It’s been a while, but I’m back.

FantasyFootballSoup.com is officially launched. We post weekly “Play or Stay Away” Fantasy Football picks. If you need Fantasy Football Depth Chart information, there is a weekly updated depth chart to show you each teams starters heading into that weeks games. Please visit and let us know what you think.

I’m in many fantasy football leagues (too many really). I’m participating in 2 leagues that are hosted by the fantasy football team at Yahoo.com. I’ve done really well in those leagues so far. Below is the breakdown of those leagues and my standing in them.

Brad Evan’s (Yahoo Fantasy Writer) – Silence the Noise Challenge League – 2nd out of 20 (7-0 record)
Brandon Funston’s (Yahoo Fantasy Writer) – BFun Twitter League – 1st out of 14 (7-0)

I also started a FantasyFootballSoup.com experts league on ESPN. That league features some serious players in the fantasy football community (Razzball, RosterDoc, WhopperFootball, TheFantasyFix, HattyWaiverWire, FantasyFootballRoundTable, ValueTownFantasy).

My team is 3-3-1 in that league. It’s a highly competitive league, 12 team league. That record is good for 5th place overall, which means my team would be playoff bound if the season ended today.

We’re almost at the mid way point of the NFL season. Should be an interested and fun rest of the way. We hope to see you on FantasyFootballSoup.com.

You can follow me on Twitter @FFSoup

Draft Strategy – Consider This!

There are many fantasy football draft strategies out there. Most have some merit. Some are completely absurd. There is a draft strategy that I use in most of my drafts. It’s served me well and I’d like to share it with you. No one really talks about it, but it makes total sense. Are you ready? Here it is – If you’re in a 10-12 team league that’s competitive and active – don’t even draft a Kicker or a Defense. There I said it. Now, I’ll explain it.

If you draft a Kicker or a Defense, you’re wasting a pick. The only time you should draft a Kicker or a Defense is if you’re drafting after the season starts. Predicting and projecting the value of Kicker’s and Defense’s is particularly hard to do. A good Defense one year can be one of the worst the next. Kickers are also especially tough to predict. With Kicker’s the difference between the 6th and 12th Kicker is normally pretty slim anyway, so don’t waste a pick. You can always play the waiver wire and find good value. Also, rarely does a team that drafts a Kicker or Defense end the season with the same one they originally drafted. The turnover on those positions is so high, why waste a pick, when there are solid options you can pick up on the waiver wire?

To really hammer home this draft strategy, in my league last season only 4 of 12 teams finished the season with the same Defense they originally drafted. One of those teams still had the Steelers Defense he drafted, but it wasn’t even his best defense. In going one step further, only 3 of 12 teams still had the original Kicker they drafted at the end of the season. There is no reason to draft a Kicker or a Defense in your draft, instead opt to stock up on position players late in your draft.

In looking back over my 12 team, PPR league’s draft last season, this draft theory makes perfect sense. I didn’t draft a Kicker or a Defense in that draft. While one team took the Titan’s Defense in the 11th round, I took Beanie Wells. Also available in the 11th round were Jamaal Charles, Ricky Williams and Mike Sims-Walker. While 3 teams took Defenses in the 12th, I took Sidney Rice. Round 15 of the draft saw several Defenses taken (Chicago, Dallas and Miami). Still on the board in the 15th were Miles Austin and Jeremy Maclin. All of us know now that Miles Austin turned into a stud. But let’s look at Maclin, who an owner could’ve taken in round 15. In the heart of the fantasy season, Week 10 – 13, Maclin averaged 5.25 catches and 71.5 yards and had 1 TD over those 4 games. That’s an average of 13.5 points in one of the most critical stretches of the fantasy season. He also had 6 catches for 92 yards in week 16 (most leagues championship week). That’s really solid PPR production from a guy you could’ve taken late in your draft, instead of taking a Kicker or a Defense.

Another good reason to not draft a Kicker or Defense is preseason injuries. Imagine you draft the Jets D and Revis gets hurt in the preseason. That could significantly change the value of the Jets D you just wasted a pick taking. However, if you take a starters backup late in the draft and the starter gets hurt in preseason – then you instantly have a starter and add value to your team. Just imagine – you take a late round flyer on Toby Gerhart (instead of drafting a Kicker) and AP tweaks a hammy in the final preseason game and will be out 2 weeks. Look at the value that’s just been added to your team. Even if you roll the dice and take some backups late in the draft and they don’t pan out, simply drop them before the season starts and get a Kicker and Defense off the waiver wire. Once the season starts and bye weeks kick in, there will be plenty of turnover with Kickers and Defenses anyway.

