All fantasy football owners love draft day. For some it may be the best part of the season, but here's to hoping its not. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a first year rookie there are some simple rules to follow on draft day to ensure you don't make some stupid mistakes.
Rule #1 - Cheat sheet, Cheat sheet, Cheat sheet! It doesn't matter if you build your own or download one the day of your draft. A cheat sheet will only improve your odds of making a smarter decision, IT WILL NOT HURT YOU! I'm not talking about just a simple rankings list either. Take the time to tier the players in every position, use highlighters, and mark your sleepers.
Having an organized cheat sheet that you put time into will ward off that evil voice in your head that says, "go ahead, draft that rookie 3 rounds early". Stick to your cheat sheet, if you lose a guy you had your eye on then move on, that's why you devoted time to ranking and organizing in the first place.
Rule #2 - Every fantasy owner gets excited about their picks and theories, but don't feel this overwhelming need to talk to your buddy in your league about it. He may applaud your "catch", right after he steals it from you in your draft. Let your picks do the talking during the season, especially after your sleeper winds up being the 10th round pick of a lifetime.
Rule #3 - Avoid distractions!!! Facebook, your cell phone, hosting the draft at the buddies place with the hot roommate, all distractions. It may seem trivial, however you're gonna look stupid and piss your friends off when you attempt to draft a player who got drafted 8 picks ago. Distractions will also defeat the purpose of that valuable cheat sheet I brought up earlier. In the later rounds it is easy to be distracted because a lot of the big names are off the board, however these picks are more valuable than you think. Focus harder in the final rounds and make the picks purely based on fantasy value.
Rule #4 - NO ALCOHOL... OK, maybe just a little. Seriously though, if you are in any sort of big money league, then avoid drinking too much. It will make you do stupid things, like ignore your.... that's right, cheat sheet. You can even turn this rule into an advantage, if you have the money go ahead and buy a bottle of Jack and be sure to let your friends know its fair game. Everybody has a couple of friends who get wasted on draft night. Do them, and yourself, a favor; take their keys and feed them more booze!
Rule #5 - Relax and enjoy yourself. Fantasy football goes by quick and seems to take forever to arrive again.
Enjoy every minute of it. Good luck owners!
