Choose Wisely, You Must

After completing the 2013 Draft Day Spreadsheet (I keep it under the Spreadsheets tab - it's free to download), I can now respond to Kerry's second question in her recent comments: "Do you have any recommendations for comparing or combining rankings from different sources?"

As a matter of fact (OK opinion), I do.

I pull rankings from five different web sites: NFL, CBS Fantasy Sports, ESPN Fantasy Sports, FantasyPros and Sporting News. Then I average the five sources and rank my players based on that average. These are standard rankings, meaning they are not based on Point Per Reception (PPR) performance. And they change all the time so I update the ranks from each source as close to my draft as possible.

Some sites offer Average Draft Position (ADP), but I don't put much stock in how the rest of the world drafts their players. There are a lot of different leagues, roster requirements, scoring schemes, draft strategies and enough insanity that says: I'm not down with ADP, hey you know me.

Fantasy Projections are nice but I don't how how accurate they are. We should get a report card on these projections mid season and again after the season to see how effect they really are in predictability. We should get the same from meteorologists, but that's another topic for another day.

In my draft spreadsheets, I include several things:

• Last year's stats for each player as reference, knowing full well they may not perform like that again.
• The bye week for each player because it's crucial when building your roster (having a backup QB with the same bye week doesn't help you).
• The player's age. It can help when deciding between similarly ranked players.
• The current Depth Charts - it's quick reference to see which teams have formed a Running Back committee (just like work, committees should be avoided), who the quarterback is this year (I want to know who's throwing to this "awesome" receiver or tight end), and who are the true starters. This also changes during the preseason so later drafts benefit from more realistic information.
• A grid to track the draft for the entire league, if you're so inclined. I am so inclined.
• A grid to track the team as you choose, along with the bye weeks, and what spots are left to fill.

Before Draft Day, it's a good idea to color code players that are injured, suspended, or sleeper picks. You can add your own notes to the side.

When we're actually drafting, I shade out the players that have been picked so I can see who's available as we pick.

I'm a spreadsheet guy, so this tool helps me tremendously for all my drafts. I simply make copies for each league. Then I adjust each according to the number of teams, roster spots, bench spots and the draft order itself.

When I'm all done the draft, I use the FF 2013 Roster Management spreadsheet (also under the Spreadsheets tab and free) to manage my roster each week, track player progress, track upcoming bye week substitution needs, and prospective players available on the wire.

Thanks for the great questions, Kerry! Hopefully, this information, and my obsession with spreadsheets, is helpful.

Good luck!
~Mike