Fantasy Dynasty

I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself a guru or anything, but I am getting pretty good at this fantasy football stuff.  I’ve been playing for about the last 6 years and I’ve at least made it to the playoffs in every league I’ve been in.  I’ve also won 4 championships.  This year I have 4 fantasy teams.  I have two in the free NFL.com fantasy and 2 in the Free ESPN league.  One of the leagues, “The Thunderk*%&s,”  is a little closer to my heart because I’m friends with most of the other owners and there are several bottles of liquor at stake.  So far I have been pretty successful in all my leagues and I’m hoping a perfect season in one of the leagues will truly validate my football I.Q. (or at least my almost self-destructive competitiveness).  Although I must reemphasize that I am not a fantasy football god or anything, I will be passing on some of my keys to fantasy football success throughout the season.  Although for many leagues it is too late to thinking about draft strategy, I have to start at the beginning. 

- The Draft

           The first thing that you have to accept about fantasy football drafts is that they are similar to the NFL draft in one aspect: it is not an exact science.  It’s really not a good idea to over think the draft and anticipate certain players “falling” to you.  Like the real NFL draft, you need a general philosophy going in, but you must be willing to adjust as the draft unfolds. 

Many fantasy football strategy guides will tell you that you must draft a running back first.  Some of them will even tell you that you have to draft running backs in the first two rounds.  I personally would not invest that much into one position, especially if I have Drew Brees, Tom Brady, or Peton Manning sitting there waiting to be picked up.  However, I do pick make my picks with certain priorities in mind and running back and quarterback are certainly the highest priorities.  I pick according to the value of each position, the depth of each position, and the number of sleepers there are at each position.  So my “draft board” usually looks something like this:

Round 1: RB/QB

Round 2: QB/RB

Round 3: WR/RB

Round 4: RB/WR

Round 5: WR/RB/QB

If you pay very close attention, you will notice that threw the first 5 rounds I have only picked QBs, RBs, and WRs.  These are going to be the bread winners of your fantasy league.  Don’t even think of touching a TE, DST, K this early in the draft.  You need to have 1 QB, and 4 WR/RB at this point. 

Make sure that you are building solid depth across the board at each position, but never reach for a player.  Chances are if you miss a player then there is one just like him, but you have to be patient.  Every position is important (except kicker, go figure) and you’re going to need your other spots to pick up the slack when your guys are struggling. 

The last thing I’ll mention about the fantasy draft is that if you want to have a successfully draft, you must actually so up to the draft!  And you must be engaged!  Do not let yourself get distracted because those picks come by quick, especially if some of those other losers don’t show up to the draft and they go on auto-pilot.  Always have a contingency play, and have faith in your sleepers.

I have to go now because Monday Night Football is coming on and staring at this screen is making my eyes hurt.  It’s much healthier to sit 3 inches away from the television!

I will be posting my fantasy rosters this week and I will pick up with my start 'em, sit 'em strategy...goodnight folks.