How early should I hold a live ffb draft?

Question

How early should I hold a live ffb draft?

Answer 1

Mid-August, in the 15-20 range. You can see a couple preseason games and most top players dont play after that, so you wont have 1st rounders going down in the preseason. But it still gives the owners time to trade and improve their teams.

Answer 2

Yeah Mid-August at least 1.5 weeks before 1st kickoff if you want a legit league and encourage some movement before the season starts...

Answer 3

now

Answer 4

Hold the draft when the most managers can attend. Nothing else matters.

Answer 5

There's no *right* answer to this question.

Here are some of the pros and cons to holding your draft in July or mid-August.

July Pros

1. There's simply more time to schedule the draft. Not surpisingly, it is difficult to get 8, 10 or 12 managers to agree on a time/date/place in late August. Also, you have enough time to reschedule should the online draft freeze up (trust me, it has happened more than I want to think about.)

2. July is better for beginners. Newsstands have fantasy football guides and early drafts tend to favor known players.

July Cons

1.  A lot of roster changes occur during the pre-season games and injuries *happen.*. A July draft makes the waiver wire more crucial to your success.

2. Some managers get wandering eyes. Oh, yeah, they said they liked your league and they promised to stay active all season long. But now comes along a hot, little league that catches their attention and -- BAM! -- the manager drops out. If you are the League Manager, be ready with a replacement who is willing to pick up a team he/she didn't draft.

August Pros

1. Finding managers is like fishing in a bucket. There's quantity out there, just make sure you select quality, too.

2. There are more resources available to your experienced managers and they likely won't want to draft before a couple preseason games are finished.

August Cons

1. See August Pros; quantity of managers doesn't mean quality. Most seasoned fantasy football players have already punched their dance card by mid-August.

2. The online draft web sites are under the heaviest usage during this time. Be ready for bugs, frozen sessions and lots and lots of frustration. I won't name any site specifically because they have all stubbed their toes before.

Answer 6

We usually have ours after the second or third preseason game, depending on availability.

You want as much information as you can get.

On the other hand, if you feel like you are well informed and the others aren't following football much, you will probably have a bit of an edge if you do it before games are televised and people start hearing more about players.

Answer 7

Probably after the first few preseason games.