Snake draft fairness (random divisions)

[gunslinger]

I'm trying to see if I am off my rocker on this position or not. I am entering a REDRAFT league this year with 16 teams, with a true snake (serpentine) draft (1 to 16, 16 to 1, 1 to 16, 16 to 1, etc.). It is my belief that the teams with the top 4 picks are normally stronger than the teams in the 13 to 16 spots.

Normally when I am in a league, they group the teams with picks 1 to 4, picks 5 to 8, picks 9 to 12, and picks 13 to 16 in the same division. This will allow the teams to compete in a division against a team that has drafted close to your pick. This league that I have just joined, has randomized the divisions. I am in a division that has the 1st, 6th, 11th, and 16th overall picks. The co-commishes are trying to tell me that it is perfectly fair, but I disagree. Am I off my rocker? Does anyone have any data to back that this is either fair, or not fair?

[meineymoe]

I think it's even more of an issue in a sixteen team league. In my total redraft leagues, we always had the division teams drafting next to each other, like you described. In my 12 team, 2 keeper league, we base the draft order on the total points from the season before, but with keeping two, at least the teams are usually on an equal footing after the top players are off the board.

-oo-

[jordanzs]

In my 12 team redrafts, I've set up the divisions as follows:

Division #1: Draft choices 1, 4, 7, 10
Division #2: Draft choices 2, 5, 8, 11
Division #3: Draft choices 3, 6, 9, 12

[jthirteentimes]

I'm glad that you brought this up. I've gotten into this conversation a lot recently.

I definitely believe that the top half of the draft inherently has more value than the back half of the draft. I don't have any data, but I've always noticed that the playoffs in my leagues were more heavily populated by teams that picked in the top half of the draft. I've never thought about arranging the divisions like you suggest, but I really like that idea as a way to balance things. The leagues I'm in however, generally have long-standing rivalries and thus always keep the divisions the same.

[Bigdork]

I dont know if I agree. All my leagues randomize divisions. Last year i won 2, in the one 1 drafted 1st and in the 2nd i drafted 12th out of 12. I have no experience in any league bigger than 12 though.

[skip]

I have never heard of a league that organizes divisions based on where teams draft.

The statistical evidence says that drafting from the #1 spot you will score the most points, from #2 second most and so on ONLY based on knowing exact production of every player and having a perfectly ordered draft. Way too many variables at play that the expected results from every draft will always be random.

Sorting out teams by division according to draft order will have no bearing on the results of the league.

[dlf_ericd]

Here's an article from last year that's kind of interesting about draft position - http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/footb ... draftslots

[Steelersfan]

I've always randomized the divisions in the leagues I commish. The only thing I do manually is put the co-commissioner in a different division than myself.

[meineymoe]

I've always randomized the divisions in the leagues I commish. The only thing I do manually is put the co-commissioner in a different division than myself.

In most of my leagues, we leave the divisions set, to develop rivalries, etc. We thought it was a novelty five years ago (total redraft league) to base the division alignment on the draft order.

It is fun to do that, but I prefer to keep divisions the same - in my granddaddy leagues (20th season 2-keeper league, 15th season dynasty) we've kept divisions the same - yes sometimes teams become dominant because of a weak division, but over the seasons it evens itself out, other than the few teams that are perennial winners because their owners are better!

-oo-

[Steelersfan]

I've always randomized the divisions in the leagues I commish. The only thing I do manually is put the co-commissioner in a different division than myself.

In most of my leagues, we leave the divisions set, to develop rivalries, etc. We thought it was a novelty five years ago (total redraft league) to base the division alignment on the draft order.

It is fun to do that, but I prefer to keep divisions the same - in my granddaddy leagues (20th season 2-keeper league, 15th season dynasty) we've kept divisions the same - yes sometimes teams become dominant because of a weak division, but over the seasons it evens itself out, other than the few teams that are perennial winners because their owners are better!

-oo-

Me too, once they are set randomly we keep them the same from that point forward for rivalry purposes.

[jordanzs]

In my leagues where I structured the division as follows:

Division #1: Draft choices 1, 4, 7, 10
Division #2: Draft choices 2, 5, 8, 11
Division #3: Draft choices 3, 6, 9, 12

We all rolled online dice and got a number between 1 & 1000.

The person with the highest roll got 1st choice of their draft slot

The person with the 2nd highest dice roll got 2nd choice of their draft slot. Etc etc...all the way down to the lowest roll getting last choice.

Sooo, since the draft slots determine your divisions, rivalries can be preserved. It also gave the people toward the back end a pretty good bonus because some of them were able to choose an "inferior" draft slot, but it put them in a division with some guppys rather than some sharks.

Our work league was really interesting........

The guy with 1st dibs on his draft slot took the 8spot

The guy with last place dibs on his draft slot ended up with the 7spot.

Of course, he got dealt the 7spot cause I'm drafting at the 4spot, and everyone wanted to avoid my division, hahahahahahaha.

[tra151]

i dont feel like the division thing or draft slot is too big of a deal. ive seen plenty of champions from any area of the draft. in the three redraft leagues i was in last year, i got 1st with the first pick, didnt place with the first pick(9th pick won, and i won last year with the 8th), and got 2nd with the 8th pick. i think the picks in the elite area(which changes every year) have an advantage, but it comes down to the team picking.