While fantasy football owners steadfastly wait in anticipation for the beginning of the 2008 season, it’s imperative to remember that one must accrue the necessary building blocks and contributing factors in order to assemble a potent and versatile team capable of emerging victorious in all fantasy league formats. It’s essential to differentiate your team from the competitors by channeling a significant amount of energy, focus and determination into searching for what players in this year’s NFL draft have the ability to add value and provide meaning to one’s team. Still, maintain a vested interest in the excitement and thrill of the two-day spectacular at Radio City Music Hall.
As prospective players wait with overwhelming angst and nervousness, and high level executives remain engrossed in the complexities of the draft room, fantasy players are equipped with a desire to accelerate their overall understanding of the rookie landscape, and transform into stronger, more creative and innovative owners.
The foundation for consistent success in the fantasy realm is to possess the knowledge base and skill set needed to make shrewd and purposeful decisions. The NFL draft affords individuals the opportunity to gradually increase their comprehension of who the rising young stars are projected to be, and in which ways they will cement their impact on the field and in a fantasy owner’s lineup.
Moreover, in order to accumulate the balance required on a fantasy roster, one must harbor a wide assortment of players who excel in a multitude of fashions and mesh well on a continuous basis. To have one or two dynamic players and a significant amount of inferior players will enable your team to survive, not thrive. The same notion remains constant for the draft in which understanding who the premier top five players are, but not recognizing the plethora of other viable athletes scattered throughout the rounds is both ill-advised and detrimental to one’s long term future aspirations in a potential fantasy draft scenario.
From Jerious Norwood and Stephen Gostcowski, to Brandon Marshall and Marques Colston at pick 252, it’s evident that watching the majority of the draft will enable one to discover a full spectrum of players who might not be recognizable to the untrained eye come the end of August, but would certainly be relevant to the person who put forth the effort to tune into eight hours of draft day coverage Saturday and Sunday.
Most notably, I would not have the ability to sift through rookie talent in a fantasy drat and intelligently determine what players are authentic difference makers who can polish out the latter portion of my roster if I did not glue myself to the television for two consecutive days in April.
It’s very important to remember that watching the draft equipped with a gameplan that pointedly describes what your looking to achieve, and in what measurable steps you’ll reach your target is critical to fostering a broad understanding of the incoming players into the league and in what aspect they can affect one’s fantasy team.
It’s noteworthy to include that in fantasy football when one sees the opportunity, they must seize the opportunity. So, when one is tirelessly concentrated on their draft in the waning days of August, and sees several formidable rookies available on the board, it’s advisable to seize the opportunity and draft one’s that could add value to your team.
Undoubtedly, I’d rather select various rookies who’s careers look bright and prosperous, but lack any real track record, then utilize precious picks on established veterans who’s careers appear despondent and gloomy, but have already etched their way into the minds of fantasy players. In order to know who the prominent rookies might be, it’s essential to watch the NFL draft. This all harps back to the notion that to put together a flexible team one must have the needed building blocks, and these building blocks start to grow by doing the homework on the draft, gaining important insights while tuning into the coverage, and then understanding what young players have a viable chance of making a real difference on the field.
In addition, it’s very important to note during the draft proceedings what skill players are being drafted to what teams and where they could immediately fill a starting role. For example, last year the astute fantasy owner recognized that when Kansas City drafted LSU star Dwayne Bowe and Indianapolis selected Ohio State phenom Anthony Gonzalez, they were instantly going to occupy positions that would warrant immediate production and attention. Both players combined for over 1500 yards receiving and eight touchdowns, certainly cementing their impact on fantasy owner’s rosters and potentially serving as the prime reason why an owner could have been propelled to victory during any given week.
For fantasy owners, watching the NFL draft is a shrewd and sensible decision that will pay significant dividends once the regular season commences. Through tuning into the rapid coverage, one can blaze a pathway to success for their team and catapult from the goal line to the finish line.
