2013 Fantasy Football: Rookie Flex Position Changing Many Leagues

Do you want this fantasy football season to be like no other?  I’m sure you have played in different formatted leagues, where starting rosters and scoring settings altered your pre-draft rankings.  There are dynasty leagues and keeper leagues, auction, live and on-line drafts.   The IDP, or individual defensive player was born a few years back.  Some leagues have welcomed this addition; I personally stick with just the defense/special team roster position.  So what would and how could fantasy football be modified to that next level?  In 2012 I introduced two leagues to a whole new concept.  This never before fantasy football modification has returned for 2013, and now I will share it with you.

Are you a huge college football fan?  Are you someone like me who watches every single pick of the NFL draft even though you barely recognize the majority of names being called?  Typically the “need to know” status of college players entering the NFL is only critical for dynasty league formats that have an incoming rookie draft.  They also come into play with regular leagues when you are looking for those late round selections that you hope provide mid to late season value.  Yes there are those skilled players like Trent Richardson and Doug Martin from 2012 that owners were going to spend anywhere from a second to fourth round pick.  This year owners will really consider the likes of Monte Ball in Denver, Eddie Lacy in Green Bay or Tavon Austin in St. Louis.  What if rookies were forced to be entered into your starting line-up on a weekly basis?  Not as your flex option or due to a bye week, but for every game of the season.  What if their normal ADP (average draft position) could not be compared to the websites or magazines you use to measure a good spot to take that newcomer to the NFL?  No longer a “what if,” I challenge you to make this concept a “what is.”

The “rookie flex” position changed fantasy football last year for my two leagues unlike anything I have ever seen.  The unpredictability to where players would be drafted without knowing how they would measure up at the NFL level was an amazing experience.  There was no way for me to manually put in a “rookie flex” position in the starting line-ups.  What I did was inform the other league members that the one flex position was for a rookie only.  RB/WR/TE, a starting roster position we have all seen for years; this time however it could only be filled by a rookie.

When do you draft your rookie and how many should you draft?  The rookie flex will challenge you to think in ways never experienced up until this point of your fantasy football career.  Rookies are drafted before the vets, taken rounds before their normal ADP.  All it takes is your commissioner ensuring that a rookie is started each week per each league owner’s roster.   Are you already breaking down the top 10, top 20 rookies in the 2013 draft class?  Are some in better situations then others to succeed based upon the team that drafted them and not the place they were drafted?

It’s time to add the rookie flex to your fantasy football team; it will never be the same from this point moving forward.