Is this keeper setup going to screw people over?

[bdt13]

My quandry : We voted to start this last year : You can keep any one player you drafted 4th round or later and remained on your team all season. If you declare a keeper you lose a 4th round pick.

I'm concerned because about half the teams are probably not going to have a keeper and I think they will be at a major disadvantage. Why? Well the teams with keepers will keep RBs, so they can go RB - WR - QB for instance in rounds 1 - 3. I don't see how "gaining" a 4th round pick is going to help out the teams that will not have keepers -- they will be playing catch-up throughout the draft.

The situation is further complicated because we still do random draft order. For instance, one of our guys will be keeping Gore (4th round pick last year) and he could've easily gotten the #1 pick. (Luckily he got #12).

What are some of the ways you guys handle keeper leagues? Do you still go with random draft order? Do you lose a draft pick and if so how do you work it?

I don't know if our system is "fair" . I guess it is in the sense we all agreed on it -- is it just tough luck if you didn't draft a player worthy of keeping in the next years draft? Do things have a way of "evening out" during the draft?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice.

[dream_017]

My quandry : We voted to start this last year : You can keep any one player you drafted 4th round or later and remained on your team all season. If you declare a keeper you lose a 4th round pick.

I'm concerned because about half the teams are probably not going to have a keeper and I think they will be at a major disadvantage. Why? Well the teams with keepers will keep RBs, so they can go RB - WR - QB for instance in rounds 1 - 3. I don't see how "gaining" a 4th round pick is going to help out the teams that will not have keepers -- they will be playing catch-up throughout the draft.

The situation is further complicated because we still do random draft order. For instance, one of our guys will be keeping Gore (4th round pick last year) and he could've easily gotten the #1 pick. (Luckily he got #12).

What are some of the ways you guys handle keeper leagues? Do you still go with random draft order? Do you lose a draft pick and if so how do you work it?

I don't know if our system is "fair" . I guess it is in the sense we all agreed on it -- is it just tough luck if you didn't draft a player worthy of keeping in the next years draft? Do things have a way of "evening out" during the draft?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice.

First of all, generally in a keeper league the draft is based off the final standings of the previous year.

As for the way you keep players, there are a number of ways that you can do this, I don't think it would be out of the ordinary for everyone to lose a 4th round pick(as long as you kept someone).

[dgan]

As soon as you begin any version of a keeper or dynasty league, anything that happens in >one< season does not make the rules unfair. If a guy was good enough (or lucky enough) to snag Gore with a 14th round pick or something, then that's tough on everyone else. You have to start thinking about those players with upside later in drafts. You are now running an organization...not just a team's single season. Draft accordingly.

Incidentally, the guy that drafted Gore in my league is picking 2nd this year. So he presumably will get SJax and Gore, although it will cost him a 2nd round pick instead of a 4th to do so.

The way we do it is we have a keeper rule like yours, but it is for picks in rounds 17-20 and whatever round your keeper was selected in is the pick you lose as long as you're keeping him. That keeper never expires. Then we also have what we call a Restricted Free Agent (RFA) rule. This player can be "tagged" if he was drafted in the 3rd round or later. He is still eligible to be drafted by another owner, however the RFA can then be kept by the original owner if he is willing to forfeit his next available pick. This is why the guy keeping Gore will be forced by the rest of us to use his second round pick to keep Gore...not that he's complaining.

Sucks for the rest of us THIS YEAR, but that's the rule. Maybe next year it will suck for him.

[Coolest1]

dgan - I like you RFA structure, may have to incorporate that into my league.

As for unfair, I think it will balance out over time. Yes, in 1 year, you've got a guy looking really good. But as more people catch on, it will work out. People just might have to adjust their draft strategies to compensate.

[bdt13]

Thanks everyone for the input.

I agree being the first year things may look a bit skewed, but it will definitely change some people's drafting habits this year!

I also changed our format from 2 RB/2 WR/1 FLEX (RB/WR) to starting 2RB/3WR, and added .5 PPR to this year's scoring in hopes it would encourage players to put more emphasis on WRs in the draft.