2009 draft advice.

[kmitchell]

Always start your draft with your workhorse running back. Get a RB who won't split carries, keeps the goal line carries, and has an offense built around him. 2009 1st round RB's should be AP, Westbrook, Gore, Jackson, Barber, Portis, and Lynch. I am officially off of the LT bandwagon next year.

Target 3 WR's in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rounds. WR's are the most predictable to post solid numbers, are less injury-prone than rb's, and it is almost impossible to find stud WR's in free agency throughout the season.

5th round is the time to pick up a back up running back, preferably a rookie rb who gets the start, or a RB2 quality running back.

6th round go after a QB- It is almost impossible to predict who will be the top 5 QB, so it does not make sense to waste an early pick on a QB and end up with a '08 P Manning, Palmer, Anderson, etc.

After the 6th round, go off of BPA, regardless of team needs

The third to last and second to last picks should always be defenses, and the last pick should always be a kicker.

Never draft a player who you have not researched. I had an impulse pick in the 8th round this year and got Chris Perry, BUST.

Unless your TE is Witten, do not bother drafting a TE until at least the 8th, 9th round.

Draft 2 running backs, then with one of your last picks, get your #1 RB's handcuff. Good RB's come in the FA every week, so it does not make sense wasting draft picks on them late in the draft.
I used this strategy and ended up going

1st Westbrook
2nd A Johnson
3rd L Fitzgerald
4th Thomas Jones (seemed to good to pass up)
5th Roddy White
6th Burleson (Research your players before you draft. This was an impulse pick and it was a bust.)
7th Warner
Perry
Campbell
Scheffler


One of the smartest Fantasy Columnists I have seen is Nick Bakay on NFL.com, and he said this was the year to draft WR's with early picks, and it definitely paid off. Hope this helps.

[olafberserker]

I don't necessary agree with that.  Your WR have panned out.  Fitz was a gift at pick number 33.  Some WR take up in that area haven't paid off as much.  You may not be able to pick up an absolute stud WR in FA, but you can generally pick up fairly productive guys to be your number 3 (I've picked up Avery a couple of weeks ago and picked up Kevin Curtis around week 4 or 5 to hold until he was healthy).  I think RBs are way too valuable and have far to great injury potential to wait until the 5th round to grab number 2. 

My draft in my main league went like this.  I'm the second highest scoring team (just 5 points behind #1 and about 3 points ahead if #3).  Very competitive 12 team league and we get 1 Keeper (must be drafted in the 6th Round, but can hold onto forever)

Keeper --- McNabb
1 (5) -- Barber
2 ---     Edwards
3 ---    Graham (slight reach, but RBs were going hot and heavy and I expected 10-12 TDs)
4 ---     Jennings
5 ---     J. Stewart
6 ---     Slaton (keeper sleection who has turned into a great number 2 starter)
7 ---     Berrian (became great producer with Frerotte)
8 ---     Favre
9  ---   Anthony Gonzalez
10 --   Garrard


Filled out from there.  I took the Eagles in Round 15 (last) (now have Ravens D as well via FA, hate carrying 2 D's but they're both too good of producers), TE -- Dustin Keller in round 14 (have now changed TEs a couple of times, had Scheffler, but had to drop him due to injury and bye weeks and someone snatched him)

I never draft a kicker.  Pick one up before Game 1 and will normally go through several unless I grab an absolute stud.

Obviously I agree on not putting too much priority on K's, TE's and defenses.  Too easy to find producers on waiver wire.  I prefer to take some chances later in my draft and hope something pans out.  Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't but nothing lost really.

[kmitchell]

I am on my 5th kicker of the season, and have Carney and Prater. I am trying to package Carney #1 kicker, with Nate Washington who has had a good game the last 3 weeks, to steal a running back.

Tight ends have become all but worthless in fantasy football, with the exception of Witten, and a couple games Gates. Stud RB pickups (although temporarily) include Rhodes, Moore, Slaton, Buckhalter, etc. The season is only half through, and I have had Buckhalter, Rhodes, and Moore in my lineup at one point or another while Westbrook was injured/bye.

[olafberserker]

Rhodes, Moore, Buckhalter are all injury fill-ins.  Dangerous way to live.  Slaton should have never been available in anyone's league, especially a 14 team league.  I'd argue that Rhodes and Buckhalter should have been handcuffed on those teams sith Addai and Westbrook as well with the limited number of players available, but that's open for debate I suppose.  It's easier to get away with stuff like that when some of the people in the league don't do their homework, which it is pretty obvious that at least some in your league do not.

[JC510]

Drafts will be nearly extinct in 2 years. Auctions are the way to go.

I think RBs are way too valuable and have far to great injury potential to wait until the 5th round to grab number 2.

Agreed.

I often go rb, wr, wr, rb, wr.