SB Nation Minnesota - Fantasy Football Mock Draft 2011: Get Your Cheat Sheets Readyhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48959/mn-fave.png2011-08-26T09:07:39-05:00http://minnesota.sbnation.com/rss/stream/21337142011-08-26T09:07:39-05:002011-08-26T09:07:39-05:00Who Are The Top Fantasy Football Players At Quarterback?
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<p>Who to draft, and when?</p>
<p>That’s the biggest question fantasy owners face. Picking the right guy means you win, picking the wrong guy…a sleeper who never wakes up (like Jahvid Best for me last year, arrgh) keeps you out of the money.</p>
<p>Who are the top guys at quarterback, excluding kickers and defense, and who should you pick, if you have the pick of the litter?</p>
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<strong>Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay:</strong></em> Rodgers is listed as the top QB in fantasy football, and for good reason. He had to deal with injuries to his tight end and receiving corps, and there was no drop in production. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t have a running game last year, and this year he should, making him even more dangerous.</p>
<p><em><strong>Michael Vick, Philadelphia:</strong></em> Vick has some big time playmakers around him, but Jeremy Maclin has been injured early in camp, and last night his offensive line looked bad. I’m not sold on Vick, to be quite honest. He’s getting a little older, and with all they hype surrounding the Eagles this year, there’s always the possibility of almost unrealistic expectations overtaking the team. <br>
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<strong>Drew Brees, New Orleans:</strong> </em> Brees is still money, putting up big numbers with unheralded receivers, but his numbers dropped slightly last year. He’s still a great fantasy option, but he needs to cut down on his interceptions. That said, if Drew Brees were my quarterback for 2011, I wouldn’t be upset.</p>
<p><em><strong>Tom Brady, New England: </strong></em> Brady is still Tom Brady. He’s going to put up big numbers while throwing to guys you’ve never heard of, and he’ll be near the top of every passing category again. He’s not the top option, but if Tom Brady were my fantasy football consolation prize, I wouldn’t be too upset.<br>
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Philip Rivers, San Diego:</strong> </em> I would actually put Rivers ahead of Brady, just in terms of fantasy points. Vincent Jackson is back, Antonio Gates looks like he’ll be ready, and Rivers is one of the best pure passers in football.</p>
<p>These are the top guns. You can’t go wrong with any of those guys, but if you find yourself wanting to take the first QB off the board, Aaron Rodgers is the guy you need to be taking.</p>
https://minnesota.sbnation.com/2011/8/26/2385973/who-are-the-top-fantasy-football-players-at-quarterbackTed Glover2011-08-20T14:10:19-05:002011-08-20T14:10:19-05:00Fantasy Football Mock Draft 2011: Get Your Cheat Sheets Ready
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<p>Check out <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/fantasy" target="new">SB Nation's fantasy section</a> for all your fantasy sports needs.</p> <p>With real football around the corner, fantasy drafts are, or are getting ready to, take place all over the country. I play in a 12 team league with a 20 round draft and a starting lineup that consists of 1QB, 2RB, 2WR, 1TE, a WR/RB flex, a WR/TE flex, 1K, and 1DEF Look at what your weekly position requirements are, because that is really going to dictate, at least to an extent, your draft strategy. If you are in a league that has 3 WR starting positions, expect a run early on WR's, and it might drive the value of average guys way up, and cause owners to overlook other positions, like QB or RB. And this is where you can make a killing.</p>
<p>While tooling around the Internet, I <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fftoolbox.com/football/2011/mock-draft-results.cfm?mockID=10873">found a mock draft </a>that the guys at Fantasy Football toolbox put together, using representatives from a lot of the major fantasy football sites, and I'd like to look at the results, because the first two picks are pretty dumb, for a bunch of experts.</p>
<p>First of all, anyone that has the first overall pick in the draft and doesn't pick Adrian Peterson is doing nothing but outsmarting themselves by a half. And if he falls in to your lap at #2...and you pass on him...then you're a dope.</p>
<p>And that's what happened here. <span>Arian Foster</span>, he of a recovering leg injury went #1 overall, Chris Johnson...who's fantasy value slips the longer he holds out, went #2, and AP fell to #3 overall, an absolute steal. With <span>Peyton Manning</span> hurt, there were no quarterbacks in the first round, which consisted of seven running backs and five wide receivers.</p>
<p>Which is telling as the NFL has evolved from a 1 feature running back league to a running back by committee philosophy. As little as six or seven years ago, the only WR worth taking in the first round was either <span>Randy Moss</span> or maybe...MAYBE <span>Terrell Owens</span>. These days, with the advent of the running back by committee, top WR's are worth as much as many running backs, especially in WR heavy leagues, as this draft was.</p>
<p>But don't lose focus on drafting a complete team. There were some questionable choices in the first two rounds. <span>Aaron Rodgers</span>, arguably the best QB, was the first QB off the board, but wasn't drafted until late in the second round, behind guys like <span>Dwayne Bowe</span>, <span>Mark Ingram</span>...and <span>Matt Forte</span>? That's a steal, if you ask me.</p>
<p>And that's the weirdness about fantasy drafts. Whether your strategy is to get running backs first, or go best player available, you have to be prepared to adjust your strategy based on what's going on. If there's a run on WR early, and you have a league where you start 3 per week, you might have to grab a guy that can get you points early, or be prepared to trade. But don't panic. </p>
<p>Don't reach for a guy early just because everybody is grabbing wide receivers. There are plenty of those guys available, so don't overlook a top producer at quarterback, like <span>Drew Brees</span> or Aaron Rodgers, for example, to get a guy that won't get near as many points from a wideout position.</p>
