The fantasy season is about to begin. Like most of you the geek juice is on overdrive. Most of you are avoiding work on a daily basis and find a sense of relief in the fantasy football world.
I have a few concepts to consider before your draft to feed the need for fantasy dominance.
1. Push the Draft Until Late July At least.
Courtesy: draftshot.com
Delaying the draft as late as possible will only help your chances. The reason is because PLAYERS GET HURT. For example, the rookie TE for the Broncos, Jeff Heuerman, would have been an intriguing pick about a month ago because of the free agency loss of Julius Thomas (to the Jaguars) and Jacob Tamme (to the Falcons), but he tore his ACL in the first non-contact practice. Overall, good line-ups today may look like bad line-ups tomorrow.
2. Need a Defense? Look at the AFC East.
Except for the Patriots, the AFC East is a powerhouse of strong defenses. The Dolphins added to their hard-nosed defense with a QB Stomping, Ndamukong Suh. The Bills added Rex Ryan to their mix, a strong leader for their already good defense. Lastly, the Jets got their lost loves, Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie.
If these facts don’t make you want one of these defenses, then realize that the QBs in this division are Tom Brady (suspended for 4 games), Ryan Tannehill (got a big contract, so he might be going downhill), Geno Smith (averaged 1 interception per touchdown in 2014), and Matt Cassel or EJ Manual (nether one is promising).
3. Beware of the Flashy Rookies.
Courtesy: sports.yahoo.com
Every year a flashy rookie is drafted, and they end up doing very little for their team. They all can’t be a Odell Beckham Jr, Mike Evans, or Jeremy Hill. So don’t waste a valuable draft pick on a player that hasn’t played on a NFL field before. Don’t fall victim to a player, like Todd Gurley. Remember, the man is coming off a torn ACL and he’s going into training camp with two other good RBs in Cunningham and Mason.
Look at players that have shown promise and have a history of solid performances. Also remember that some of the best rookies last year missed time early in the year. Rookies can start slow. Martavis Bryant (Steelers) missed six games to start the season and Odell Beckham Jr. (Giants) missed four games to start the season. The point is this: rookies could easily get picked up at a cheap cost at the draft or on the waiver wire early in the season.
4. Don’t be Afraid of Late Draft QB’s.
Courtesy: bleacherreport.com
The reality is that good Quarterbacks will go quickly in your league, so take an easy breath when it happens. Grab a good RB or WR to compensate. Plenty of good QBs will be left late in the draft. For example, Ryan Tannehill could be a good late pick because he has a handful of weapons in Jordan Cameron, Greg Jennings, Jarvis Landry, and Kenny Stills.
Another QB that could be in the later rounds is Tom Brady. Brady could easily slip in the draft after being suspended, so look to grab him if people write him off. The last steal could be Blake Bortles. This guy will be one year wiser and now has Julius Thomas in the red zone. Julius Thomas could add a large amount of value to Bortles and help him get over the 3rd down slumps. These three QBs could easily go late into the draft and they all have potential upside.
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Keep theses ideas in mind as you calculate your draft war plan. Developing a good team in the draft will ultimately cause less havoc throughout the season–when you need to find replacements on the waiver wire.
