Today, we’ll break down the top 10 best ways to determine your fantasy football draft order. Determining the draft order in your fantasy league can be one of the toughest tasks for a commissioner. Sure, you could let the website auto-generate for you and your league-mates. But what fun is that?
Here are 10 fun and unique ways to determine the draft order for your fantasy football league this summer.
1 – Royal Rumble
Have you ever wanted to slam some of your league mates straight through a table? Maybe hit one of them with a folding chair? Well, you probably can’t do that, but a video game can!
For this to work, you’ll need to gather your league-mates in front of a gaming system and toss in your favorite wrestling game. Set up a computer-controlled Royal Rumble and assign each of your league mates their own wrestler. As the fight goes on, the draft order will be determined by whoever is the last man standing.
If your character is knocked out first… Sucks to suck, but you’re picking last! This tactic is a fun, yet competitive way to determine draft order. Additionally, the best news is no video game experience is necessary. It may still have the same effect as setting a random draft order, but at least you and your friends can scream at each other in the process.
2 – The Beer Party
Beer. We all love beer. In fact, beer may be one of the only things that many of us like more than fantasy football. How can we make beer a competition to the point where we can set our draft order? Well, pretty damn easily.
The rules are simple. Invite your league mates over, have everyone bring the most “unique” beer that they can possibly find (at least one for each member), and allow everyone to grade them from best to worst before the night is over. Personally, I would suggest having a mutual party keep track of who brought which beer and have them distribute as necessary along with a notepad or something to keep their “beer rankings” organized.
Whoever ends the party with the most points/votes for the best beer will be awarded the #1 pick in the upcoming fantasy football draft. But let’s face it, nobody loses in the end with this one. The real reward is getting to try 12 new beers and getting to talk smack to your league mates.
Note, this tactic could just as easily be changed to a pot-luck if you and your league are not big drinkers.
3 – Miniature Golf Tournament
Back in my college days, I had worked at a mini golf place right off of the beach. Needless to say, I encountered many interesting characters on a day-to-day basis. However, there was one group that I will never forget.
A group of about 10 guys came to the course first thing in the morning. Each of them dressed to the nines and some had even brought their own putters. As I was ringing them up, they had noticed my fantasy football magazine on the counter and they quickly filled me in on what they were doing. They were determining their draft order.
Furthermore, they were one of the slowest groups I have ever seen on that course. However, you could tell they were having a ton of fun. To this day, I am jealous that I’ve never been able to talk my league into setting the draft order this way. With a lot of luck (and a little buzz), you could putt your way to a #1 overall pick!
4 – Go Fetch!
Someone in your league has to have a dog, right? Well, if so, this option could be the perfect excuse to host a cookout and get your fantasy draft order set.
Get 12 different color balls and divvy them out to your league-mates. Then, make sure that everyone knows what color they have. All at once, have everyone throw the ball in the yard and see which one your dog goes for first. Once a color has been retrieved, take it out of the pool and award that manager with their pick!
Do this 11 more times and you’ve got yourself a draft order… And maybe a new best friend!
5 – Best Ball Draft
For those of you who don’t know what best ball is, it’s a fantasy football format where you draft a team and that’s it. There are no waivers, trades, or setting a weekly lineup. If your team has the most points by the end of the season, you’re the winner! If you need more of an explanation on best ball, check this out.
Now, obviously, you can’t wait until the end of the season to find out your draft order. However, you can use projected finishes. At the conclusion of the best ball draft, you’ll be provided with a projection. For this tactic, have all of the members of your league participate in a best ball draft (it doesn’t have to be the same one) and have them take a screenshot of their projected total for the year.
Finally, whoever has the highest projected total will be awarded the top pick. Conversely, the lowest total would get the last pick. My favorite thing about this option is that everyone can make fun of the guy with the lowest projected points. It’s like being able to find the league’s punching bag before the real draft even starts!
6 – Monster Parlay Challenge
This one may only be applicable to those who live in states where sports betting is legal, but it sounds like so much fun.
To do this, have everyone in your league place small bets ($0.01 to $1.00) throughout the summer on the sport of their own choosing. Your league will have all summer to make as many bets as they’d like. Again, you might want to keep the bets small. Also, remember, only do this option if all members of your league are down for it. Then, whoever hits the biggest parlay along the way will be awarded the top pick. Additionally, you could just give everyone 10 total bets to do this for, or whatever amount your heart desires.
Overall, this isn’t about how much money was won. It’s about who hit on the biggest “long shot” throughout the designated period. For example, if someone hit a 12-leg parlay at +2,700 odds, that’d be pretty impressive. However, if another person hits a 4-leg parlay at +15,000 odds, they would be considered the winner.
I’ll admit, this tactic for determining draft order is not for the faint of heart. However, when it comes to some hefty bragging rights (and potential profits), and is something I cannot wait to try with one of my leagues.
7 – Off to the Races!
This method will work with either a real horse race or a virtual horse race. The rules are simple. Make sure there is a horse for each of your league mates, assign the horses at random. Then, watch the chaos unfold as the horses run around the track. As expected, the draft order will be awarded in the order that the horses finish the race in. Overall. this one is pretty straightforward and offers plenty of excitement.
8 – Quiplash
If you’ve never played Quiplash you are missing out! This game is perfect to play with friends if you’re looking to have a laugh.
This game provides you with a few prompts at a time and then has you insert an answer that you think people would vote on. Typically, the funnier answer is going to win so it’ll pay dividends to be the resident funny guy of your fantasy football league.
Additionally, this game has a built-in point system and will crown a winner at the end of a few rounds. It will also expose anyone in your league who just isn’t quite funny… Which is always more fuel for that “smack talk” fire.
9 – The Hat-Trick
First of all, this one is not for the faint of heart. No, you don’t need to be a beer fan to make this work, but this is designed specifically with beer consumption in mind.
“The Hat-Trick” is a tactic I have personally used before and it’s always a great time. Not to mention, it’s very simple. Get three beers (and a funnel) for each member of your league and get ready to race!
The first person to successfully chug a beer, shotgun a beer, AND funnel a beer will be awarded the top pick of the fantasy football draft. I wouldn’t suggest doing all three in rapid succession, but I won’t tell you how to party.
If all three will not be done in rapid succession, keep everyone’s time written down for each task and add them up at the end. You guessed it, the reward of the top pick goes to the person with the shortest overall time. Just be sure you always reward your league-mates with some nice junk food to wash it all down.
10 – Poker Tournament
This one is an oldie but a goodie. Year after year, there are many leagues that will have a poker tournament to decide the fantasy draft order. While it may not be the most creative way to do it, you can never go wrong with it.
There’s nothing quite like getting together with the boys for a night of cards, beer, and junk food and this gives the perfect excuse to do all three.
At the end of the day, fantasy football is supposed to be fun, and I think that going with a unique way to set the draft order sets the tone for a really enjoyable year. Whether you’ll be going with an option that allows you guys to meet in person, or go with something that might be done online, I would strongly encourage you to do something with your league ahead of the fantasy football season.
If you’re anything like me, you probably don’t get to see your buddies as much as you used to… But fantasy football always keeps us together. So make some plans, have some drinks, and get those fantasy football draft orders set!
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): 1-800-662-4357. Counselors offer referrals to treatment centers, support groups, and community-based services. They also have an online Treatment Services Locator.
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