Overview of drafting in Yahoo Fantasy

It takes strategy, commitment, and good luck to win at Yahoo Fantasy. The first thing you'll need to do is fill your roster with as many great players as you can by participating in a draft. Use this guide to find out which draft type is right for you and prep for your draft.

Available draft types

  • Live Standard Draft - Managers take turns drafting players until all the roster spots are full. Available in all league types.
  • Live Salary Cap Draft - Managers take turns nominating a player and all managers can place an offer for that player using a budget. The top offer is then able to sign the player to their roster. Available in all league types.
  • Autopick Draft - An automated system drafts every team based on pre-draft rankings or the default system rankings. Available in Public and Private Leagues.
  • Offline Draft - Your league conducts its draft however you want. Your commish then enters the results into our system. Available only in Private Leagues.

Get some practice with a Mock Draft

If you want to do a trial run and see how Live Standard or Live Salary Cap Drafts work, you can join a Mock Draft from the "Draft" menu. After you get some practice under your belt, you'll be ready for the real thing!

Server pre-draft check and room access entry time

  • Pre-draft check - Our servers begin the pre-draft check for your league to open the draft room about an hour before draft time. Make sure you've joined your league by this time or you might not be able to join.
  • Draft room access - We recommend you join at least 10 minutes early so you don't miss any of the action, but the draft room opens about 30 minutes before draft time.

Pre-rank desired players in case you miss your draft

Whether you're in a Public or Private League, you should pre-rank your preferred players. If you're unable to attend your draft or something happens and you miss a draft pick, autopick will kick in and use your pre-rank settings to fill your roster for you.