FantasyPros correspondent Jen Ryan breaks down why MFL10s should be tried by all fantasy football owners
If you are on Twitter, which I have highly recommended in the past that you should be, then you may remember seeing a bunch of tweets over the offseason of people announcing their “MFL10” picks. Last year, I had no idea what an MFL10 was, but I tried one and never looked back.
As someone who was new to the format, I found myself at 41 completed drafts before the 2015 season kicked off. I learned a lot about MFL10s last year, and I am here to share with you the what, where, when, how, why and who of MFL10.
What: These are best ball leagues. There is no roster management and you do not have to drive yourself crazy each week throughout the season trying to figure out who to play; you simply draft. That is the draw of MFL10s for me.
Drafts are done slowly through email. By slowly, I mean a draft can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to complete. You will receive an email notification letting you know you are on the clock and have eight hours to make your draft pick.
Just make sure you pre-draft before you go to bed at night, or you will wake up in the morning with the highest-ranked player. I do not care to share with you how many times I missed pre-drafting and woke up with Josh Gordon.
Where: My Fantasy League is where all of the magic happens. The fine folks over at My Fantasy League have essentially made the word offseason obsolete. I refuse to call it an offseason if I am actively drafting.
When: February 8, 2016. Mark your calendars now because the draft lobby officially opens on the Monday after the Super Bowl.
How: When you click on “Join a Draft” you will be prompted to make a deposit. MFL10s will cost you $10.00, MFL25s cost $25.00, MFL50s are $50.00, and the largest offering would cost you $100.00 for an MFL100. If we are just discussing MFL10s at the moment, consider all things in life that cost you $10.00.
How many of those things will award you $100.00 if you come in first place, or a free 2017 entry if you come in second place? Ponder that.
Why: I could write an entirely separate article about why I do, or why you should do, MFL10s. The first reason is this is fantasy football, and you would not be reading this article if you did not love this game. You do not have to wait until August to draft with your friends.
Drafting as early as February has many advantages. While it feels like the season just ended, it is nice to have the ability to dive right into the 2016 season. There is value to be had prior to free agency and the NFL Draft.
Maybe you draft someone who lands in an ideal situation on another team. If you rostered said player before the move, you might have gotten them at their cheapest price. Another reason I recommend diving right into MFL10s as early as you can is because this format gives you a great sense of player value and ADP.
By the time August rolls around, you will be able to draft with your eyes closed. You will already have a solid understanding of where players are being drafted, what players people are reaching for, and how cheap you will be able to grab your favorite late-round gem. Think of MFL10s as research with a potential payout.
Who: The MFL10 junkies are a community within the fantasy football world. When I began drafting, I did not really “know” anyone in the MFL10 community, but Twitter helped me get acquainted. There is a setting within the MFL10 dashboard that allows you to auto-tweet your picks.
These tweets lead to engaging conversations and form relationships with some of the great people out there who love best ball. I came to “know” many of these people throughout my drafts, but I wish I had been following most of them already.
I missed out on opportunities to pick their brains early on, but after a few drafts, I made many fast friends in the MFL10 world. Here are some of my top recommended MFL10 follows.
Mike MFL10 Addict
Mike is a self-professed addict, and he is not ashamed to admit it. The public leaderboard had Mike boasting 91 total drafts in 2015. Rumor has it he did pretty well in them. Mike also sells an MFL ADP Tool that I can personally say is the best $20.00 I have spent in my life. I encourage you to check it out and if you purchase it, use it. The biggest reason I am recommending him as a crucial MFL10 follow is because he is, hands down, one of the nicest people I have come to know over my MFL10 journey last year. Follow him and ask him questions. He is always willing to engage in an MFL10 discussion.
Frittleocity
I came to know Mr. Rittle by winding up in many drafts with him, and he has been a beneficial follow ever since we first chatted. This man has a wealth of knowledge and is always down for all types of fantasy football chatting. He is legit, too. You can find his work on the prestigious 4for4.com. If you click on that link you will notice they own the proud distinction of having our most accurate rankings since 2010.
