Fantasy Football Tips

August has just arrived and that means one thing: fantasy football drafts will start taking place. We all know how competitive our leagues can get. Beating your friends and earning the right to trash talk them is probably the greatest thing this universe has to offer. Except not all is peachy and rosy with fantasy football.You have to deal with injuries, bad luck, and other things that are far out of your control. The emotional roller coaster one goes on during the course of a fantasy football season is probably worse than anything a previous relationship of yours gave you. It can get hectic at times. Fortunately for you, I'm going to share a few of my secrets here and maybe they can help increase your chances of winning. 

1. You can't go wrong if you draft RBs in both the first and second round
If you're ever torn about who to draft in the early rounds you should go with the safe pick and get a running back. I've seen people try to shake up the league by drafting a QB or WR only for those players to not produce as consistently as the RBs drafted only a couple of spots behind them. Don't get giddy just because a big name like Aaron Rodgers or Calvin Johnson "falls" to you. Sure they're phenomenal players but if you have your doubts it's probably safer to get yourself a running back who is consistently getting touches. 

2. Find 2-3 players/sleepers you want to make sure you get in your draft 
Planning ahead a little can go a long way. For instance, last season I wanted to make sure I got Colin Kaepernick and Josh Gordon. Gordon was my sleeper (8th round pick in a 12 or 14 man league)  and he may have been the only reason I made the playoffs then. Do your homework to find a sleeper with high upside and MAKE SURE they're on your team. 

3. Take note of PPR in  your league
PPR completely changes the spectrum of value in your league. People start to assume that wide receivers become more critical but in reality it's the running backs that make plays from the air that become more necessary to add to your team. Make sure you pay attention to their career stats and see their importance in the passing game. Players like Matt Forte, Jamaal Charles, LeSean McCoy all see a dramatic increase in value while other running backs like Alfred Morris start to pale in comparison. 

4. Don't underestimate Dez Bryant
When Dez said he was capable of everything Calvin Johnson did everyone's initial reaction was to scoff at that notion. Calvin Johnson has blinding speed, big size, and catches jump balls over triple teams like it's a routine for him. Slow down a bit and you start to realize that Dez isn't all that crazy. Yeah he doesn't have the quickness Johnson displays but his strength is second-to-none and he fights and fights and fights for absolutely every yard available to him. Also keep in mind that he didn't have Tony Romo throwing him the ball. Say what you want about the Dallas Cowboy QB but he's a pretty solid fantasy player and one of the better quarterbacks in this league. His injury diminished Bryant's value last year. The drop off in talent of wide receivers after him is pretty big too, so if you find the once troubled wide receiver tempting I'd recommend getting him. 

5. Johnny Football will not be the Week 1 Starter for the Cleveland Browns
... unless Brian Hoyer magically gets injured *knock on wood* please don't let that happen. Many people are torn on what to think of Manziel and for the fanboys that want to add him to your team come draft day, don't do it. As a Cleveland Browns fan, I've been following this quarterback "competition" very closely and it seems that Brian Hoyer has this job locked up. All the coaches and first team players have taken a liking to Hoyer and they believe the skill level favors the vet. Sorry Johnny Football fans, you're going to have to wait a little while. 

6. Matt Ryan is a better player than people give credit for
He was "under pressure" more than any other quarterback last season. If he ends up as your starting QB you're still in pretty good shape. With Julio Jones and Roddy White to throw to, you can't really go wrong with selecting Matty Ice to take your team to the promise land.  

7. Colin Kaepernick is rated too low.  
Love him or hate him, Kaepernick has all the talent in the world and the tools to be legendary in this league. Last season, fans and fantasy owners were frustrated with Harbaugh's play calling as it was too conservative because the 49ers wanted to protect their franchise quarterback. Fortunately for Kaepernick fans, the offense is now being catered to the QB and is going to be a lot more pass friendly. Other than that, the only thing holding him back was inexperience and a depleted wide receiver corp. In his first year of playing, he was thrown halfway into the season and took the league by storm. Last year (his only full season) he still did pretty well even though he had to play eleven of those games without his favorite target, Michael Crabtree, and a few others without Vernon Davis. Another mind boggling stat is that after his first 29 career games, Kaepernick has a better passer rating than anyone else in the league, including names like: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers. A breakout is coming and you'll want to make sure you want him to take your fantasy team on a long, exciting ride.  

8. Stafford is going to have a remarkable season. 
The pass attempts with Stafford will always be there so selecting him as your QB is always nice. Then you start to realize that he has Golden Tate at his arsenal now. Sure Tate isn't anything special and runs his mouth like there's no tomorrow but he simply doesn't drop any passes. Why is that fact so important? Because the Detroit Lions led the league in that category. With Calvin Johnson, humongous tight ends, and an added reliable slot receiver all at his disposal, Stafford should see a nice bump to his numbers across the board. 

9. Don't jump the gun on Percy Harvin 
First thing is first when talking about the speedy Harvin; he is always injured. Always. The talent is there but how often is he actually on the field? Next let's look at his career stats. He has never had a one thousand yard or double digit touchdown season. There is always someone who gets excited to draft him but personally, I have no problem taking my chances elsewhere.  

10. Jordan Reed may be last year's Jordan Cameron
Not many people pay attention to the Cleveland Browns so when Jordan Cameron came onto the scene it blew many people away. "Who is this guy?" people thought as they saw him available on the draft board over one hundred picks through. I say this mostly because of his new coach, Jay Gruden. He's known to have a TE friendly offense as Gresham and Eifert amassed 125 targets last season for the Cincinnati Bengals last season. Reed also had a solid first season last year, collecting 45 catches, 500 yards, and 3 touchdowns in only 9 games. If you don't have a tight end late in the draft don't sleep on this player. 

11. Bad teams usually have the best sleepers
Not going to go into detail about this in case I do end up playing fantasy football this year. (I don't want my competitors knowing all my tricks)

Good luck to all of you participating in the up and down ride that is fantasy football. May you demolish your competition this season. 

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