The Re-Draft Roundtables Series
The Footballguys staff looks at various strategies to help you in redraft leagues.
Participating in a redraft league is a process that starts with the draft and hopefully ends with a championship. The Footballguys staff has answered several questions about various strategies to help you achieve your championship dreams. From the beginning to the end and everything in between, we've got you covered to give you the tools and knowledge needed to dominate your redraft league.
What is your preferred type of league and scoring format? What specifics and scoring format would you include if you created a league?
CRAIG LAKINS
The perfect format is a Superflex PPR because I prefer when quarterbacks have more value in the draft and trade discussions. Deeper starting lineups are fun, too. It's fun to figure out who will fill the 10th or 11th spot each week instead of only playing elite players in a classic eight- or nine-man lineup. I could even be convinced to require two tight ends for starting lineups for a real challenge. With the increase in complexity, there's an increase in how many strategies are effective for a draft. Leagues with these added wrinkles provide a richer experience for me the deeper I dive into fantasy football.
CHAD PARSONS
As time passes, Superflex (or 2QB) has become a near-mandatory format aspect of increasing strategy and interest in the position. Some form of tight end-premium scoring is another aspect becoming more common in my interest and the market. While it might still be a few years away, 2TE leagues with lineups would be ideal as a more commonplace format.
BEN CUMMINS
I love best ball tournaments. They combine the fun of drafting, the regular season sweat, and a tournament-style fantasy playoff sweat for large amounts of cash. My preferred scoring format is half-PPR, as I believe it levels the playing field between the running back, wide receiver, and tight end positions.
JASON WOOD
I play in every league imaginable and find things to enjoy about them all. But my preferred league is a serpentine redraft system with PPR, at least one flex spot (preferably two with a Superflex), and bonuses for yardage thresholds. While dynasty and keeper leagues are fun, I love the draft, and so doing redrafts optimizes the excitement of trying to dominate your league starting on the night of the draft. It's exhilarating and works well with my process, considering I do projections for the site. I find dynasty leagues are far more about getting into the heads of your teammates and trying to arbitrage future picks with veterans; generally speaking, I'm not much of a trader. So that hurts me in dynasty formats.
JORDAN MCNAMARA
If I'm creating a league, I'm blending Superflex with start-two-tight-ends leagues. At the other positions, I would have a minimum start one requirement with many flex positions. This is a true battle of roster construction in redraft formats that can be a lot of fun.
ANDY HICKS
People can get carried away and try all kinds of crazy formats, but a simple PPR league with bonuses for scoring distances has always been my favorite. It is fun to do all kinds of formats, best-ball, salary-cap, Superflex etc. Every league has its charm and interest. I would create a league with my preferred simple format and adapt it to suit the managers down the line.
CHRISTIAN WILLIAMS
I almost exclusively play in Superflex leagues at this point. The quarterback is one of the most critical positions in sports, and 1QB leagues minimize the vitality of the position. I always like to play in leagues that reflect real football, and Superflex has been the most effective way to do so. I also prefer a tiered-PPR format, with 0.5 PPR for running backs, 1.0 PPR for wide receivers, and 1.5 PPR for tight ends. This scoring format balances the reception value for each position and doesn't boost one position over another.
WILL GRANT
Forever ago, you could find a lot of fantasy leagues that were touchdown-only - where only touchdowns mattered. Now awarding some points for every yard gained or thrown is a given. Awarding points per reception is right behind it, and most leagues do it as a matter of course. Playing in a league that didn't award something for pass-catching would be very odd.
In tight end required leagues, I prefer awarding more for tight end catches - simply because there are so few top-tier tight ends, and without it, the difference between the No. 1 tight end and the No. 12 tight end is pretty big.
I'm also not opposed to no kicker and no defense leagues. Since most leagues require them, the shark move is to wait until the end of the draft, take whatever kicker and defense you can, and then play free agency hard all season, looking for the best matchup.
I also like some form of keeper in a redraft league. It's always nice when you find that one player who puts you over the top, and you can retain him going into the following season. You can put restrictions on it, like "no one drafted in the first four rounds," so that all the best players are always available. You can add that "no player protected this season can be protected next season," so even if someone finds the hot rookie with a late-round pick, they can't keep them forever to the detriment of the league.
GARY DAVENPORT
I prefer scoring that levels the playing field among positions—the more viable draft strategies and builds managers have at their disposal, the more entertaining the league. Format-wise, I'm all about individual defensive players—there's no good reason that half of the sport should be relegated to afterthought status.