Learn the differences between Regular and Auction Drafts, Serpentine vs Non-Serpentine, and "Rookie Only" drafts.
If you're a little new to fantasy football, or holding your first draft using FanDraft, this will give you an introduction to setting up your league.
After you login to FanDraft Online, click on the link that says:
CREATE A NEW LEAGUE
There are two types of draft styles to choose from:
- Regular (sometimes referred to as "Traditional Drafts"
- Auction
Regular (Traditional) Draft
In a Regular style draft format, your league mates (owners) in your league take turns selecting players to their teams that they wish to claim as their own. Each owner will have a set amount of time to make a pick. Once they make their pick, the clock resets and the next owner will have his change to make a selection. This process repeats until everyone has filled up their roster.
The order that teams make their selections is based on a predetermined "draft order", which is decided by your league. There are two "Pick Order" options available in FanDraft:
Serpentine Order
In a serpentine draft, or sometimes referred to as a a "Snake" draft, is a type in which the draft order is reversed every round (eg 1..12, 12..1, 1..12, 12..1, etc.). For example, if you have the first pick in the draft, you will pick first in round one, and then last in round two.
Non-Serpentine Order
The non-serpentine order, sometimes referred to as a "Fixed" draft, the same order of selection takes place every round (eg 1..12, 1..12, 1..12, 1..12, etc.) For example, if you have the first pick in the draft, you will pick first every round of the draft.
If your league performs a draft order style that isn't offered, such as "3rd Round Reversal" or "Sliding Serpentine", you should read this link here.
Auction Draft
Auction Drafts are based on a bidding format and differ considerably from regular/traditional. In Auction Drafts, teams have the chance to draft any player they want, as long as they have the available funds. The auction process works as such:
- The owner whose turn it is to nominate a player selects a player (either via the search bar or clicking on the Player Board display), and clicks the "Nominate Player" button.
- Once the "Nominate Player" button has been processed, the clock starts and bidding begins.
- Users click on the green BID button (or enter in a custom amount and BID), and declare an amount that outbids the current auction leader.
- The clock continues running down (starting at a decided time input in League Settings area / default 30 seconds) while bidding takes place. Once the clock hits 10 seconds, any bid made in this period resets the clock to 10 seconds.
- This process continues until the clock hits zero, at which point the highest bidder is awarded the player.
Rookie Only
Rookie-Only drafts are generally utilized by deep-keeper or dynasty fantasy football leagues. When the "Rookie Only" box is checked, the only players that will be available in the draft are that year's NFL rookies.