By this point in the year, it’s very likely that you have your own ideas about which NFL players you’d like to include on your fantasy team. If you have some last minute questions, it’s important to breakdown your decisions player by player so that you can be informed as possible on draft day.
Quarterback Love
There’s no question in our minds that Cam Newton is the top pick at the QB slot this year. Last year he showed us that his throwing game is the real deal, and no one in the NFL has a better ability to find the end zone than Newton. He is fast, able to read defensive lines extremely well, and one of the best playmakers there is. Newton might not be the best overall QB in the NFL, but from a fantasy perspective, there’s no one more versatile than him.
Do Your Research First Before Making That First Pick in 2016
Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers stand behind Newton on almost equal footing. They are fourth or fifth round picks in most leagues. Andrew Luck is going to be the steal of the year, though. Luck is coming into his own, and unfairly to his fantasy owners last year, missed a lot of time because of injury. With Luck back and healthy, he is going to surpass at least one of the three QBs ranked ahead of him in the fantasy department, maybe more. If you have to choose between Luck, Wilson, or Rodgers, Luck is the way to go. However, it’s best to wait until at least the fifth round before you make this choice. You might not get that opportunity in your league, but that is the ideal situation.
Wide Receiver with Legs
This year, the top two overall fantasy players in the NFL are both WRs. These include Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham Jr. Both players are very strong, but if you want to get an idea of their fantasy capability, looking to their QB could be helpful. A strong QB is likely to find more openings for their top receiver. Brown’s QB is Ben Roethlisberger, and Beckham has Eli Manning. Both are extremely talented, although Roethlisberger lost time last year with an injury and Manning had an off year. Roethlisberger had a completion rate of 68.0 percent, compared to Manning’s 62.6 percent. Manning is better than his numbers indicate, but Roethlisberger is too. We give the edge to Brown here.
Running Back do the Work
Adrian Peterson and Todd Gurley are the two top ranked RBs this season. Both have extraordinary talent, and both will be likely to carry the ball a lot this year. Both have the downside of being on everyone’s radar this year, though. Ezekiel Elliott could be a decent replacement here, and he doesn’t have the same name recognition that the others do. He’s ranked third overall at RB, he stands at sixth in the entire NFL. In many leagues, he merits a first round pick, but holding off to the second round might be smarter as he might slip through the cracks of the first.
Overall Strategy in Year Long Fantasy
Newton might be the best QB from a fantasy point of view, but he should almost never be your first draft pick. There are just too many strong running backs and wide receivers in the league this year, and because these have more potential, you need to focus on them first. You should have at least one top rated RB and one top rated WR on your team before you grab a QB. If there is a top tier tight end available still, you may want to grab him, too. As great as having a top ranked QB like Newton or Wilson would be for your team, you are leaving points on the table if you don’t focus on the other positions beforehand. On many lists, Newton doesn’t even make the top 30 overall fantasy players of the year, so don’t be worried if you can’t grab a QB until the third, or even the fourth round.
You might even find yourself drafting two RBs and two WRs before you or one WR and a TE before you draft your QB. This is okay, especially if you are low on the list and the top four QBs disappear every time you want to grab one. In order to prevent this, you might want to grab a QB in the third round, but only if you have had the first two rounds move against you. Each draft will be different, so use your best judgment regardless of the situation that you might find yourself in.
