Value Based Drafting is a theory that attempts to compare players of differing positions through the use of a common scoring factor. With every pick, an owner using this method is trying to take the player left on the draft board that represents the most value to his team.
The core of Value Based Drafting (VBD) is creating projections for every player that has a chance of being drafted in your league. Seem daunting? It does to me, but there are easier ways of doing this than sitting down with a pad of paper projecting out stats for the Jets #3 receiver. There are several places to find projections on the internet. If it's your first time to do projections (or you have a life) use these as your guide. Make some tweaks and viola, your own projections. Once these numbers are in an excel spreadsheet, you need to establish a formula that allows for a comparison to be made between positions. The simplest way for me to explain how this formula needs to work is to show an example:
RB Points Scored
Al: 200
Bob: 160
Carl: 155
WR Points Scored
Don: 250
Earl: 245
Frank: 240
Who should be chosen if all these players are available at your pick? Well, WR Don will score the most points during the fantasy season, but he's only projected to score 5 more points than WR Earl. RB Al on the other hand is only projected to score 200 points, but he's going to outscore the next closest RB (Bob) by 40 points. Imagine that this is just a two man draft, and these are the only players available, one RB and one WR must be drafted. The numbers represented were recieved using a crystal ball and are the exact point totals that each player will have at the end of the season. Owner 1 takes Al using the Value Based Drafting Theory because he represents the most value. Owner 2 takes Don because Don is going to score the most points in the upcoming season. Then Owner 1 misses on WR and takes Frank (he doesn't have the crystal ball). Owner 2 then completes the draft by taking Bob. At the end of the season the point totals show:
Owner 1: 440 points (Al 200, Frank 240)
Owner 2: 410 points (Bob 160, Don 250)
So despite the error made by Owner 1 he still beats Owner 2 because he took the player with the most value at his pick.