What are draft strategies and how do I use them in Draft Wizard®? (NFL)

Some common strategies used during fantasy football drafts can now be set up in Draft Wizard® (both the Simulator and Assistant) in order to better tailor player recommendations. 

Currently, the supported draft strategies are Zero RB, Zero WR, Late Round QB, Streaming QB, Streaming TE, Streaming DST, and Custom.

• Zero RB: No RBs will be suggested in the first X rounds, with the thinking that RBs are overvalued early in the draft and you can usually find some gems on waivers. For Draft Wizard, X is equal to the number of WR + Flex spots on your roster, e.g. 3 WR + 1 Flex (RB/WR) means you will not be suggested an RB for the first 4 rounds.

• Zero WR: Similarly, no WRs will be suggested in the first X rounds, with your approach being you want to load up on RBs early and find WR value later in the draft or on waivers.

• Late Round QB: You think that it's not worth it to spend a ton of draft capital on QBs. And you're probably right. Probably. Draft Wizard will not suggest a QB until (roster spots + 1) round. In other words, if your league is a 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 Flex, 1 K, 1 DST league, a QB will not be suggested until the 10th round.

• Streaming QB/TE/DST: A slightly more advanced strategy, this means you're looking to stream (i.e. pick up off of waivers each week) a player to fill a position instead of drafting one. Draft Wizard won't suggest the selected streaming position until all other starting and bench spots are filled. For streaming DST, you will not be suggested a DST until the last round.

• Custom: You can also create your own custom draft strategy. This will allow you to get creative, such as not suggesting a TE until after round 12, or similar.

The default Draft Wizard® strategy is to recommend the best players (based on your cheat sheet and expert voting) available when it's your turn to pick. With one of these draft strategies enabled, we will display player suggestions to match that strategy. 

In order to employ specific draft strategies in conjunction with our pick recommendations, click on "Set Draft Strategy" in the draft room.

Here you can choose common draft strategies or you can create a custom draft strategy using specific rules that you set up.

To create a custom draft strategy, click the plus sign.

Now you can name your strategy and select which position and round the rule applies to. To add additional rules, click the plus sign at the end of the row (you can add up to three rules for custom draft strategies). Be sure to click Save & Apply to use this custom strategy in your draft.

The pick recommendations will still factor in your cheat sheet/rankings while respecting the draft strategy you are utilizing. 

Note: You can also change the number of suggested players that are displayed throughout the draft from this screen.