Manly drafters get laughed at-because they have enough fortitude in their swimsuit areas to walk up to the big board and draft something other than a running back in the first two rounds. There, I said it.
Manly drafters also have to have enough conviction to withstand the ensuing harassment. The cries of "Who'd he take?!"; the inevitable "and last place goes to . . . " jokes; and the cough-spoken, yet still hurtful, accusations of "Loser!" Sure it stings when your fellow owners start acting like Simon Cowell eviscerating a "singer" who just forgot the lyrics to "Rehab." When humiliation is your copilot, it's a long, lonely walk back to your cheat sheets. But I say: Keep your head up and remember one thing:
Those who live by the book, die by the book.
That's why, on the way to their fifth-place finishes, followers will attack anyone willing to deviate from the norm. Hey, last time I checked, you're building a roster, not entering a "The-guy-who-drafts-L.T.-wins" sweepstakes. Be bold, be deviant, and zig when they zag.
Fantasy owners are constantly advised: "Let the draft come to you," which is just a pretentious way of saying, "Are you willing to take a wide receiver late in round one, even if Deuce McAllister is still sitting there?" If all the best running backs are picked over, and you find yourself staring down a list of the unproven or the chronically unhealthy, I say do it.
Just take a gander at the mind-numbing sameness of pre-draft positional ranking lists. Year after year, the top 10 RBs deliver teams, at best, a 60 percent hit-and-miss rate. I've got news for you -- you would have had a better chance at winning your fantasy league last year if you had used your first round pick on Mason Crosby instead of Rudi Johnson. Not to pick on Rudi, but the artist formerly known as "The Safest Pick in the Draft" simply . . . wasn't. The odds are on Draft Day, you did not even know who Crosby was. You may still not know. (I'll end the suspense -- he's Green Bay's kicker, and he had a huge year in '07, which now automatically makes him a disappointment waiting to happen.)
Know going in that someone will rub your nose in the fact that you just let a marginal high pick like Brandon Jacobs fall into his or her lap. Don't let it throw you. I'm talking about trusting yourself enough to avoid forcing a mediocre selection in the early rounds just because "the book says to." There is no question that picking RB1 and RB2 certainly sets you up for a less stressful draft day-but does it actually lead you to a successful season? Were you really on the fast track to easy street in '07 with a dream backfield featuring Shaun Alexander and Reggie Bush?
The simple truth is, year after year, great RB value is sitting there late in your draft, or better yet, late on the regular-season waiver wire. How 'bout Laurence Maroney and Thomas Jones? Travis Henry and Cedric Benson? Want one more just to twist the knife? Last season, the automatic RB approach could have stuck you with a tandem of Frank Gore and Edgerrin James. Tell me you didn't leave Hooters elated after that one. Thud.
Meanwhile, if you zigged when they zagged, you could have realistically landed a starting lineup of Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Tom Brady, and, if not Antonio Gates, then certainly Tony Gonzalez. I also think you would have won your league. So why not use those early picks on WRs? Last season that would have still left you with a shot at Adrian Peterson, Jamal Lewis, Marion Barber, Fred Taylor, and LenDale White. Some savvy waiver work might have padded your depth with Earnest Graham, Ryan Grant, Kenny Watson, or Justin Fargas. File that away for Draft Day, when your so-called friends spit carbonated beverages through their noses as you pass up Carnell Williams and pick up your third receiver in round four.
When they all laugh as you walk up to that draft board with a round-one sticker that reads "WR: RANDY MOSS," just remember this: He had more points than any running backs did except L.T.! So stand tall in your double-knit coaching shorts, cowboy boots, and lucky ear-flap hat. It's your league, and they're just playing in it. Now go on out there and have an awkward -- but manly -- draft!