How You Put Together A Fantasy Team

Heres a look from start to finish at how I put together my team that will win the league. I started out at one of the most challenging draft positions, 10th overall, so I had to bring me A game, plan ahead, and stick to my game plan to come out with a respectable team. I did that.

So, by some stroke of luck, I was presented with the opportunity to grab LaDainian Tomlinson with my first selection. He is one year removed from being the top rated running back in the league. He was injured last year, prompting a low rating. I believe that he has one good year left. We'll see.

Having the eleventh pick I was able to take the second best receiver in the game, Andre Johnson. By doing this, I set myself up to be consistent with both positions.

Having to wait for the rest of the guys to pick twice, I was worried that when it came back to my turn there would be nothing left. Fortunately for me, I was able to end up with the exact two guys I wanted in the third and fourth round. Kevin Smith, running back from the Lions, should build on a strong rookie season, and with a more consistent line and passing game, could develop into a star. Marques Colston could be an absolute steal in the fourth round; he is Drew Brees' favorite target and should get 10 to 15 targets a game. Lot to like there.

At this point, I was just trying to fill some bench spots and get some value. Derrick Ward was available in the 5th round, so I decided that I couldn't pass on a feature back this late into the draft. In the next round, I took Knowshon Moreno, the best rookie option this season. If he establishes himself as the starter, there is potential that he is this years' Matt Forte talk, about 6th round gold.

By the time I got to round 7, I decided that I should go ahead and grab my quarterback before someone else did. I grabbed McNabb because he should have some explosive weapons at receiver and the backfield is nice. Could be a big year for Donovan. After McNabb, I took Kevin Walter, who by all accounts should be the Anquan Boldin of Houston, a great secondary option to an explosive primary target. Should be a big year for Mr. Walter.

At that point, i was still looking for value, and when you find a feature back in the 9th round, you've got to take a chance on him, so I grabbed Cedric Benson. He played well at the end of last year and should get better ypc this year with fewer guys in the box with the return of Carson Palmer. I grabbed my Tight End, Greg Olsen, at that point, proving that you can wait and still get good tight end. With Cutler not having any good targets, Olsen should get lots of targets.

In the 11th round, I went ahead and took my sleeper. Its good to wait on taking your guys under the radar, but you need to make sure you get him. I love Josh Morgan this year. Nobody had him on their radar, but I felt like if I waited someone else would've lucked into him. He is supposedly the best receiver in the bay area, thats including Crabtree and Hayward-Bey. Felix Jones was available after that, and with a stroke of luck, or bad luck as the case may be, he could vault into a starting role in Dallas. Marion Barber is a fragile beast, and one bad cut or rough tackle, and I may have found myself a steal.

At this point, I deemed it time to take my backup QB. I looked for a guy with high upside or value. Matt Hasselback is coming off an injury plagued season, if he can return to his old value, he is incredible value here. With my last bench spot, I went upside with Rashard Mendenhall. He may have a big impact or he may not, but with Willie Parker's fragility, he could be a nice addition to my team.

After that I went with my defense and kicker. I picked the panthers for no particular reason. I picked Robbie Gould because though I think the Bear's offense will be better, I can see them stalling in the red zone, making him a nice option.

So thats how I put together my team that will win my league. I went with youth, upside, and value to snake some guys that could potentially win the league for me. My starting lineup is good enough to win games, and if my sleepers come through, it could be dangerous.