Do people not like to prepare before the draft anymore?

[Raj & Manjot]

So I've noticed this problem last year and MORE so this year...but people are signing up last minute to leagues instead of reserving spots ahead of schedule. By reserving spots ahead of schedule...once the league is full, you can fill out your KDS (Kentucky Derby Style Draft preference), know EXACTLY where you are picking days before you actually draft. I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel this is great because it allows you to prep before you draft. But for some reason, I see people don't really care for this option much this year. I want to know what others think? When my brother and I joined this website 4 years ago, this was one of the biggest perks we liked. By knowing you are picking 12th or 3rd days before the actual draft...you get to prepare a little and not panic when it comes to the actual draft.

Now, I know what some of you are going to say...."YOU CAN'T PREPARE FOR THE DRAFT....you can't predict what happens...you have to go with the flow". But I disagree...Is there anyone else out there that feels as I do?

[FantasyJC]

I think the 3RR makes it kind of hard to mock draft. Just the change in the location of each round you pick means it is not an exact mock.

I agree that even with a lot of prepwork, you have to go with the flow. See what players are available because you will likely only get to pick from a small group of players within a position that you want in a given round.

From my experience, it takes a lot of time if you want to try to draft optimally. You have to have a good strategy, fallback options on TE/QB and have to have a pretty good rank list so you don't draft a player you clearly do not like as much during the draft. I can see why people might opt for the standard guidebook or paid service, rank list.

[The Franchise]

There is no mock draft site out there that is going to remotely resemble how a High Stakes Online draft is going to play out. My opinion is it's a waste of time to mock draft. the best prep you could do is to join a $125 satellite league, Draft and then review the board while all the while keeping in mind that the next draft will not look exactly like the one before. I do not believe in coming up with a game plan for your draft by knowing your pick way ahead of time will help you. Actually I believe it hinders you.

I think the best way to go about it in preparing for a draft is to play out "scenarios" by reviewing actual real draft boards. What if this guy goes here? What if there is a run at X position, what would that look like? What would my team look like if I go this way and punt X position?

Once you have played those scenarios over and over again, you will notice that you will be much better prepared for a draft even if you get your draft slot an hour before. I go over all these prep methods with "Pro subscribers" on my site ScoutPRO.com.

If you decide your interested and want to give it a try you can use "NFFC" code for a discount.

[Don Draper]

Now what happens when GG opens up a can of whoop ass in the throwndown league and dominates NFFC HOFers and "industry" pros without even studying?

[Jim Wiseheart]

I definitely like to know my spot in advance, a day or two anyway. To me there is value in analyzing the first 3 or 4 rounds. After that, things will probably skew too much from ADP anyway to be worth the effort. I like to run my numbers and see which starting scenarios give me the best projected results. It also helps me to know at what point I might consider taking Gronk or Luck in the early rounds as an example.

[BillyWaz]

Now what happens when GG opens up a can of whoop ass in the throwndown league and dominates NFFC HOFers and "industry" pros without even studying?

I gotta believe the alarm clock goes off, and you wake up from your dream.

And no one buys you aren't studying. You probably haven't seen your family in a month due to locking yourself in the room and studying.

[Cocktails and Dreams]

If we are using KDS, then it should be as close to the draft as possible IMO. I believe an automated KDS run exactly 24 hours before the draft would be a perfect solution. People have a full day to play out scenarios they may face if they need to. Also, everyone would know exactly when the KDS is. Wouldn't be all of this confusion of looking to message boards to see what is due when. It also keeps things on a level playing field for all leagues drafting on the same day. Sometimes leagues fill later than the KDS deadline for other drafts that day. Should be consistent IMO and the 24 hour rule solves that problem beautifully. The only exception needed is the Friday drafts after the Thursday game. They should be ran an hour or so after the game. We should never ever have to set KDS before an actual game is played IMO.

KDS is a great thing if it is implemented properly. Awful if it is not. And most leagues here it is teetering on the brink of awful, having to do it so far in advance, when one little thing can change where you want to pick from so drastically. Why are we setting KDS today when key preseason games are being played this weekend for some events this week? Because people need that extra time to prepare? Really? Or is it that in the new world we live in with short attention spans etc, that people just want to know because they are curious? I love the argument that you need the extra time to prep for the draft. Well, you have to prep from all 12 spots to know where in the hell to set your kds anyway, so we should be doing it with the most complete information possible.

[FantasyJC]

You don't need to actually mock draft from every spot to know where you want to set your KDS. Any given draft is dynamic and no one knows if certain players will drop or be available. You can draft well from any spot if you get a bit of luck, meaning there are good values available in certain rounds.

[Cocktails and Dreams]

You don't need to actually mock draft from every spot to know where you want to set your KDS. Any given draft is dynamic and no one knows if certain players will drop or be available. You can draft well from any spot if you get a bit of luck, meaning there are good values available in certain rounds.

Who said anything about mocking from every spot? I have never done a mock draft in my life. I said prepare for each spot to know where you want to draft from. Everyone has different ways of preparing themselves to set KDS. But if you are going to set it correctly for your style of drafting, then you certainly do need to prep from all draft spots. How else will you know if you are setting it in the most comfortable fashion? Therefore people shouldn't need more than 24 hours to finalize their plans IMO, as the prep should be already done.

[BillyWaz]

You don't need to actually mock draft from every spot to know where you want to set your KDS. Any given draft is dynamic and no one knows if certain players will drop or be available. You can draft well from any spot if you get a bit of luck, meaning there are good values available in certain rounds.

Who said anything about mocking from every spot? I have never done a mock draft in my life. I said prepare for each spot to know where you want to draft from. Everyone has different ways of preparing themselves to set KDS. But if you are going to set it correctly for your style of drafting, then you certainly do need to prep from all draft spots. How else will you know if you are setting it in the most comfortable fashion? Therefore people shouldn't need more than 24 hours to finalize their plans IMO, as the prep should be already done.

I agree. I have been saying for years that at the live drafts, they should draw cards, ping pong balls, etc. at the table 5 minutes before the draft and people choose draft positions. I have been playing in the NFFC since it's inception, and no matter how hard I try and map out the draft, it NEVER turns out "chalk" like I thought through the first 2-3 rounds (sometimes not even the 1st round!). Know basic values in all parts of the draft, know what you prefer, have a plan.....but be ready to change on the fly.