By Adam Zimmerman
The rule I’m proposing is to add a form of compensation for “dead picks”, or picks that people are not able to use at the end of the draft due to having more picks then they have roster spots, as simply as possible. This would protect the base value of an owners draft equity in the case that they trade players away and gain draft picks in return.
As we all know, draft picks and players have an intrinsic value. So all teams start the draft with the value of a single pick in each of the ten rounds, as well as the value of the keepers you have chosen. When you trade away one of your players and get a pick in return you work under the assumption that the pick will have at the very least a similar value to that player, so your overall equity should stay roughly the same. Some players will turn out to have a value higher or lower than the value of that pick, but being able to predict if a player is going to be a boom or bust is the whole point of trying to make trades.
When you work from the side of trading players away and getting picks in return you’re faced with the dilemma of having dead picks. These dead picks are still picks with a value to them, and by allowing them to be thrown out, you cut away some of the base equity that a team has. I’m proposing that we introduce a simple way to allow owners to consolidate that equity, protecting owners from being at a disadvantage for choosing to hold more of their equity in the form of draft picks.
The system that I’m proposing is fairly simple. A team can choose to trade in their dead picks and one active pick for a single pick. The round in which the pick they receive is based on how many picks they traded in, and the position of the active pick that they traded in. These compensatory picks would be at the end of the round they end up in. If an owner trades in 2-3 picks then their compensatory pick is one round higher than the active pick. If they trade in 4-6 picks then their compensatory pick is two rounds higher than the active pick. If an owner trades in 7 or more picks then the compensatory pick is 3 rounds higher than the active pick. This method is a fair and simple way to protect a teams total equity.
Introducing this rule also opens up a lot of new strategies for how operate your team and navigate a season. For example imagine a team with a lot of players with middle of the pack talent. That player can trade their non keepers for extra middle round or late round picks. Their dead picks will then be traded in and allow them an extra middle round pick, giving them a greater chance to find good players and allow them to compete with the top owners. I believe this will give middle to lower end teams another way to remain competitive, similar to how forgoing keepers can give an extra pick.
It is important to keep the rule simple, as keeping track of everybody’s picks is already a task, and capping it at being able to move forward 3 rounds makes sure that people don’t take advantage of the intention of the rule. I believe this rule should be adopted in order to protect owners equity and introduce new strategies to the league.
The MFL 