Keeper Draft

[ExperiencedRookie]

Hey guys. This year I will be joining my 1st true dynasty keeper league.

Im looking for input and thoughts on mastering the draft for a keeper league.

Anyone who has a good story about their initial league draft, or thoughts and tips on how to build a team for the present and the future... please share.

 

[Cooley Cadets]

This year I will be joining my 1st true dynasty keeper league.

Excuse me if I am just getting caught up in semantics but what is a dynasty keeper league?

I've played dynasty and keeper leagues but is there a hybrid I am not aware of?

 

[ExperiencedRookie]

Excuse me if I am just getting caught up in semantics but what is a dynasty keeper league?

I've played dynasty and keeper leagues but is there a hybrid I am not aware of?

It's a keeper league with a salary cap. All players are kept from year to year.

 

[RUBBER DUCKIE]

The most important thing to remember in leagues with IDP's is don't reach for the IDP's

You should have your starting RB's, starting WR's, and starting QB before you start to take Def players. I typically have my starting O plus reserve RB and reserve WR before I take D. If everyone else is correctly drafting O, you can snag a top DL like Mario Williams in the 6th or 7th which will help your team long term. You will set your team back for years to come by not still focusing on the offensive side of the ball early, because the supply is much greater on the Def side. DL is the highest def priority, followed by LB, and then CB. Don't get caught up in other people taking the top IDP's early and get sucked into a run before it's time.... your team will be better by filling out the O. There are a ton of servicable LB's and CB's, but O talent is much more limited.

 

[ExperiencedRookie]

CALLING ALL OUTLAWZ.

I want to simulate a keeper draft in a mock draft.

I would love to get as many outlawz as possible together for a mock draft on Fantasy Football Calculator - Mock Draft 2009, Draft Software

We will be drafting under these guidelines :

It is PPR (.5)

All players are kept from year to year.

There is a salary cap. A player's salary is dependant on how big of a year they had last year. Rookie salaries are low.

The cap is high enough that no one should be able to go over it through the initial draft. It is also low enough that if anyone has a dominant year, they will surely go over the cap for the following year.

I want to simulate the draft so that I can look at the results and determine where I need to set my salary cap. Looking at a regular mock draft won't get me the results Im looking for.

It will also get me some nice practice and an idea where players might get picked in a keeper league.

Anyone interested in participating, please sign up here.

If there is enough interest right now today, we'll bust it out, otherwise we'll set a time.

 

[Sgt John]

ok

 

[ExperiencedRookie]

I'd love to do this draft this afternoon if I can get enough Outlaw participants.

Anyone who is going to be online in the next few hours and wouldn't mind helping me out..pretty pretty please leave a note here.

 

[ExperiencedRookie]

The most important thing to remember in leagues with IDP's is don't reach for the IDP's.

No IDPs in this league.

 

[ExperiencedRookie]

Anyone who plays in a keeper/dyansty with some good insight on manuevering the draft?

I'm curious just how much a player ranking changes when it's a keeper.

In typical re-draft format, older players like Randy Moss, TO, Peyton Manning, LT, Westy, ect ect all go in the 1st 3 rounds.

I can't see myself having any interest in spending a top 3 pick on a guy who is on his last leg.

So how far do you downgrade those guys?

Also, how far do you upgrade a rookie?

How far should a guy like Matt Ryan jump?

HELP

 

[WesDawg]

Try to get a good mix of young and old. I know that sounds simple, but here's my take.
I always ALWAYS want to put myself in a poistion to win the league EVERY year. Flags fly forever. Many times, when people are in your position (Dynasty/Keeper) they adopt the mindset that they will only target youngsters and rookies. The only time I allow that to alter my typical draft strategy is if I'm torn between two similarly ranked players.
I'll give you an example at each of the big-3 positions.

QB: Donovan McNabb (Redraft) vs. Jay Cutler (Dynasty)
-Although McNabb likely outperforms Cutler in 2009, I'd take Cutler first in your league because he's 7 years younger and I can still win with him this year.

RB: Clinton Portis (Redraft) vs. Steve Slaton (Dynasty)
-This is a pretty close call, at least for this season. Slaton's youth and Portis's mileage make me lean towards Slaton in a keeper format. Portis would probably be my choice in a redraft though.

WR: Randy Moss (Redraft) vs. Calvin Johnson (Dynasty)
-This is a no-brainer in your format. However, if given the choice, I'd take Moss to outscore Megatron this year with Brady coming back.

No idea if this helps with your question or not, but at least I tried. LOL

 

[Cooley Cadets]

Anyone who plays in a keeper/dyansty with some good insight on maneuvering the draft?

Good insight is in the eye of the beholder.

I'm curious just how much a player ranking changes when it's a keeper.

I tend to seek some balance. Draft to win now with an eye toward the future.

In typical re-draft format, older players like Randy Moss, TO, Peyton Manning, LT, Westy, ect ect all go in the 1st 3 rounds.

Expect them to do so in a dynasty format as well. If you do then you will want to eye some young talent to be ready to fill the void down the road.

