Aaaah....The Perfect Draft. We have all dreamt of having it. Some of us have experienced it. And for those that have....we want it again and again. And why not? You surely did not subscribe to this website to be average. You want to dominate. You want to have such a good roster that others salivate over who you have. You want them all to come to you when discussing trades. And in this article I am going to break down how to have that perfect draft.

Let's start with the two basic principles of Value Based Drafting (VBD) and I will expound on them as we go through this.

ALL PLAYERS HAVE VALUE
Don't love anyone. Don't hate anyone. Get players that will significantly outperform their value and you will build a winning team.

UNDERSTAND WHAT THE AVERAGE GUY THINKS
It's this opinion that allows one to maximize draft value round after round. You may believe someone will be the 4th best WR, but if everybody else does not then you need to wait and maximize value.

If you don't follow these principles, you will not have a perfect draft. If you...believe rookie WRs are always bad...always avoid players after ACL injuries...avoid anyone over 30...refuse to ever draft a kicker before the last 3 rounds...always take RBs with your first two picks...on and on....then you will not have the perfect draft. Throw away the biases. Let value guide your team. Let others succumb to prejudices and generalities. You are here to win your league. And you do that by getting value every single round.

So what is value then? Value Based Drafting has shown us that we can compare unlike positions for comparative value. Let this be our guide. I am not going to rehash Joe Bryant's excellent article as many are familiar with it. But suffice it to say it all starts with projections. And these projections can be manipulated to form Top 200 lists. The good news is we have done that work for you at this site

If you want a customized cheatsheet you can go here

The WCOFF Top 200 list from which we will be referring to can be found here

Let's have the perfect World Championships of Fantasy Football (WCOFF) draft.

The goal is to get you the best possible team and to make sure you don't overpay for players that can still be had a few rounds later. What I looked for were players that we projected significantly better than where they were being drafted. For average draft position, I used a list from Xpertsleagues generated over the last week. To be ranked, the player or defense had to show up in at least 6 drafts. A similar list is available from Myfantasyleague.com and also Antsports.com. The positional analysis tracks to our projections which also can be found on this site.

This article has been written for 12 team leagues using the World Championship of Fantasy Football scoring. WCOFF utilizes the folowing starting roster: 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 flex (RB/WR/TE), 1 PK and 1 Def.

WCOFF also awards 1 point per reception for RBs, WRs and TEs

Let me first state that the WCOFF scoring system is a very good neautralizer to the great RB panic. The 1 point per reception launches the very elite backs through the roof. But it also puts a premium on quality WRs. This changes the 12-team and 10-team Perfect Draft substantially and is the reason that I have created a specific Perfect Draft article just to address this format.

Using the FBG VBD App as a guide, I have constructed the following value based table to show how the WCOFF scoring significantly changes valuations of players.

From just this simple table, three things should be obvious:

1. WRs have significantly more value in this scoring system. This makes sense too as teams can start up to 4 WRs each week. Even marginal WRs can get 50 receptions so they become big fantasy point producers. Against the recent FBG projections, 78 receivers will top 100 fantasy points in this scoring system. Considering that only 43 running backs will yield these results and you see that the impact of the 1 point per reception is very large indeed.



2. QBs have become an afterthought in this scoring system. QB1 has value at pick 37? QB2 has value at pick 51? Anyone want to make a wager that neither Culpepper or Manning will last that long in every single draft at the World Championships of Fantasy Football? QBs are typically over-valued anyway. In this scoring system this is magnified even more.



3. TEs have been reduced even more. This also makes sense since no WCOFF owner wants to start a second TE as his flex position (He may have to, but I will contend that if he does it often, he does not have a good team). Ideally that position would best be filled with a 3rd RB or 4th WR. Tight ends also don't catch all that many passes so the 1 point per reception actually works against them as well.

With these three points noted, we are now ready to have the perfect WCOFF draft. For those interested, I have thrown my hat into the ringer this season and will be vying for the $200,000 first prize as well. I am in league 3 and drafting from the third spot. You can bet I will be employing strategies outlined in this article.

