Sunday, July 13, 2014

The 2014 Brothers Keeper Draft Order

Three years ago, as a result of the new 6 team playoff format, discussion arose about what to do with the draft order. After a number of participants gave their input a new draft order was researched and proposed for implementation for the 2011 season. It was accepted and utilized and three competitive seasons ensued.



Following the 2011 draft order equation research and based off the Final 2013 Brothers Keeper 7 fantasy football season final standings, regular season winning percentage, and regular season total points scored (see the box above), the upcoming 2014 draft order would be as follows (if the method is still accepted by the league and the Commissioner without modification; here's the link to the Google Doc version of the spreadsheet):



As you can see, because the regular season winning percentage and point total matter for two thirds of the equation the draft order looks pretty solid even considering the fact that 5 teams had the same regular season winning percentage (0.538). The weakest four teams will definitely be drafting in the first four spots. We do not need to invoke the rule that requires the champ to draft last as the equation places SloppyButicusMaximus last.

Remember: In order to create league parity we want the worst team drafting first as it is the most advantageous draft position to draft from to better their team (see the research here). League parity creates more competition. We are regularly seeing teams compete for playoff spots very late into the regular season. It's all about making it to the championship bracket!

Fundamentally it is the championship bracket that means most. Anything that promotes the regular season chances of the majority of teams to make the playoffs should be more important than who wins or loses a four team consolation bracket. The current draft order contributes to that. People want a great chance to make the playoffs to win the championship. The regular season does that and a 6 team playoff is way better than an 8 team playoff. How does one keep all of these prominent? At this juncture the league's canons seem to maneuver these issues very well and very intelligently.

If another draft order needs to be proposed I am all ears and would like to see the research. Over time this league has changed its draft order because of the update from an 8 team playoff format to a 6 team playoff format from an earlier discussion. But the main thing the 3 Factor Power Ranking Draft Order does is keep the league competitive by rewarding weaker teams with better draft picks for next year so they can have the best chance to advance and not remain weak thus creating parity within the league. It is a model for many other keeper leagues to follow. We've hammered out the issues and it is fun.