What was once a fad has become a part of American culture as much as Thanksgiving, I am not talking as much about the start of the NFL season but the start of the Fantasy Football Season. According to the Washington Post 59.3 million people play fantasy football in the US alone. That’s 18.2% of the population, and it’s become a 7 billion dollar a year industry. So if you are one of those 59 million, we have your Fantasy Football guide here and will update it every week to keep you on top of your game.

Throughout the year we’ll do our best to provide the best FF picks on who to play and who to sit, wavier wire golden nuggets, and sleeper picks. As the season has yet to begin but the first week is rapidly approaching we will start with the Fantasy draft.

The first thing to know is how the strategy changes between the standard rotation draft and an auction league. With the standard rotation you know you’re going to get your shot at some good players you just have to have to be ready with your spread sheet in hand and get the “next best available”. The hot tip this year is regardless of what kind of league in there is a dearth of quality running backs so you’re going to have to pay up and get one of the best, you can be a little more frugal on your RB2. Here is our list for the top RBs that you should position your draft to take one down.

#1 Todd Gurley, Rams  – 1^st Round – $71 if auction

#2 Le’Veon Bell, Steelers – 1^st Round – $64

#3 Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys – 1^st Round – $61

#4 David Johnson, Cardinals – 1^st Round – $59

#5 Leonard Fournette, Jaguars 1^st Round – $47

#6 Melvin Gordon, Chargers 1^st Round – $46

#7 Kareem Hunt, Chiefs 1^st Round – $45

#8 Alvin Kamara, New Orleans – 1^st Round – $45

#9 Saquon Barkley, Giants – 2^nd Round – $44

#10 Dalvin Cook, Vikings – 2^nd Round – $39

 

As important as the Running Backs are to you this season, the position that is going to put up the big points for you are the Wide Receivers and Flex positions. True there are plenty to choose from but you’d be surprised how shallow the waters get after a few rounds particularly if you’re in a league of more than 10 teams. We’re not saying that OBJ and Brown aren’t worth the money or a first round pick but don’t mortgage the team because there are plenty of hidden gems in the later rounds.

 

#1 Antonio Brown, Steelers – 1^st Round – $65

#2 De Andre Hopkins, Texans – 1^st Round – $54

#3 Odell Beckham Jr., Giants – 1^st Round – $47

#4 Michael Thomas, Saints – 1^st Round – $44russell wilson, deshaun watson, cam nd

#5 Keenan Allen, Chargers – 2^nd Round – $43

#6 Davante Adams, Packers – 2^nd Round – $39

#7 A.J. Green, Bengals – 2^nd Round – $38

#8 Mike Evans, Bengals – 2^nd Round – $34

#9 Tyreek Hill, Chiefs – 2^nd Round – $34

#10 T.Y. Hilton, Colts – 2^nd Round – $30

#10 Christian McCaffrey, Panthers – 2^nd Round – $30

It seems like the glamor position of Quarterback isn’t quite as valuable as it has been in prior years, perhaps it has something to do with the scoring, but it also could be because there simply aren’t a lot of field generals that are consistently putting up big numbers. The duel threat quarterbacks can deliver big returns but are also a huge risk to make it through the season. Because of that we a dearth of QB’s going in the first two rounds and in auction leagues you may not want to pick them up until the really late rounds. The days of choosing Peyton Manning as your first overall are long gone as the game as evolved as well as scoring.

#1 Aaron Rodgers, Packers – 3^rd Round- $24

#2 Tom Brady, Patriots – 3^rd Round – $17

#3 Russell Wilson, Seahawks – 4^th Round –  $15

#4 Deshaun Watson, Texans -5^th Round – $13

#5 Cam Newton, Panthers – 5^th Round – 12

#6 Drew Brees, Saints – 5^th Round – $10

#7 Andrew Luck, Colts – 6^th Round – $6

#8 Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers 7^th Round -$5

#9 Matthew Stafford, Lions – 7^th Round – $5

#10 Alex Smith, Redskins – 7^th Round – $4