We all know that you’ll need to have a Kicker and a Defense on your team and in your lineup to start the season. I’m just saying don’t draft one. Wait until closer to the season starts to add a Kicker and Defense off the waiver wire to your team. Stock up on position players later in your draft. Then cross your fingers that a few of them turn into this year’s Sidney Rice and Miles Austin.

Get an Edge – Use Mock Drafts and ADP

There are many helpful tools when trying to build a championship caliber fantasy football squad. None are more important than tools that help you have a great draft. Having a high-quality draft is key to your teams success. If you don’t have an efficient draft, it could spell disaster before the season even starts. In this article we will look at how using mock drafts and ADP will give you a definite advantage over your competition. Taking part in mock drafts and using ADP effectively, can maximize your draft and lead to a winning season. Every serious fantasy football fanatic should be using mock drafts and ADP in their arsenal of tools.

Tell me this, if you only did something one time a year, would you be good at it? That answer is most likely – NO! If that’s the case then why would you think you can do one draft, once a year, and end up with good results? You shouldn’t, yet people do it all the time. Don’t make this mistake, be active in mock drafts. Try to be a part of as many as you can. At a minimum, I would suggest at least one mock draft a week, for around a month leading up to your draft.

Participating in mock drafts is essential to fantasy football success. They help you get a feel for when certain players are being drafted. Mock drafts help you prepare for your live draft. Being active in mock drafts can make your real team an instant contender. Most people make the mistake of not competing in enough mock drafts. The only draft they take part in, is their league’s actual draft. Practice makes perfect, so get out there and join some mock drafts. Do things you wouldn’t normally do. Try waiting until round 8-10 to get a QB, see who’s still available. Try taking WR’s with your first 3 picks. Take a TE earlier than you normally would. Part of the fun of mock drafts is bucking conventional wisdom and seeing where it lands you. In a mock draft nothing is out of bounds, try anything, just make sure you’re taking them seriously. If you don’t engage in mock drafts, you’ll be sorry you didn’t.

Maybe even more important than mock drafts is ADP. ADP stands for Average Draft Position. The ADP of a player is the average position that player is being picked in fantasy drafts. You should definitely study ADP when leading up to your draft. I use ADP to set up my draft strategy. It can be an incredibly beneficial tool to your draft success (or failure if you don’t use it).

Using ADP helps you know what players to target and when. For example – if I’m in a 12 team, 15 round league and I get the 5th draft spot, I know my picks are 5, 20, 29, 44, 53, 68, 77, 92, 101, 116, 125, 140, 149, 164, 173. I can then look at my ADP list and see who might be available around those picks. What I do next is begin to put players into “buckets”. I’ll usually look at my draft spots and then look at players ADP. My next step is to look 5 players before my pick and 5 players after. That gives me a “bucket” of players that might be available at that spot in the draft. If I have pick 92, then I’m going to look at who’s going from 87-97. That gives me a “bucket” of 11 players that I can feel confident about targeting with the 92 draft spot. Imagine going into a draft already knowing who’s most likely available when it’s your pick. That’s a big time edge.

ADP can also help with not taking a player too high, or expecting them to be available too late. If you’re high on Darren McFadden and you see his ADP is 85, then in this scenario, you might want to consider taking him with the 77th pick, or you could gamble that he’ll be around at the 92nd pick. The thing I like about ADP is you’re able look objectively and say “alright, if I don’t take McFadden at 77, Reggie Bush’s ADP is 92, I could hold off on McFadden and try to take Reggie at 92”. It doesn’t always work out exactly like you want it to, but at least you’ll have a plan in place. Using ADP gives you an idea of when players are going and who you can reasonably expect to be available for your picks. If you’re serious about fantasy football you should be using ADP.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t follow your gut. If you’re really high on a player, you should bump him up your draft board. For instance, if you really like LeSean McCoy and his ADP is currently 37, there is nothing wrong with moving him up your board and taking him before his ADP. Use ADP as an outline for your draft, but by all means, if you have strong gut feeling about a player – GO WITH IT. Don’t draft solely on ADP, but make sure it’s an important part of your pre-draft research.

When you’re preparing for your draft, do your due diligence. You’ll only get out, what you put in. Participate in as many mock drafts as possible. This will help you stay cool under pressure and avoid the dreaded “PANIC PICK”. Use ADP to help you target players at your picks. ADP can help you get a solid draft strategy together. Use these valuable tools to have a great draft and make your team a challenger. If you use these tools leading up to your draft, they WILL help. Knowing that you’ve done everything you can prior to draft day is key. You’ll feel confident going into the draft knowing that you’re equipped for domination.