Draft Rules Steve Garzoli, Fantasy Football Guest Writer Jul 28, 2010 | More

1) Do your research. Use everything at your disposal. Use this site and others too, as well as magazines and TV to gather your information and compile the overall consensus for the coming fantasy season. If one source says to grab Matt Forte with the number one overall pick and all others say to take Chris Johnson or Adrian Peterson, for goodness sake take Johnson or Peterson.

2) Organize your draft. After due diligence researching your draft, be sure to organize your players in order of who you like and where you like them. Your research is useless unless you have it organized and in front of you during your draft. I like to highlight my two best sources, those that best represent the overall draft consensus, and have them in front of me. Don’t try to recall from memory if you wanted Carolina’s Steve Smith or Green Bay’s Donald Driver, as their difference might just cost you a few games.

3) Stick to your plan. Resist the urge to play follow the chum during your draft. If someone in your draft jumps on Antonio Gates in the second round, do not, I repeat, do not, jump on the next best tight end for fear of losing them, when you were targeting the best wideout available with that pick. Stick with your plan and let others follow the chum, and believe me someone will. Good. Let them. All the better for you to see the wrong guys move in the wrong round.

4) Be agile. Yes, I know I just said stick with your plan, but you cannot be afraid to deviate, within reason, to make sure you execute the draft you want. If your second favorite wideout just left the board before your pick, relax look at your charts and grab your next best man. If your second runningback is falling to you but just a few picks before you had him pegged, go ahead and get him.

5) Talk smack on draft day. Don’t let a pick go by without acting like your buddy just made the worst move ever. Get in all your opponents heads early and stay there. Trust me. Hammer their picks with veracity and keep your foot on the gas; someone will be rattled into a bad pick and you will be able to capitalize on it.

6) Do not draft a kicker until your last pick. Kickers are not worth anymore than your last pick. Don’t you dare grab a kicker and then come back for that runningback that might blow it up this year. Grab that runningback or anyone like him first. Kickers are last. Period.

7) Don’t reach for guys on your favorite football team. Listen, if you love the Arizona Cardinals and really want Chris “Beanie” Wells, that is great, but don’t reach for him. If he falls to you, wonderful, but if he does not, let him go. It’s not worth picking your hometown player 14 picks before you should have leaving much better talent on the board. If you reach, your fantasy team will pay the price.

8) Have fun. Draft day is a blast. Enjoy it and get loud. Let everyone know what a perfect team you just put together and how you are going to enjoy crushing them with it all season long.