NFL
By: Greg Rector
Almost all of the off-season wheeling and dealing has been completed and in a few weeks, teams will head to training camp. Now is the time to start getting to be prepared for your fantasy league’s drafts. One way to do this is to run the mock draft simulators available at both ESPN and Yahoo. This will also give you an idea at least according to the computer who will be drafted where. At both sites and on others you can already go ahead and get into a league as well. Here are some things to keep in mind as you prepare for your fantasy football season.
Decide what type of league you want to be in. There are scoring options galore these days as well as the ability to customize your league with even more specific scoring categories. ESPN this year has switched their standard leagues to PPR (Points Per Reception) an acknowledgment that today’s NFL is a pass-happy exercise. This doesn’t devalue running backs, however, you want to look for versatile running backs that are used in the passing game as well.
TRENDS:
I have done a few mock drafts and as I do annually have joined a couple of leagues at ESPN and Yahoo just to get a feel for how the drafts are shaking out. Each site of course ranks the players and the likes of Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, and Davin Cook are generally the top three ranked players. Now here’s where paying attention to the off-season matters. Barkley missed most of last season and has not participated thus far in any of the Giant’s offseason workouts. Given his injury (ACL Surgery) and the fact he hasn’t been back on the field as of yet, you might want to choose a different back despite his versatility, especially as your first-round pick. It’s something to keep your eyes on. Also with the running backs on ESPN rookie Najee Davis (Steelers) is being drafted pretty early (Round two or Three) as he is considered the rookie RB to be the most versatile in the passing game, remember the points per reception factor. The other reason I mention this is because plenty of your opponents will be focused on the known quantities out there, by taking the rookie player though you could benefit greatly. For example, in one draft, there was an early run on TE’s namely Kelce (2nd overall) Kittle, and Mark Andrews went early. So what did I decide to do when the big boys were off the board? I went straight for highly-touted Kyle Pitts hoping that with Julio Jones now traded the Falcons will need to use their rookie more in the offense than they would have had Jones remained. See why paying attention to what’s happened in the off-season matters?
The other glamor position of course is the quarterback and we have question marks that you need to consider here as well. Of course, we all know the Packers and Aaron Rodgers are at loggerheads, with neither side looking to budge as of now. Then there’s the Deshaun Watson situation in Houston as well. So the reigning MVP and Watson who routinely get drafted early are both huge question marks. So that means you can take the risk still that one or both may be traded before the season or avoid both. This means searching for other options that you might normally not have to consider. The other big question mark is in Chicago, do the Bears throw Justin Fields out as their starting QB in Week One, or do they wait? If you are a Bears fan and want the rookie it’s still not a bad idea to draft him as your QB2 option since the Bears also have a week 10 bye and you’ll certainly know what the Bears will do with their QB situation. In my opinion, they start Andy Dalton, and if they feel Fields will be the better option based on the first three games look for a possible Fields transition in Week 4 versus the Detroit Lions, a team that doesn’t have a great defense.
HOMERISM:
Yes, folks no matter what league you join are in with friends, co-workers, or strangers there’s one factor that always boggles the mind. There might be just one or several managers who are going to focus on their favorite team’s players at the expense of everything else. A perfect example in one draft was Davin Cook went first, then Travis Kelce went second that’s unusual enough but the 3rd player taken? Jonathan Taylor of the Colts. While Taylor is a good RB he’s not in the class of McCaffrey, Kamara, Elliott, etc… in fantasy terms. The same manager drafted Carson Wentz, the Colts defense, and Paris Campbell the Colts wide receiver. I paid attention to the guy who took Kelce as well and he was definitely a Chiefs fan. That’s the worst possible strategy you can use. This is “FANTASY FOOTBALL,” where you are managing a team league-wide. Being a homer leads you to one outcome, out of the playoffs almost always. Now here’s you can benefit when these odd picks are taken, players that really shouldn’t be available are suddenly falling into your lap. Remember all my articles about the NFL draft? Well in fantasy football the same rule applies, DRAFT THE BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE!!
As you all know I am a Dallas Cowboys fan but I purposely do a draft at both Yahoo and ESPN where I will not select any Cowboys despite my fandom. Here’s the team I drafted last night with that specific purpose. The bye week for each player will be beside them because that factor is too often overlooked and suddenly you have a team that can’t field enough players in a given week, never a good thing.
QB – Justin Herbert Chargers (7)
RB – Miles Sanders Eagles (14)
RB – Josh Jacobs Raiders (8)
WR – Stephon Diggs (7)
WR – Ja’Maar Chase Bengals (10)
TE – Travis Kelce Chiefs (12)
Flex- Tee Higgins Bengals (10)
Defense/Special Teams – Baltimore Ravens (8)
BN- Joe Burrow Bengals (10)
BN- Raheem Mostert 49’ers (6)
BN – Mike Gesciki Dolphins(14)
BN – Mercole Hardman Chiefs (12)
BN – Michael Carter Jets(6)
BN – Josh Palmer Chargers (7)
BN – 49’ers D/ST (6)
Not a single Dallas Cowboy and there are no major bye week concerns either. This is a “Fantasy Football.” team folks. It might not be the strongest of teams but I also picked 9th out of 10 teams. Draft position in normal leagues also is always a factor. The point is I can go into the season with a roster that doesn’t need to worry about the waiver wire unless there’s an injury, nor do I have to make trades to make up for drafting mistakes.
As most fantasy players wait until close to the actual season, the one thing that might change is position battles and who might get hurt at training camp or in the pre-season. But these are pretty good indicators as to what to expect for the 2021 season. Just as with the real teams if you want to succeed in your fantasy league, put in a bit of time while you laze away a summer’s evening. Running the mock drafts doesn’t take long, but it can help prepare you to be a serious contender in your fantasy league, especially if you are in a money league.
As always you can find me on Twitter @GregCowboys
