Get an Edge—Use Mock Drafts and ADP

There are many helpful tools when trying to build a championship
caliber fantasy football squad. None are more important than tools
that help you have a great draft. Having a high-quality draft is key
to your teams success. If you don’t have an efficient draft, it could
spell disaster before the season even starts. In this article we will
look at how using mock drafts and ADP will give you a definite
advantage over your competition. Taking part in mock drafts and using
ADP effectively can maximize your draft and lead to a winning season.
Every serious fantasy football fanatic should be using mock drafts and
ADP in their arsenal of tools.

Tell me this, if you only did something one time a year, would you be
good at it? That answer is most likely—NO! If that’s the case then
why would you think you can do one draft, once a year, and end up with
good results? You shouldn’t, yet people do it all the time. Don’t make
this mistake, be active in mock drafts. Try to be a part of as many as
you can. At a minimum, I would suggest at least one mock draft a week,
for around a month leading up to your draft.

Participating in mock drafts is essential to fantasy football success.
They help you get a feel for when certain players are being drafted.
Mock drafts help you prepare for your live draft. Being active in mock
drafts can make your real team an instant contender. Most people make
the mistake of not competing in enough mock drafts. The only draft
they take part in, is their league’s actual draft. Practice makes
perfect, so get out there and join some mock drafts. Do things you
wouldn’t normally do. Try waiting until Round 8-10 to get a QB, see
who’s still available. Try taking WR’s with your first three picks. Take a
TE earlier than you normally would. Part of the fun of mock drafts is
bucking conventional wisdom and seeing where it lands you. In a mock
draft nothing is out of bounds, try anything, just make sure you’re
taking them seriously. If you don’t engage in mock drafts, you’ll be
sorry you didn’t.

Maybe even more important than mock drafts is ADP. ADP stands for
Average Draft Position. The ADP of a player is the average position
that player is being picked in fantasy drafts. You should definitely
study ADP when leading up to your draft. I use ADP to set up my draft
strategy. It can be an incredibly beneficial tool to your draft's
success (or failure, if you don’t use it).

Using ADP helps you know what players to target and when. For example: If I’m in a 12 team, 15 round league and I get the fifth draft spot, I
know my picks are five, 20, 29, 44, 53, 68, 77, 92, 101, 116, 125, 140,
149, 164, 173. I can then look at my ADP list and see who might be
available around those picks. What I do next is begin to put players
into “buckets;” this is where I look at five players before my pick and five
players after. That gives me a “bucket” of players that might be
available at that spot in the draft. If I have pick 92, then I’m going
to look at who’s going from 87-97. That gives me a “bucket” of 11
players that I can feel confident about targeting with the 92 draft
spot. Imagine going into a draft already knowing who’s most likely
available when it’s your pick. That’s a big time edge.

ADP can also help with not taking a player too high, or expecting them
to be available too late. If you’re high on Darren McFadden and you
see his ADP is 85, then, in this scenario, you might want to consider
taking him with the 77th pick, or you could gamble that he’ll be
around at the 92nd pick. The thing I like about ADP is you’re able
look objectively and say “alright, if I don’t take McFadden at 77,
Reggie Bush’s ADP is 92, I could hold off on McFadden and try to take
Reggie at 92.” It doesn’t always work out exactly like you want it to,
but at least you’ll have a plan in place. Using ADP gives you an idea
of when players are going and who you can reasonably expect to be
available for your picks. If you’re serious about fantasy football you
should be using ADP.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t follow your gut. If you’re
really high on a player, you should bump him up your draft board. For
instance, if you really like LeSean McCoy and his ADP is currently 37,
there is nothing wrong with moving him up your board and taking him
before his ADP. Use ADP as an outline for your draft, but by all
means, if you have strong gut feeling about a player—GO WITH IT.
Don’t draft solely on ADP, but make sure it’s an important part of
your pre -draft research.

When you’re preparing for your draft, do your due diligence. You’ll
only get out what you put in. Participate in as many mock drafts as
possible. This will help you stay cool under pressure and avoid the
dreaded “Panic Pick.” Use ADP to help you target players at your
picks. ADP can help you get a solid draft strategy together. Use these
valuable tools to have a great draft and make your team a challenger.
If you use these tools leading up to your draft, they WILL help.
Knowing that you’ve done everything you can prior to draft day is key.
You’ll feel confident going into the draft knowing that you’re
equipped for domination.

Article written by:  Rick Coeburn
E-mail questions or comments to: [e-mail]
Visit his website at: www .fantasyfootballsoup.com
Follow his blog at: http ://fantasyfootballsoup.wordpress .com/

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