I can't see myself having any interest in spending a top 3 pick on a guy who is on his last leg.

If top 3 means top 3 picks I agree with you. If 3 rounds I would disagree IF you are focusing only on age - if the talent is there I would not automatically rule out taking a productive veteran

So how far do you downgrade those guys?

Also, how far do you upgrade a rookie?

How far should a guy like Matt Ryan jump?

HELP

So how far do you downgrade those guys?

It depends on your assessment of each player. If you think it is their last season then they drop like a rock but if you think they have 2-3 more years at/near their prior production then not much at all.

Also, how far do you upgrade a rookie?

Depends on college production, situation, any indication their game will transfer over to the NFL, injury history... Again you want balance so your team does not suddenly become void of talent because all your veterans begin to retire/decline or have only unproven rookies and hoping they consistently perform.

How far should a guy like Matt Ryan jump?

He will be going pretty early once a run on QB's begin. Even if he does not have another year like his rookie season because the team comes back to earth he should still be productive for a long time and the p/u of Gonzo shows the organization is attempting to make that next step.

 

[Cooley Cadets]

Yaa - what Dawg said

 

[Miller]

couple things.....to help the confusion out a little, if you keep all or most of the rosters from year to year, this is called a dynasty league. Keeper leagues are leagues in which you keep a set number, usually a low %, of players. Typical numbers are between 2-5 players.

Now on to the task at hand. My strategy for dynasty leagues is let someone else go nuts over youth and I will draft a team that can win, and win soon. Not to mean I ignore age, but I don't discount it as much as some do. As a general rule of thumb I deal in 3 year blocks for dynasty's. If I feel the player has at least 3 years are close to their current values I do not discount them much. If I feel they are in their last couple years then yeah, they go down a bit. For example, TO is a player that I would stay away from in a new dynasty unless the value jumps off the page at you. I just see him in his last couple years and a decline is coming at some point. Westbrook is another that I feel will start his decline in the next couple years so i would decrease his value some. Someone like Peyton Manning, I see him as a rock for my 3 year window, I'd have no issues with him on my team. A ton can change in 3 years, so try not to get too caught up in youth or you will be one of those dynasty owners who always seem to be building.....

Another key for me in a dynasty is to get an elite QB. Lock up a great QB and this is a spot you won't have to worry about for a while. In redrafts I am a wait on QB guy, but opposite in dynasty leagues due to the top QB's being pretty stable compared to other positions.

While I said to not key in on all youth, I do like to get a couple youthful building blocks in the draft to mix with my vets. Everything needs balance. Don't get too heavy either way.

This is useless right now, but something to keep in mind.....if things start to go south, don't be afraid to make drastic changes and rebuild. You will need to at some point, I prefer to dictate when this happens, but doing this I usually minimize the downtime, if there is much at all.

 

[Cooley Cadets]

so try not to get too caught up in youth or you will be one of those dynasty owners who always seem to be building.....

Spot on.

Everything needs balance.

How zen like.

 

[ExperiencedRookie]

I'll be using all this info to create a set of player rankings to use for the 2 dynasty leagues Im joining this year.

I'm really struggling with where to put guys like TO, Moss, LT, Westy..

Then I'm also struggling with how high to put guys like Cutler, Matt Ryan, Slaton, and rookies

 

[WesDawg]

Even in non-keepers, I'm avoiding T.O. like the plague this year, unless he falls into a ridiculously discounted slot.
If this is a league that you anticipate will remain intact for over 2 years, I would drop L.T. and Westbrook significantly. They're both at or above that magical "age 30" barrier for RB's and have alot of mileage. Westbrook hasn't exactly been very durable anyway.
I'm not personally as high on Ryan as alot of folks are. I think he profiles as a Hasselbeck type. Always will be in the top-10, but rarely ever a top-5 guy.

 

[deuce4321]

I think it all depends on what you want to accomplish in the drafts. If you are interested in winning it all now and worrying about the future later then you dont downgrade these guys too much. If you feel like you are getting good value on a player you have to pull the trigger.
Also you have to see what kind of format the "draft" will be in. Is their a salary cap? If it is all based on the numbers from last season is brady going to cost you less then an edwards type player? Or is an auction where everyone has a chance to get every player. Depending on this you will need to make a strategy on whom you wish to have on your team.

 

[ExperiencedRookie]

=
Also you have to see what kind of format the "draft" will be in. Is their a salary cap? If it is all based on the numbers from last season is brady going to cost you less then an edwards type player? Or is an auction where everyone has a chance to get every player. Depending on this you will need to make a strategy on whom you wish to have on your team.

It is a salary cap league. A players salary will be determined by taking his previous year fantasy points and mulitplying it by X dollars.

So yes, Tom Brady is ridiculously cheap, but will only remain that way for 1 year. Same goes for a player like Colston.

The draft will be serpentine. The cap will be set high enough to only effect the top 2-3 teams in the offseason, but low enough that it doesn't drastically hurt a top 3 team.