Fantasy football league draft allows you to step into a Premier League manager’s shoes by selecting a squad for your FPL Fantasy Draft. It can be frustrating when one of your players claims a remarkable haul, but he is in most of your mini-rivals’ squads also.
Luckily, the Fantasy Premier League Draft allows you to demonstrate your managerial skills by taking sole ownership of players. Therefore, only one manager in a mini-league can select Mohamed Salah, and only one can have Harry Kane. Additionally, owning a decent goalie is more prized.
How FPL Draft Works
The FPL Drafts run along with Fantasy Premier League and implements the same scoring system. Furthermore, Fantasy managers pick a 15-man squad, but there are no player prices or budgets.
It lets managers build their squads of big hitters they wouldn’t have afforded in FPL as long as they get in ahead of their FPL Draft rival. As a manager, you have up to 120 seconds to select a player, depending on the timing the league admin has set.
The order of picks is determined randomly at first. After that, it will snake from round to round, reversing the selection order each time. You can create a private Draft league of up to 16 managers and host a football draft where you invite friends to get involved. Alternatively, you can join a private league set up using the league code.
Managers can also join a public league having four, six, or eight managers. The league admin sets the date of the draft. On the other hand, drafts in public leagues take place within 30 minutes of the first team joining.
The Mock Draft
However, before you get into FPL Draft, you have a chance to participate in a mock draft. The mock draft allows you to experience the draft process before going for the real one. This gives you a better idea of the players the other managers prefer.
Have a Watchlist
Having a watchlist of targets is sensible to avoid wasting precious time when making your selections. The list is used to select players automatically if you are not available to pick. Since a player can only belong to one manager, start with the players you deem as your core starters.
Even though FPL Draft does not have captains, your top priority should be big-hitting attackers. For example, most managers will snap up players like Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, and Mohamed Salah. Therefore, ensure you have reliable alternatives.
In this regard, you need an eye for breakthrough players that can make a difference. A typical example is Jarrod Bowen, who improved from 141 points in the 2020/21 season to 206 points. On the other hand, Ivan Toney contributed 139 points for Brentford in their promotion season. Therefore, you can also spot talent from newly promoted teams.
Finding balance at both ends of the pitch is also critical. This is an essential tip in eight-team leagues where competition for players is tougher and attacking players deplete quickly.
Consider Trade-Offs
Suppose your draft doesn’t turn out as expected, don’t despair! Managers can change their squad before and during the season. Use waiver requests to sign free agents or trade players with your rivals.
You can make trade offers each Gameweek until the waiver deadline. The trade-off involves offering to trade one of your midfielders for two attackers. However, you must be realistic as you could have difficulty swapping Ross Barley and Bryan Mbeumo for Gabriel Jesus and Harry Kane!