<p>Other than Peterson, some notable <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.dailynorseman.com/">Vikings</a> that were picked were <span>Percy Harvin</span> (5th round, 57 overall--steal), <span>Donovan McNabb</span> (11th round, 124 overall), and <span>Ryan Longwell</span>, 20th round.</p>
https://minnesota.sbnation.com/2011/8/20/2374599/fantasy-football-mock-draft-2011-cheat-sheetsTed Glover2011-08-17T21:28:24-05:002011-08-17T21:28:24-05:00Fantasy Football Sleepers: Quarterbacks
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<p>When you're looking to draft a quarterback this year for your fantasy team, one of the names that probably doesn't pop to the forefront is <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.dailynorseman.com/">Vikings</a> QB <span>Donovan McNabb</span>.</p>
<p>And if we're being honest, that's a fair statement. Last year, McNabb had the worst season of his career while he was with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/washington-redskins">Washington Redskins</a>, but he had a few things going against him last year.</p>
<p>1) He was with the Washington Redskins</p>
<p>2) The Washington Redskins were terrible. They had no running game to speak of, and other than <span>Santana Moss</span>, McNabb had no real legitimate receiving threats.</p>
<p>3) He was with the Washington Redskins.</p>
<p>4) The crazy-eyed Mike Shanahan who's been around Dan Snyder was the coach, not the crazy eyed Mike Shanahan who once upon a time a football genius.</p>
<p>Most current projections have McNabb as a guy that is ranked in the mid 20's, well down the list of quarterbacks to go after, and behind (depending on what list you look at) such luminaries Cam Newton, <span>Jason Campbell</span>, Alex Smith, and <span>Chad Henne</span>.</p>
<p>Alex Smith, Chad Henne, and a rookie on a 2-14 team are ahead of McNabb...really? I could maybe...MAYBE...buy off on Newton, if he hadn't been drafted by the worst team in the league, and has no one to throw to. But ranking Henne and Alex Smith ahead of McNabb is just idiotic, in my opinion. Yes, <span>Brandon Marshall</span> is on the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thephinsider.com/">Dolphins</a>, but that's negated by the teal interception machine that is Chad Henne. Smith? </p>
<p>C'mon, man. Alex Smith? That's just ridiculous.</p>
<p>Now, is McNabb a starter? No, not in either a 10 or 12 team league, but McNabb is a solid sleeper pick in later rounds, and is a guy that's going to do a lot better than he's being projected for. With a solid running game and a multitude of receivers to throw to (<span>Percy Harvin</span>, <span>Michael Jenkins</span>, <span>Visanthe Shiancoe</span>) McNabb is worth a late round draft pick to sit on your bench as a backup...early on.</p>
<p>But as the season progresses, I look for McNabb to have a mini-renaissance with the Vikings and put up soild numbers, and will be a solid pickup if a frontline starter gets injured or is on his bye week. </p>
<p>Keep your eye on him, I will be.</p>
https://minnesota.sbnation.com/2011/8/17/2369625/fantasy-football-sleepers-quarterbacksTed Glover2011-08-14T10:10:52-05:002011-08-14T10:10:52-05:00Fantasy Football: Don't Sleep On These Vikings
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<p>For everything Minnesota Vikings, grab your shield, get on your longboat and head over to <a href="http://dailynorseman.com" target="new">The Daily Norseman.</a></p> <p>As we head towards the beginning of the regular season, the fantasy football draft season is hitting it's peak. Some of you may have already had your draft (why you do it so early in the pre-season baffles me), but many of you are looking for that late round 'steal', that guy that comes out of nowhere and puts up monster numbers, or at a minimum, gives you reliable flex position numbers for those of you in leagues that have that setup.</p>
<p>So who are the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.dailynorseman.com/">Vikings</a> that are the top candidates for sleepers this year? To be quite honest, I think there are several, and any one of these guys could prove to be the difference between your fantasy team making the playoffs.</p>
<p>RB <span>Toby Gerhart</span> - Gerhart is now the full-fledged #2 behind Adrian Peterson, so for those of you that get Peterson in your draft (that's me, got the #1 overall pick--woo hoo!!) he is a must get in the later rounds. But that said, his role will be expanded (think <span>Chester Taylor</span> from a couple of years ago) and Gerhart will get his fair share of touches. He's not a week to week starter, but he's worth kicking the tires on.</p>
<p>QB <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Donovan McNabb</span> -- McNabb had his worst year last season in Washington, but in Minnesota he has a couple things going for him that he didn't with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/washington-redskins">Redskins</a>. He has a great running game, and he has more weapons to throw to. McNabb might be worth a later round pick to put on your bench as a backup or spot starter. I think he's going to throw for more than 20 TD passes this year, and will be a guy worth looking at. <br></span></p>
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<p>WR <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Bernard Berrian</span> -- Bernard Berrian is a guy on his last chance with the Vikings. He's two years removed from being essentially a 1,000 yard receiver, but was hampered by injuries in 2009 and general suckiness in 2010. Most Viking observers had him pegged for the waiver wire, but the Vikings and Berrian agreed to a contract resturcturing, and coach Leslie Frazier has expressed confidence in Berrian. It wouldn't surprise me to see BErrian get around 800 yards with 5 scores this year.<br></span></p>
<p>WR <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Michael Jenkins</span> -- Jenkins has looked better than any other receiver in camp not named <span>Percy Harvin</span>. Jenkins, who is familiar with Bill Musgrave's offense already, can be a guy that will get those 10-15 yard sit downs along the sideline and over the middle. He's a big guy (6'4"), and could be come a favorite of McNabb's inthe red zone, as his size will allow him to out jump anyone that is covering him.<br></span></p>
https://minnesota.sbnation.com/minnesota-vikings/2011/8/14/2362449/fantasy-football-sleepers-minnesota-vikingsTed Glover