Fantasy Football Draft Strategy - Getting Ready for D-Day

The NFL season is approaching fast and its time to solidify your draft strategy. If you go into the draft without a plan, there is a good chance that you will come out with a bad team. Here are some rules to keep in mind as you prepare for winning your fantasy football league.

1. Don't chase last years stars - Brady will have a great year, but he won't break the touchdown record again. Same for Randy Moss. Expect their stats to fall a bit and adjust your draft accordingly.
   
2. Play it safe in rounds 1 and 2. Get healthy guys that produce year after year.
   
3. Know your rosters and depth charts. They are easy to check at yahoo sports.
   
4. Spend time targeting players in the 6th, 7th, and 8th rounds. These can often be the players that make or break your team.
   
5. Look for good deals, but be careful not to risk too much. Hoping that Manning falls to the third round may cost you an elite QB.
   

NFC Sleeper Picks

CNNSI has released a list of NFC sleeper picks for the upcoming fantasy football season. Here are the winners from each team.

• Felix Jones, RB, Dallas Cowboys
• Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NY Giants
• DeSean Jackson, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
• Jason Campbell, QB, Washington Redskins
• Devin Hester, WR, Chicago Bears
• Kevin Smith, RB, Detroit Lions
• James Jones, WR, Green Bay Packers
• Sidney Rice, WR, Minnesota Vikings
• Laurent Robinson, WR, Atlanta Falcons
• DeAngelo Williams, RB, Carolina Panthers
• Pierre Thomas, RB, New Orleans Saints
• Antonio Bryant, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Tim Hightower, RB, Arizona Cardinals
• Antonio Pittman, RB, St. Louis Rams
• Josh Morgan, WR, San Francisco 49ers
• Maurice Morris, RB, Seattle Seahawks
  

Fantasy Football Player on the Rise

Jerricho Cotchery is moving up my list of fantasy wide receivers in the draft. He's had 82 catches in each of the last two years in an unstable quarterback situation.

Things are different now that Brett Favre is the QB. Favre is getting more comfortable in the Jets offense and Cotchery should be his #1 target. The only thing Cotchery has been missing in his game is more touchdowns, he only had 2 last year. That should change with the TD-happy Favre throwing at him. If you get Cotchery as your #2 wideout, you've done well this year.

Preseason Week 3 Notes

Here are some of the noteworthy fantasy football headlines from week 3 of the preseason.

• Kurt Warner named starting QB for the Arizona Cardinals. Warner passed for 27 TD's last season. He could be a great mid-round steal at quarterback this year.
  
• Rookie Matt Ryan is named starting QB for the Atlanta Falcons.
  
• Darren McFadden had 40 yards on 12 carries for the Raiders. I expect McFadden to get the bulk of the carries this year for Oakland.
• Favre went 9-of-12 for 96 yards for the Jets.
• Selvin Young started for the Broncos and ran for 42 yards on 6 carries.