snake draft position advantage/disadvantage

[hardyworld]

In a keeper league where 80 of the top 100 players are already kept....I see little difference in draft position for a snake draft. If you let me pick my draft spot, I'd either take the #1, or #2 (for the best available player on the board) or the #14, 15, or 16 (to maximize the value of your first 2 picks). I believe a snake draft in that format is useless. In my two keeper leagues (same format, 16 teams with 5 keepers per team) we do a straight draft in reverse final standings order from the previous year. It works out very well (the theory being that the bottom teams have below average keepers and the top teams have the best keepers...the straight draft helping minimize this starting advantage, but not eliminating it). The advantage of teams with high draft position in a straight draft in a keeper league is very small.

[AKhomebrewer]

I've always liked being on the turn in a snake draft.
It's not that you have an advantage, I just find it enjoyable building my team 2 players at a time

This ^
It really comes down to draft strategy preference in your case, since your first round is the equivalent of a round 5-6 in a non-keeper. Like Aussie, I've always preferred having my picks closer together ... even to the point of preferring end-of-draft to a middle slot. I feel (rightly or wrongly) that I can better read the progression of the draft and, when the opportunity presents itself without knocking me off my own plan, impact the back side of the turn by kicking off a run or undercutting a rival by clearing a tier.
Again, that's my perception. I know many players who much prefer their picks spaced out with a middle-draft slot ... if that makes you more comfortable, go for it.

[Ender]

Picking at the end of the draft is a complete nightmare and is about the only spot where you have such an overwhelming disadvantage that you are lucky to have a chance to win. In a 12 team league anywhere from like 1 to 10 is fine, 11 or 12 is a huge disadvantage.

[Izenhart]

I've always liked being on the turn in a snake draft.
It's not that you have an advantage, I just find it enjoyable building my team 2 players at a time

This ^
It really comes down to draft strategy preference in your case, since your first round is the equivalent of a round 5-6 in a non-keeper. Like Aussie, I've always preferred having my picks closer together ... even to the point of preferring end-of-draft to a middle slot. I feel (rightly or wrongly) that I can better read the progression of the draft and, when the opportunity presents itself without knocking me off my own plan, impact the back side of the turn by kicking off a run or undercutting a rival by clearing a tier.
Again, that's my perception. I know many players who much prefer their picks spaced out with a middle-draft slot ... if that makes you more comfortable, go for it.

I prefer to pick in the middle because it makes you focus more on the value of each pick and worry less about clearing a tier. In the end I always find my team is better balanced as it gives me time to evaluate each pick more carefully.