Player values are continually shifting during fantasy football draft season. Developing a firm grasp of those values is essential before beginning your draft, and the RotoWire Mock Draft Simulator is one of the best tools to help you do that.
This tool gathers draft trends from dozens of sources to provide you with an up-to-the-minute overview of current player value trends. It is one of the many benefits of the draft assistant platform that can give you an edge over your competition.
What Player Value Trends Can Tell You
Player value trends are a snapshot of how the fantasy football world views a particular prospect's draft day value. These are important because preseason positional battles and injuries can change fantasy football rankings in an instant.
These player value trends are also key because they show you when player position runs are apt to start and end in drafts. These trends can help you decide if you should take a player during that run or go against the grain by using your fantasy football cheat sheet to pick someone at another position. Here are some ways to use the simulator to navigate these trends.
- Determine backup QB value in a 2QB or superflex league after coaches announce who has won their team's starting QB battle.
- Get a better sense of when the QB1 positional run will start and end.
How to Track ADP Movement in the Simulator
The simulator has easily searchable fantasy football ADP values. Use the cheat sheet button to display these values. They are nested next to overall player rankings for every position. This layout makes it incredibly easy to track ADP in conjunction with positional rankings.
These ADP values are also posted in each player's individual page. These information-rich pages give you an impressive volume of information that shows why a player's ADP lands at its current spot.
- Familiarize yourself with the ADP cheat sheet layout before draft day so you can get the most out of this highly valuable tool.
- Place preferred prospects into the queue section of the Mock Draft Simulator to practice using this vital draft kit tool.
Recognizing Buy-Low and Sell-High Opportunities
Knowing schedule strength is imperative when it comes to recognizing buy-low and sell-high opportunities in fantasy football. Favorable schedules can turn so-so players into stars, while unfavorable matchups can drive stud player values down a notch or two.
You can find these schedule strength values at the bottom of each player card at RotoWire. The value is shown as a simple bar graph in the player card. The longer the bar on each matchup, the more favorable it is for that player. You can use these values to quickly determine if your player's schedule indicates he is in the buy-low or sell-high category and do the same for potential trade targets. It's a great way to find some potential streaming fantasy sleepers as well.
- Make a habit of checking schedule strength for players you may want to consider trading.
- Check schedule strength for anyone of interest who lands on another manager's trading block.
Factoring in Injuries, Depth Chart Changes and News
It's a good idea to check injury reports multiple times every week. There are two main ways to do this at RotoWire. The first is the Injury News report that aggregates injury news updates from around the league. The second is the official NFL injury report, which is available in the same News area that the Injury News report is posted.
That same News tab also gives you access to the NFL inactives report and keeps you updated on all the trade rumors around the league. These rumors are often about depth chart changes that can have a gargantuan impact on player value.
- Get into the habit of checking injuries and NFL news starting in Week 1. Stick with that habit. Many of your competitors likely won't and will miss valuable upgrade opportunities.
- Always review the NFL inactives list prior to each game window. Even missing just one inactive note can give you a zero-point performance that results in a loss.
Running Multiple Drafts to Confirm Trends
Practice makes perfect in the world of mock drafts. No two drafts are exactly alike, so you need to go through multiple drafts to gain full awareness of what the fantasy football world is thinking regarding player value trends.
Doing multiple drafts also allows you to test different theories to see how they hold up against the various valuations. For example, it may be that your idea of getting a strong QB1 in Round 4 doesn't pan out as well as expected and moves you towards either taking that QB1 in Round 3 or waiting until later in the draft to get your starting QB.
How Trend Awareness Shapes Your Draft Strategy
Most managers have a general idea of when they want to take their top starter at each position, but don't plan out much beyond that.
Managers who take the time to get a better sense of player trends can find value prospects that less-dedicated managers will miss. And that's really the best fantasy football strategy for any team manager. It's why putting in the effort to master player value trends can give you the draft day flexibility you need to create a dominant starting roster and bench
Stay Ahead of the Trends with RotoWire
You can get the most out of your fantasy draft time investment by using the cutting-edge Draft Kit tools available at RotoWire. Master these tools to make your draft selections and become an expert with the user-friendly interface that will give you a leg up on all of your competitors.
All you have to do is sign up now with RotoWire and stay ahead of the trends. RotoWire gives your team the best chance to make a run at a fantasy football championship.
