RELATED: See 5 Salary Cap Traps to Avoid
A salary cap draft can be daunting to those trying the format after years of drafting in serpentine leagues. That's not a problem unique to new salary cap drafters, though. Even the most veteran salary cap drafters can struggle in the high-pressure situations that arise during the draft. The sheer number of variables, the speed of the draft, and the complexity of the decisions test your fantasy football knowledge in a way no other format can.
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Here are some tips and tricks you can take into your draft to instantly raise the level of your salary cap draft ability.
Salary Cap Draft Nominations Are Precious
One of the most common mistakes in a salary cap draft is failing to pay attention to the impact nominations have on the direction of the draft. In a league with 16-man rosters and 12 teams, there will be 192 nominations, but you'll make only 16 of them (give or take a couple). Use them wisely.
As soon as you nominate a player, you should immediately be thinking about who you want to nominate next. Are you running low on money and need to wait a while? Try to find an overhyped player to draw out some money. Are you trying to lock down a top tight end? Don't wait. Nominate one of the top guys as soon as you get the chance.
Remember one other thing: You don't have to be concerned if you need to change your mind about your next nomination while you wait for your turn. That's okay, and in fact, that's what you're supposed to do. Stay fluid and continue to revise your opinion about who you want to nominate when it's your turn.
Deals Happen Early
This is one of the more concrete laws of a salary cap draft. When managers are settling into the draft and have a full salary cap to spend, they'll be cautious with the first few players who come up for bid. This leads to prices that won't be available later in the draft. Often, the honeymoon period in a salary cap draft is short—as few as two to four players—but it will almost always be there. Don't be asleep when you see it happening.
Being one of the first managers to spend $45 or $50 on a player doesn't feel great, but you'll be glad you did when similar players are going for $10 more by the middle of the next round. If prices are too low, they will go up at some point. Take the early discount.
Don't Allocate Too Much Money to Your Bench
Having all $1 players on your bench isn't the best idea, but it's closer to a good idea than you might think. Fantasy managers can't hope to stave off the grind of the NFL season and all the injuries that come with it by drafting a deep bench. It sounds logical, but even the deepest rosters can quickly fall apart with bad injury luck.
Instead of trying to insulate yourself from the inevitable, rely on your ability to use the waiver wire and aggressively manage your roster. This means that, in your draft, you'll spend the majority of your salary cap on your starters—as much as 85% to 90% of your allotment.
The hidden benefit is that when you attack your starting lineup aggressively, you'll often find a few deals for your starters that allow you to invest more than you anticipated in a couple of backups.
Keep Your Salary Cap Draft Space Uncluttered
This tip might seem obvious, but there is so much information available to fantasy drafters these days that there can be too much of a good thing. Resist the temptation to bring a bunch of printed rankings or magazines or to have a cluster of browser windows open while you draft. It may feel good, a bit like a security blanket, but it will hinder your freedom to think and adapt as things unfold. You will rarely have time to use that information while the salary cap draft is happening because things move much too fast to reference anything while a player is up for bid.
Bring your tier sheets, your par sheet, and your software for tracking money/rosters, and leave the rest behind.