When it all comes down to it, every fantasy nut needs a draft board. Your best players ranked from 1 to 100, maybe even to 200. Think about it, write it down, rewrite it; then follow it throughout your draft. And if you never crumble to the temptations of a sexy pick two rounds too early, and you forget about your defense and kicker until the last few rounds, then you’ve done your scouting well young Luke. If the fall’s lazy eye has you by the beans, and making your own list out of the question; here’s one that should get you to the top. This list is based solely on a smooth immeasurable ratio of value and point production. If QB touchdowns and WR/RB touchdowns are equal in your league, all the quarterbacks jump up 4-5 spots.
Don’t forget the three main rules of your draft board.
- Feel free to deviate slightly for things such as; preference, bye week differential, and the value of a player depending on who has been chosen previously. For example, if my favorite player is Ronnie Brown, and I get to chose between Ronnie and Cadillac, I’m taking Ronnie, because they are close enough on my board. If my starting RB has a bye in week 10, and I’m choosing between Frank Gore and Willie Parker, and Frank has a bye in week 10, take Willie. And last, if you’re choosing between Chad Johnson and LaMont Jordan for your 2nd pick, and all the other top tier RB’s have been taken, take LaMont because his value is higher.
- Don’t get caught up in the tight end, defense, or kicker hullabaloo. If you can get good value with Antonio Gates, go for it. But chances are, he’ll get drafted much earlier than he should, as will guys like Shockey, Gonzalez, and Crumpler. Aside from Gates, TE’s are too equal to pick early in drafts. Wait it out and take advantage of guys like Ben Watson, Ben Troupe, and Kellen Winslow falling down the draft. Same goes for defenses, except never pick one until you have starters and backups at all positions. Kickers…. Hahaha…. Last two rounds could be too soon.
- Don’t let bye weeks break your balls. If you’re choosing between two players relatively close on your draft board (3-5 spots apart) then bye week should come into your mind. But if I’m choosing between Anquan Boldin and Plaxico Burress in round 4, and you already have Larry Fitzgerald (who has the same bye as Boldin) take Boldin anyway. He’s that much better. You can always come up with something in that situation. But don’t pass on great players because of one lousy bye week.
Stick to your game plan, follow good ol’ Lucky Lester’s Rules and his Top 100, and take home the pride and prize at season’s end.
MY Draft Board – Top 100
- Shaun Alexander
- LaDainian Tomlinson
- Larry Johnson
- Tiki Barber
- Steve Smith
- Edgerrin James
- Clinton Portis*
- Brian Westbrook
- Peyton Manning
- Larry Fitzgerald
- Steven Jackson
- Torry Holt
- Terrell Owens*
- Cadillac Williams
- Rudi Johnson
- Ronnie Brown
- Anquan Boldin
- Chad Johnson
- LaMont Jordan
- Willis McGahee
- Carson Palmer*
- Warrick Dunn
- Marvin Harrison
- Reggie Wayne
- Corey Dillon
- Chris Chambers
- Randy Moss
- Santana Moss
- Kevin Jones
- Dominick Davis*
- Tom Brady
- Julius Jones
- Reuben Droughns
- Antonio Gates
- De’Shuan Foster
- Frank Gore
- Willie Parker
- Matt Hasselbeck
- Jamal Lewis
- Thomas Jones*
- Plaxico Burress
- Javon Walker*
- Donovan McNabb
- Donald Driver
- Marc Bulger
- Hines Ward*
- Darrell Jackson*
- Roy Williams
- Chester Taylor
- Andre Johnson
- Eli Manning
- Dominic Rhodes
- Deuce McCallister
- Reggie Bush
- Fred Taylor
- Chris Brown
- Ahman Green*
- Daunte Culpepper
- Joey Galloway
- Mike Bell
- Drew Bledsoe
- Jake Delhomme
- Joe Horn
- Kurt Warner
- Ben Roethlisberger
- Derrick Mason
- Jeremy Shockey
- TJ Housmandzadeh
- Todd Heap
- Mike Vick
- Tatum Bell
- Jason Whitten
- Reggie Brown
- Drew Brees
- Steve McNair
- Tony Gonzalez
- Brett Favre
- Joseph Addai
- Jake Plummer
- Terry Glenn
- Randy McMichael
- Byron Leftwich
- Chris Cooley
- Jon Kitna
- Cedric Benson*
- Ben Troupe
- Chris Simms
- Rod Smith
- Deion Branch*
- Mike Anderson
- Laveraneus Coles
- Mushin Muhammad
- Lee Evans
- Drew Bennett
- Michael Clayton
- Braylon Edwards*
- Algae Crumpler*
- LJ Smith
- Antonio Bryant
- Ben Watson