Draft Plotting: A Pre-Draft Strategy

The game is called Draft Premier League. The major difference between this game and the salary cap game offered by the league itself is, well... THE DRAFT. So, it's in your best interest to prepare yourself for the draft as best you can. Read on to hear more about a strategy that I use to visualize the draft and set myself up for success. And to get access to all of our articles, rankings, projections, and so much more, check out our 24/25 Draft Kit and our Pricing Plans.

Draft Plotting

Below, I'll present one way that I prepare for drafts, which can help immensely if utilized correctly in your preparation. It's called "Draft Plotting," and involves envisioning each pick you make as a potential route to be taken. And, just like when you're on a trip, each new route presents an important question: where to next?

It's called "Draft Plotting," and involves envisioning each pick you make as a potential route to be taken.

So, let's start from pick 1. If, for example you take a FWD at pick 1, you can then use ADP (or average draft position) to more or less figure out who will be picked in the round following your first pick. So, in a way, you're holding your own mock draft in your head. Plot out who you think will go off the board after you make your first pick.

By the time that your next pick rolls around, using ADP, you should have a pretty good idea of which players are still available. Take a look at the FWDs, MIDs, and DEFs still available at this point. Are there any elite players left? If so, consider them for your second pick. But most importantly, take a look at the landscape of players still available. Are there getting to be fewer FWDs left? Then your first pick was likely wise. Are there only tier 2 MIDs left? Then, you may want to rethink your first pick and instead take a MID. This becomes even more important once you're two to three picks in. When do positions start to thin out? When do player tiers drop off? These are important considerations.

Use this method as you progress, plotting each pick and then pausing to assess the level of player still available for your next pick. Do you have any regrets? Go back and change your previous pick. Take a different route. Then, see if you're happier with the available players for your next pick now that your positional needs have changed. Basically, you're finding the sweet spot, figuring out when to take certain players and certain positions. If you're not satisfied with the look of your team, rewind a round or two and repick. Then, reassess.

Do you have any regrets? Go back and change your previous pick. Take a different route.

There are a few things to keep in mind, however. First of all, you need to have some sort of expected draft picks or average draft position in order for this to work properly. You can't simply use your ranks (or ours, for that matter), because your valuation of players will not dictate the draft order. However, ADP is a much closer indication of where players will be taken.

Also, after the first five-ish rounds, this strategy falls off a bit, as ADP starts to vary greatly the further along in the draft you go. Use this method to tweak and plan the first handful of rounds and set yourself up for success in the later rounds. That way, you can look for value, take some gambles on some lottery ticket players, and flesh out your team to create a good balance.

I would love to hear how Draft Plotting works for the Fantasy EPL Community. Please do let me know how your preparations go. And, as always, if you have any questions, comment below or find me or The Draft Society on Twitter.

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