The 2024 NFL season is about to begin. This is also the fantasy football season.
Fantasy football is an online game where you draft the real NFL players to your team and earn points when the NFL players perform on the gridiron. This game can be played with your family, friends and even your strangers.
The sport of fantasy football has seen tremendous growth in the past few years. Fantasy football draft is where it all begins.
This is the most exciting part of the year for fantasy football fans. They get to pick their favorite NFL players after all the strategy and planning in the offseason.
If you’re someone who’s new to the world of fantasy football, do not worry. We have you covered. This page will explain to you everything you need to know about fantasy football drafts.
Also Read: How To Draft In Fantasy Football? - Best Fantasy Football Draft Strategy
How long does a 12-team fantasy football draft take?
Well, it depends. There are so many factors that go into the time taken to draft a fantasy football team from league size to roster size to time given for each pick.
In general when we are talking about a 12-team fantasy football draft, it usually takes anywhere in between one hour to two hours. A 12 team fantasy draft means that there are 12 teams in the fantasy league. And the roster size in most of the cases is 16 players with nine starters and seven bench players.
Another factor that we mentioned earlier is the length of the time per draft pick. The time given for each draft selection could vary from 30 to 60 to 90 seconds and sometimes even 120 seconds.
So in the end, to really answer how long a 12-team fantasy football draft might take, it’s usually anywhere in between 1-2 hours depending on the above factors.
Also Read: What are Dynasty Leagues and Keeper Leagues in Fantasy Football?
How many rounds are there in the fantasy football draft?
Another important factor in fantasy football drafts is the number of rounds. So how many rounds are usually there in a fantasy football draft? Well, it depends, again.
The beauty of fantasy football is that there are different types of leagues and each league is peculiar, from rules to rounds to strategy.
So let’s start from the most famous format of fantasy football, redraft leagues. Reedraft is where you draft your fantasy team for that particular season and that is it. The following year, as a fantasy manager, you draft a new team.
In redraft leagues, there are usually 16 rounds that happen through the fantasy football draft.
Next comes the dynasty leagues. This is the type of fantasy football where you draft your team and it remains the same year-to-year until the player retires or is traded.
In dynasty leagues, since the first draft is usually the final draft and the players will remain the same, there are around 25-30 rounds in the fantasy draft to give roster depth.
As we get into the best ball leagues, where you draft your team and then your job as a fantasy manager is done. The best players will be used in the starting spot every single week. There are usually 18-20 rounds and sometimes even more in fantasy football drafts in the best ball league to provide stability and mitigate player injuries throughout the season.
With the 2024 fantasy football season on the horizon, be sure to check out our free Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer to lock down your squad for the year.
FAQs
A. As we discussed earlier the number of factors for the fantasy football draft. If it is a 12-team league, with 16-man roster and the time for each draft selection is 120 seconds then the time taken would be 12x16x120 = 23040 that is more than six hours. But in reality, since the fantasy manager knows the position they will be drafting, it helps in moving quickly.
A. In general, the regular season of fantasy football will last for 13-4 weeks and the fantasy football playoffs begin from week 15 and go on til week 18.
A. Fantasy football drafts usually begin near the end of the month of August or the first week of September before the commencement of Week 1 of the NFL season.
A. In general, a fantasy manager picks multiple quarterbacks, four wide receivers, multiple running backs, multiple tight ends, multiple d/st and multiple kickers.
A. The ideal starting lineup consists of a quarterback, multiple wide receivers, multiple running backs, one tight end, one kicker, one d/st and a flex position with seven players on the bench.
There are usually 16 rounds in a 12-team fantasy football draft. It generally takes around 90-120 minutes for the completion of the draft.
