at each position.
Once you reach an expert level, you’ll be able to identify positional scarcity and adjust your draft strategy accordingly. For example, if there’s a run on tight ends early in the draft, you may decide to wait on the position and focus on building depth at running back or wide receiver.
You’ll also learn the importance of being flexible and adapting your strategy during the draft. Sometimes the best-laid plans can be disrupted by the actions of your league mates. Being able to pivot and make adjustments on the fly is a valuable skill in snake drafts.
Remember these key points:
- Draft Order and Position Strategy
- Assess the talent pool and decide on a draft strategy based on your position.
- Early picks: Focus on elite running backs and wide receivers.
- Middle picks: Consider a balanced approach between top-tier running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends.
- Late picks: Target high-upside players and sleepers.
- Positional Priorities
- Focus on filling out your starting roster before targeting depth players.
- Draft a quarterback in the mid-to-late rounds.
- Value-Based Drafting
- Always look for value and draft the best player available, regardless of position.
Auction Draft
In an auction draft, team managers have a budget to spend on players. Each manager takes turns nominating players for bidding, and the highest bidder secures the player. This format allows for more flexibility and creativity in roster construction.
As a beginner in auction drafts, managing your budget wisely is essential. Avoid overspending on a single player, and try to spread your budget evenly across positions. Nominate players you’re not particularly interested in early to drain your opponents’ budgets.
As you gain experience in auction drafts, you’ll learn to implement intermediate strategies like “price enforcing” and waiting for value picks later in the draft. You’ll also begin to understand the importance of budget allocation for different positions, depending on your league’s scoring settings.
At the expert level, you’ll master the art of roster construction and understand how to adjust your strategy based on your opponents’ spending habits. This includes identifying undervalued players, predicting bidding trends, and capitalizing on your league mates’ mistakes.
Remember these key points:
- Budget Management
- Allocate your budget wisely, ensuring you have enough funds for the entire draft.
- Don’t overspend on a single player.
- Nominations Strategy
- Nominate players you’re not interested in to drain your opponents’ budgets.
- Be patient and wait for value picks.
- Balanced Roster Construction
- Spread your budget evenly across positions to create a well-rounded roster.
Points Per Reception (PPR) Leagues
PPR leagues award points for receptions in addition to traditional scoring categories. This format increases the value of pass-catching players, such as wide receivers and running backs.
As a beginner in PPR leagues, it’s essential to prioritize wide receivers and pass-catching running backs during your draft. These players will score more points due to their high reception totals. You may also want to target tight ends earlier in the draft, as they can provide a significant advantage in PPR formats.
As you become more familiar with PPR scoring, you’ll start to grasp intermediate concepts like understanding a player’s target share and historical reception data. This will help you identify potential breakout candidates and late-round sleepers who could outperform their average draft position (ADP).
At the expert level, you’ll be able to analyze individual matchups and game scripts to predict which players are likely to receive a high volume of targets in any given week. This can help you make crucial lineup decisions and gain an edge over your opponents.
Remember these key points:
- Draft Strategy Adjustments
- Prioritize wide receivers and pass-catching running backs.
- Target tight ends earlier in the draft.
- Late-Round PPR Sleepers
- Identify players with high reception potential in the late rounds.
Two-Quarterback (2QB) or Superflex Leagues
2QB or Superflex leagues require starting two quarterbacks or allow for a “superflex” position, where you can start a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, or tight end. This format increases the value of quarterbacks and adds a strategic element to roster construction.
As a beginner in 2QB or Superflex leagues, it’s important to prioritize drafting at least one top-tier quarterback early in the draft. Then, look for high-upside quarterbacks in the mid-to-late rounds to balance your roster.
As you become more experienced in 2QB or Superflex leagues, you’ll learn intermediate strategies like monitoring the quarterback market and understanding when to target specific quarterbacks based on their value and your roster needs. You’ll also gain a deeper understanding of how different scoring settings can impact quarterback values, such as 6-point passing touchdown leagues.
At the expert level, you’ll be able to evaluate quarterback talent beyond just the top-tier options and identify potential breakout candidates. You’ll also learn how to leverage your depth at the quarterback position to make advantageous trades with other team managers who may be lacking at the position.
Remember these key points:
- Quarterback Draft Priority
- Draft at least one top-tier quarterback early in the draft.
- Target high-upside quarterbacks in the mid-to-late rounds.
- Roster Construction
- Balance your roster between quarterbacks and other positions.
Dynasty Leagues
In dynasty leagues, you maintain your roster from year to year, with a focus on long-term player value and roster management. This format requires a different approach to drafting and roster construction compared to redraft leagues.
As a beginner in dynasty leagues, it’s crucial to balance your roster with a mix of veterans and young, high-upside players. Targeting young players with long-term potential can help you build a strong foundation for your team in the coming years.
As you become more familiar with dynasty leagues, you’ll start to grasp intermediate concepts like understanding player age and career arcs. This will help you identify which players are likely to maintain or increase their value over time and which players may be on the decline.
At the expert level, you’ll be able to evaluate the talent of incoming rookies and make informed decisions during rookie drafts. You’ll also learn how to navigate the trade market effectively, leveraging your roster’s strengths to acquire assets that can help your team both now and in the future.
Remember these key points:
- Long-Term Roster Building
- Prioritize younger players with long-term potential.
- Balance between win-now players and future prospects.
- Rookie Draft Strategy
- Study college prospects and identify high-upside rookies.
- Prioritize skill position players over quarterbacks and tight ends.
Best Ball Leagues
Best Ball leagues are a unique format in which there are no weekly lineup decisions or waiver wire moves. Instead, your highest-scoring players at each position automatically count towards your weekly score. This format emphasizes drafting a deep roster with high-upside players who can have “boom” weeks.
As a beginner in Best Ball leagues, it’s essential to prioritize drafting a balanced roster with a focus on high-upside players. Since you don’t need to worry about setting your lineup each week, you can afford to take risks on players who may have a higher degree of variance in their weekly performances.
As you become more familiar with Best Ball leagues, you’ll start to grasp intermediate concepts like understanding the importance of late-round value picks and players with complementary skill sets. This can help you create a roster that maximizes your weekly scoring potential by combining players with different strengths and weaknesses.
At the expert level, you’ll be able to analyze individual matchups and game scripts to predict which players are likely to have “boom” weeks. This can help you identify high-upside players in the later rounds of the draft who may outperform their average draft position (ADP). You’ll also gain a deeper understanding of the importance of position scarcity and roster construction in Best Ball leagues, which can help you make more informed draft decisions.
Remember these key points:
- Boom-or-Bust Players
- Target players with high weekly ceilings, even if they’re inconsistent.
- Roster Construction
- Draft more players at each position to ensure optimal scoring each week.