My Personal MUST HAVE FANTASY GUY:
A Commentary from SCRUBFEST 2011
For first timers to the world of Fantasy Football, there is no shortage of resources with opinions on draft strategies available all over the internet. Various sites, forums, and formats offering expert advice on drafting, and which players are the most valuable commodities. One expert over here may suggest one thing, while another expert over there suggest another, and everybody seems to be absolutely certain in their own opinions about what one should or shouldn’t do. Unfortunately, the reality of this situation is that none of these resources can ever assure you of anything specific in regard to your draft, and no mock draft is ever going to reflect the results of your actual draft anyway. In fact, being that each and every Fantasy draft is absolutely unique and varies upon the weight of the collective personal preferences of each of the managers involved, nothing comes with any certainty at all when you find yourself actually drafting. Furthermore, in all of my years of personal experience playing Fantasy Sports, I can tell you with the utmost certainty that there is no resource available greater than that of personal experience.
This year, for the sake of our fans here at FantasySavvy.com, I’ve taken the time to go around the league here at SCRUBFEST and draw personal opinions from experienced managers on their Personal Must Have Fantasy Guy. Hopefully many of you will find this article both insightful and useful to the fortunes of YOUR fantasy team for this year, and possibly even in the following year to come. Enjoy!
My Personal Must Have Guy: ~Angry Pirates
Everybody who’s played fantasy football with me already knows at some point or other I am going after TE Antonio Gates. In previous years, I’ve drafted Gates as early as 3rd and 2nd round to be honest. Year in and year out he producers with no less than 100 receptions, and 10 TDs, which is extraordinary at his position, rivaling many WRs. One of my main attractions to Gates is his high propensity towards finding the end-zone, which translates into points no matter what league & format. That being said, there is a natural down-side that comes with the ownership of Gates. In ownership of Gates, one should be prepared to overcome the obstacles involved in Gates chronic foot ailment, known as Plantar Fasciitis. Generally, Gates is relatively tough and plays through this pain, but this season in particular has been extremely difficult for Gates owners. Still and all, once this man steps on the field, there isn’t a single player at his position I would prefer to have, and I’m firm in my decision to ride my Antonio Gates train to the end, which has paid frequent dividends for me as far as my fantasy fortunes have gone in prior years.
My Personal Must Have Guy: ~Pitt Crew Crushers
Getting a solid running back can be a premium in a tough competitive league such as ours. Every year, the draft comes around, and if you’re not on your A game, you can easily be left holding the bag picking from the crumbs and scraps left over at the RB position. “I believe you’ve gotta have a great RB. It really depends upon where you draft, but I’d say A. Foster, J. Charles, C. Johnson, R. Rice & F. Gore”… are guys you’d want to seek to obtain. “Why? Because these backs are also heavy in the passing game.” It should be noted, Pitt is a manager I’ve played for 2 championships in 2 separate leagues for the past 2 years and he’s managed to win them both. This is a man whose opinion I’d personally say is most likely worth its weight in gold.
My Personal Must Have Guy: ~Asomugha To Mouth
“Without a question, my personal must have guy is MICHAEL VICK!” Sure there are tons of quarterbacks in the NFL who are productive and put up big numbers, but bar none Michael Vick is in a class of his own. It’s not the fact that he simply throws TD’s, nor simply the fact that he can run for TD’s as well, but the simple fact that he DOES BOTH which make him a must have guy. Any given game this man can throw for 150 yards on one hand, and rush for over 100 on the other which puts him in a league all of his own. Putting this into proper perspective, fantasy-wise in any league offering passing and rushing bonuses VICK becomes and instant nightmare IMMEDIATELY as soon as he steps on the field. Especially in a league like ours where scorers get extra points, and all bonuses are on the board, if you’ve got a top draft spot, I’d think you definitely want to get Vick on your roster.
My Personal must have guy: ~The PissPoorSports
“Andre Johnson!” At the end of the day, when all is said and done, your just not going to find a guy that puts up the productivity of an Andre Johnson at his position. CONSISTENTLY on a week to week basis in a ppr league, receptions, big plays, TDs, he’s the complete package and the absolute God to honest truth. Of course, occasionally, he has his little nicks and injuries, but he’s tough, durable and typically plays through. Aside from all this, he’s a red zone target and absolutely the number 1 target on his team (a team that isn’t afraid to pass might I add) who in 1 on 1 situations is virtually unstoppable. For these reasons, I’d have to say my Personal must have guy is Andre Johnson. “But in the event I am not able to acquire AJ, best believe I’m looking in the direction of Calvin Johnson next for pretty much each of the same previously mentioned reasons.” Usually, you can expect these guys to go mid to late first round, early second round at latest.
My Personal Must Have Guy: ~Larry’s Bucket Stand
At first, “I had… Jamal Charles… going for 1800 yards this year. But Now, it’s Arian Foster. That O-line opens up juicy holes for him and Foster is a nice back.” At the same time he has “good balance, burst of speed and enough agility and good power to get the job done. He is going to finish very strong.” Typically, you could have expected to find Foster going either first or second in any credible Fantasy League this year, and don’t be surprised if you find him going right around the same place next year if his first game back from injury is any indication of what this current season has yet in store. Anytime you’ve got a guy on your roster who can go for 200 yards any given sunday, trust and believe this is a guy you are going to go well out of your way to acquire should the opportunity present itself.
~Commissioner Kwiz
Fantasy Savvy 