Scott Barrett
Scott is what you call a volume player. He squeezed out 128 drafts last year. He is also someone you would call very, very smart. You can read his work on Pro Football Focus, the fantasy site that Cris Collinsworth became majority owner of. If straight analysis can bore you at times than Scott is someone you will want to talk to. His statistics knowledge is top notch, but you would be hard pressed to find someone with his level of wit and sarcasm.
Jacob Rickrode
Jacob is not just a hardcore MFL10 player. He is also a high stakes fantasy player and it is fascinating to follow his journey during the season. He contributes to the very well respected site RotoViz, and his Twitter timeline is full of all the stats you have never thought of. He is one of my favorite people to draft with, and I found myself in more than one league with him last season. Ask him anything fantasy related and he will have a well-thought out answer for you.
Nick Mensio
I came to know Nick during a draft when I selected Jarvis Landry 40th overall, and it blew his mind. He is a perfect example of someone who noticed a pick and commented. I started bugging Nick with questions ever since. The critiquing of picks is what makes us think results in us being smarter. This started a conversation between us and gave me a chance to pick the brain of a fantasy guru who writes for more sites than I can list. Nick is another solid follow and if you will want to pay attention to what he has to say when drafts begin.
Joshua Lake
Josh is sort of like a bonus follow because he writes for two great sites, RotoViz and 4for4. Another theme you may be noticing here is how I keep mentioning people who are easy to talk to when it comes to fantasy football. He seems to be available 24 hours a day and, like everyone else, he loves to talk football. When you combine that with his fantasy acumen, you have MFL10 gold. If you are not already following him, I suggest you get to it.
Mike B
First things first, follow Mike. Second, and this is very important, search “#chartsonchartsoncharts” on Twitter. Finally, spend all the time you need to scrolling through and admiring Mike’s fine chart work. There is no one who does it as well as he does. If you are more of the visual type, he is your guy. With 49 MFL10s under his belt last season, you can be assured he knows a thing or two about this.
Jason Rock Phelps
I’m not sure where to start with Jason, but it only feels right that I mention he has been nominated for the FSWA award of “Newcomer of the Year.” I should also probably mention that he is a data scientist. His number crunching abilities are rivaled by few, possibly none. You can find his work over at DraftSharks. Premium members have access to their MFL tracking tool which can fulfill all of your needs if you choose to dive into best ball drafts in the same manner I did. Enjoy picking his brain.
Taylor Christanson
Taylor’s daily fantasy work at FFLockerRoom is a testament to the amount of research he devours day in and day out. For the purposes of MFL10s, you will want to follow Taylor and pay very close attention to his sleepers. He has a knack for finding the right guys and has no shame in making a bold pick. You can learn a thing or two by following him, but you can learn even more by asking him who his sleepers are. Trust me, he will answer.
Dr. Evil
The evil doctor is somewhat of an MFL10 celebrity in my eyes. He completed 300 drafts last season, the second-most overall. You would think with all that drafting he would have no time to be on Twitter, but he does, and he is fascinating to chat with. If he does as many drafts this year as he did in 2015, as I suspect he will, then you will have a high probability of having the pleasure of drafting against him. He has under 200 followers on his Twitter profile. There are so many people missing out on his knowledge. Don’t be one of them.
There is not enough space here for me to mention all of the great MFL10 follows out there. If you are ever looking for more, do not hesitate to ask. If you are unsure about MFL10s and are feeling slightly intimidated you should take advantage of their private drafting option.
You and some of your home league friends can try one out, but I highly suggest jumping in the public ones. If you do a few, there is a good chance you will find yourself drafting against the Evan Silvas and J.J. Zachariasons of the world. I will admit that the first time I saw Evan Silva in my draft I was discouraged because I felt like I might as well have just sent him my $10.00.
That was the wrong approach and I soon started becoming excited when I saw a fantasy-famous name in my leagues. These are unique opportunities to play with and learn from the best.
Embrace the opportunity to study and learn. This will make you a better fantasy football player and help you dominate your home leagues, which are the ones that always mean the most.
Think about something you recently wasted $10.00 on. Head over to myfantasyleague.com and turn that $10.00 into $100.00. Good Luck!
Jen Ryan is a correspondent at FantasyPros, featured writer at Gridiron Experts and senior writer at Football Diehards. Click here for her archive and feel free to reach her and talk all things fantasy @FFdeJENerate.
