On top of what Ladna just added, I also did a [url=http://ralphis.unidoom.org/stuff/idl/draft_research.htm]12-team draft analysis some seasons ago[/url]. If you split up the draft in a way that it is represented as picks 1-4 as top, 5-8 as middle, and 9-12 as bottom you will see that the selected data breaks down as so:<br /><br />[b]Teams that scored .668-1.000: 9[/b] (25.0%)<br />Picked at 1-4: 4 (44.4%)<br />Picked at 5-8: 4 (44.4%)<br />Picked at 9-12: 1 (11.1%)<br /><br />[b]Teams that scored .334-.667: 16[/b] (44.4%)<br />Picked at 1-4: 6 (37.5%)<br />Picked at 5-8: 5 (31.3%)<br />Picked at 9-12: 5 (31.3%)<br /><br />[b]Teams that scored .000-.333: 11[/b] (30.6%)<br />Picked at 1-4: 2 (18.2%)<br />Picked at 5-8: 3 (27.3%)<br />Picked at 9-12: 6 (54.5%)<br /><br />[hr]<br /><br />As you can see, at the time captains who picked in the bottom half of the snake draft rarely ever did well. As a matter of fact, [u]only once did a team that drafted in the bottom 4 spots ever post an elite record[/u]. However, late picks dominated over half of the bottom dwelling teams in this time frame.<br /><br />[b]There is a misnomer that late draft spots in the snake draft are more valuable to players than early ones due to closer skill distribution and, as you can see, that was not the case at all. [u]It is quality of captain[/u].[/b]<br /><br />What the current system does is adjust for this. It ensures that elite captains who dominate every season will often get late first round picks. I have not compiled any data on this over the past three non-franchise seasons but I would love to see how the recent 24 teams compare against the 36 from seasons 2-4, even if there isn&#039;t a ton of data there.<br /><br />Ultimately, I think that the system works and that the board is going to try and make changes just for the sake of making changes and/or implementing kistian rank methods, not because they are the best decisions.<br /><br />The elite captains will always win no matter where they draft. The current system gives the other guys a fighting chance.