Well kids, I can almost smell the gridiron as the billionares and millionares fight over the last scraps at the barganing table. While I think the HOF game between the Beloved and Lambs is in jeopardy, I think the rest of the season will go off without a hitch. So, once this lockout is officially settled, it will be safe to begin putting some useful thought into fantasy football!!!
However, this year will be unlike others given the “late” start and I have some specific rules of engagement for your draft in a post-lockout world…get those after the jump…
The lack of mini-camps and OTAs, as well as the lack of free agency up to this point have a lot of things in limbo. Things will be at a fever pitch once the lockout is settled, so hold on to your hats and make sure to heed these rules of engagement:
- Stay plugged in! This thing could be settled anytime and free agency will be fast and furious. You have to have your finger on the pulse so you know who is going where, because unlike years past, free agency is really going to make and break teams. In addition to BearGogglesOn, get on Twitter, Facebook, etc. to make sure you have up to the minute information.
- DO NOT DRAFT ROOKIES!!! With nearly no time to prepare, rookie QBs, RBs and WRs will be useless for the start, and mostly likely the majority, of the season. If you need more evidence, how many of you drafted Ryan Matthews, who had a full offseason to prepare for the season, in the first or second round last year??? Case closed.
- Know where the rookie QBs are! Teams like Minnesota and Tennessee in particular, as of now, have rookie QBs penciled in as starters. If these teams do not sign quality veteran QBs as soon as free agency begins, I really think the draft value of Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson takes a hit because defenses will stack 10 in the box to take these guys out. In my mind right now, which is constantly spinning, so bear with me, I do not see either as worthy of the number 1 or number 2 pick…yeah, I said it!
- Proceed with caution on WRs! I would like to put out an edict that no WR should go in the first 2 rounds (or first 15 picks anyway), but I am sure there are Andre Johnson fans who would disagree. My point is that offenses will likely have to focus on the running game in the early part of the season, so WR numbers could be weak out of the gate. I strongly suggest established RBs or QBs for your first 2 picks in your draft.
- No coaching regimes will take time to have an impact! There are a number of new head coaches and coordinators in the league this year…Denver, San Fran and Carolina to name a few. These teams have new offenses to install and may have about 6 weeks to install it once the lockout ends. Offensive players on these team could be slow out of the gate, so make sure not to put too many early picks into players where a new offense is being installed.
- Load up on players with established QBs and systems! Teams like Indy, New England, San Diego, Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and even the Beloved, to a certain extent, have established offensive schemes and quality QB talent. I believe these teams will be less impacted by the lockout than others.
What did I miss? Hit me up in the comments or on Twitter @DeCon76!!!
CAN I GET AN AMEN?!?!?!?!?!
The DeCon has spoken, so let it be written, so let it be done…