Fantasy Football 101

I always told myself that I would never become "that guy." The guy who had multiple fantasy football teams and did endless research on players at each position, looked over the difficulty of each teams schedule and even who would be the upcoming year's breakout stars. But it has happened. Call me the #fantasy guru, because now I am in 5 leagues and also in a NFL "pick em" league where each week I try to pick the winners of all the NFL games. Now that I have reached this point of no return, I might as well share some of my fantasy knowledge to those who are interested in fantasy football, trying it out for the first time, or even if you are also a fantasy guru like myself. Here a few pointers that have led me to have success in past years.

Lesson number one, running backs are key. In the first round, one almost always takes a running back with their first pick, unless you have the 5th, 6th or 7th pick and Michael Vick, or Aaron Rodgers are there for the taking, the first round should be full of running back selections. A few sleepers at the RB position are James Starks of the Greenbay Packers who in my opinion will win the starting job over Ryan Grant this year. also keep your eye out for knowshon moreno of the Denver Broncos. Though he has under produced in his first two years in the NFL, he is now playing under John Fox who is notorious for implementing a good running game. My third sleeper, who really isn't a sleeper at all but I believe will a huge year in fantasy is Lagarrette Blount of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The guy came onto the scene last year and though he doesn't have the flashy speed or agility that other backs do, he was able to produce and was a touchdown hog in Tampa.

Lesson number two, when drafting try to get an elite tight end. This may mean you are the guy in the 4th or 5th round who selects a tight end but this position is greatly under appreciated in fantasy. Making it a priority to grab one of the 5 elite tight ends gives you the opportunity to have another guy who puts up numbers like a running back or wide receiver. These are the five elite. Antonio Gates, San Diego, Jermichael Finley, Green Bay, Jason Witten, Dallas, Vernon Davis, San Francisco, and finally Dallas Clark, Indianapolis. (keep in mind that Clark's production could be slow at first if Peyton Manning isn't healthy at the beginning of the season)

My third and final lesson is grab a top 3 defense. Similar to the tight end situation, you want to be a guy who doesn't have to keep picking up and dropping defenses each week because you were the guy who didn't get a defense til late in the draft. Look at defenses that not only create turnovers but allowed the fewest points. Though turnovers are flashy and cool, that doesn't always guarantee a lot of defensive fantasy points if they allow 24 points a game. Try to grab Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, or New York Jets. I believe these teams will have the best defensive fantasy seasons.

These are just three easy pointers to help you while drafting and guide you towards a #fantasy #football championship.

-Sink