It's summer time and while some of us are deep into Fantasy Baseball, the majority of sports fans are quietly salivating at the opening of mini camps and the thoughts of Fantasy Football being right around the corner. For 13-17 weeks fans throughout the world get to live vicariously through their favorite players while competing for prizes (monetary, pride, etc.) against friends, coworkers and family. Where else (outside of Vegas) can a coaches decision to punt rather than attempting a 52 yard field affect a game between two people living in the middle of Kentucky? Who else yells at their television screen "Throw it to Welker...to WELKER" when the Patriots are inside the 5 yard line and then chucks their remote clear across the room when Rob Gronkowski hauls in his 3rd touchdown of the afternoon? Not to mention a Redskins fan being forced to cheer when Eli Manning hits Hakeem Nicks on a 60 yard touchdown because Nicks is on your team. Some people cannot separate the emotions between cheering for their favorite team and for their fantasy team so they choose not to play. Being a Redskins fan, the only joy I have gotten from football in the last 20 years has been playing Fantasy Football where I must admit I have been somewhat successful.
I've been running a league since the 1998-99 season and in those 14 years that league has grown from 8 teams to 14 teams and we even did 16 teams for two years. I have won 4 Championships including three of the last five. There is no secret to my success, but I can tell you that I do my research before the draft, I pay attention during the season and I'm always willing to make a trade. If you are sitting in your draft and a fellow competitor drafts a player and your first thought is "Who is that guy" one of you two shouldn't be playing. If the player is this year hot sleeper or a rookie with the chance of starting and you didn't know them, you didn't do enough research. If it was a kicker on the Jaguars and its only the 8th round feel free to laugh at him and pat yourself on the back for not giving a damn about kickers.
I keep referring to research and by that here's what I do year in and year out:
1) Learn the League
Get to know each teams roster and most importantly the depth charts. Who is the starting running back and his backup? Does that team utilize a 3rd down back? Who are the starting Wide Receivers? The slot guy? Are they a 1 or 2 TE set team?
2) Pay attention to off season movement of players
Last season I loaded up on Ray Rice in all of my leagues where I could get him and traded for him when I couldn't. For the 2011 season the Baltimore Ravens made two transactions that caught my attention: they acquired fullback Vonta Leach and let Willis McGahee walk to Denver. What does that mean for Rice you ask? Ray Rice isn't the biggest running back in the NFL and having a reigning Pro Bowl blocker could only help. In previous seasons Ray Rice would get a few touches inside the 10 yard line per game, but mainly he would be replaced by backup Willis McGahee. In the two seasons where the overlapped with Rice as the starter, McGahee had 20 touchdowns (17 on the ground) while Rice had only 14 (12 on the ground). Last season alone Ray Rice had 15 touchdowns (12 on the ground). Vonta Leach went to another Pro Bowl as did Rice and fantasy owners saw him lead all other running backs in ESPN standard scoring fantasy leagues.
3) Learn offensive coordinator/head coach tendencies
Equally as important as player skill is how they are used on game day. The best wide receiver in the league is only as good as the passes that are thrown his way. Running backs don't score if they don't get the ball. For years Mike Martz was famous for throwing the ball at all costs. Just as famous to those who paid attention was how he rarely relied on a tight end. Name me a good fantasy tight end under a Martz system? The exact opposite of Martz is Norv Turner. Obviously he has had elite talents like Jay Novacek and Antonio Gates at his disposal, but it is understanding how teams will try to use their weapons that is the key to drafting properly.
4) Mock Drafts
I can't tell you how helpful doing the proper mock drafts can be. Finding a website that does mock drafts that best mirror your own fantasy league's scoring system is important. If you already know your draft position that is an added bonus, but if not its important to see who is being draft when. Every league is different, every draft is different. Some leagues will have 4-5 quarterbacks drafted early, some will have 9 of the first 10 picks be running backs. Does your league use three wide receivers and a flex? How does that affect the depth of that position? If you have targeted a sleeper pick or a rookie you can track when he is being drafted and how it fluctuates on a weekly basis. There is so much you can learn from not only participating in a mock draft, but looking at results of previous drafts to get a gauge of what other people would do with your draft pick. It is not an exact science, but its a good way to take the pulse of the fantasy world and how they view the expectations of players for the upcoming season.
5) Read projections from as many sources as possible
Again it is important to know your own leagues rules and scoring systems before paying heed to this one. Everybody (including me) will have an opinion on who will be a sleeper, a stud and a bust in the upcoming season. Some of us will be right and some of you will be wrong. It's always interesting to see how opinions vary from player to player and team to team. When it comes down to drafting a player, your decision will always be the most important one, but it doesn't hurt to have as much help as you can when making that important pick.
I will leave it up to you, the reader, to find the websites that are good to use. I still pick up one magazine each year even though they are, for the most part, outdated because I love flipping through pages during trips to the 'office'. Get studying, start formulating a draft strategy and get ready to dominate your league.
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