Initial Draft strategies

[bounty hunter1]

There is a new league starting up (DFL) and I wanted to get some opinions on which positions should be drafted in the early rounds. I have been playing single player and in the FFL and have some ideas, but wanted confirmation.

In single player I have found that the team with the best overall QB has won the championship almost half the time. This was confirmed in the FFL when Brett Favre won the title this last season. It is very rare for a team to win the title with a QB who is not rated in the top 5.

Multitalented running backs also seem to be a priority. When matched up with a star QB these teams go far.

Defensively a stud ILB and good FS and SS seem to be able to cover for weaker players at other spots.

The computer drafts Tackles right away, but I have not found them to be as key as the skill players. Same true with DEs.

I would say then that the priority should be
1. QB
2. Multipurpose RB
3. ILB
4. Best available DBs

I'd really like to hear from multiplayer leagues to find out what worked for them.

[Vince]

I'd forget RB. If I were to do a preference or real draft over again, I would focus on youth in general, and here's where my priorities would lie...

#1 -- QB
#2 -- CB
#3 -- CB
#4 -- CB

And this has NOTHING to do with the North Plainfield Plague or Fairbanks Northstars. NOTHING.

[albionmoonlight]

First, try to get a read on what people in your league are going to do. I had a sense from others in my league that a lot of people would try to be smashmouth. Accordingly, I decided that there would be more value in going to the air attack because there would be less competition for talent. I was right. Of course, most people seem to have picked up on that, so there may be less value there now.

Second, notwithstanding value, I beleive that the game is won or lost in the air. I emphasized QB (you are right that this is the most important position in the game), WR, and CB. I also had a preference for pass blocking linemen.

Third, don't be afraid to overstack a position. There will be lots of trading before the first game is played. I don't think that I would have won the IHOF championship without a solid running back. But I was able to trade for one in the first season. I gave up a first round pick for him, but I more than made up for that by trading away surplus WRs and CBs. Once I decided that it was not worth going for a top RB, I set the preference at 1 or zero (I forget). Use those points to get positions that you think are more valuable, overstack them, and trade them away for value.

Fourth, don't be afraid to be EXTREME with your sliders. Put kickers and punters at zero. Put QB at the max. Realize that if 10 of you want top CBs, and the other 9 have CB at the max and you have CB at [max-1], then you are 10th in line. You are not setting sliders against the AI. You are setting them against others and need to be a little less realistic than normal.

Fifth, you may have an idea of what you want that does not accord with mine. You may care more about a D that can stop the run than the pass. Fine, but make sure that you draft according to the plan. Set D-line and linebackers at high and let the secondary suffer. Just keep to your plan and don't be afraid to be extreme (since the LB-Blitz reduction patch, I think that D-linemen are more valuable than they used to be, FWIW).

Good luck.

[cthomer5000]

1 - QB
2 - DBs (lots of them)
3 - WR

Then I would probably say BPA at the other positions.

To me, it's about finances. QB and DB are probably the best bang for your buck, and very, very, very hard to acquire from other players in a multiplayer league, because they're very highly valued.

[Celeval]

I think the biggest bit is what Albion said - the value is where the value always is in the draft - in what falls, because nobody takes it. Harder to do in a preference draft, but still important - if everyone is doing QB/DB, then OL/DL might be very successful. Ditto if everyone is doing RB/OL, then LB/WR might be huge.