Fantasy Football Draft Kit Analysis – The Best Free & Paid Kits for 2023

Modern fantasy football draft kits feature innovative tools, unique statistical insights, and diverse consumption channels (think exclusive podcasts, video player reviews, etc). Draft kits are vital if you’re looking to gain an edge and win more championships.

Today I reveal the best kits of 2023 including the best features, pros, cons, and even some exclusive discounts.

Comparing the Best Fantasy Football Draft Kits

If you’re looking for physical, paper-based draft boards, check out my review of offline fantasy football draft boards. There I evaluate reusable, auction-based, and fully-customizable draft boards.

The 3 Best Fantasy Football Draft Kits

While preparing for the 2023 NFL season, I had a chance to evaluate four of the best fantasy football draft kits. These kits have established a record for accurate predictions, quality advice, and unique tools for draft preparation, execution, and evaluation.

Let’s look at each of these kits in detail.

Draft Sharks’ provide actionable content and tools

The 2023 Draft Kit from the guys over at Draft Sharks is an intelligent blend of premium content and innovative tools. In addition to the standard features you’d expect (in-depth player profiles, sleepers, busts, etc.), you’ll also get unique components you won’t find anywhere else.

There’s also the fact that Draft Sharks has won seven accuracy awards from the FSTA since 2012. So you know the rankings that power their tools are reliable, which could be the difference between making the playoffs and winning a championship.

And sometimes, those small margins are what tip the scales.

Let’s look at some of the more popular aspects of their 2023 package.

Draft War Room hosts mock and live drafts

The Draft War Room is Draft Sharks’ premium preseason tool. It doubles as both a mock draft trainer and a live draft software tool.

Owners looking to sharpen their drafting skills get free access to the Mock Draft Trainer version of the tool. Draft Sharks’ realistic draft pick algorithm enabled you to practice an entire draft in minutes, honing those skills that give you an edge.

If you like what you see, you can purchase their pre-season kit and use the same interface to host your actual live draft. So there’s no need to learn new software!

Round-by-round draft strategies

Draft Sharks also publishes in-depth content to help you develop sound draft day strategies. These articles detail breakout players, comeback players, early-round buses, and other actionable tactics to deploy on draft day.

If you want to check out some of their draft day strategies from last year, you can do so here.

Injury predictor helps keeps your roster health

One of the most unique features of their 2023 kit is the Injury Predictor interface. While most draft kits consider a player’s proneness to injury in their ultimate ranking, Draft Sharks actuality quantifies the value of the projected loss in production:

1. Identifies players with a concerning injury history
2. Provides detailed breakdown of those injuries
3. Classifies players into distinct risk levels
4. Predicts their injury risk going into the 2023 season
5. Postulates the estimated game time to be lost
6. Provides a final point projection that considers value loss

Now you’ll know definitively how far you should demote a player when considering these factors.

Think you might want to give this kit a try? Well for a very short time, Draft Sharks is offering my readers one full week of free access to their DS Insider package. This deal includes their draft package, in-season tools, and even their daily fantasy sports features.

Draft Wizard has tools for every phase of the game

FantasyPros’ Draft Wizard is an extensive draft kit that is easily adaptable to a wide variety of league types. They have numerous widgets that leverage the top fantasy minds to help you gain a significant advantage on draft day and beyond.

The most popular tools in the Draft Wizard include:

• Draft Simulator – helps you mock those draft day scenarios
• Draft Assistant – provides real-time guidance as you draft
• Draft Analyzer – emulates your team’s strength post-draft

You can learn more about the Draft Analyzer and other rate my fantasy team tools in our dedicated article on team graders. There you’ll find our favorite draft rating tools for 2023.

Draft Simulators predict player availability in real-time

Anticipating your opponents’ draft picks can help you make the most of each draft selection. The Draft Simulator feature in the Draft Wizard can predict owner selections, creating a realistic reflection of how the draft might play out in real life.

The Draft Simulator is an excellent mock draft tool with an array of customization options. I illustrate those options below.

If you’re in a keeper league, you can import your opponents’ rosters before running mock draft simulations. Does your league have custom scoring you need to consider? This fantasy football draft kit has that covered too.

They even have an auction draft simulator.

The Draft Assistant offers advice for every pick of your draft

The Draft Assistant tool inside the Draft Wizard does more than identify the BPA (best player available). It delivers real-time draft advice that considers factors like your existing roster, opponents’ rosters, and the remaining player pool.

So if there a run on wideouts, the Assistant will let you know that the wide receiver pool is dwindling. By the same token, if the other owners are set at a particular position, the assistant will indicate that you can address different positions.

It’s that smart!

Oh, and it’s also fully-functional on mobile. So if you don’t want to drag your laptop with you to the draft, use the included app instead.

Check out my Fantasy Pros Draft Assistant Review for a details breakdown of this impressive feature.

The Draft Analyzer puts the upcoming season into perspective

After the draft is over, it’s natural to look at your roster and overreact. Maybe you hate your team and decide to pursue daily fantasy instead.

Perhaps you love your team so much you want to gawk at the results and rosterbate.

In either case, there is much work to do. Why wait for the first game when you can start scouting immediately after your draft?

The Draft Analyzer helps you identify areas of weakness so you can start to improve through waivers or trades immediately.

Plenty of auction league features in this kit

Auction league owner may think there is no such thing as a fantasy football auction draft kit. But Fantasy Pros has you covered there, too.

In addition to their Auction Draft Simulator, they publish multiple cheat sheets with auction values that adjust based on your specific scoring system.

