Pre-Draft Preparation and Cheat-sheets

The Counselor is IN:

Before Draft day, there is much preparation to be done. Here is a list of the things to examine. Most of them are related to your cheat-sheets. Your cheat-sheets should be the results of your hard work. It is also important to know your league.

1) Know your league rules and scoring
This may appear obvious but many of the owners do not fully grasp the rules and scoring of their league. They may not know that Tight Ends get a 5 point bonus if they have over 5 catches per game or that interceptions are minus 2 points. Owners need to know how to pick up players for injuries and if their league has injured list spots or does the league have a waiver wire. You need to know all of the rules and how they will affect your team and what kind of backups you need to draft.

2) Customize your cheat-sheets
I will update and re-post the article from last season about why you need to customize and how to customize your cheat-sheets. In a nutshell, you need cheat-sheets which are specialized to your league and your preferences. Stay tune and the article will be posted in the next couple of days.

3) Overall and Positions with your cheat-sheets
It is important that your cheat-sheets should have an overall rankings of the players especially at the beginning of the draft. Equally important is the rankings of each position on your cheat-sheets. This allows you to easily find the best wide receiver left on the board, according to your rankings. During the draft, you usually have less than a minute to pick your next selection so you need quick access to your lists.

4) Tier your cheat-sheets
Along with the customizing the rankings, you need to Tier your lists. Tiers work by grouping players together that are comparable. You want to Tier the position rankings. It is not as important to Tier the over all list but some people find it helpful. The advantage of using Tiers give you a visual on the level of that position players left and will assist you in deciding when to draft a player.

5) Other important information on your cheat-sheet
It may be important to include other informaiton on your lists. The off weeks for the player is very important because you do not want to draft your top three running backs with the same off week. There may be other important infomation to include depending on your needs and your league.

6) Fantasy Mock Draft
Nothing prepares you for an event like practice. Fantasy Mock Drafts are your practice before Draft Day. There are a ton of sights that have mock drafts set up such as ESPN.com and NFL.com. Most allow you to pick your draft position so if you know your draft position ahead of time then you can practice from that position numerous times.

Do not expect your draft to go just like the Fantasy Mock Drafts because it won’t but it should give you an idea of where players are going in the draft. Face to Face drafts are much less likely go like a mock draft than an online draft.

7) Understand the tendencies of your league Owners
If you are in a reoccurring league, you can examine the draft tendencies of the owners over the seasons. Most of us are creatures of habits. Most will use similar draft strategies from year to year.

8) Know your own tendencies
If you know the tendencies of your fellow league owners, some of them are likely to know your tendencies. It is important to be aware of your tendencies and if you are tipping your next pick. When possible during the draft, it is good to occasionally change up slightly to cause confusion to your opponents but don’t do something crazy just to do it, like drafting a kicker in the first round.

The Counselor is OUT: