Do you draft with the playoffs in mind?

[Bonedaddies]

I look at the post season matchups before the draft, but have put much less stock in it over the years....Teams never seem to be so easy at the end of the year than they appear before draft day. Only weather related position I may change a pick for is a kicker, but if Gotz is on the board...I will take him over Morton Anderson

 

I will take into account for my first round pick if I am torn on 2 guys, I'll look close at week 14/15/16.

 

Agree that you have to get to the dance, before you start dancin!

 

Trades during the season you should take a peak at 14/15/16, you have a better idea of what teams are made of and you should have some idea if they will need to play starters in the last few games.

[BeeR]

With the exception of about three teams (Pats, Colts, & 49ers ), what we see happening now is just so different from the way the season is actually going to play out. It seems like every year we think "this is the strangest year ever!" Any effort to plan ahead is just going to make you say "man was I wrong about that" later on. You may have to adjust your team around the midway point, but draft the best players available regardless. Getting too "cute" typically means a situation is going to blow up in your face.

 

troof.

[detlef]

In general, I've started to consider play-off matchups less and less over the years for a variety of reasons. Same with byes.

 

First off, we don't know who the good or bad matchups will be from one year to the next, so what's the point of planning around them?

 

Secondly, like others mentioned, how do you know what the weather's going to be like? You mentioned Tom Brady in the snow. Do you really think the guy who had him would have been happier having drafted somebody else? I recall the guy who had Brady in my league last year actually had a half decent other option but simply could not bring himself to bench his stud. I mean, who would? You bench Brady and he continues to go off and you feel like the biggest idiot alive.

 

I think the smartest thing you can do in drafting is realize that it's hard enough to just predict who's going to be good on a player by player basis. Complicating that by trying to also predict which teams are going to be playing their starters or playing bad Ds in weeks 15 and 16? Good luck. You're either over thinking this thing and costing yourself a chance at actually taking the best player out there or you're just waayy better at this than any of us and shouldn't bother asking the group such a question.

 

None the less, if you absolutely can't decide between two guys, then what the hell. If one is playing in a dome against a team that's usually crappy or at least never has a D, why not.

 

The best thing you can do in the draft is guess right on a bunch of guys at a bunch of positions. That will put you in good position to trade with a guy who's just trying to make the play-offs. By then, you'll have a better handle on who's got the best matchups in weeks 15 and 16 and can target those players.

[wirehairman]

Secondly, like others mentioned, how do you know what the weather's going to be like?

 

Although the weather in December is a crap shoot, we all know what the weather will be inside a dome.

 

I doubt I will give it much thought in the first three or four rounds but, as a Brady owner last year that made a first round exit from the playoffs, may bring it into consideration in the mid to later rounds when trying to decide between comprable players.

[detlef]

Although the weather in December is a crap shoot, we all know what the weather will be inside a dome.

 

I doubt I will give it much thought in the first three or four rounds but, as a Brady owner last year that made a first round exit from the playoffs, may bring it into consideration in the mid to later rounds when trying to decide between comprable players.

I think the point that I, and others are making is that it's the absolute last thing we think about in terms of who we take. Believe me, when I'm taking a WR in the 10th round, I'll be happy if he's even on my team come week 15. If you have access to previous drafts from your league, take a look at how many guys taken late were on rosters after week 6. So, really, at that point, if there's a guy who I think has a good chance of producing, I'm taking him even if he's @NE and Chicago weeks 15 and 16. I'm stoked if the guy's good enough to ever crack my lineup all year.

 

Now, again, if it is truly a toss up, why not, go with the dome and the match-up. However, I'm guessing the OP was not asking if we even considered it at all, rather if we actually gave it any priority. I mean, it's a given that anyone who takes this seriously is going to consider all the data they have and, yes, match-ups come before coin-flips for me in terms of importance.