Your Fantasy Football Reality Check #6 - Draft Advice

The doors of the locker room are once again open and we are welcoming in Stephen Lamare courtesy of Gridiron Goddess.net. He's given you the rankings, and now he is giving you the game plan. What is your draft day strategy? Don't know? Better check this out then.

Ok fantasy leaguers, now that we’re through the meat of your fantasy line-ups, I’ve decided to change things up this week. Instead of wasting my time reviewing the place kickers, I’m going to offer my insights and advice on where your attention should be on draft day.

First let’s cover the obvious; if you have a pick in the top ten, RB, RB, or RB should be your ONLY choice as far as positions are concerned. Next and equally as important, your quarterback can be your most reliable producer- IF you can solidify one of the top 5-7 fantasy QB’s. This one is a personal preference that I don’t mind sharing with our loyal readers (but I don’t particularly care for the boys in my own league knowing!), do your best to acquire two of the top ten wide receivers in the draft.

If you are in a league that requires that you start 3 wideouts, take three of the top 15-20. Lastly, don’t let your starting tight end be more than a place or two removed from the top six named in last week’s review. Pay close attention here- don’t start slacking off or relaxing just because you’ve filled out your starting lineup. This is where you bear down, identify and draft the best talent remaining, and gain a huge advantage over your fellow owners. I know no one wants to hear this, but it’s this week’s REALITY CHECK- you use your bench in fantasy football WAY more than you project or anticipate utilizing.

With bye weeks beginning in week 4 and lasting until week 10, you may only start your ideal lineup 7 of the 13 or 14 regular season fantasy games you participate in- only half the time! That’s not even mentioning the proverbial injury bug that strikes a couple of teams worse than others every season, but gets us all to some degree nonetheless. It’s hard to predict who will be the best available in the 12th round, so my advice is to take as much time on your later round picks as you do with your top 5. While everyone else is just trying to finish the draft, you’ll be impacting your lineup in a positive way. Your bye week bench players can be the key to your fantasy success.

The next piece of advice I’d like to impart is this- if your league doesn’t require you to draft a kicker, then I wouldn’t draft one. The only strategy I have with kickers is draft one that’s on a high-scoring or winning team then call it a day until their bye week. That’s all you really need to know about that.

The last thing I want to touch on is to be flexible when the draft officially commences. Follow the strategy that your most comfortable with, just don’t get locked in on a certain player(s), it’s the surest way to knock you off your game plan. Don’t be distracted or dismayed by who was picked before you had an opportunity to call their name out. You can’t afford to have reactionary picks that you’ll later label as a bad choice- you only get so many draft picks. Have alternatives for your ideal players, create your wish list with enough depth so you won’t be surprised when the QB you’ve been targeting comes off the board.

That’s all I’ve got to say this week everyone. I’m confident that if you use the advice and recommendations I’ve shared with you over the last six weeks, you’ll be well on your way to competing for a title this upcoming campaign!

Thanks to all our readers at Gridiron Goddess- your requests have made this column a reality. A welcome and special thanks to Walker Sports and its readers, I’m honored to join your ranks.

The season is imminent!!

The Dude Abides,

~Stephen Lamare