Fantasy Football TipsWith the opening of NFL training camps just around the corner, now is the time to begin thinking about fantasy football! We still have seven weeks until the season begins, but for hardcore fantasy players this is when they make decisions about what leagues to participate in and how many they want to do. I will give you my rankings for each position as we get closer to the season and when most people will have their drafts, but this column will give you an overall basic strategy you want to have for your draft.The first thing you have to know is your league's scoring system. Does your league count points for touchdowns and yardage gained, or is it just touchdowns? Does your league include defensive teams and/or defensive players? Being familiar with your scoring system is the most important thing to know going into your draft, because that will determine the players you should be drafting and in which round. For example, if your league only counts touchdowns, then a QB like Michael Vick is not going to be very valuable because he doesn't pass for very many. He's much more valuable in a league where yardage is counted, because his rushing stats will give you a ton of points. For the purposes of this article, I will talk about a basic strategy for a league where yards and touchdowns are counted, and you have to have a starting lineup of 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 1 kicker and 1 defensive team. I would say a large majority of leagues people play in have a similar format to this. Some leagues might have the option to have 1 RB and 3 WRs instead of 2 and 2, but for the most part, you're going to see a structure that is close to this. Are you ready to win some cash? WagerWeb.com has built a solid reputation by offering their customers quick easy deposits, the best customer service in the industry, fast payouts and great bonuses. They specialize in the European Market for all sports including one of the best Football/Soccer divisions with lines for all the Major Conferences from around the Globe! Visit WagerWeb.com Today and start Winning! As you go into the draft, you need to realize that RB and QB are going to score the majority of your points, so that's where your focus needs to be in the early rounds. The top-level WRs are also a consideration in those first 3-4 rounds, but WRs are much less reliable as a whole, so I tend to grab the 2 RBs and the QB with my first three picks. If I can't get a top-shelf QB in the first three rounds (P. Manning, McNabb, Culpepper, Palmer) then I'll get that WR instead and go for a mid-level QB (Brady, Bulger, Hasselbeck, Vick, E.Manning) in the 5th-6th round. Usually, my first two picks are going to be RBs, no matter what slot I'm in during the draft. If I'm in the top three, it's a pretty easy choice. The top three picks this year are unquestionably Larry Johnson, Shaun Alexander and LaDanian Tomlinson, in that order. If I have a pick later than three, then it's kind of a crapshoot. There are three second-level RBs who I will target next: Tiki Barber, Clinton Portis and Edgerrin James. Now, normally you aren't going to see RBs taken with the first six picks (usually someone will grab Manning and maybe a WR in there also), so even if you draft at the end of the first round, you could be able to get one of those three. Are you looking for some great Fantasy Football Draft tips? Check out this awesome article on Fantasy Football Draft Strategies! If all 6 of those guys are gone and Manning is there, I would take him. If Manning is gone also, then assuming this is a snake-type draft (if you have the last pick of the 1st round you would get the first pick of the 2nd round), these are the next-level RBs to target: LaMont Jordan, Steven Jackson, Ronnie Brown, Rudi Johnson, Domanick Davis, Cadillac Williams, Willis McGahee, Jamal Lewis, Kevin Jones and Julius Jones. In my opinion all of these guys are pretty similar as to what they are going to do for you, but I'll give you my RB rankings as we get closer to the season. You could get two of these guys with your first two picks and be just fine for your backfield. If you picked early in the first round that means you're going to have a late second-round pick, so hopefully one of these guys will slip to you. If all of these guys are gone (unlikely) then I would target either McNabb/Palmer or the top-rated WR left (Steve Smith, Torry Holt, Chad Johnson, Marvin Harrison, T.O. or Randy Moss). Click here to Buy NFL Football Picks from the World's Top Sports Handicappers! And receive ten Free NFL Picks from 10 World-Famous Handicappers! As you end the third round, you should have your two RBs and either your QB or your No. 1 WR. The 4th-5th rounds can then be used to fill out your QB and WR slots, so by the end of Round 5 you have your QB, 2 RBs and 2 WRs slots filled. As I said, I'll give you the WR rankings as we get closer to the season. If for some reason Antonio Gates, the top-rated TE, is available in Round 4 or 5 (unlikely), go ahead and draft him instead of a WR, which you can get in the 6th round. Gates is the only TE worthy of being selected in those rounds in my opinion. The middle rounds (6th-10th) are used to build depth on your team, and to pick up your TE and defense. Generally if a top TE like Tony Gonzalez, Jeremy Shockey or Todd Heap are available, I will get them in the 6th round, then target a top defense like Chicago, Pittsburgh, Baltimore or Carolina in the 7th round. This will fill out your starting lineup (except for your kicker), and then you can start to grab the best backups available. In the 8th round I would target the best available RB, the 9th I would get the best available QB, then the 10th go for the best available WR. The late rounds (11th-16th) are where you can win a league. Every year you can pick up a player in these late rounds that will become a star during the season. Obviously the key is to know which players have that ability and just need playing time to dominate. As I've said, I will give you guys to target here later on, but just know that this is when you can really make a difference. Usually in these late rounds, I will grab my kicker in the 11th (top guys are Neil Rackers, Adam Vinatieri, Mike Vanderjagt, David Akers), then I want to get the top backups to my two starting RBs in the 12th-13th. If you have the backup to your main guys, then an injury during the year isn't going to kill your chances. Obviously any astute owner who picked up Larry Johnson in the late rounds last year was breathing much easier when Priest Holmes went down, because he knew LJ could do the job. This year (if Holmes plays) the opposite may be true, where the smart owner picks up Holmes late to back up Johnson. I would also try to get a 3rd QB, 1-2 more WRs, and the best available defense in the last rounds, as depth is very important once we hit the bye weeks. Fantasy Football Draft Strategies Part 2! Bye weeks are a huge factor during the fantasy season, and one thing you need to have in front of you when you draft is a list of when each team has its bye. You don't want to draft a lot of guys who have the same bye week because that's most likely going to kill your chances at winning that particular week. Try to sprinkle it out so at most you only have two guys out. As I said, I will give rankings for each position as we get closer to the season, beginning next week with the RB. Check back each week as I'll do a different position and then I'll give you and update on all positions as the preseason ends. If you want specific fantasy advice, feel free to e-mail me at fantasysensei@cox.net, and good luck! Fantasy Football Draft Strategies Part 3! --- by Chris Goudey at WagerWeb.com on July 26, 2006
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