Curtis Patrick emerges from the Command Center with a new reference tool for your next dynasty SuperFlex TE Premium startup draft — the Dynasty Draft Navigator.
When you essentially never stop staring at the same information, it can be difficult to stay sharp. This is especially true of dynasty rankings, tiers, and other value tools. I plan on entering two or three new dynasty startups this spring because (spoiler alert) we’re launching our own dynasty leagues in partnership with FFPC. Our RotoViz Tri-Flex Dynasty Leagues will feature the tried and true FFPC scoring format (TE Premium) and but with new league settings (based on my personal favorites) which should appeal to the dynasty masses and be highly addictive (in a good way). Changes to the traditional FFPC Dynasty format in our SuperFlex dynasty leagues will include elimination of kickers and team defenses and a must-start three wide receiver requirement.
To prepare for these RotoViz Tri-Flex startup drafts, I wanted to create an improved version of the custom guides Shawn Siegele and I created for our drafts in 2020. It’s really important to me that our subscribers have the most important information at their fingertips during drafts, but this information also has to be displayed in a way that each data set is still easy to identify within the grander map. The ideal output is a reference tool which empowers drafters to flexibly trade up and down the board during drafts with full confidence that they’re sticking to the plan, or perhaps more accurately, our plan. Execution is everything and tools make it more simple to execute with precision.
For now, I’m calling this reference tool the Dynasty Draft Navigator.
Dynasty Draft Navigator 1.0
In a single view, we observe the following:
- Team RotoViz recommended draft round (as identified by color blocks)
- Team RotoViz composite ranking score for SuperFlex TE Premium leagues (the scores are our way of creating “space” between players instead of force-ranking in sequential fashion)
- Tier (to create tiers I started at 100 and worked my way down by fives: 100-96, 95-91, 90-86, etc.)
- Rookie Pick placement into rankings and tiers
I’ve excluded ADP in this initial version. ADP is important, but following it blindly can cause us to miss players by clinging too tightly to community-established values. As I enter my second decade of playing dynasty fantasy football, I care less and less about community value as anything other than a general guide. By using our Team RotoViz Composite Ranking Scores, this reference tool isn’t wholly reliant on my own player views, as it includes values from Shawn, Dave Caban, and Blair Andrews, too. A navigator built from my own rankings would look a little different, but leaning on the wisdom of a (small and informed) crowd can protect any drafter from being over-confident.
One final thought before we review: anytime I refine or build a reference tool for startup drafts it also makes me a more active and more effective trader in my established leagues. I think you’ll see a few obvious trade ideas after reviewing the guide, but I’ll call a few out below as well.