Quarterbacks:

As stated before, the WCOFF scoring reduces QBs to something bordering on worthless. Rob Zarzycki, 2nd place in 2002 and 3rd place in 2004 did not take a QB in the first 9 rounds in both years. I won my WCOFF Draft Masters League (same scoring, no roster moves, max points each week) and my first QB was taken in round 8. I led from week 5 on in my league.

If you want to compete on the grandest stage, you need to dismiss the notions that great QBs will have value. In this scoring system they won't. You can't draft Culpepper or Manning or Vick or Hasselbeck or McNabb or McNair and end up with the required depth at RB and WR needed to compete.

Using the Footballguys.com projections, the difference between QB14 and QB24 is simply 17 fantasy points. In this scoring system that is practically insignifant.

The good news though is this is the deepest field of quarterbacks I have ever seen. 24 QBs all look like they are in good situations to have productive years.

• Daunte Culpepper
• Peyton Manning
• Donovan McNabb
• Matt Hasselbeck
• Trent Green
• Michael Vick
• Steve McNair
• Aaron Brooks
• Tom Brady
• Jeff Garcia
• Marc Bulger
• Chad Pennington
• Brett Favre
• Rich Gannon
• Jake Delhomme
• Byron Leftwich
• David Carr
• Carson Palmer
• Jake Plummer
• Josh McCown
• Tim Rattay
• Brad Johnson
• Mark Brunell
• Joey Harrington

A few others are involved in QB battles, but the duo could perform well (Fiedler/Feeley, Warner/Manning)

Because ADPs are so tainted in this scoring system, I caution against absolute values on when to take these QBs. Use history as a guide. Texas Heat posted the following info on our boards based on the 50 teams that made the WCOFF finals:

Suffice it to say with Zarzycki doing great taking his first QB after round 9, me waiting until round 8 and 64% of the winning teams last year taking their 1st QB in round 6 or later that the sweet spot is likely around round 7 through 9.

So that is the plan. Take your first QB betweeen the 7th and 9th rounds.

How many QBs do you need in a perfect WCOFF draft?

I think you need two. One that can be counted on (picked in the 7th and 9th rounds) and one that you can get very late in the draft that has potential.

I believe this is key #1 to winning your WCOFF league this year. Resist the temptation and do not even think about drafting a QB until round 7. Personally I will be waiting until round 8 or 9. How can I say that with such conviction? Because while you may get a good signal caller in the early rounds, the value at RB and WR is evaporating quickly. That value simply cannot be made up.

Later in the draft, set your sites on getting one of these quality backups:

• Rich Gannon
• Carson Palmer
• Tim Rattay

Again, the general strategy is to wait at QB unless exceptional value presents itself early. No need to panic at this position and just let the draft come to you. There is great value to be gained by waiting. Typically after those first 18 QBs are drafted (usually by the end of round 10), QBs will come off the board at about 2 per round until all of the starters are taken.

Additionally the following QBs are rarely drafted, but could be homeruns if the starting QB went down to injury:

Jon Kitna (Cin), Gus Frerotte (Min), Kerry Collins (Oak).

Running Backs:

In most leagues, running backs are golden. Yes they can run and catch, but the real reason they are golden is their simply aren't enough of them to go around. Every owner wants 3-4 quality backs. In 12 team leagues this creates huge demand with limited supply.

The WCOFF league is no different. Owners salivate over the idea of having a power formation of three RBs on the field each week. But the fact remains that it is almost impossible to achieve that power formation (and be competitive). Why is that you ask? It has everything to do with 1 point per reception. This vaults the top backs to stratospheric levels, but also bumps all the possession receivers higher too.

