With Fantasy Football season around the corner, part of the adrenaline rush in playing re-draft fantasy football is finding out the draft order for your league. The draft is, after all, one of the most anticipated events of the season. The draft order can significantly impact your team’s strategy and success, your draft preparation, and even your mood. Finding a fun, fair way to draft that gets everyone involved also ensures that you’re getting what you desire for the entire year; participation from everyone in the league. Below are five, fun, creative ways to determine draft order for your league.
Best Ways to Determine Your Fantasy Football Draft Order
Wonderlic Test
Yeah, you heard that right. NFL players all take this Wonderlic test as they go through the college — NFL transition, and can have an impact on where they’re drafted. Fantasy football is all about strategizing, planning, and studying these players. Why not put that IQ to the test and have all of your teammates take this 12-minute practice Wonderlic Test, and put their brains to the test?
Rules: You want to set a date and time, in which everyone should start the test. Once the test is over, league-mates are to take a screenshot of their results and share it with the group chat through your league platform. The individual who had the highest IQ acquires 1.01, 2nd highest gets 1.02, etc etc. This creates a fun, competitive competition that gets everyone in the league invested. Not to mention, you get to brag about that high IQ you’ve been talking about.
Current NFL Players and their Wonderlic Results:
Matthew Stafford – 38
Josh Allen – 37
Baker Mayfield – 25
Demarcus Lawrence – 20
Lamar Jackson – 13
Video Game Simulation
The commissioner of your league has a lot of responsibility. Picking a video game to use to set the draft order could be one of the biggest ones yet. Some examples of fun games could be:
- Madden
- MLB The Show
- Smackdown vs. Raw
- Mario Kart
- Super Smash Bros
Rules: Once the game is picked, the commissioner will draw names from a bucket or hat to represent each league member. For the sports games, the commissioner will run a simulation of an entire season. The standings at the end of the simulated season will determine the draft order.
1.01 – the team with the best record
1.02 – 2nd best record
1.03 – 3rd best record, etc etc
For the others, the Commissioner simulates a battle royale, or royal rumble, with all the characters who represent each team. As the battle goes on, the first player eliminated gets the last pick. The winner of the battle royale, or the royal rumble, gets the 1.01.
In-Person 40-yard dash
Time to knock the dust off on those running shoes in your closet, and get to sprinting. Everyone in the league runs a 40-yard dash. The slowest gets the last pick, and the fastest in the league gets to pick their draft slot. 2nd fastest picks next, etc etc. You’ve been all talk about those high school days, time to put that to the test.
Some notable 40-yard dash times:
- WR – Xavier Worthy – 4.21
- WR – Mike Evans – 4.53
- WR – Davante Adams – 4.56
- OL – Troy Fautanu – 5.01 seconds
- Rich Eisen – 6.22
I spy – Scavenger hunt
It’s exactly what it sounds like. The way to determine this draft order is easy, fun, and competitive.
Rules: The Commissioner of the league decides on 3-4 items that make a scavenger hunt, a fun game. Item examples:
- Yellow Car
- Fire Extinguisher
- Boat
- Someone wearing a black shirt
- A bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos
Whatever items the Commission chooses, league members are to take a selfie in front of the items. The first person to take a selfie of all the items gets to pick their draft slot. 2nd person to complete picks next, etc etc. This will take a few days but keeps the league engaged and fun. Not to mention it will make for a great collage at the end of the year.
Simulated 100-yard rush
Perhaps the easiest and most effective way is to create a 100-yard rush. On this website, you can simply enter the number of teams in your league, with the names of each rusher. You can randomize the order they’re running, and how quickly, or slowly, you want it to go. If you’re not in the mood to pull your hamstring or show off your brain power as mentioned above, this is a quick and effective way to determine your league’s draft order.
Honorable Mentions:
- Birthdays (whoever is closest to Jan 1st picks 1st)
- Trivia Games
- Lottery system
- Virtual Horse Race
- In-Person Horse Race
- Free throw competition
Got more crazy ways to select your fantasy football draft order? Let us hear them in the comments below and then make sure to check out our 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit for more great rankings and analysis.