GHL Fantasy Football Draft Results

Why hello there.

Had three big drafts this weekend, three different styles of fantasy football. I am pretty stoked about how they all turned out. I think I'm in line for a decent year of fantasy football.

On Saturday, I stupidly had two scheduled for the same time. One league has a unique scoring system and outline, including IDP (individual defensive players). The other was a 10-team auction. So for about two hour I juggled between two different player ranking sheets, fumbled through a couple notebooks and was constantly looking back and forth on NFL and ESPN.com. A pretty brilliant way to spend an evening.

Sunday night was another draft. Pretty standard league. .5 points per reception. .2 points per completion.

So this is your time to critique me. Let me know what you like, what you don't like. How you think everything will pan out. Don't hesitate to ask any questions about your own lineup, or questions that you may have for upcoming drafts.

(Next week I will be starting my regular season writeups. So far, I haven't put much thought into the weekly rankings for Week 1. I assure you, they will come. And there will be another Advice Time post, so kindly hold your questions til then.)

Advice Time: Fantasy Football Draft Edition

Fantasy Football Draft Weekend is upon us. Thousands of drafts are taking place today and tomorrow. I have two today, and one Sunday night. Definitely ready to get things started and excited about this upcoming fantasy season.

Hope that everyone has made their lists, done some mocks and are as excited as I am about the upcoming fantasy football season.

God Hates Losers was born to be a Q&A website. Delivering to you what all of the major fantasy sites can't deliver. One-on-one answers to all of your fantasy football questions.

So, for those of you new here, each week we like to throw out an Advice Time post. If you have any question about your draft order, lineup, strategy or really anything at all... this is the time and the place to throw them at me.

So have at it! And good luck to all this weekend!

Don't forget to follow GHL on Twitter @godhateslosers. I'll do my damnedest to answer all your questions in 140 characters or less all day, everyday from here til the Super Bowl.

Fantasy Football Stars that I Just Won't Draft

I make a couple lists every year before my fantasy football draft. One, of course, is my position rankings. The other, my list of late round sleepers to consider. And finally, this list: My list of big name NFL players that I just don’t want to own.

Whether it be iffy injuries, position battles or just a gut feeling, every year there are certain players that stand out from the rest. They will be drafted, and they will be drafted high… They just won’t be drafted by me.

So read on, and let me know if you agree. Do you have any players that you flat out don't want on your team? Tell me why. Let's get some conversations gone. I'm not doing this for my health, you know.

Figuring Out Your Fantasy Football Draft Order

Fantasy Football Draft Strategy – Where to Pick Each Position

The question that I seem to get asked the most about the fantasy football draft is the most complex one to answer:

“In what order should I draft?”

“When do I get my running backs, when do I get my receivers?”

“Help me with my fantasy football draft order!”

It’s not an easy answer. There are many schools of thought, and each year it seems to be getting more and more difficult. Two years ago, I’d have slapped you for taking a tight end any higher than the fifth round. And now we have these two guys, Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski, who are both making solid cases for being picked up in the early second.

So, I guess my first and easiest response to this question would have to be “Pre-Plan.” Make your list, try a couple of mock drafts (available on any fantasy football site, ESPN’s are generally very good), star your sleepers and any players that you really want.

(This is pretty in-depth… for a “Long Story, Short” version, scroll to the bottom)

Personally, I have completed this step. I know my “must-haves”, I’ve run my mocks, I’ve made my list. And this is what I’ve come up with. Here is a position-by-position breakdown of my perfect draft order strategy.

2012 Fantasy Football Position Rankings

At this point, you all know that you can click on the list to the right and see a detailed list of all my player rankings. And you can click on the link above to get to the ever-popular Fantasy Football Team Names.

But, here is a condensed version for you. A printer-friendly version. The top players at each position, updated based on the preseason games. 

More updates will come throughout the preseason, and of course, weekly once the season starts. 

For a more detailed description of why each player is ranked where they are ranked, and for a longer list at each position, click on the individual position lists to the right. 

Enjoy!

The Ten Worst Fantasy Football Draft Mistakes

Week 1 of the preseason is finished, which means that we are likely just a few weeks away from your fantasy football draft. About time for you to start looking at draft boards, running a couple mock drafts, coming up with your team names, of course.

But with all the time and energy placed on creating your rankings and figuring out your players, you might overlook digging a bit further into your fantasy football draft strategy. Because, really, what is the point of doing all the research if you don’t know how to use it.

Take a look at the top 10 fantasy football draft mistakes that you need to avoid this year to take the first step in winning your fantasy league.

2012 Fantasy Football Strategy: Shift of Bye Week Perspective

I would like you to think about this for one second. Which scenario would you rather have:

1)  Have your fantasy football team operate at 100% for 10 games, but only 80% for six games.

2)   Or have your fantasy team operate at 100% for 15 games, but only 50% for one week.

Personally, I’ll take option number two.

However, when you really look at your fantasy football schedule, you are constantly ending up with option number one. The reason is player bye weeks.

Bye weeks this season last from Week 4 to Week 11. Four NFL teams have bye week each week except for Week 4 (only two teams) and Week 7 (six teams). So, throughout these weeks, your team is not performing on the highest level because one or more of your starters are on their bye week.

But, there is a strategy to achieve option number two. A sort of loophole that only some nerdy fantasy sports blog writer could point out. What if… rather than drafting your players to have alternating bye weeks, you instead intentionally drafted so that all of your starters shared the exact same bye week.

Doing this would enable you to play at complete full strength for 16 of the 17 weeks. Compare that to the 9-12 weeks that every other fantasy team in your league is at 100% full strength. Sounds pretty nice, yes?

2012 Fantasy Football Sleepers: Carson Palmer, Cedric Benson and More

So, let me preface this post by saying that my definition of a fantasy football sleeper might be a bit different that other advice websites.

Lots of posts that you will find elsewhere will list someone like Isaac Redman as a big 2012 fantasy sleeper. Sure, he will be picked up in or around Round 5, between 20-25 for his position… But is he really a sleeper? Not for me. He is starting. For the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s not a particularly bold statement to predict that he will see some sort of success.

No. I’m not looking for the easy player to name my sleeper. I’m looking for the next Victor Cruz, the next Jordy Nelson. To me, a sleeper must fall into a few categories.

1) 6th round or later average draft position (ADP).

2) Not have fantasy buzz surrounding him.

3) Not be in the first 50% of people picked at their position.

Easy enough. Now, lets go out and find some the real 2012 fantasy football sleepers.