How to Pre-Rank Players for an Automated Fantasy Football Draft

The draft is the first part of a fantasy football season. There are different types of drafts used by fantasy commissioners. One type is an automated draft. During these, the computer chooses the rosters for each team in the league. The process isn't entirely random. Owners have the choice of ranking players before the draft begins. This way, if the ranked player is still on the board when the team's selection comes, the computer will draft the player to that particular team.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Learn how scoring works in the fantasy football league. This will let you know how many players at each position you should pre-rank. For example, if you can determine that running backs will score the most points for your team each week, you should pre-rank more running backs than any other position. To find this information, click on the Scoring and Settings link on the home page of the league on the Website. From there, you will be able to read more information about the scoring system used by the league commissioner.

2. Add all of the the highest rated players at every position to your pre-ranked list. Every online fantasy football league lists players from best to worst at each offensive position. There is no limit to the number of players you can pre-rank before the draft. Take advantage of that fact.

3. Remember that you won't actually get all of the players you pre-rank. You should have a contingency plan for all of your “first choices” in the fantasy football draft. For example, if you really want Peyton Manning on your team, you should still pre-rank other good quarterbacks. Doing so will keep your team from suffering in the event that Manning is selected by another team.

4. Read fantasy football magazines and watch fantasy football previews to find “sleeper” picks. Sleeper picks are mostly backups and rookies who are unproven in the world of fantasy football. When pre-ranking these players, place them near the bottom of your list. Hopefully, nobody else will rank these players, and you'll be able to steal them with a later pick in the draft.

5. Double check your rankings against the master list. After a second look, be confident about your picks and enjoy the game.

Tips & Warnings

• A good rule of thumb is to pre-rank double the amount of players that your actual roster will hold. In other words, if your team will get 25 players in an automated draft, you should pre-rank 50 NFL players. This gives you backup options when some of your choices are taken by other owners.
• Don't hesitate to pick great players because you're afraid they will be gone before you get the chance to pick them.

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