My strategy for the perfect WCOFF draft is to take a quality RB in round 1, a quality WR in round 2 (or another top back) and look to exploit the reception rule when adding additional RBs. Don't get me wrong, you can win by going RB/RB, but your odds are likely better going RB/WR with your first two picks. Again from Texas Heat's study:

Although 42% sounds close to 50%, consider that most leagues only saw Harrison, Moss and Owens drafted in the second round last season. So with 9 of the 12 second round picks, RB/RB should have resulted in close to 75% of the winning rosters if it were a viable strategy. At 42%, owners overpaid significantly for RB2 in my opinion.

Owners overpaid because they simply did what they always do. They locked down the great backs and then moved to the receivers. But two big factors makes that a losing strategy.

• The flex position + 1 point per reception elevates WRs value significantly more than a gut drafters opinion.
  
  
• Role playing RBs that catch a lot of passes have significant value in this scoring system and can be picked up much later than their actual value.

Here is the list of RBs that you should be able to add much later than their value due to their high reception totals. Make sure you get a couple on your team:

• Moe Williams (Value = 67, ADP = 129) in the 8th round or greater.
• Richie Anderson (Value = 89, ADP = 219) in the 10th round or greater.
• Kevin Faulk (Value = 105, ADP = 199) in 11th round or greater.
• Michael Pittman (Value = 119, ADP = 144) in the 11th round or later.
• Mike Alstott (Value = 126, ADP = 176) in the 12th round or greater.
• Amos Zereoue (Value = 140, ADP = 210) in the 14th round or later.

I also believe the following backups could shine if given the opportunity: Onterrio Smith (Min), Maurice Morris (Sea), Najeh Davenport (GB), Deshaun Foster (Car), Larry Johnson (KC), Steven Jackson (StL) and Julius Jones (Dal). I suggest you target none of these specifically, but look to see if any are still around after the 12th round. Each could represent a homerun if they get to play. Reaching for them in the 6th to 10th rounds will hurt you in other places and is not advised.

Wide Receivers:

Repeat after me. I will take a quality WR in round 2. I know it's hard. It flies in the face of how you usually draft. But it's the right approach. That obviously could change if more people draft that way so I will restate it this way:

Take the best player available in the first 24 picks.

Here is our Top 30 for the WCOFF scoring:

1. LaDainian Tomlinson
2. Priest Holmes
3. Deuce McAllister
4. Ahman Green
5. Edgerrin James
6. Clinton Portis
7. Marvin Harrison
8. Randy Moss
9. Shaun Alexander
10. Kevan Barlow
11. Torry Holt
12. Fred Taylor
13. Jamal Lewis
14. Terrell Owens
15. Chad Johnson
16. Hines Ward
17. Derrick Mason
18. Brian Westbrook
19. Eric Moulds
20. Tiki Barber
21. Steve Smith
22. Santana Moss
23. Michael Bennett
24. Darrell Jackson
25. Domanick Davis
26. Andre Johnson
27. Thomas Jones
28. Chris Chambers
29. Corey Dillon
30. Travis Henry

Note that we have 13 Wide Receivers in the top 30. We have 10 in our Top 24. No way will 10 WRs be taken by the start of the third round which essentially tells you that you should also be looking hard at WRs in round 3 as well (that is where the value will be). We suggest you continue to draft anyone on this list until they are gone. The RBs will be long gone by the third round. But some of these WRs will make it to the 4th (and possibly the 5th rounds). Make sure you get your share of these players.

Another study posted on the WCOFF boards (Team legacy Post) showed that winning teams selected 2 RB and 2 WRs after 4 rounds. So assuming that you selected a RB in round 1, a receiver in round 2, then you should be looking at taking either a RB/WR in round 3 and the opposite position in round 4. This makes intuitive sense as you must start 6 of these players (2 RBs, 3 WRs and 1 flex) every week. This same study showed that winning teams also generally took a RB in the 5th round, but I think this could be a biased result as most people are used to loading up on backs. It's that desire to want to hit on that 3rd back and be able to submit 3 strong backs each week that kicks in with all of us on draft day.

I think one can assemble a great team by getting just two backs in the first five rounds and adding reception friendly RBs much later in the draft.

