Rookie Draft Best Practices
It’s prime rookie draft season. The rookie draft is one of the most important elements in building a dynasty franchise that can sustain long term dominance. Taking the wrong approach to this part of the game can ruin your team for multiple years. I don’t want to see anyone put their teams in that position so figured I would lay out my best practices for how to handle the rookie draft. Let’s go dominate.
1. Enter The Draft With More Picks Than Rounds
Then trade them!
Throughout this article you’ll notice I refer to rookie draft picks as “currency.” You want to have as much of it as you can when you enter the rookie draft. This will allow you flexibility when moving around the draft board and acquiring assets, whether it be veterans, more picks, or future picks. While I suggest going into a draft with at least one additional pick, I am not saying that you have to (or should) use them all on rookie selections. But if you’re building a dynasty that is intent on competing year over year, then you always want to have a plethora of capital.
2. Wait To Trade Away Picks Until You’re On The Clock
That’s when they are most valuable
Think about this. Your leaguemate is convinced “prospect x” is going to be a stud. He/she has fallen in love with this player during the pre-draft process and cannot wait to finally acquire his/her first share. You’re now on the clock and your aforementioned leaguemate is sweating it out hoping their guy falls to their selection. The longer the clock ticks, the more anxious and desperate they are to make a move. This is your time to strike. There is no moment where this pick that you hold will have more value than right now. You have a desperate manager who wants their guy and has an opportunity to trade for the chance to press the “draft player” button. It’s a sweet moment.
This is when that pick holds the most value. Not at the combine, not during the NFL Draft, not the day before your league’s rookie draft, and not even after the actual player is selected. On the clock, in the moment is when you will be able to retrieve the most bang for your buck.
3. Don’t Trade Up
Understand the volatility of rookie picks and hit rates.
We don’t know as much about players as we think we do
We all think we know these prospects inside and out. We’ve gone through our process—whatever that is—and we’re convinced we know best. We all fall victim to this every year. The truth is, though, we really don’t know as much as we think we do. We have to just accept that. Whether the process is film grinding, analytics, or a combination thereof, we simply don’t really know. And that’s okay. But we must embrace the variance. That’s why more often than not, it’s suboptimal to trade up thinking we know a certain player is going to hit. We just don’t. So why give up precious capital to go all in on one guy when, in fact, we’re actually lowering our chances of hitting because we just gave up multiple “lottery tickets” to move up.
The best practice, in most cases, is to move back within a tier and collect more picks, players, and/future picks. Learn to take the emotions out of drafting, and operate from a more logic and reasoning perspective and your long term results will reflect positively.
Of course, as is the case with all of these tips, there are circumstances that warrant a move up. This is not a never ever type of suggestion.
4. Use Early Picks On RBs
Positional value/scarcity
Of course this doesn’t mean take Trey Sermon over Ja’Marr Chase or even any of the top-five or so wide receivers. But in most cases, top tier running backs should be valued over top-tier wide receivers. It comes down to position scarcity. Elite running backs are harder to come by than high-producing wideouts. And how often do we hear about a wide receiver who was a “league winner?” Not very often. It’s always running backs who make the difference on title winning teams. It’s no different than why we see running backs go at the beginning of seasonal league drafts. The guys toting the rock are also generally a safer bet. A running back with good draft capital is basically guaranteed to get plenty of opportunity to fail before a team moves on. Where for a receiver, it’s much harder for an underperformer to be fantasy relevant because a quarterback can simply not target him.
Again, I’m not telling you to take this tip literal or to the extreme. But when we have guys similar in value and talent, always lean running back. If you’re concerned about longevity, I get it. Generally, wide receivers “last” longer. But if you know when to get out from a running back (trade him for a WR!), then you’ll really hit the sweet spot in maximizing the value of your dynasty roster at all times. But that’s a strategy for another day.
5. Draft For Upside In Later Rounds
Homeruns!
The early rounds of your rookie drafts are for the safe bets. You don’t want to squander a high-value selection so it’s important to lean floor over ceiling. But the cost of missing (and the hit rates) is much lower the later we get into a draft. That’s why once we hit round three, it’s all about upside. We want to take a shot at the home-run. Find the next Chase Claypool. Find the next Stefon Diggs or James Robinson (R.I.P.).
6. Draft Picks Are Currency
Save it and spend it wisely
As I mentioned earlier, draft picks are the currency of dynasty leagues. They can be used in all sorts of ways whether it be moving around the draft board, buying veterans, or simply using them at face value to select a prospect. That’s why it’s important to spend it responsibly. A few mis-spent draft picks will doom your team in the long run. It’s also why you want to collect as much of it as you can. The more picks you have, the more valuable your franchise is.
7. Walk Out With Additional Picks In Next Year’s Draft
Currency!
Building off the last tip, one of my favorite dynasty hacks is to add additional draft picks for future years. That’s why I go into every rookie draft with the goal of walking out of it with at least two one more future draft pick than I had going into it. I can do that in a number of ways. I can trade back and acquire a future pick. I could also trade out all together (maybe my early second for my opponent’s future first). Either way, I’ve set my team up for sustainable success and given it flexibility by adding that precious currency.
8. Take The Best Player Available
Rookie drafts are not for filling needs.
There is a time and place to fill a need. The rookie draft is not that time nor that place. Instead, the rookie draft is to increase the value of your dynasty team. There is no reason to worry about your starting lineup more than a month before the season kicks off. Build a valuable roster instead. There will always be opportunities to trade for need. Don’t hesitate to use a quality dynasty rankings service if you need guidance on who the best player left on the board is. And because you drafted for value, you have more in your pocket when it’s time to make that deal.
9. Use Our Dynasty Rankings And Resources At YardsPerFantasy.com
This one is obvious. Our dynasty rankings are always up to date and present the perfect balance of short and long term outlooks. Our analysts provide great player analysis and dynasty strategy in the form of articles, podcasts, YouTube videos, and TikToks. If that’s not enough, reach out to us directly and we’ll be happy to help!
