Fantasy Corner: trading draft picks

It is an art form.  Or at least it can be.  Trading draft picks in fantasy football drafts can be hard, they are next to impossible in the live 90 second per pick drafts.  Still, if you are participating in a draft this year that does not have a 90 second window, then this could serve you well.

Last year I completed a 16 round draft in round 7.  That’s right, round 7.  It took a lot of wheeling and dealing and some rather shrewd maneuvering, but it got done.  For the record, I finished 2nd to last, further proving that you can have all the draft picks in the world, but if you don’t use them wisely, you are not going to win a thing.

So how do you do it?  For starters there are 2 important keys to remember.

1:  Know that at anytime you could get stuck with what you have.  You must have a plan, however the overall plan must be broken down into pieces that can stand alone.  Working towards one goal could hurt you.  Break it up into parts and work on those parts one at a time.  Realize that you could get into a spot you can’t get out of.  Work no more than two or three steps ahead at any one time.

2:   Take what you can get, and not what you think it is worth.  Others in the league may think you are playing unfair, but in reality, you help yourself first.  There is “unfair” play, and “unbalancing” play.  The latter is a no-no.  There should always be someone who will back your moves and approve them as well as keep them in check.  There is nothing wrong with taking advantage of someone who doesn’t know as much.  It’s fantasy football, they will learn…eventually.

Last year I drafted in the 9th spot in a 12 team league.  I traded my entire draft to the guy with the 12th spot for his entire draft.  It worked out because he did not want to sit in the 12th and 13th positions.  We used the “snake” format.

Many team owners will go off of the actual NFL draft value chart.  Let them.  It can only help you in most situations.  For example.  I traded my 12th and 13th overall and a late pick for the number 2 spot in the draft.  It was a pretty expensive move.  The team I traded with used the value chart.  When I finally made my first round pick, I was sitting in the 12th spot again.

I do not recall the actual moves that were made from this point forward, as there were a lot of them in the first round alone.  So forgive me if you were actually in my league and my numbers are slightly off.

I was sitting with the 2nd overall pick, missing my own 2nd rounder and a late round pick as well.  The next move was to complete the 2nd part of my plan, and that was to move back to the 12th spot.  I traded the 2nd overall and a 3rd for the number 5 spot,  a 2nd and a 7th.  I then traded that 5 spot and an 8th rounder for the 8th spot and a 5th and a 7th.  Then traded that 8th spot to the 12th spot for a swap of 2nds.

I had given up a 1st, 2nd, and  a late rounder to get up to 2.  I started at 12.  By the time I picked in round 1, I picked at the number 12 spot I was originally slotted in, and gained back a 2nd, gained a 5th and 2 7th rounders.  I lost a 3rd.  In a 16 round draft, I was short 2 picks after round 7, but gained a total of 2 picks in the first 7 rounds.  I still had no 3rd.

I then traded my 2nd rounder and moved down half way gaining a 4th and a 7th, giving up the 13th overall and a 10th.  I moved down again and gained a 6th rounder.  So by moving down from the 13th spot to the 2nd to last spot in the 2nd round, i added another 3 picks in the first 7 bringing my total to 5 extra picks in addition to my own.  I now had 12 picks in the first 7 rounds.

I got stuck here as the guy I was targeting was off the board by round 4.  I was unable to recoup the 3rd rounder I had lost in the first round trades.  Seeing that my guy was gone in round 4, I swapped a 4th and picked up an extra 7th.  I then traded away my 13th, 12th and 14th for another 7th rounder giving me a total of around 5 in round 7.  I traded 2 of those to move into the 6th round.

In the end, I had 2 4th rounders, 3 5th rounders, 2 6th rounders, and 7 7th rounders after swapping positions in a few rounds and using up the last of my “after 7” picks.  With the round 1 and 2 picks, my total was 16.  I was done and then sat back and watched.

The trick is to let the person know you are making them a good deal.  You gave up something to move up, if you have a top 3 pick, you benefit even more as you do not have to trade up to get that spot.

Lets say you have the 3rd overall.  Trade down as few spots as possible at a time.  Offer it to the guy sitting at number 4 for a 3rd round pick.  If he won’t bite move it down a round until you get to the round your willing to go down to.  In my case it was a 7th.  If he still refuses, move onto the number 5 slot and so on.  Just remember that you really don’t want to move down to far or you will never pick up the value.  Meaning you don’t want to offer the 3rd overall for the 12th and a 7th.  The 7th rounder won’t compensate you for the value you lost, however, if you feel comfortable dropping down that far and still think you can achieve your goal then do it, but normally at that point, making the pick and trading later could help more.

Never hold up a draft to make a trade.  Work trades as soon as you know the draft slotting.  If you are one of those who will hold up a draft then you will not find many trade partners.  Be prepared so that when your pick is up or on deck that you can try and make a quick move.  More teams will listen when they know your not desperate.

I always target 2 to 3 spots below if I can, most team owners will take a trade to move up when they think they are getting a steal.  So let them look at the NFL value chart and realize that according to those numbers you are taking a beating.  They will normally jump on it.  In my case, I just kept going until I hit 12.  Then I made my pick.  The only thing you do not want to do, is set yourself up with either no pick in round 1 or no pick in the top 14.  If you give up your first, make sure you have at least a high 2nd rounder.  Otherwise it will not really matter how soon you get your draft done.

Something else to consider also is that when you are in say, round 7, you have to draft a kicker and a defense whether you want to or not, and if you are looking for solid backups, sometimes you are drafting 2 of those.  It is really hard to force yourself to draft those positions that early when there are very solid players still on the board.  So keep that in mind.

My biggest risk last year was that I traded away every pick after round 7 before I actually had 16 picks prior to round 8.  I could have gotten stuck, and had that happened I would have been picking up leftovers after the draft.  So be aware of everything.

Never be afraid to gauge interest from another party as well.  Don’t play them against each other or you are liable to be sitting out in the cold.  Last year I had deals in place that were contingent on other deals getting done.  Before I traded up to the 2nd overall pick, I already had a deal in place to move down to the 5 spot and in fact, move from there to the 8 or 9 spot as well.  Sure, they could have moved up themselves, but consider that a normal jump from 5 to 3 could cost you as high as a 2nd or 3rd rounder, you just told them you would do it for a 5th.  Who would you want to trade with?  My point exactly.

Trading can be fun, and it can be difficult as well.  It all depends on what you want to do and what you think you can do.  When I can, I go for it.  When I can’t I move on to someone else.  Eventually, there is someone there to make a move.  Just don’t get caught looking one way and not paying attention to your plan, you could end up being finished in round 7, but without the picks.