Forget the Preseason, it’s Fantasy Draft time

The preseason is enjoyable because it gives football fans a taste of the NFL and bridges the gap from training camp to the regular season. The preseason also provides an opportunity for fantasy owners to scout players in preparation of fantasy football drafts that will take place in the coming weeks prior to kickoff weekend.

For Cardinals fans, this preseason has been an unveiling of the future of this franchise. Fans and potential fantasy owners have been watching Kevin Kolb to predict his success for the coming season. And a productive Kolb means Larry Fitzgerald can get back to being one of the top wideouts in the game. Also, the battle at running back has been intriguing. Unfortunately rookie Ryan Williams went down with a knee injury and has been lost for the season. From a fantasy standpoint, this clearly creates an opportunity for Beanie Wells. Beanie has been looking good so far in the preseason. As much as Beanie needs to get touches, the Cards have to keep him healthy. There should be some interesting chatter this week about possible backs that the Cards could bring in for a look. They could use some veteran leadership in the backfield.

It’s important to put some time in to prepare for drafts now and formulate a plan because the draft is more likely to determine a league champion than management throughout the year. A good draft can set up a fantasy owner with a team built to succeed week in and week out, while a bad draft can make it nearly impossible to achieve success.

Following fantasy players throughout the season is a blast, but in many ways the fantasy draft is even more exciting. This is the only time of the season when everyone is equal and everyone has an opportunity to be the champion. I’m excited for my drafts because I have a good balance of leagues to participate in. One is a head-to-head keeper-league where we’ll be doing a live online draft. H2H leagues are nice because any of the qualifying playoff teams have a chance to be the ultimate winner. The second league is a cumulative points league where the owners typically get together for a live draft. This format is nice because it’s the best indicator of which teams are truly the best in the league. After all, fantasy football is all about points. If your team scores the most points, you deserve the title. The third league is another head-to-head league that uses individual defensive players. We’ve always done a roundtable atmosphere with this draft that really makes draft day something to look forward to. Having defensive players is unique to many people and changes draft strategy. Ultimately, at least a few matchups during the year will be decided on defense. Fantasy drafts are crazy because no matter how much you prepare, the draft never goes as planned. Let the games begin!