Be ready for your Fantasy Football Draft

Are you ready for your upcoming Fantasy Football draft? It’s never to early to start preparing and get a jump on others in our league.  Anyone who has been following me knows I am one die hard sports fan. The 2012 Football season will be here before you blink. I felt it best to share with you, some basics that will help you with prepare for your Fantasy Football draft. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or playing for the first time these tips will help you have an incredible Fantasy Football season ahead. Feel free to add comments or share your own strategies below.

So let’s dive in!

• Be prepared, pre rank your players have your favorite guru’s rankings in front of you by position and overall rank so you may use the list during the draft,
• Know who is injured,
• Do a mock draft on the website that you will use to draft.
• Make sure your computer equipment is working properly, especially Java for Yahoo users. The last thing you want is not be able to get into the draft room because you didn’t check your computer setting ahead of time
• Plan the day so that you can be in private, no distractions get focused.
• If you draft by hand which I do when a player is chosen cross them off your list with a colored marker.  
• Do not multi task while you are drafting as the draft is going on,
• Don’t spend time making jokes in the chat room, Keep working on your teams possible selections as other managers are choosing their players.,
• It is useful during the draft to check out other team’s selections near your pick so you will know what they need.  This might change your pick if you are choosing between two players and you both have the same need.
• Don’t drink while you are drafting.   

Strategy

For your first pick in the draft get a running back that has the starting job (a featured running back) that is not sharing carries with anyone else. You want someone who will have the ball in his hand 20-25 times a game with lots of opportunity to score points for you. Times have really changed over the years, now only a handful of these players exist

If you cannot get a RB (Running back) with a starting job that is not shared take the number 1 (WR) Wide receiver that is available or a Quarterback stud.  Don’t be surprised to see the top 5 off the board within the first 2 rounds. Quarterbacks are high scoring players in most leagues. It is very important to check your league settings for points. I normally wait on QB until the 5^th round but this year I might have to take one earlier than usual as they have the ability to score huge points for your team. I am debating if I should take with my first pick, Aaron Rogers or Drew Brees, the premier quarterbacks of the NFL. 

• Never get caught at the end of a run at a position.
• Do not draft rookie QB’s or receivers as your starting position.  The odds are they will not help your team enough like baseball as they have many adjustments to make from the college game to the NFL game.
• Always consider the late-season scheduled match ups when you are factoring in player values when they are similar.  The strength of the teams schedule matters (SOS).
• Pick the best starting player available then fill in your roster with RB, QB and WR backups. However remember you can never have enough RB’s on your roster.

If you are playing in a large league that has 14-16 teams it’s a good idea to handcuff your top RB when you can.  RB depth to me is the most important part of the fantasy game. 

You can ALWAYS trade a starting RB for any position that you need if you have an injury or need a player on a BYE week and you have extra. It’s rare but it does happen if you draft with this in mind. However, don’t pass up a top 3 WR in favor of a very low ranked RB.

Early in the draft take the best overall player available instead of focusing on one position.  If you can get a stud WR early instead of a back up RB then take the stud WR.

Don’t forget about Bye Weeks, these are weeks where your player is scheduled to be off and does not play. Each NFL team has one bye week during the season. This is where your bench comes into play and when many managers trade with other managers in a head to head league so they can capitalize on a team’s weakness.  

Do not take a kicker of a defense until the last 2 or 3 rounds of your draft. (You will be tempted to take one earlier as I have been many times but it’s really better to wait). These positions most time do not score large points consistently, as well as being hard to predict week to week and from year to year.  Each week you will be able to find a player off of the waiver wire until you are happy with your defense or kicker. 

Whenever you can, draft a player that plays on a good team. Beware of bad offensive lines. Take a rookie with upside potential over a player who is aging and injury prone.

Now you have some basic strategies for you to start investigating and preparing for your draft. Football is once a week, not as demanding as the fantasy baseball season is.  Find a friend, join a league and have fun enjoying the moment.

Post your comments, questions, and feel free to e-mail me any time at BonnieGortler@gmail.com.

Bonnie Gortler is a successful stock market guru who is passionate about teaching others about social media, weight loss and wealth. Bonnie is also a huge sports fan who successfully lost over 60 pounds by applying the many lessons learned through her commitment toward personal growth. Choose your very own FREE down-loadable gift from Bonnie by visiting bit.ly/bgoffers. You may also connect with Bonnie via Twitter & Facebook plus subscribe to BonnieGortler.com.

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