Every kit feature for one low monthly price

Unlike the Ultimate Draft Kit, the Draft Wizard pricing structure is subscription-based. The subscription model requires that you sign-up for recurring billing and cancel when you no longer want the service.

You get access to every feature and every tool in the Draft Wizard for $12.99 per month (or $7.99 if you don’t need auction or keeper support). But if you purchase a year subscription, that price plummets to only $4.99 per month (or $2.99 for simple, re-draft leagues).

That’s a crazy good deal for year-round fantasy advice. And the price is even more appealing when you consider that your subscription comes with support for not only fantasy football, but also fantasy basketball, fantasy baseball, and fantasy hockey.

Draft Wizard leads into My Playbook post-draft

The best part about a yearly subscription FantasyPros is that most of their widgets are designed to help you succeed during the season. So if you’re looking for a fantasy football draft kit that provides value even after the draft, a subscription to FantasyPros is your best option.

Once the season starts, you can begin to use their My Playbook kit. This includes tools to help you improve your team and make that push toward the championship.

RotoWire’s Draft Kit adds a human element

RotoWire has been a fixture in the fantasy sports industry for as long as I can remember. They’re known for publishing breaking players news and providing personalized fantasy advice from (gasp!) real human beings!

If you need specific advice, Ask an Expert

Fantasy football can be a lonely game. You can’t talk to your opponents about strategies, ordinatry people don’t get it, and experts don’t have time to answer questions from the 59.3 million people that play fantasy sports each year.

But somehow, RotoWire has a team of experts on hand to do precisely that. If you’re wondering if you should accept a trade, or unsure of who to add from the waiver wire, RotoWire lets you ask an actual human being what they think.

When it comes to accepting or rejecting a trade, it helps to utilize online tools. Check out my review of the best fantasy football trade analyzers for a list of trade tools for 2023.

This Rotowire draft kit runs on your PC

RotoWire’s draft tools aren’t web-based, like most sites. Instead, they’ve developed a downloadable software package that you install on your PC.

This draft kit includes cheat sheets that you can generate based on your league type and scoring system. And these cheat sheets are highly-customizable, including over 30 different stat categories.

The Rotowire Draft Kit also features a mock draft utility, draft pick tracker, and personal note-taking widget.

What Makes an Effective Fantasy Football Draft Kit

In fantasy football, it’s challenging to develop a significant advantage when you rely on the same public data that your opponents are consuming. Routinely, the best owners in this scenario are the ones who act the fastest.

But the best fantasy football draft kits go way deeper than standard cheat sheets and projections. They identify obscure (but actionable) metrics that your average owner will never see.

I’m talking about the metrics and fantasy tools that will help you identify diamonds in the rough, increasing your odds of having a dominant fantasy draft. As as we all know, a successful draft is the key to a productive season.

A good draft kit mixes standard and innovative features

All fantasy football draft kits provide some level of baseline functionality that owners have come to expect. For instance, every kit will include custom cheat sheets that are adaptable to various league types (Standard, PPR, etc.).

But what separates the best draft kits from basic draft preparation packages are unique insights that help you identify the diamonds in the rough.

Many 2018 leagues were won by owners who selected lesser-known players like Patrick Mahomes and avoided big-name disasters like Le’Veon Bell. And kit creators like the Fantasy Footballers were able to make these calls.

If you’re strictly looking for assistance during your draft, check out my list of the top fantasy football software. There you’ll find programs that provide tips and player insights to ensure you draft the best player possible.

Insightful features for draft preparation and assistance

Fantasy football is essentially a data war. The victors have access to the best information and tools. And they use them effectively.

In addition to containing more in-depth analytics and interactive tools, next-level kits help you:

• Efficiently prepare for your draft in less time
• Develop an intelligent draft strategy
• Make informed picks during your draft
• Find diamonds in the rough
• Evaluate your final roster after a draft

The keys to finding a draft kit that speaks to you

Before you consider purchasing a draft kit, think about the type of media you typically consume. Your learning style, research schedule, and media preferences make some types of content easier to consume and than others.

Are you someone who likes to start with free spreadsheet templates and develop your own projections? Do you prefer audio content that you can listen to on your drive to work? Maybe you’d rather sit down and watch a video library that features highlights and in-game performances.

Each fantasy football draft kit has content channels where it excels and others where it falls flat. It’s essential to purchase a kit that fits your research habits.

Know thyself, young baller.

Evaluating draft kit pricing and refund policies

It may not make sense to splurge for a premium draft kit if you play in a free league. That is unless bragging rights are a driving force in your league (they are in mine)!

Luckily, most kits are very affordable. And in my opinion, are well worth the small investment.

The most common kit pricing structures

Draft kit developers sell their services using either a one-time purchase or subscription-based model. Each of these has its pros and cons.

A one-time purchase is typically more expensive than a single month of a subscription-based service. Also, the product tends to become irrelevant much faster.

But you don’t have to remember to cancel your membership with a one-time purchase, as there is no agreement for recurring payment.

Subscription-based kits can start to get over expensive if you keep them active for a long time. But monthly they are insanely inexpensive (as little as $2.99 if you sign-up for an entire year).

Refunds are rare, so choose your kit wisely

Some fantasy football draft kits come with a money-back guarantee or limited refund policy. But be aware that these policies are unusual.

It’s just too easy for owners to use a kit to prep for a draft, then claim they weren’t satisfied with the results. If you follow my advice in picking a draft kit, this should be a non-issue.