If you look at the WCOFF Top 200 list, you can see that WR value is at every step. In fact only a handful of players are worth less than their ADP. But that just means you need to target the WRs that will give you the most value. Here are the guys I especially like in this scoring system after securing some of the Top 30 players:

• Jimmy Smith (Value = 31, ADP = 52) in the late 4th round or later.
• Jerry Porter (Value = 38, ADP = 63) in the 5th round or later.
• Peerless Price (Value = 42, ADP = 59) in the 5th round or later.
• Charles Rogers (Value = 43, ADP = 58) in the 5th round or later.
• Rod Smith (Value = 46, ADP = 65) in the 6th round or later.
• Larry Fitzgerald (Value = 53, ADP = 76) in the late 6th round or later.
• Brandon Lloyd (Value = 55, ADP = 90) in the 7th round or later.
• Reggie Wayne (Value = 59, ADP = 86) in the 7th round or later.
• Joey Galloway (Value = 60, ADP = 126) in the 9th round or later.
• Eddie Kennison (Value = 66, ADP = 135) in the 9th round or later.
• Muhsin Muhammad (Value = 72, ADP = 171) in the 10th round or later.
• Deion Branch (Value = 78, ADP = 111) in the 10th round or later.
• Quincy Morgan (Value = 81, ADP = 184) in the 11th round or later.
• Terry Glenn (Value = 85, ADP = 208) in the 11th round or later.
• Dennis Northcutt (Value = 87, ADP = 190) in the 11th round or later.
• Rod Gardner (Value = 91, ADP = 139) in the 11th round or later.
• David Terrell (Value = 98, ADP = 156) in the 12th ound or later.
• David Givens (Value = 102, ADP = 140) in the 12th round or later.
• Kevin Johnson (Value = 109, ADP = 150) in the 12th round or later.
• Travis Taylor (Value = 111, ADP = 222) in the 14th round or later.
• Jerry Rice (Value = 115, ADP = 170) in the 14th round or later.
• Ike Hilliard (Value = 122, ADP = 232) in the 15th round or later.
• Kelley Washington (Value = 128, ADP = 223) in the 15th round or later.
• Robert Ferguson (Value = 138, ADP = 211) in the 16th round or later.
• Brandon Stokley (Value = 142, ADP = 239) in the 16th round or later.
• Todd Pinkston (Value = 154, ADP = undrafted) in the 17th round or later.

Why such a deep list you ask? Because winning teams draft between 7-10 receivers. That probably seems excessive, but is the secret to uncovering a few gems. Note that most successful WCOFF rosters start 2 RBs and 4 WRs on most weeks. Add to that...key matchups, bye weeks, playing against a soft corner, etc and you should be able to see the value in getting a lot of wideouts in this format.

Some other WRs will undoubtedly slip in your drafts besides the above targeted bargain list. In recap, grap 2 solid receivers in your first 4 rounds and add at least 6 more the rest of the way. Because WRs will be undervalued most of the entire draft, grab as many as you can in the middle rounds to ensure you have some difference makers. Some will undoubtedly bust, but with 8-10 WRs you are likely to uncover a few gems too (Think Steve Smith here).

Tight Ends:

Tony Gonzalez and Todd Heap are so much better than everyone else at TE this season, you should either get one of these players or wait until very late in the draft to pick your TEs.

Unfortunately, you cannot get Gonzalez or Heap without overpaying. Their draft position will far outweight their actual worth in this scoring system.

So ultimately, once you get past the big TEs, you're really debating over a few points per week; which is why it is wise to just wait until the later rounds to select a TE.

In 2002, I told you to wait and get Todd Heap (great). In 2003, I targeted Stephen Alexander (bust), Freddie Jones (great) and Desmond Clark (average).

My pick for value TEs of the year are:

• Daniel Graham
• Desmond Clark
• Jim Kleinsasser
• Erron Kinney

Most of these can be drafted after round 13 which is exactly when I advise you to look at grabbing your first TE. Just grab the best one available in round 13 and don't look back. Note: If all of the above are available when you draft in the 13th, I would wait until round 14 to select your first TE.

