Draftsy Is Changing the Way Fans Play Fantasy Sports

Fantasy sports can be incredibly rewarding, but they also require a serious time commitment. Researching players, preparing for drafts, monitoring injuries, working the waiver wire and setting lineups every week can start to feel like a second job.

For some fantasy players, that's part of the fun. For others, it's the reason they don't play at all.

Draftsy offers another option.

The concept is simple: draft teams instead of individual players. You still get the strategy and excitement of a fantasy draft, but once your teams are selected, there's no roster to manage.

And while Draftsy offers games for the NFL, MLB, and NCAA basketball, its approach to college football may be its most intriguing offering.

The Story Behind Draftsy

Draftsy was created by Eddie O'Donnell, and his path to building a fantasy sports platform wasn't exactly conventional.

O'Donnell grew up a sports fan in South Carolina, but baseball and basketball were his passions. He was an accomplished high school third baseman who drew interest from four MLB teams. Football, meanwhile, wasn't a major part of his childhood.

That changed after college, when O'Donnell created a game to play with friends and family.

What started as a way to spend time together quickly became an annual tradition.

"It brought us all together and provided commonality," O'Donnell told Fantasy Sports On SI. "Our college draft day became THE DAY of the year we looked forward to."

That experience eventually became the foundation for Draftsy.

O'Donnell realized the game was doing something traditional fantasy sports don't always accomplish: It was getting people to watch games together who might not otherwise have been invested in them.

College Football Was the Beginning

O'Donnell's game introduced him to the broader culture of college football—the rivalries, traditions, bands, tailgates and, of course, the sheer number of games.

He remembers drafting Hawaii and staying up until midnight to watch the Rainbow Warriors. Tuesday night MACtion suddenly became appointment viewing, while Wednesday night Sun Belt games inched him closer to the big Saturday slate. All the games began to matter.

"It was easy to see that football brought people together," O'Donnell said. "And THAT was a driving force behind creating what has now become Draftsy."

That social element remains central to the platform.

Before Draftsy became an app, O'Donnell introduced the game at bars and restaurants throughout South Carolina and watched people discover it for themselves. He was eventually invited into players' homes to watch their draft parties.

"I got to witness first hand the excitement of people experiencing this new game and the pure joy in their eyes as they made their picks," O'Donnell said. "It was just fun."

Those experiences helped convince O'Donnell that the concept had potential beyond his own circle of friends.

Three Ways to Play

Today, Draftsy offers three distinct formats: Draftsy, Picks and Stacks.

Each provides a different way to interact with sports without requiring the weekly management associated with traditional fantasy.

Draftsy

This is the original game.

Draftsy uses a familiar snake-draft format with a draft clock, but instead of selecting individual players, you select teams.

After the draft, the season takes care of itself.

Teams earn points based on their performance, including points scored and wins, while bonuses can be awarded for major upsets and defensive performances. Losses can cost you points.

The college football format adds another interesting wrinkle: the bowl games serve as the playoffs.

That means your draft strategy can pay off months later. The more bowl-eligible teams you select, the more opportunities you have to score during the postseason.

Leagues can range from two to 12 teams, making the format easy to adapt for friends, family or even challenge a friend heads up.

Perfect Picks

Perfect Picks offers a shorter-term version of the Draftsy experience.

Instead of keeping the same teams for an entire season, players can make new selections each week or even each day.

It's a good option for anyone who wants to play without making a season-long commitment, and it can also serve as an introduction to the Draftsy scoring system.

Stacks on Stats

For players who enjoy the statistical side of fantasy, Stacks on Stats takes a different approach.

Rather than focusing on individual player statistics, the game is built around team statistics.

Draftsy Stacks on Stats — Draftsy Fantasy Sports

Players receive 100 coins and select six teams before distributing those coins across three statistical categories. You can spread your coins around or concentrate them on the areas where you believe your teams have the most upside.

Stacks can be played in weekly or daily formats.

Why Draftsy's College Football Game Stands Out

College football has always presented a challenge for fantasy sports.

There are hundreds of teams, games are played throughout the week and following individual players across the entire sport can be overwhelming.

Draftsy sidesteps that problem by putting the focus on the teams themselves.

According to Draftsy’s Head of Operations, Kevin Grainger, roughly 74% of college football fans like the idea of a college fantasy format, but many don't have an appealing option because existing platforms can be too complicated or incorporate elements they aren't interested in, including gambling.

Draftsy provides a simpler alternative.

Instead of worrying about the starting running back at a particular school or checking injury reports every Saturday morning, you can draft the teams you believe in and then watch them play.

It's fantasy football built around the games themselves.

More Than Just Another Fantasy App

The most interesting part of Draftsy may not be the scoring system or the different formats.

It's the reason O'Donnell created it in the first place.

He wanted something that would give friends and family a reason to get together and enjoy sports. Over the years, he watched that idea turn into draft parties, new friendships and traditions that extended well beyond his original group.

"People invited me into their homes to watch their draft parties, and I developed friendships that lasted a lifetime," O'Donnell said. "The organic growth and sense of bringing people together was enough to know there was something to be had here."

That's still the philosophy behind Draftsy.

You don't have to spend your entire Sunday managing a roster. You don't have to memorize every player projection. And you don't need to dedicate hours every week to keep your team competitive.

You can simply draft, watch and enjoy.

For fantasy veterans looking for something different—and casual sports fans who have always found traditional fantasy too demanding—Draftsy offers a fresh way to make the games matter a little more.

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