I’m sure many of you out there have thought about NFL Fantasy Football at some point. Maybe you’re a fan of the real game or maybe you just enjoy the thrill of the competition and want to be involved in some way. Regardless, I’m sure it’s crossed your mind. I’ve even gone through the process of starting a league and creating the initial draft order. But can you alter the order afterwards?
The answer, as you probably know, is no. The draft order is set when the league is formed and can’t be changed. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. I mean, there’s a certain element of luck that is just a part of the game. After all, some people stand to gain some big advantages if they happen to be drawing first or second, but it can be pretty tricky to predict what picks would be the best. Sure, it may be worth it to trade up or down the order so you can get a particular player, but it can be costly, let’s not forget.
But, I will tell you that it is possible, to an extent, to manipulate the draft order. As the commissioner of your league, you can enact trades on draft day – swapping players, picks and other goodies from one team to another in an effort to improve each team’s draft order. Sure, it’s not the same as simply changing the draft order, but it is possible to get the same effect, if you’re clever about it.
Speaking of being clever, you can also use the draft order to your advantage by selectively engaging in pre-draft trading. If you think a certain team is going to trade up in the draft order, you can go ahead and give them an offer they can’t refuse – a pick, a player, or even a combination of both – in exchange for their draft pick. This could be especially helpful if you know a player you want is unlikely to be available when you’re up to pick.
You might also want to consider changing the format of your draft so that you don’t have to worry about the order so much. For instance, in a Serpentine draft, teams pick alternately, so the teams at the top won’t always have an advantage. While this won’t actually change the draft order, it does make it so that everyone has a more equal chance of doing well.
Finally, if you want to create the fairest system for your league, you might want to look into the concept of a lottery. This is where teams purchase or earn tickets for the draft lottery, and the team that wins the lottery gets the coveted first pick. Sure, it might put a damper on pre-draft trading, but it would be a more equitable way of deciding the draft order.
After thinking about all these options, I’m convinced that there’s no *need* to be able to change the draft order if you approach the draft with a bit of creativity. With some strategic trading and creative thinking you can tweak the draft order into something closer to your preference without having it set in stone.
So, for example, if you’ve just learned that the team picking 5th is going to enter the draft with a load of veterans, you can look to trade them higher in the draft order for something they want. Or, if you have a team that is selecting late but you know they still have a great chance of success, you could give them a wager that if they end up winning the league, you will observe the lottery system for the following year.
In a nutshell, the draft order doesn’t have to be a one-size-fits-all proposition. Using a combination of pre-draft trading, lottery systems, serpentine drafts, and even post-draft trading, you can make your league as fair as possible. And if there doesn’t seem to be a solution that fits your particular league setup, then you might have to get creative and make something that works!