Fantasy Tips

[12thMan]

So I'm playing fantasy football for the first time this year. Yeah, I know. Anyway, I need some tips and advice, because I know practically nothing about building a team, really how it all works, or how to draft players.

Umm...I guess one of the main things I want to know is how many Redskins, if any, I should bother with. I imagine it's hard not to draft players from your favorite team, although I suppose Chris Cooley and maybe Fred Davis wouldn't be bad players to pick.

I'm playing with a few Steelers and Bears fans, so obviously I want to kick their asses and take their money.

Thanks for your help.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

In terms of the Skins, honestly it pains me to say it but I wouldn't make it a point to draft anyone from the team. I'd take Portis if he was around in around the 4th round; McNabb if he's available in about the 9th-10th round; Cooley around the 11th-12th, maybe earlier, and Moss around the 8th.

Some general pointers: Don't take a backup TE, defense, or kicker and only take a back up QB if you don't think you have a stud (ie Brees, Manning, Rodgers, Brady).
-If you take a RB that is injury prone make sure you get his backup in the late rounds.
-Try to get a top tier WR early rounds because there aren't that many, but at the same time guys always pop up throughout the season (ie Austin) so luck plays a huge roll.

-One thing I want to try to stick to this year is to try to mainly take players from teams that should be good. Steven Jackson is a great running back but the Rams suck so it's hard for him to consistently put up a ton of points.

[12thMan]

Good point about taking players from suckey teams.

But as a general rule, it seems people take a stud RB or QB with their first pick?

[skinsfaninok]

My first pick would probably be Archie manning... I used to really get into fantasy football but it started getting to be a problem when some guys I really needed to do great played against WSH. I actually cheered once when Randy moss scored on us bcuz it helped win me my league. I felt horrible lol so I decided to stop playing.

[Redskins8588]

Originally Posted by 12thMan

Good point about taking players from suckey teams.

But as a general rule, it seems people take a stud RB or QB with their first pick?

Yes as a general rule one takes a stud RB or QB with their 1st pick. Depending on who is already taken and if you are in the bottom of the round for your 1st some may even take the best WR. It depends a lot with the scoring and how many RB's and WR's you can start each week.

Also I have done 3 live drafts so far, 1 with majority being Redskins fans and you can get Portis in like round 9 - 11, McNabb about the same rounds and same with Cooley. Those would be the 3 that I would target. However, after seeing that McNabb also is trusting Moss I may take a chance on him. I must stress that I am in no way saying that these Redskins players are must haves. Just some advice...

[BDBohnzie]

Solid advice in this thread.

Essentially in your 1st 5 picks, you'll want to end up with at least your QB, 2 RBs and 2 WRs, depending on how your league scores. After that, you start filling in the gaps. As AMD said, no need to pick backup TEs, K, or DEF, especially if the bye week is later in the year. No need to waste on that when you can grab late round RBs and WRs. I usually take a backup QB because if something were to happen to your starter, you don't necessarily want to be left holding the Ryan Fitzgerald bag in hopes he can carry your team.

As far as Skins go, as said before, outside of McNabb/Portis/Moss/Cooley, it's a crap shoot at best. They could be had in middle to later rounds in the 2 drafts I've done thus far. A draft with Bears and Steelers fans and you could have any one of them later than normal.

[skinsfan69]

IMO getting a QB is the most important position casue they have the ball in their hands the most. I'm in a 4 player keeper league and have had Brady since 05. I can't tell you how many games he's won me over the years by throwing for 300+ yards and a few TD's. Not to mention in 07 when he carried me to the trophy. Get a QB first and foremost.

[GTripp0012]

If you're in a 6 pt per passing TD league, 12th, you have to get one of about seven quarterbacks. Manning first, then Brees, Brady, Rodgers, Schaub, Rivers in order of your preference...with Rodgers and Brees going one/two in both leagues, Manning/Brady/Rivers are excellent targets in the first three rounds.

If your league is 4 pts per passing TD instead, you don't have to worry about getting one of the TD leaders at quarterback. There won't be a huge difference between the first and second tier of quarterback. David Garrard, Matt Ryan, Jay Cutler and Donovan McNabb are excellent second tier fantasy quarterbacks (you can wait on second tier QBs until just before the league starts picking it's backups). Tony Romo, Kevin Kolb, and Joe Flacco are going a lot earlier than those guys in most leagues I've been in, but their fantasy value doesn't justify a reach.

