Greg Ambrosius wrote:Possible Rules Changes In 2018:
1. FAAB Before Week 1:
Having FAAB prior to the season starting would certainly help in the injury department, but it'd also let people clear their rosters of bad picks too, which seems a bit like a "mulligan" for poor drafts (mine included
).
Isn't part of the strategy trying to land players before their ADPs settle in? Would this possibly reduce the volume of early draft season leagues people enter?
Maybe consider only allowing preseason FAAB to replace I/R players and not just upgrade half your roster?
Greg Ambrosius wrote:2. Team Kicker for NFFC Draft Champions Leagues?:
Like some others have said, I'd prefer
no kickers. But if that's not on the table, then team kickers for DCs would help.
I remember in 2011 in my Sandman DC having to play the whole season with
no kickers, after I drafted the top two kickers that year (by NFFC ADP): Saints kicker Garrett Hartley and Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding - neither of whom made it to opening day.
So though Mark suggested:
Reward those that take the time to actually research the position and invest earlier draft picks in them. I sure didn't get rewarded for that strategy.
Actual 2017 Finish vs. ADP:
Finish ADP Player Pts
1 21 Zuerlein, Greg (LAR) 193.1
2 2 Gostkowski, Stephen (NE) 175
3 25 Gould, Robbie (SF) 172.3
4 14 Boswell, Chris (PIT) 164.9
5 1 Tucker, Justin (BAL) 163.6
6 - Butker, Harrison (KC) 161.4
7 8 Lutz, Wil (NO) 160.1
8 17 Succop, Ryan (TEN) 156.3
9 3 Bryant, Matt (ATL) 154.2
10 22 Forbath, Kai (MIN) 154.2
11 6 Prater, Matt (DET) 151.1
12 30 Elliott, Jake (PHI) 147
That's quite a few low-drafted kickers atop and throughout this list - for a position that's almost entirely drafted in the last round or two of leagues.
Greg Ambrosius wrote:3. Less Than 35 Rounds For Draft Champions Leagues:
I'm fine with reducing to 30 rounds.
While I largely agree that not many useful players come from these rounds, we do see a lot of people backup their QBs here (often if they didn't take a starting QB3). But I suppose we'd just draft them sooner if only 30 rounds, as they're kinda like insurance - you buy it hoping to never have to use it, but you still buy it.
For some context, here are a half dozen DCs I was in this year and the short list of useful players drafted in the last 60 picks:
DC1: QB Hundley, WR Agholor
DC2: RB Morris, RB Cohen, WR Gordon, WR Ellington, QB Hundley
DC3: QB Hundley, K Elliott
DC4: WR Ellington, K Butker, WR Gordon, QB Brissett, QB Hundley
BillyWaz DC: RB Barber, RB RSmith, QB Hundley
Sandman DC: QB Hundley, TE Kroft, RB RSmith
Greg Ambrosius wrote:4. Change 8 Hour Draft Champions to 4 Hours:
As long as it goes to sleep overnight, I'm fine with 4 hours too.
Greg Ambrosius wrote:5. NFFC Cutline Championship:
The NFFC Cutline Championship would remain a 10-team, 26-round draft. We'd use it as an optimal scoring setup for the first 9 weeks of the regular-season and still have only 3 FAAB periods on a Friday of those weeks.
I love this idea! With only 10 teams per league and deeper rosters, our benches are much stronger than 12-team leagues, making start/sit decisions much more difficult. Using optimal scoring would, IMO, remove some of the bad luck of starting the "right" players, but watching them crap the bed too many weeks. And it would reward well-constructed rosters a bit more.