Because quality TEs can usually be had on the waiver wire, I suggest after you have 1 TE, you should generally just wait until the last few rounds of your draft to add a backup.

Place Kickers:

Who cares right? Well...kind of right. Definitely nothing you should even look at until round 12. But all drafts are different. In leagues that go after kickers early, just wait. You will get two decent ones 3 rounds after every other owner has their first. In leagues that sluff this position until real late, look towards the top of the kicker list in round 12. If your top kicker is available then draft him. Suffice it to say that in a lot of leagues now, people wait too long to take their kickers. You can generally maximize kicker value by taking the 5th or 6th kicker in a draft as a rule of thumb. In waiver wire friendly leagues (most), don't be afraid to just draft 1 kicker and add others as necessary to cover the bye weeks/exploit matchups.

Defenses:

The top defenses (New England, Baltimore, Carolina) will not represent value in WCOFF leagues this year. Just like kickers, your league may draft defenses early or very late. Scoring systems generally come into play and define when defenses are taken.

I suggest you wait until round 12 to assess what to do next. If New England or Baltimore on the board, grab them and be done with this position. If those two teams are gone, I would wait until 6-8 defenses have been drafted and then see where the value is at.

Because owners rank defenses so differently, you can generally get good value just by waiting for the value to emerge.

A winning strategy to deploy after the draft for defenses is simply to look two games ahead in the waiver process. Most teams will have 1-2 defenses meaning that half of the defenses are available as free agent pick ups each week. By looking 2-3 weeks ahead at who will be playing Arizona, San Diego, New York Giants, or Houston you likely can find a cheap defense that should perform well against sub-par competition. Drop this defense after their "quality game" so that you can continue to pick up other defenses that will have good weeks. Because of this strategy, we advise you to draft but one quality defense and look to play matchups the rest of the way. Every year 2-3 defenses are predicted to be terrible and end up playing great (Atlanta, Carolina and Indianapolis last year).

Putting It All Together:

Look to draft an elite RB in round 1.

Draft players from the Top 30 list until they have all been taken.

Round out your team to 2 RBs and 2 WRs through the first 4 rounds. Add a WR or RB in round 5 as well.

There is no QB value in a WCOFF draft. They key is limiting the damage. I suggest you take your first QB at pick 8 or 9 (grab the best one available). Add a "value QB" in rounds 11-14. Consider taking a flier with your last pick on a QB that could be a goldmine with a key injury.

Grab at least two quality WRs (in rounds 2-4), stockpile at least one more solid contributor in rounds 5 and 6 and then wait for value to emerge. It always does. Stockpile value WRs. Some will bust, but others will help you win your league. Guys like Steve Smith emerge from deep in the draft every single year. Make sure you have drafted deep at WR to improve your chances at these breakout players. You should finish with a minimum of 8 WRs. Personally, I am looking to draft 10.

Sluff TE until the 13th round. If all four sleepers are still on the board, jump in the 14th round. If some of the sleepers are gone, draft the best TE you can in the 13th.

Sluff defense, but don't be afraid to grab the first or second in round 12. If defenses go earlier than normal, wait for 6-8 defenses to be picked before you take your first. Do not add a second defense (or if you do, add it very late). Work the waiver wire weeks ahead of great matchups for value.

Sluff kicker, but don't be afraid to grab the first or second in round 12. If kickers go early, take the 5th or 6th kicker in the draft. Wait until the last rounds to add a second kicker.

Well that is it folks. Hope you all do well in your upcoming WCOFF style drafts. Remember, the key is not to just follow the Top 200 list, but to see where it differs substantially from average drafts. This is how you get value. And value is how you build winning fantasy teams. And remember this article when you or I win this thing this year.

Notes:

I know there is more than one way to have a great draft. I have seen people deviate from these plans substantially and yield outstanding teams. I am not going to state that this article is the ONLY way to be successful in your WCOFF draft. It's simply one way to end up with what should be a very competitive team.