The best strategy to go with….is it RB-RB, RB-WR, WR-QB-RB?
Your strategy should be developed based on your leagues settings.
There are many different philosophies but it really comes down to league settings. If you are in a custom league you have to make a decision based on settings. Look at your player pool pre-draft and take note of what types of skill positions show up the most in the top-25. If there are 7+ QB’s, you can probably wait on a QB, likewise for RB’s and WR’s, conversely if you only see a few of any of the skill positions in the top-25 or top-50 it would be wise to spend a 2nd round pick on a player of that calibre (excluding TE). The strategy you go with will also be influenced by your draft position as well as positional runs. We suggest RB-WR this year in standard leagues. Larger league sizes may mandate a WR-QB-RB strategy.
In 2012 traditional draft strategies that have worked the past couple of years are now out the window and we have reverted back to the best player available model.
For years we espoused RB-RB-WR-RB-QB or some variation but with all the uncertainty at the RB position, Calvin Johnson, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Cam Newton and Matthew Stafford are now legit 1st round picks.
Furthermore Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski are consensus 2nd round picks, not only because they are the top tight ends but because they can outproduce most wide receivers.
Taking the best player available makes the most sense this year but you want to be mindful of the additions to different teams and changes in philosophy or projected number ones.
In Atlanta fantasy stalwart Roddy White who is currently being drafted as the 3rd receiver off the board in Yahoo drafts is a very good bet to finish behind his teammate Julio Jones in fantasy scoring this season and it is possible he falls out out the WR1 conversation in non PPR leagues.
In another example Wes Welker is bound to lose some fantasy appeal with Brandon Llyod in town to steal targets.
We suggest you create your own cheat sheet as always and eliminate players whose ADP is too high for your liking like Roddy White in Atlanta and Wes Welker in New England.
For those of you with a little cash to spare we suggest signing up for cheatsheetwizard.com where you can create your own cheat sheets, one of your own making and a consensus cheat sheet where you can choose to aggregate your rankings with your choice of over fifty of the top fantasy football minds on the planet.
Avoid the standard rankings given to you by your fantasy league provider
Fantasy league providers such as Yahoo and ESPN’s default draft client rankings are notoriously unreliable so you should take the time to do your own pre-rankings; also take a look at the rankings done by the writers as opposed to the rankings the fantasy game provides.
Do a mock draft or two
It is best to participate in a mock or two before draft day to help give you an accurate depiction of where players are going and which players are falling through the cracks. ESPN and Yahoo have mock drafts running for about 12 hours a day. Mock drafts are the best way for to fine tune your cheat sheets/draft boards. Try and get one in close to your draft day so you can see any new emerging trends or players that are going off the board way too late.
Rankings, Rankings, Rankings:
QB
RB
WR
TE
Scroll to bottom to see our staff rankings as well as consensus rankings.
Projections:
The two best free providers of projections are, in this order, CBS and ESPN. Fantasypros has compiled consensus projections here.
Draft guides: Should you buy any?
If you really want to gain that competitive advantage, there is no better draft guide than Rotoworld’s Fantasy Football Season Pass. I purchase it myself but mainly for the dynasty league rankings. Their projections are good and their constantly updated rankings are also some of my most used features. They have a wealth of information and it is actually worth the money. If you are just looking for projections than CBS Fantasy Football’s are more accurate, but you have to love the ability Rotoworld presents to get customized projections roughly based on your own leagues settings. ESPN has a FREE draft guide that is second to none as far as free draft kits go.
Sleepers to know: Jay Cutler, Matt Ryan, Michael Vick, Andrew Luck, Carson Palmer, Joe Flacco, Ryan Williams, Shane Vereen, Mikel LeShoure, Daniel Thomas, Mark Ingram, Cedric Benson, Peyton Hillis, Jonathan Stewart, Donald Brown, Kevin Smith, Michael Bush, David Wilson, Rashard Mendenhall, Evan Royster, Kendall Hunter, Julio Jones, Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas, Brian Quick, Steve Smith (Rams), Jeremy Maclin, Percy harvin, Antonio Brown, Denarius Moore, Eric Decker, Reggie Wayne, Torrey Smith Titus Young, Justin Blackmon, Mike Williams, Randall Cobb, Jon Baldwin, Kendall Wright, Alshon Jeffery, Josh Gordon
Players not getting enough love and may finish top-15 at their position: Jay Cutler, Matt Ryan, Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Carson Palmer, Steven Jackson, Mark Ingram, Daniel Thomas, Jonathan Stewart, Brandon Marshall, Dez Bryant, Percy Harvin, Kenny Britt, Demaryius Thomas, Jeremy Maclin, Antonio Brown, Kenny Britt, Kendall Wright, Denarius Moore, Eric Decker, Torrey Smith, Reggie Wayne, Justin Blackmon, Sam Bradford, Greg Olsen, Kyle Rudolph.
Players we are avoiding even though they have upside: Reggie Bush, Beanie Wells, Shonn Greene, Michael Turner, Ahmad Bradshaw, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Isaac Redman, Ronnie Hillman, Peyton Manning, Phillip Rivers, Matt Schaub, Josh Freeman, DeAngelo Williams, Danny Amendola, Wes Welker, Roddy White, Jordy Nelson, Miles Austin, Robert Meachem, Santonio Holmes
ADP Info
Not sure which running backs will be left after the third round? How early is Eric Decker going? All this information and more can be found via fantasy pros, knowing where players are going on average can be more helpful than mock drafts where people sometimes will avoid their true sleepers in order to not alert others. ADP information is a very helpful tool to utilize leading up to and during your fantasy football draft.
Rookies to know: Justin Blackmon, Kendall Wright, Brian Quick, Michael Floyd, Josh Gordon, Alshon Jeffery, David Wilson, Trent Richardson, Doug Martin, Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Brandon Weeden, Lamar Miller
Rizzla’s personal rankings with expert consensus rankings and ADP noted
