Guide to the Perfect Fantasy Draft

The following is a strategy to be implemented in your fantasy draft, whenever it may be, in order for you to contend for a championship. I will break down rounds 1-10 instead of the entire draft because the last rounds are less critical.

Round 1: Your goal here, regardless of draft position, is to get your consistent highlight reel player. More specifically, you want to grab a top 5 running back if available. Guys like Adrian Peterson, LeSean McCoy, Jamaal Charles, Matt Forte, and Eddie Lacy are must haves if you can get them. The only other viable running back options for the late half of the first round are MarShawn Lynch (who is a great risk because of being a hold out and getting less of a workload) and Monte Ball. Guys like Jimmy Graham, Calvin Johnson, Demaryius Thomas, or AJ Green are very solid first round picks. You can't go wrong with any of these top tier pass catchers.

Round 2: You are still looking at getting a running back, even if you already drafted one in the round prior. HOWEVER, NEVER OVERDRAFT A GUY LIKE ARIAN FOSTER. You are looking for a guy like Giovanni Bernard here. DO NOT take a quarterback unless Peyton Manning is available. You can get a Nick Foles or Tom Brady way later and stock up on your RBs and WRs. If you drafted a receiver in the first, you need to target a running back pretty much without a doubt here. 

Round 3: Get your Wide Receiver here. Its plain and simple. More specifically get CORDARELLE PATTERSON or a guy like Antonio Brown. If you need a 2nd or even 1st running back then grab Andre Ellington if he is there. 

Round 4: Receiver or Gronk/Cameron. You can get a Larry Fitz or a top tier tight end in the 4th round. If you do happen to miss on a top tight end then wait a couple rounds for someone, never overdraft a bad tight end.

Round 5: A Wide Receiver here should round out your main squad of point makers. By this point, in a perfect world, you will have 2 RBs  and 3 WRs or 2 WRs and 1 TE. Get a receiver like Michael Floyd.

Round 6: Quarterback time! Get Nick Foles, Brady, RG3, or Kaepernick.

Round 7: Back up Running Back, get someone like Ben Tate to solidify your running back corps and put in the flex if your league has a flex position.

Round 8: Get Greg Olsen or Kyle Rudolph. You can get whatever tight end you want here but those two are my personal favorites. 

Round 9: Get another Receiver or a top defense.

Round 10: Get a breakout sleeper like Zach Ertz or maybe even Johnny Manziel.

Fantasy Football Focus

In past years we have seen a large number of premier running backs who have been selected through the first couple rounds. The focus of many teams was to get their two starting running backs in the first two rounds. Those days are gone. Yes there are some elite running backs that should be taken early, but once you pass the top 5 it's almost not worth taking a running back over a reciever. The receiver pool is incredibly deep this year when talking about elite talent. Recievers are starting to outscore running backs as a whole. For this year in particular, there is no need to draft a player like Montee Ball over AJ Green or Brandon Marshall. Most of the teams that you see making that reach for a running back who hasn't proven himself will likely suffer and regret their decision. The smart move in your draft this year is to grab one top running back if he's there, then get an elite quarterback or reciever. If you find yourself missing on Adrian Peterson then picking Peyton Manning followed by two receivers is a great move. There are running backs like Andre Ellington that are going between rounds 4-7 that will fit the bill just as well as some of the running backs being over drafted. 

Fantasy Football Rankings

Here's my top 10 for each fantasy position in the 2014 season. 

Fantasy Football Rankings

QBs

1. Drew Brees

2. Aaron Rodgers 

3. Peyton Manning

4. Colin Kaepernick

5. Matthew Stafford 

6. Matt Ryan

7. Andrew Luck 

8. Tom Brady

9. Cam Newton

10. Nick Foles

RBs

1. Jamaal Charles 

2. LeSean McCoy

3. Adrian Peterson

4. Matt Forte 

5. Marshawn Lynch

6. Eddie Lacy

7. Montee Ball

8. Arian Foster

9. DeMarco Murray

10. Doug Martin

WRs

1. Calvin Johnson

2. Demaryius Thomas

3. Brandon Marshall

4. Julio Jones 

5. AJ Green

6. Dez Bryant

7. Jordy Nelson

8. Alshon Jeffery 

9. Antonio Bryant 

10. Michael Crabtree

TEs

1. Jimmy Graham 

2. Julius Thomas

3. Vernon Davis

4. Rob Gronkowski

5. Jordan Cameron

6. Jordan Reed

7. Dennis Pitta

8. Jason Witten

9. Eric Ebron

10. Kyle Rudolph

2014 Rookie QB Class Predictions

This year's QB class is a solid one in my book but it's looking like (for the majority of players) they will spend the season riding the bench. Most of the top quarterbacks are pretty raw, so it makes sense to some extent. The problem I have with some of these teams sitting their guys, is that most teams really need to start winning. Specifically the Jaguars and Browns, neither of which have made the playoffs in years. Here are my predictions for the rookie quarterbacks this season.

Will start immediately: Teddy Bridgewater

Will start at some point this year: Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles, Tom Savage

Will spend this year developing, but will start after a couple seasons: Derek Carr, Logan Thomas, Jimmy Garoppolo

Has potential to start but most likely backup material: Aaron Murray, AJ McCaron, Zach Mettenberger, Tajh Boyd

Fantasy Football: Rookies to Watch

Everyone looks for those gems to fill their roster spots near the end of the draft. These are a couple rookies who I think are worth drafting to plug into your as needed. 

Bishop Sankey RB Titans: Sankey is an incredible back who can do it all. He is replacing Chris Johnson and will get a good amount of carries. He already has the chance to start or at least split time with Shonn Greene. 

Jordan Matthews WR Eagles: This is a dynamic receiver who will take Jackson's place. He will immediately make an impact and have good production. 

Mike Evans WR Bucs: Mike Evans will thrive as teams double team Vincent Jackson. He is in a great situation to produce in Mike Williams's spot. 

2015 Super Bowl

After watching the draft and seeing the moves by each team in free agency, I am ready to predict my Super Bowl champs.

This year I think the 49ers will return to the SuperBowl to represent the NFC, after missing it last year, and the Broncos will represent the AFC. The 49ers have added incredible depth defensively through the draft and have added offense through trades. The trade for Stevie Johnson, along with the addition of Carlos Hyde, make this offense scary. The Broncos on the other hand are simply the best team in the AFC. They added many difference makers defensively through free agency and also added a pair of young recievers. Cody Latimer has a chance to start and produce this year for the Broncos at receiver.

My Super Bowl winner........The 49ers. They will beat the Broncos with their defense and their additions on offense.

NFL Draft: First Round Winners

Well the draft last night was completely different than expected, as it usually is, and some teams in particular really will benefit from their decisions. 

Browns: The Browns got an all star corner to line up across from Joe Hayden and got their future franchise quarterback in Johnny Manziel. Manziel makes the Browns contenders. If they draft a receiver in the second round, then the NFL will have to watch out for this offense. 

Vikings: The Vikings traded around like the Browns did and ended up landing a top tier outside linebacker and their quarterback of the future. Teddy Bridgewater fits very well here and being picked at 32 gives the Vikings great value. 

Jaguars: The jags got their franchise quarterback and fill the biggest hole on their team. This team has had talent for a long time but never had an effective quarterback. Look for them to fill more holes in the upcoming rounds and start becoming competitive.