Most of the times this means you will be stuck with a couple of second-tier fantasy running backs, or one second-tier running back and a top wide receiver (unless you take Peyton Manning) with your first two picks in a 12-team league.
If the fantasy football owner decides to stick to the old-school “RB-RB” draft style with his first two picks, it will be difficult for them to come out of the draft as one of the better teams. You may have a slight edge at RB2 over somebody that had a top 3 pick, but the difference between LaDainian Tomlinson and Marion Barber, or Adrian Peterson and Clinton Portis, is a much greater than what your RB2 advantage will likely be.
Not only will the Tomlinson or Peterson owner have the overall running back advantage over you, he will probably end up taking a Braylon Edwards, Marques Colston or Larry Fitzgerald with either his second or third pick, all guys that will be off the board by the time you draft late in the third. So now you are really working out of a hole—after three rounds you already have a weaker running back core and a worse number one wide receiver than teams with an early first-round pick.
So, RB-RB is not the ideal first two picks for an owner with a late first-round pick in 2008. You definitely want to take a second-tier running back like Barber or Portis, or a Marshawn Lynch, but make sure you grab a top receiver with one of your first two picks. A Lynch-Reggie Wayne combo is a much better start to your draft than a Lynch-Larry Johnson combo.
Besides, there’s a reason why these rushers will fall to you in the late first and early second round. How many fantasy owners saw their season end before it even got started when they drafted Domanick Williams (formerly known as Domanick Davis) of the Houston Texas in 2006? How many owners were excited in that same year when Lamont Jordan fell to them at the eighth or ninth overall pick, only to finish in the basement of their fantasy leagues because they didn’t have a legitimate number one fantasy running back all season? You cannot trust these guys the way you can trust a top receiver like Wayne or Terrell Owens. Running backs are more likely to get injured and they have a significantly shorter shelf life.
So now that you have a second-tier running back and a top wide receiver, with the third pick you still want to avoid reaching for a decent RB2. Instead, strengthen your wide receiving core. According to FFToolbox.com, Chad Johnson’s average draft position (ADP) is 32. If you were able to grab him as your WR2 towards the end of the third round, you would be well on your way to having the league’s top receiving core, in a 12-team league. If your league starts a third wide receiver, turn around and grab another wide receiver in the fourth round. Players like Brandon Marshall (ADP:37), Anquan Boldin (ADP:38), Wes Welker (ADP:38), Plaxico Burress (ADP:39), and Torry Holt (ADP: 39) are very good WR2s and are great WR3s. If Chad Johnson or TJ Houshmanzadeh don’t fall to the late third round, grabbing two of these five players will give you the league’s top wide receiver core—and will also give your team an identity.
Now, before you panic because you still have to fill your RB2 slot, take a look at who may be available in round five: Jonathon Stewart (ADP: 56), Thomas Jones (ADP:61), LenDale White (ADP:62) and Matt Forte (ADP:66) are all options either in the late fifth or early sixth rounds. These guys have Top-15 fantasy running back potential, especially Stewart and Jones. You can grab one of these four rushers, with a quarterback like Jay Cutler or Matt Hasselbeck or a tight end like Tony Gonzalez or Chris Cooley. All of a sudden your fantasy team isn’t looking too bad now, is it?
Your wide receivers are dangerous, and you have a high-ceiling RB2 like Jones or Stewart, along with a high-ceiling quarterback like Jay Cutler. If you do go quarterback in the sixth round, Todd Heap or Jeremy Shockey are quality tight end options in the seventh. If you go tight end in the sixth, David Garrard is a quarterback you can rely on in the seventh, or you can take Marc Bulger and hope he stays healthy with Orlando Pace back.
Taking a running back with your first pick and then three straight wide receivers is certainly an unorthodox move for a fantasy football owner to make, but you have to get creative when you aren’t handed a Brian Westbrook or Steven Jackson in the first round. The reason this strategy works is because there is only a slight drop-off between running backs available in the beginning of the fourth round and running backs available towards the end of the fifth round, while there is a huge drop-off between wide receivers available at the beginning of the fourth round and wide receivers available at the end of the fifth round. This is because most fantasy owners are focused on filling their second or third wide receiver slots in the fourth and fifth round, or they are looking for a quarterback or tight end. Majority of the picks between the first three picks or so in round four and the last three picks or so in round five will be non-running backs.
For more fantasy football draft help, read Fantasy Football Tips.
