How to make a winning fantasy football draft plan

Filed in archive Fantasy Football on August 26, 2007

Courtesy Peytonmanning.com

You're about to make the 12th pick in round one of your fantasy football draft. Your draft plan was to take a running back - maybe Rudi Johnson or Cedric Benson.

Much to your surprise and chagrin Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is still undrafted. You felt certain he'd be taken in the top 10.

So you can take Benson as planned or abandon your pre-draft strategy and nab the NFL's most prolific passer. What to do, what to do.

The answer is simple: stick to your game plan. This is one of the top keys to drafting a good fantasy football team - never deviate from your draft plan.

Here are three more strategies for making a successful fantasy football draft plan:

3. Target a running back in the first and second rounds - Running backs are the rocks upon which winning teams are built. For the most part, they remain healthy, and they touch the ball more than any other player. If you get two good, starting running backs, you're well on your way to the fantasy football playoffs.

2. Draft a second-tier quarterback from a high-scoring team - Forget Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer and Drew Brees, because they're going to be taken in the top three rounds. You'll get a great passer after the third round. Target young guns on good teams. Guys like, Dallas' Tony Romo, Denver's Jay Cutler and San Diego's Phillip Rivers. You'll probably get any of these in rounds 4 through 7, and you'll score nearly as many points as owners who draft the big three.

1. Find a late-round steal - Most owners hope a "sleeper" will fall into their laps in rounds 10-12. Forget hoping and target a winner. Look at third- or fourth-year receivers, ready to have breakout years, based on their situation. Some guys may move up on the depth chart, have new quarterbacks or finally grasp a complex offense. The Chargers' Vincent Jackson, Tennessee's Brandon Jones and Cleveland's Braylon Edwards are all good choices that should slip to the later rounds of your draft.

Just remember, not only do you need a solid fantasy draft plan, you have to stick with it, no matter what happens on draft day.