If you are gearing up for your fantasy football draft, you probably should know what type of draft you are taking part in. It will impact your draft strategy. For example, what is a snake draft in fantasy football? Here’s what you need to know before your fantasy draft this NFL season.
Fantasy Football Snake Draft
In fantasy football, a snake draft is the typical format of most fantasy football leagues. Each fantasy football manager gets one pick per round. The draft order is predetermined and reverses each round.
For example, if you pick last in the first round, you will pick first in the second round. It continues to flip back and forth until the draft is completed. If you have the first or last draft positions, there are several times when you will select two players in a row.
Preparing for a Snake Draft
Leading up to your fantasy football draft, you should list out tiers for your potential draft picks and rank the best players you want to target. Place players into tiers. Why is this important? This is a great draft strategy so you don’t panic if someone takes your top player before you get a chance to.
When your pick arrives, having a draft cheat sheet or list of players allows you to make a selection even if one of your targeted players was drafted. This will allow you to put together a solid roster regardless of who is your first pick or what players are drafted before you get a chance to take them. Don’t freak out and make a terrible selection because your top running back was drafted the pick before yours.
To make your tiers, check out mock drafts, recent stats, top fantasy football websites like 4for4, and more. This will help you create a solid list to go off of when making your selections.
Read More: Fantasy Football Tiers Explained
Snake Draft vs Auction Draft
You might have heard of an auction draft. In an auction draft format, each fantasy football team owner receives a budget to bid on players. A player is nominated and then a bidding war determines what fantasy team scores that player. For example, you might nominate RB Breece Hall. The action begins and he lands on the team of the owner who bids the most. Check out some examples of QB prices for an auction draft.
Rank | QB | Price |
---|---|---|
1. | Jalen Hurts, PHI | $32 |
2. | Josh Allen, BUF | $32 |
3. | Lamar Jackson, BAL | $24 |
4. | Patrick Mahomes II, KC | $23 |
5. | Anthony Richardson, IND | $14 |
6. | Dak Prescott, DAL | $13 |
7. | C.J. Stroud, HOU | $13 |
8. | Joe Burrow, CIN | $12 |
9. | Kyler Murray, ARI | $9 |
As we said before, the most common draft types in fantasy leagues are usually snake drafts. An auction draft does bring an extra level of excitement and strategy. You have a financial component that might limit who you can try to get later in the draft.
Read More: Auction Drafts Explained
What is a Snake Draft in Fantasy Football FAQs
What is a snake draft in fantasy football?
A snake draft is a popular draft format in fantasy leagues where each member has one pick per round. The order reverses with each round so if you pick last in the first round you will pick first in the second round.
How is a snake draft different than an auction?
Fantasy managers are given a specific budget for an auction draft and bid on players. As long as you have money, you can bid on every nomination and don’t have to wait for your turn like in a snake draft.
How many picks do I have per round in a snake draft?
In a snake draft, a fantasy team drafts once per round. The order reverses at the end of each round so you can pick twice in a row if you are on either end of the draft order.