One year our fate was in the hands of a 2-year-old child.
Another year it belonged to a bleary-eyed blonde at a three-day music festival somewhere in Central New York.
And on a different day, many years ago, it was handpicked by a friend from the dance floor on his wedding day.
I’m talking of course about the first jewel of the fantasy football triple crown: Draft Order Selection Day. (Draft Day and Championship Weekend are the second and third jewels, respectively, of course.)
What does your league usually do to determine the draft order? If you typically sit around, drink a couple of cold ones, and pick names out of a hat—that’s cool. My home league of unlovable drunks has been down that road many times.
But maybe it’s time to start a new tradition. This could be the year your draft order selection process turns into a full-blown party. I mean, why not, right?
Here are some fun ways to determine the draft order in your redraft fantasy football leagues.
2020 Draft Kit: View printable cheat sheets, sleepers & mistakes to avoid 
1. The Poker Game
Back in the day, it was relatively easy to get all of your friends in the same room to play some cards or watch the game. These days? Not so much. Fortunately, there’s this little thing called the internet.
If you can’t get the crew together in person, fire up a poker app on your phone or tablet and get ready to control your own destiny. In this poker game, you’re not playing for money—you’re playing for the number-one pick in the draft.
How many guys and gals are in your league? Eight? Ten? There’s a good chance you can all sit at the same virtual poker table, in which case the rules are simple: Whoever wins the poker game will be awarded the first overall pick in the draft; whoever comes in second place will be awarded the second overall pick in the draft; and so on. Makes sense, right?
Alternatively, you could give each winner the option to choose which draft position they want. So if you win the poker game, you could pick any draft pick you want—first, fifth, 12th, whatever. But if you come in dead last, you’re stuck with whichever pick’s leftover.
Are you in a 12- or 14-team league? You might need to set up a small tournament of four different poker games. Here’s what that would look like.
Game 1:
- Six or seven players at a table
- The top three or four finishers advance to Game 3
- The bottom finishers advance to Game 4
Game 2:
- Six or seven different players at a table
- The top three or four finishers advance to Game 3
- The bottom finishers advance to Game 4
Game 3: These players will play for the top six or eight picks in the draft
Game 4: These players will play for the bottom six or eight picks in the draft
Do you covet the first overall pick? You’re gonna have to earn it.
Note: If you’re not into cards, you could swap out poker with just about any other online game. Mario Kart competition? Perfect. Madden tourney? Go for it.
Create a game within the game and see who has what it takes to dominate the competition on Draft Order Selection Day.
2. The Wheel / Owners Meeting
There’s a good chance you’ve already picked your favorite virtual meeting platform. What’s more, you’ve probably been using it to communicate with your league mates and others since February or earlier. In any case, you can use this platform to set up a virtual happy hour or late-night hangout session with your league mates. Once everyone’s online and in the chat, it’s time to celebrate Draft Order Selection Day.
By the way, this is also a good opportunity to host an owner’s meeting. Now that you’re all together, determine league buy-ins, payouts, scoring settings, and roster spots. Any other news or notes around your league? Now’s the time to talk about them. After you’ve squared away all the rules and requirements of your league, you can cap off the night with… The Wheel.
It’s finally time to select your draft order. But remember! Everyone must be able to see the selections in real-time—so don’t forget to share your screen with the group. Here’s what to do:
- Go to the Wheel of Names
- Enter the names of everyone in your league
- Share your screen!
- Spin the wheel
- Announce the winner and record their draft spot
- Remove their name from the virtual wheel
- Spin again
- Repeat as necessary
Whoever comes up on the first spin—they get the first overall pick. Whoever comes up on the second spin—they get the second overall pick. You get the rest. Don’t forget to remove each name from the wheel after every spin!
3. The Cameo?
What do Bob Saget, Brett “The Hitman” Hart, and Redman all have in common? They’re all willing to create a personalized video message for you, courtesy of Cameo… which makes you wonder… if they’d record a random message for money, wouldn’t they pick a few names out of a hat, read those names, and then wish every one of those names a happy and healthy fantasy season? I don’t see why not.
This year, make your Draft Order Selection Day one to remember with a special message from your favorite athlete, comedian, or reality star. The weirder the better, I say. And geez Louise, you’ll never know who you’re going to find on this website. Wow. Here are a few Cameo suggestions:
- Ernie Hudson
- The Soup Nazi
- Mick Foley
- Hue Jackson
- This Donald Trump Impersonator
- Charlie Sheen
- Gary Busey
Whoa. It even looks like you can book a Zoom meeting with some of these folks, too!
Imagine shooting the breeze with Brett Favre on a Zoom call, picking his brain about fantasy football, and having him personally select the draft order for your fantasy football league. Is it a guarantee? Nope. Is it a possibility? Absolutely. And in the world of fantasy sports, that’s all you need.
Do you have a tradition all your own? Let us know on Twitter!
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Jim Colombo is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Jim, check out his archive and follow him @WideRightNBlue.
