Trading draft order picks can be an interesting conundrum for many fantasy football players. This short article outlines what it means to trade picks, why people do it, and when it makes sense for them to do it. Of course, this only applies to the traditional snake format.
Receiving your fantasy football draft pick is an exciting time, and sometimes a scary one as well. Typically, the league commissioner will arrange for these picks to be determined prior to draft day so teams can fully prepare for their early rounds. Even if you get your pick a few minutes before the draft starts, a question will arise; Should I try to change my selection??
For those new to fantasy football, the draft pick is your position in the draft order. The order starts at 1 and each team takes turns choosing their first player according to the draft order. When the last person in the order chooses their player, they choose again. The order then flows back to the player who picked first overall. This process is repeated. This is known as the classic snake eraser format. To provide clarity, our next example is a 10-team league. The number 1 overall pick will pick 1, 20, 21, and so on.
The question remains, am I happy with this pick I received or do I want to try trading? This will all point to the wishes of your core team. How to interpret: do you have a position that you want to put more emphasis on than others, or do you want to have a more balanced team? In some leagues, RBs are emphasized on scoring setups, so he may want to focus on getting a strong group of running backs. In some leagues, the QB or WR is a very focused position. Before you hit draft day, start to understand the league’s scoring setup and come up with a game plan for what you want your primary team to look like.
strong in runners
This year it looks like the running back position is going to be highly coveted. This means that about 12 of the first 15 picks will be the projected top running backs. Of that group, there are about 4 or 5 who are considered elite players and players cannot be missing. If you want to insure one of those guys, you’ll need to have the 1-5 selections in the order. A second plan to gain advantage with runners will be to pick later in the order, such as 8-10. This will give you the ability to pick a solid (but not elite) runner in the first round, and on turn take another. This would give you a strong starting team in RB.
Strong at receiver
The first option this year could be to gain an elite wide receiver in the first round and a solid running back in the order pick. This would mean he’s off to a balanced start and could make a lot of sense in some leagues. This plan could happen if you had a mid or late first-round pick, like choose 7-10. If you want to be super charged at the WR position, it’s even possible to grab 2 of the elite receivers in your rounds 1 and 2. This will make your running back situation pretty shaky, but you’ll be WR-ready.
Strong at QB
This year it’s safe to say that most leagues will place less emphasis on the QB position. This is because there is a great pool of capable starting quarterbacks. If you’re determined to get a top 3 elite quarterback, plan to have them available from the beginning to the end of the second round. No matter which first-round pick you get, there’s a good chance that at least one of the best ones will be available in the second round.
All in all, it’s up to you to come prepared with your main strategy before the draft. If you’re set on a certain range of picks, definitely try swapping for the pick that will give you your desired team composition. Most of the time, it is easier to trade down than up. Below is a quick sim guide on what kind of team you might have based on your first round pick.
Selections 1-4
- Adrian Peterson (RB), Demarco Murray (RB), Percy Harvin (WR)
- Arian Foster (RB), Larry Fitzgerald (WR), David Wilson (RB)
- Jamaal Charles (RB), Darren Mcfadden (RB), Dwayne Bowe (WR)
Selections 5-7
- Ray Rice (RB), Matt Forte (RB), Percy Harvin (WR)
- LeSean McCoy (RB), Maurice Jones-Drew (RB), Reggie Wayne (WR)
- Calvin Johnson (WR), Maurice Jones-Drew (RB), Ryan Mathews (RB)
Selections 8-10
- Matt Forte (RB), LeSean McCoy (RB), Andre Johnson (WR)
- Trent Richardson (RB), Alfred Morris (RB), Dwayne Bowe (WR)
- AJ Green (WR), Julio Jones (WR), Demarco Murray (RB)