Disclaimer: This article is based on the beginning of the season and does not take injuries into consideration
Hello fellow fantasy football lovers, it’s about that time of the year again with games coming up. I’d say it’s time for a fantasy preview. I like both of my fantasy teams right now in different ways. On one team I have great receivers and a good enough running back core but I took a gamble at the QB spot and my tight end is injury prone. On the other team my quarterback is Peyton Manning and I have other good players, but a lot of them are in a new offense this year. I’m not writing this article to tell you about my team though. The point I’m trying to make is that everyone looks back at their team and thinks that if they would’ve just picked a little better, they could have had a better team. So, to combat this problem, I have created a realistic fantasy team that I think would win in any league.
For the sake of the argument, let’s assume that this we are in a 10 team league and that we have the  3rd pick of the snake style draft. With the 3rd pick of the draft we will begin by selecting Jamaal Charles for the Kansas City Chiefs. You can’t go wrong with Jamaal and in most leagues he was still available at pick number four. I love Charles because he has been literally the only source of offense for the Chiefs in the past. I like Alex Smith but really he’s a tier three QB with only Dwayne Bowe and Travis Kelce to throw to. Adding Jeremy Maclin to this roster will add someone to throw to on third down and in the red zone. Some say that Maclin will decrease Charles’s value but I think that this will open things up for Charles simply because the defense still has to be prepared for the pass. Last year defenses would literally just play to prevent the run 100% of the time. Not a single Chiefs wide receiver caught a touchdown last year. That’s simply because their pass offense was so bad and it was easier to give it to Charles or, on rare occasion, to throw to Travis Kelce. Now with defenses that are more weary of Maclin and Bowe being a threat, it will be much easier for Charles to bust out huge gains. I’ll say it again, you can’t go wrong with Charles.
For the second round with the 18th pick, I would go with Rob Gronkowski. It comes down to the fact that the dude is a beast. Although he was injured for a good part of last year, when he’s healthy, he’s insane. And with no suspension Brady, Gronk is the best option for a late second round pick. Plus I have a thing about tight ends simply because there are only about 6 good ones in the league. Gronk, Jimmy Graham, Julius Thomas, Martellus Bennett, Greg Olsen, and Travis Kelce. Sure other tight ends might be good and affect games, but these are pretty much the only decent fantasy tight ends guaranteed to get you points. So even if you’re in an 8 man league, 2 teams still need a tight end. This is why I always try to pick one up early
Next, with the 23rd pick of the draft I’ll pick Randall Cobb. Cobb has the type of talent a number one receiver needs, however he was unfortunately behind an even more talented Jordy Nelson. With Jordy’s torn ACL, Cobb just became one of the most valuable receivers in the league. He will be in the low 20s on most fantasy ranking draft boards simply because he hasn’t proven himself as the first option. Honestly I see no risk in taking Cobb with my third pick. It would be unsafe to try and let him drop. Some might be surprised if he gets all the way to the early third round.
In the 4th round, I would have the 38th pick. And I have good receivers/tight ends, but I still need another running back. Alfred Morris is the way to go. Definitely still available at this point(unless you’re playing with Redskins fans), Morris gets decent carries and is good enough to get you at least 10 points a game. I honestly think that he is one of the more underrated backs in the league. Consistent for the past couple of years, he is the best number 2 running back on almost any decent fantasy team. If he’s your number one you might be in trouble, but in the convenient number 2 role he’s great.
5th round and I have pick number 43. QB time. In a 10 man league there are plenty of QBs to go around. This pick may be controversial because in the particular region I live in, some may think that a particular quarterback would be gone by now. I pick Tony Romo in the fifth round and I think this is where he went in most leagues. “Oh but did you see how efficient he was last year?” Yeah I did and it was due to the fact that he wasn’t the only option for the offense. Demarco Murray helped out a lot. He took the eyes away from Tony and it opened some things up for him, Dez, Terrence Williams, Witten, and even little Cole Beasley. While I still love their o-line, the Cowboys find themselves without a decent running back. Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden are mediocre backs that will become “ok” backs behind a possible all Pro Bowl line. Coming back to Romo, the fact that he will be “the guy” again will cause him to play the way he has in the years prior to last, good but not great. However, I don’t need an all star QB, I simply need a guy who can get me 15 to 20 points week in and week out. I’d say Tony could manage to get at least 15 on a weekly basis. For all the Cowboys fans out there, I love Tony, I just don’t think he’ll be quite the same.
6th round, pick number 58 and I need a WR2. My Chargers loyalty makes me want to pick Keenan Allen, and while I think that he will have a good year, my heart belongs to a different receiver: Jordan Matthews. He was productive playing behind Maclin, and now he is the number one option. I see him stepping into this role quite smoothly. It’s a tremendous upside for Matthews and it’s a bit of a gamble to have him starting, but Sam Bradford is a good enough QB to get him the ball on a consistent basis. I see a Matthews to Bradford connection that will be real in the future. Matthews is a good sleeper pick for any team. If possible pick up Bradford as a back up as well.
Now, it’s flex time. 7th round pick number 63, and I’m going with my classic flex: the hot head, Desean Jackson. I’m honestly relieved to see RG3 not throwing him the ball. I think Cousins will do a much better job at throwing the long ball to Jackson and will do so more consistently. Jackson’s speed makes him dangerous and could cause him to go from getting you 50 yards and 0 touchdowns, to 110 yards and a touchdown in one play which comes out to 17 points. While getting somewhere around 8 from your flex is good enough, Jackson can definitely do more on any given day.
It’s the 8th round pick number 78 and I want a defense. I love Buffalo this year because of one reason. That reason is Rex Ryan. Buffalo’s defense was already pretty stout, but with the defensive mastermind, I think that the Bills defense will be a force to be reckoned with. I usually wouldn’t pick a defense too early but this is just how much I love the Bills’ D this year. I had the Seahawks’ D two years ago and they won me half of my games because they got higher than 18 points. I feel like the Bills have a chance to do that this year as well. If I was to not pick the Bills, I would probably pick the defense that plays Tampa Bay or Tennessee week one because of the rookie quarterbacks and lack of a run game.
As for kickers, who cares. If you pick a bad kicker you can always just pick up another one. When I pick a kicker however, I do look for kickers on teams that have mediocre offenses. This leads to teams that may be able to get the ball down the field, however might get stuffed at the goal line or have a 3 and out at the 30 yard line because of the lack of ground game. And that means field goal time. Look for teams with one-dimensional offenses like the Chiefs or the Chargers.
