DON’T DRAFT DURING JULY! Frankly don’t draft during August either. Because of recent news I felt obligated to make this PSA. As the NFL season nears its easy to get caught up in fantasy but if your draft is this early you should go to all of your league mates right now and change it as close to Week 1 as possible.
I get that the first step to having your leagues draft is making sure that everyone is available. It can be hard to find a day when you all have a matching schedule, but drafting too soon could turn a fun fantasy season into 16 weeks of misery for an unlucky few.
Lets face it fantasy football is already incredibly luck dependent. Every year there are injuries, surprise roster changes, and other things completely out of our control. But what if they didn’t have to be?
In 2012 Matt Flynn had just signed a 3 year contract with the Seahawks and was predicted to be the starting QB, but as the start of the season rolled around, the Seahawks named Russell Wilson their starter and Flynn sat bench all year.
In 2014 Jordy Nelson of the Green Bay Packers, was the #2 wide receiver in fantasy. All signs said he was primed for a big 2015 season. So how did his season go? It didn’t… Nelson was being drafted as a WR1 all the way up until the preseason games where he tore his ACL against the Steelers. He never touched the field during 2015.
In 2016, today actually, Steeler’s running back Le’veon Bell was being drafted as the possibly the #1 running back in 2016. So what has changed in the last 24 hours? This morning it was announced that Bell has been given a four game suspension for missing a drug test.
Each one of these events wasn’t predictable but their effect on your league was preventable. Those of you who are drafting today are drafting blind. I present you with an example. There are two Leagues, league A drafts the last week of August and league B drafted yesterday.
In the next few month there will be training camps, preseason games, and plenty of coach speak for league A to get excited about. They will continue to refine their draft strategies and who are their favorite players. Come draft day every one picks their players and is excited, week one is right around the corner.
In league B things are a bit different. Teams have been picked but, kickoff is still 2 months away. The exciting news isn’t so exciting anymore. Players emerge from training camp and injuries happen, but all league B can do hope that it doesn’t hurt their team. Finally week one rolls around, half the league is ecstatic and can’t wait for the season. That 8th round handcuff they drafted is already the starter and they are sure to win this year. The other half the league is already distancing themselves from fantasy. Their 1st round pick was virtually forfeited and unless they get really lucky they will have to wait until 2017 for a chance to win.
A little dramatic I know, but its not far from the truth. League A gets a whole extra 2 months of fantasy fun as they craft their plans, while league B has people depressed before the season even starts.
If you are one of those leagues who does their draft early do your selves a favor this year and put it off as long as possible. The draft is one of the best parts of fantasy. You and your friends all putting your collective football knowledge to the test. Round after round picking the players that you know are going to kill it this year. The only problem is that football knowledge kinda stops in the offseason. Sure there is the NFL Draft and trades to take into account, but sometime between the summer pool parties and when the kids go back to school is when the magic happens. The drought ends and a flood of news comes from training camps. Players are hyped, sleepers are found and the smack talk begins.