By: Joey D
It is near the beginning of football season, which means the fantasy football season is now underway. If you are new to fantasy football and are confused on what to do and who to pick, follow this 4 Part Tutorial (Offense, Defensive Teams, Defensive Players, Special Teams) and when you are finished you may find that you are more enthusiastic and prepared then you were before. This article will be purely dedicated to the offensive side of the ball, so let's begin. Before we begin remember this phrase "Defense wins Championships---but not Fantasy Championships", now we shall begin. Now, similar to real life, the Quarterback heads your team each week. Of course, the mind-boggling stats of Peyton Manning and Daunte Culpepper may entice you to pick them in the first round. Do not let that happen, you need a starting QB but in fantasy a good 25 TD per season thrower will do you just fine. I recommend drafting either Jake Delhomme or Matt Hasselbeck in the 7th to 8th round at a fantasy draft that uses defensive players (a tad earlier in a draft with defensive teams). Let your competition waste their first round pick on Manning, Culpepper or in some leagues I have seen, Donovan McNabb. Tom Brady is also a good candidate but you will most likely see him go by the 7th round, no matter what the draft type is. So here is what I recommend in a draft utilizing defensive teams; Matt Hasselbeck-7th round, David Carr-11th round. David Carr is finally getting the hang of the NF:Land with the emergence of Andre Johnson, keep an eye on him.
In fantasy football, your Running Backs and Wide Receivers will win you the league. Let's focus on running backs, first though. They are 4 Top Notch running backs; LaDanian Tomlinson (LT), Shaun Alexander, Edgerrin James and Willis McGahee (due to his second half dominance). Priest Holmes is also a worthwhile candidate but his injury concerns scare me off too much to warrant a Top 5 pick. If you can help it, DRAFT LT, the furthest I have seen him fall is 2nd. We are hypothetically saying you are the 5th pick of a 8 man draft, so I would lean to Edgerrin James unless LT or Shaun Alexander drop. Willis is a good pick if you are 7th in the draft, but just one second half does not translate to warrant a Top 5 selection. Now if you have Edgerrin James, you pick in the 2nd round, Kevin Jones. Kevin Jones, at one point, will be a huge superstar and I believe this is his year. Like Edge, Jones is in a high-octane offense on a turf stadium. Jones will be big this year, in one draft he slipped to the 8th round but unlikely that will occur again. Also if he is available, Domanick Davis should be chosen, as he is virtually a less explosive LT. So you heard it here, pick Edge and Kevin Jones in the draft. Do not expect Domanick too fall that far, though. LaMont Jordan is also worth a look as he gets the starting nod in Oakland and has surprisingly quick feet.
Wide Recievers are the next group we head to and the best WR, on paper, has to be Randy Moss. In a majority of the drafts I have been in this year, he has not slipped past the 2nd round but it is highly unlikely to see him past that anyway. Now that you have your running backs, you can either choose from Terrell Owens (T.O.), Torry Holt, Marvin Harrison or Javon Walker. Since two of those three are questionable for the year (contract issues) Torry Holt or Marvin Harrison are the logical picks. Out of those two, I would say Holt will be the better pick. Rams QB Marc Bulger has other weapons but Holt is younger and more explosive than Harrison. Though, if you lose out on him pounce on Harrison. In the next round it is highly possible that the following WRs may be available; Reggie Wayne, Drew Bennett, Mushin Muhammed and Andre Johnson. Out of these four go with Wayne or Johnson. Drew Bennett's explosive 2nd half was partly due to backup Titans QB Billy Volek throwing to him regularly, the starting Titans QB Steve McNair threw an average of 3 passes to Bennett per game last season. Bennett is also the number 1 go-to-guy in Tennesse, a job he has never held in his career and will be covered a lot more than he was before. Mushin Muhammed?s resurrected season was partly due to the Carolina Panthers #1 wideout Steve Smith's broken leg injury in the beginning of the season. Mushin is now in Chicago with a inexpierenced QB in Rex Grossman. Also with rookie RB Cedric Benson expect a severe dip in fantasy stats, let someone else be fool enough to get him. Reggie Wayne warrants a pick as now more defenses will be packaged to stop Brandon Stokley and TE Dallas Clark. His numbers are enough to make him a #1 WR on a fantasy team. After a 10 plus TD season in 2004, look for Wayne to duplicate those stats. Andre Johnson is the #1 WR in Houston and has breakout written all over him as he is now more experienced. If you are in a dynasty league, TAKE HIM and if you are in a regular league, take him. He is tall, explosive and can catch very well. With 79 receptions and 6 touchdowns, Johnson has improved since he was drafted in 2003. You can flip a coin on him and Wayne, you will not go wrong on either of them. Now you going after your 3rd wideout and need a solid receiver. In leagues I have been in, Donald Driver, Larry Fitzgerald, Roy Williams and even Anquan Boldin have been available in the 5th to 6th round. Do not count on Boldin to remain there but I rather to take a risk here instead. Pick Larry Fitzgerald, the guy is simply fast and his only realistic problem is that he has trouble running routes. That will change this year as he gains more expierence and defenses will need to stop Boldin and rookie RB JJ Aarington. Also with new QB Kurt Warner who loves to throw, a huge upgrade in stats. Roy Williams is another WR to watch out for, he is now in a possibly explosive Offense and he reminds me of Marvin Harrison in the Colts offense. But there are 5 words that drop his stock slightly; Joey Harrington and Jeff Garcia, both have had problems in the past. But again flip a coin on Larry and Roy but you might be able to keep Larry as your 4th WR on the bench and just play the matchups with Roy. Also in the later rounds keep an eye on Ronald Curry, Kevin Curtis and TJ Houshmanzadeh as a bench WR.
Our last offensive position is the breakout position of the year, Tight Ends. As always Tony Gonzalez will be off the board by the 4th round but don't sweat it they are 4 other great Tight Ends to watch out for. Antonio Gates will not be available by the 4th round either. You can actually delay your 3rd WR to the 6th round as you pick Jason Witten as your TE. If you can get Witten the worst case scenario is picking Todd Heap. Hard to believe Heap is the 2nd resort but Witten can simply run you over. New QB Drew Bledsoe is having trouble throwing deep now and will relay on Witten more than old QB Vinny Testaverde did. RB Julius Jones is going to draw linebackers away from Witten and that will create a minor spike in numbers for Witten. As a backup TE, you got to either go with Indy TE Dallas Clark or Tennessee TE Ben Troupe. Troupe compares a lot to Antonio Gates, a huge increase should be expected in stats simply because, who else will Steve McNair throw to and Dallas Clark had a fantasy worthy year last year as the 2nd string TE. So you heard it hear, go with Jason Witten and either Ben Troupe or Dallas Clark as your 2nd string TE. So now you now that a little more about fantasy football but we are far from done. Next we will highlight Defensive Teams so stay tuned.