The only indispensable fantasy guys are the backs who are expected to get 1,800+ yards from scrimmage. That's Chris Johnson, Ray Rice, and Jones-Drew. Adrian Peterson is a great bet for 1,500 yards from scrimmage if he stays healthy, but doesn't have the same kind of upside as those other three.

After those top RBs are off the board, QBs and WRs are going to drive fantasy teams this year. So get a lot of big name receivers early.

[12thMan]

Our league is a ten player money league.

Another question, so what advice do you guys have in terms of organizing/preparing yourself for draft day. Say the guys ahead of you grab your first three choices off the board, how should I be prepared to handle that.

Also, what websites do you guys/gals visit to research players, stats, and that sort of thing. Like I know a ton of players off the top of my head, but is there a source where I can find that one obscure name or two that wouldn't jump out to me otherwise.

[12thMan]

Good stuff guys...good stuff, Gtripp.

Please keep it coming.

[GTripp0012]

The important thing about picking a source for your rankings is that it's updated frequently enough to take players who are out for the year with injuries (if Sidney Rice and Ben Tate are on the list, you have a problem with the rankings -- they're old). Other than that, there are no secret sources that people don't look at. Fantasy players tend to know everything about fantasy players.

Honestly, you can go a long way just not drafting players who are "too old" and also not drafting players who are "too young". If you let everyone else in your league draft the guys they think are sleepers and guys on their own teams, you're going to outdraft them -- no matter how much more fantasy experience they may have.

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Adrian Peterson is a great bet for 1,500 yards from scrimmage if he stays healthy, but doesn't have the same kind of upside as those other three.

From a pure fan perspective, I'm very iffy on Adrian Peterson this year. He's already logged a ton of carries in his short career and he was pretty ineffective last year down the stretch. It seemed the defenses made him a non-factor as the Vikes pushed into the playoffs. That and his fumbling problem concerns me big time.

[724Skinsfan]

One thing that helps determine what you should be drafting is the number of teams in your league. Take a look at where certain position tiers start to drop off based on your point system. Then you can kind of calculate what round it would be appropriate to draft a particular player. There is a huge difference between 8 team leagues and 14 team leagues, especially at WR.

As GTripp said, once you get passed (past?) the top 3 or 4 RBs, then the elite WRs and QBs are fair game because the rest of the RB pool is pretty even. If Frank Gore were not injury prone I might would put him in the elite category btw.

Check out the fantasy football calculator website. You can jump in a mock draft that fits the number of teams in your league. It's nice because it gives you a feel for who's going where and in what round. Forinstance, I've got the number one overall pick in my 14 team league. The first pick isn't a big concern for me because obviously I'll get an elite RB, but my 2nd and 3rd pick falls at the #28/#29 spot. At that point, your top tier QBs and WRs are gone. Now I need to decide what spot I'm going for. Certain positions really start to thin out like RB and WR, whereas QB and TE are pretty thick. So, I usually pick two wrs then a QB/TE, maybe a RB. The strategy isn't set in stone. I mean, I'll Forte or Grant as my 2nd RB if they fall to me in rounds 2/3.

That's my two cents.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by 12thMan

From a pure fan perspective, I'm very iffy on Adrian Peterson this year. He's already logged a ton of carries in his short career and he was pretty ineffective last year down the stretch. It seemed the defenses made him a non-factor as the Vikes pushed into the playoffs. That and his fumbling problem concerns me big time.

Yeah, every first round back (expect the least-provens Rice and Mendenhall, really) has a ton of wear on their legs, so when you draft a running back at the top, your drafting a lot of risk as well. If I'm taking on all that risk with a top four draft pick, I do want someone with more upside than Peterson.

I also think, for what it's worth, Portis is falling in fantasy drafts because people don't think he's going to get 300+ carries in this offense like he has every other healthy season. But I've seen Larry Johnson and Willie Parker the last few years, and feel safe saying that if he doesn't get to 300 carries, he'll at least get close.

[murphy196]

It really depends on what position you're drafting, if you have a top 6 pick, you probably want to go RB, if you have a later pick you can go top QB and then with your 2nd pick take a RB. Like someone mentioned before, with your top 5 picks you should have your QB, 2 RB's and 2 WR's. Every draft is completely different and you really never know how people around you are going to draft.

I've been in 2 drafts so far and they went completely unlike anything I expected, in one of them someone actually took Drew Brees at #2 and AP didn't go until the 4th pick(if he's there when you pick, snag him without hesitation).
In the other draft the top 7 QB's were gone by the middle of the 2nd round, basically screwed me and I got stuck with Kolb.

In one of my drafts I was picking 6th and I got Michael Turner, in the other I picked 2nd and took Peterson.

Good Luck!