fantasy football tips - part 1
Grab that rookie....or not....
When drafting for your fantasy football league, the thought always comes
up....whether or not to draft that high-ranking rookie. You know the one. The
one that has all the potential to be a breakout star.
I'll give you some food for thought if you're considering picking one of these
"can't miss kids" up for your team. Hesitate.
Normally the highest draft picks, no matter how good they may have been in
college, and no matter how good they may be in the pros, get drafted by the
worst teams. That right there is enough for me to balk at selecting them. If
it's a running back you covet, think about whether that team has the offensive
lne to open holes for him. Think about the quarterback- is he good enough to
spread the field and prevent teams from "stacking the box" against the run?
Another thing to think about is "hitting the wall". If given the chance to
step right in and start, the production of rookie players drops dramatically
as the long season wears on them. Again, not a good scenario, especially when
you consider that the end of the year is where you'll need production the
most.
If you're playing in a keeper league, then rookies are a good idea for your
future, especially if you know that the team that drafted that player is
adament about building a quality team around them. Otherwise, I'd personally
let the next guy draft him.
Draft strategy scenarios
Everybody has their favorite draft day strategy when it comes to picking the
next fantasy football league champ. I'll review a couple here, and go over a
few pros and cons.
First up is the RB first strategy. This strategy hordes a quality RB with your
first pick, and second if your draft allows. The idea here is that RB's suffer
a much more dramatic loss of production as you go down the list. Not so for,
say, Quarterbacks. Their production is tied more closely to each other,
meaning a QB drafting in the first round of your draft, theoretically, will
not do much greater than a QB drafted in the third round. Obviously, there are
arguments to be made. Peyton Manning is a good example (season of '04) of
this.
The best athlete strategy states that you draft the best player available,
regardless of position. This can seem like a real good strategy, but watch out
when you try to fill position holes later in the draft. You stand a good
chance of a very unbalanced team.
The starting team strategy dwells in the wisdom that you pay close attention
to your starting lineup- fielding and drafting the best players at every
position. While this is definitely a good way to go, watch out for your bench.
Remember, you will need them during the season, so having the cupboard empty
is not good. In other words, if you have the chance to grab a very good WR,
and your strategy says it's Tight End time, by all means grab the WR for your
bench.
Some other notes: Tight End is another feast of famine position. There usually
are four or five good tight ends, and not much else. Also keep in mind the
type of offense a team runs. Some never hit the TE, and don't see them as much
more than a blocking force.
Rob Moore operates www.HIWAY-play.com
, a site featuring fantasy sports reviews, and where many great folks play
online games free
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