Before you pick your winning fantasy football team the very first thing you have to do is be PREPARED.

You wouldn’t go into your final exam clueless and unprepared would you?

This is more important than any exam and there is no point in participating in a fantasy football league if you are not committed and prepared beforehand.

Most fantasy football players will show up to a draft with a pen, paper, and magazine. When I see guys like this in leagues I’m in, I get like a six year old boy getting a new bike for Christmas.

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No Cheat Sheets

Magazines are great reading material when you are sitting on the toilet taking a dump, but they are not up to date. Your best bet is to go online and print up the rankings that day. This is better than any cheat sheet in a magazine.

Also, study up on who is injured or and in position battles. A magazine might not even have Brett Favre on the cheat sheet, but a printed up to date internet ranking will show Brett Favre just outside the top ten in quarterback rankings.

The cheat sheets do not show whose injured, who is climbing up the rankings, or who is falling behind in a position battle, but a reliable internet source with up to date rankings will.

Scoring Systems

Another part in picking your winning fantasy football team is to know your league’s scoring system.

If your league heavily favors touchdown scoring then a Brandon Jacobs will be more valuable then Steve Slaton. If your league heavily favors yardage scoring then Steve Slaton is more valuable than Brandon Jacobs.

Also, make sure you know if your league is a PPR league (points per reception). Some PPR leagues only give points to wide receivers and tight ends while other leagues give PPR to running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends. Guys like Reggie Bush and Brian Westbrook earn their value in PPR leagues.

Bye Weeks

The one thing I hate about fantasy football is bye weeks. But you have to make sure you pay attention to that when you are drafting your team.

Make sure you do not draft players with the same bye weeks. Every single week is important in fantasy football and you don’t want to have your two best running backs sitting on the bench during their bye week in favor of two third down backs.

It might be tempting to take the best available running back, who might have the same bye week as your first running back but you have to do everything you can to avoid that. So when you are writing Matt Forte on your paper, make sure you put the number 5 next to his name so you know to try to stay away from another bye week 5 guy.

Strategy

If you are an old school fantasy football player you probably have the mindset of drafting two running backs with your first two picks. While this is usually the most common strategy and could work, there is a better one out there.

There are always a handful of new players or running backs that will rank in the 1^st round for next year.

For instance who knew last year that Michael Turner, Steve Slanton, Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, Maurice Jones-Drew, and DeAngelo Williams would be named in the top tier of running backs this year and guys like LaDainian Tomlinson, Reggie Bush, Marshawn Lynch, Joseph Addai, and Willis McGahee would significantly slip from their ranking only a year ago.

Let’s say you have you have the 10^th overall pick in your league for the 2009 fantasy football draft in a 12 team league. You will have a few options to pick from in the 1^st round, and say you get a guy like Steve Slanton with your first pick.

Then in the 2^nd round instead of being predictable and going back to your old habits, go with a top wide receiver. There is a slim chance Fitzgerald slips (if your league members are stupid), but Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson, and Randy Moss would all make great picks there.

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In the 3^rd round is when you take another running back who will give you great value. There are a handful of guys who have great value here like Pierre Thomas (if he falls that far here), Darren McFadden, Derrick Ward, Kevin Smith, Ryan Grant, Knowshon Moreno, and Chris Wells.

The two back guys are rookie sleepers who I would say go in the late 3^rd to early 5^th in most drafts. So with the 3^rd round pick I would take Knowshon Moreno and 5 picks later I would nab Dwayne Bowe. Dwayne Bowe is not a sleeper, but he is my must have guy this year.

After 4 rounds my roster looks like this:

RB Steve Slanton Bye week 9

WR Randy Moss Bye week 8

WR Dwayne Bye week 8

RB Knowshon Moreno Bye week 7

Unfortunately, I was not able to get two separate bye week options for my wide receivers but that’s reality. I will just have to fill my draft accordingly for the rest of the wide receiver position.

In round 5 I would try to target the best available quarterback or running back. Matt Ryan is a guy that is a great pick in round 5 and will be this year’s Aaron Rodgers.

Round 6 I would then try to draft the best possible player there and get a sleeper like Anthony Gonzalez.

Round 7 is a wild card round for me. I would take a solid tight end here like an Owen Daniels or a Greg Olsen, but if a guy like Rashard Mendenhall, Felix Jones, or Ahmad Bradshaw are there then you have to make a decision.

If it were me in this situation, I take the upside guy in Mendenhall. In round 8 I would add a solid backup to my wide receiver core since I am in trouble week 8 so I would take a solid player like Kevin Walter.

After 8 rounds my team looks like this:

QB Matt Ryan Bye week 4

RB Steve Slanton Bye week 9

RB Knowshon Moreno Bye week 7

RB Rashard Mendenhall Bye week 8

WR Randy Moss Bye week 8

WR Dwayne Bowe Bye week 8

WR Anthony Gonzalez Bye week 6

WR Kevin Walter Bye week 10

Patience Is Key

This is a time where you have to be patient. Guys become antsy and will just pick guys to fill out their roster. But you would be surprised how much better you can do if you just stick with it and concentrate on your team and draft..

Just because there may be a run on defenses and kickers doesn’t mean you have to draft one. There is never a shortage on these positions.

In round 9 I would look to fill out my tight end position. Not many here that I would take so he would have to be worth it here. John Carlson or Zach Miller are realistic option that would be here. If they aren’t I would pass on a tight end till a few more rounds.

In rounds 9 through 12 it is a good idea to start looking at your defense. I don’t value defenses so any middle of the pack one with strong special teams is the best option.

The rest of the draft you fill your roster out with sleepers, undervalued players, or a spot starter against a weak defense.

My advice for rounds 9 through the end of your draft is to draft the best possible player out there no matter what position or how many guys you have at that position. You never know about injuries or if you want to trade for someone so it is always great to have depth.

Overview

In conclusion, it is always important to show up to a draft prepared physically and mentally.

Physically prepared by trying not to eat too much where you have to take a dump at the end of round 10 or drink too much where you start picking three kickers.

Mentally prepared by trying to be open minded and always have a backup option if the player you want to draft gets taken right before your pick.

Never reach for a player, never share your sleeper list, never help out anyone with injured players, and never ever draft a kicker until your last pick.

Remember that drafting a winning team is only half the work. The other half is making sure you pay attention every week to set your lineup, find key free agent picks, and hope your team stays healthy.

If you do this you should have a winning fantasy football team by the end of the year.

Best of luck this upcoming 2009 season and remember why we play this game. For the love and the money!

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