NFL Snake Draft Strategy

NFL Snake Draft Strategy: Ranking Players Into Tiers
By Adam of Rotopicks.com

Before joining a Snake Draft or setting a Salary Cap lineup on sites like DraftStreet and FanDuel, it is important to have a pretty firm grasp of player rankings for the respective week. Tons of sites rank weekly players, and tons also separate these rankings into tiers. Yet, there is usually a wide discrepancy among the various experts as to where players are ranked. Also, some of the better sites do not rank players into tiers; instead, they simply supply a long list numbered 1 to however many, without ever addressing tiers.

So what are tiers and why are they important for Snake Drafts? Well, when you have a continuous list of ranked players, it is important to know how many of those players at the top are elite, reliable studs. Should you be extremely happy with the top 5 guys in the list, or does it extend down to the top 12? The reason this distinction is important is because it provides a nice overview of the depth of each position. For example, there are three elite Quarterbacks this week and 12 elite Wide Receivers. You are in a Snake Draft and it is your pick. Do you take a QB or WR? Obviously, you take the QB due to scarcity of value. There is plenty of wealth to go around when it comes to WR. It never ceases to amaze me how many of my opponents will make this mistake. One that is lethal to their bankroll.

Now, how do you make your own tiered rankings? There is nothing wrong with using a straight ranking list of all players as a base template. The first step is to set up the elite tiers for each position. On DraftStreet (and as explained in the article "Salary Cap Strategy Positional Point Targets"), the elite players have these minimum scores per position:

- Quarterback - 20 points
- Running Back - 18 points
- Wide Receiver - 15 points
- Tight End - 12 points

Next, you simply project the stats you predict each player will have, and figure out how many points that equals on DraftStreet (Enter promo code: ROTOPICKS to get a special 100% signup bonus there!) If the points exceed the requirements for elite status (listed above), then the player is in the top tier. Take into account trends in that player's stats over the last few games, previous stats against their current opponent, the defensive prowess of their opponent, relevant injuries to the respective player or his teammate(s), weather considerations, the style of offense the player plays in, etc. Heck, find five or so reputable sites with projected weekly stats and take an average. My only firm advice on all of this is to avoid putting an injured player into the elite category (Questionable playing status for the week).

Through experience, I have found these to be about the quantities of elite players in any given week. As you can see, their ranges are wide; thus, each week can vary drastically from other weeks:

4 to 10 Elite Quarterbacks
5 to 15 Elite Running Backs
4 to 12 Elite Wide Receivers
2 to 5 Elite Tight Ends

When entering a Snake Draft, your list of top-tiered players is crucial. Your goal is to draft an elite option at EVERY position, and you must strategize before and during the draft to figure out a way to make that happen. A bit of common sense comes into play. If there are a lot of elite Quarterbacks, wait before drafting one. If there are only a few elite Running Backs, then jump on them early and often. If there are only two elite Tight Ends, do not be afraid to pull the trigger early. Better yet, draft both elite Tight Ends, so you block your opponent from owning one!

When I draft, I keep a notepad at my side. I mark down the number of elite tiered players at each position as well as their names. As each is drafted, I cross the name off. This helps you keep track of where the elite options are running thin.

Similarly, you will need a second tier of players if you join larger Snake Drafts, since this pool of players will need to eventually be drafted in the later rounds. The idea is the same, with these point totals being your second tier range:

- Quarterback - 16 - 20 points
- Running Back - 14 - 18 points
- Wide Receiver - 12 - 15 points
- Tight End - 8 - 12 points

Like before, you fill out your roster with as many elite tiered players as possible. When these players dry up, move to your next tier, taking note of which players you need, which your opponents need, which positions are lacking mid-tier talents, etc.

Yet, when all is said and done, this should be a very fluid process. Most of the time, I do not actually calculate stats, then convert them to points. Sometimes, you just know who the elite options are, especially after getting experience through many drafts. Still, once you know your player tiers, the draft process is the same. Jump on players who are one of only a few studs at their position. Hold off on drafting players in very deep positions. Furthermore, always consider blocking your opponents from those players if the opportunity arises.

Good luck and as always, thanks for reading!

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