DFS 101: The Beginner’s Guide To DRAFT
We continue our mini-series of diving into more specifics of the big three DFS sites by taking a look at DRAFT. Get a free entry at PlayDraft.com/ballers.
The Basics of DRAFT
- Unlike FanDuel and DraftKings, DRAFT is a different format and the name says it all. This DFS site is much similar to the redraft leagues we’ve all grown accustomed to.
- These are snake drafts and the draft order is randomly generated.
- You don’t have to worry about setting aside a ton of time for your draft as there are only 30 seconds between picks.
- DRAFT makes it very easy to pre-rank your players by putting this at the very top of the NFL DRAFT lobby:
- Drafts either start when filled or at a scheduled time. If there is a scheduled start time, the time will be listed in the title of the draft in the lobby and a “Scheduled” flag will appear on that draft.
- If you’re new to DRAFT, you can start by playing in Beginner Contests. These contests are only available to players who have entered less than 20 drafts in one sport, or 50 drafts overall.
- Entry fees are taken at the time of entering a draft. If the draft is not guaranteed and does not fill before games are about to begin, the draft will be canceled and all entry fees will be returned.
- Only guaranteed tournaments will run even if they do not fill. If a guaranteed tournament starts without being full, some players will receive byes in the first round. If a non-guaranteed tournament doesn’t fill, it won’t run and you’ll be refunded entry.
- After entering, you can leave an unfilled Head to Head or Multiplayer draft at any time by selecting ‘Leave Draft’ from the summary tab inside the draft. However, you CANNOT leave Tournaments or Dream Team contests once you’ve entered them.
- Player Swap is an option for all contests except for Dream Team Drafts.
- In order for a player to be swap eligible, they must have had an active status at the time you drafted them which then changed to an inactive status.
- Active statuses are In, Probable, Questionable, Game Time Decision, Day to Day, and No Status.
- Inactive statuses are Doubtful, Out, Traded, Suspended, Withdrawn, Postponed, and Out for Season.
- When you have a swap eligible player, you’ll be notified via push notification. Click swap on the completed or live screen next to that player and you will be able to select from all undrafted players.
- When swapping players, the positions must match and the swap must be completed before the start of the game in which the player is playing. All swaps are final.
Dream Team Drafts
- DRAFT does offer an option where there is NO snake draft.
- Instead, the format is very similar to FanDuel and DraftKings where all players are available for all competitors and at times your competition will be rostering some of the same players as you.
- However, there is one major exception: There is also NO salary cap in these contests. Pick whoever you want, at every position, with almost no limitations (See below).
Roster Requirements and Scoring System
- Drafts are five rounds and you must fill a starting lineup that consists of 1QB, 2RBs, and 2 FLEX. The flex positions can be WRs or TEs.
- Every player involved in the slate (games within the contest you enter) are available to you.
- Lineups must include players from at least 2 different NFL games.
- The NFL DRAFT scoring system is as follows:
- Notable scoring settings:
- 0.5 PPR
- 4 points per TD pass
- Only -1 point per INT
Feel free to hit me up on twitter @BenCumminsFF if you have any questions and be sure to check out my similar breakdowns of FanDuel and DraftKings. Get a free entry at PlayDraft.com/ballers.