Fantasy football 2016

There is still a valid reason to go RB early -- within reason of course -- and that's position depth.
There's probably not a lot of difference between the top 12 QBs, or there's at least value further down the ladder. Same with WR. You can get good, even elite players at those positions in the second, third and fourth rounds.
There might only be seven RBs this year who could be dubbed elite. Take one early and you likely have your pick of the litter. Pass them up and you might not get any, and all of a sudden it's the fourth round and you're wondering who the Browns' starter is.

It all depends on draft position and value, though.

 

In all seriousness, I do have AP in my dynasty league (auction starts tomorrow). I have 10 spots to fill in addition to:

QB: Newton, Carr, Dalton
RB (can start 3): Peterson, Ingram, Hill, Duke Johnson
WR (must start 3): Julio, Sanders, Steve Johnson, DeAndre Smelter
TE: Ebron, Maxx Williams
DST: Rams, Texans

Obviously, a third wideout is my most pressing need, along with tight end (although pickings are slim there). To add to the fun, Julio, Sanders and Steve Johnson all have the same bye. But I feel pretty well set everywhere else.

 

A second wideout wouldn't hurt either.

 

Who are the top players available?

 

Wideouts are Michael Floyd (the main player I'm targeting), DeVante Parker, Chris Hogan, Stefon Diggs and the rookies. Tight ends are Graham, Barnidge and a bunch of interchangeable crap.

 

If Floyd could stay healthy, he could easily be a No. 2. It makes sense to target him among that group.

Graham is a total mystery at this point. He's either going to be a steal or just fade away for good as a viable fantasy threat. Barnidge is going to be totally wasted on the NFL's worst team.

 

A week into this needlessly protracted auction process (you have to have the high bid for 24 hours) and I've landed Graham, Nelson Agholor and Paul Perkins. Floyd, Parker, Diggs and the top rookies all went for more than I was willing to pay. I've got the high bid on Hogan and Markus Wheaton and should have the resources to money-whip the competition for Phil Dorsett.

At this point, I'm just trying to land a bunch of options for my WR3 and hope one breaks out. Despite what I said earlier, I'm allowed to start two TEs and only go with two WRs, so that's an option if Graham and Ebron both pan out.

 

All of what Batman says. You want to ignore RBs early, I wish you luck. It's all about availabilty. And Sunshine, I really expect a lot from Elliott behind that line too. Not a top 10 pick to me (though he could end up producing that way). But he will be well worth a pretty early pick. As always, depends where you pick and how the rest pick.

 

The biggest mistake people make is taking RBs early because they're scarce. You know why they're scarce? Because in today's game, very few are consistent enough not to be a waste with an early pick. The "experts" finally are starting to get on board after realizing, "Hey, instead of taking a top-rated RB who has a really good chance to not pan out and/or get injured, how about I target a top WR who proves he can be counted on year after year."

Entering this season, the ONLY top-rated RB you can count on is AP -' and that's assuming he doesn't finally hit the wall or get caught beating a child again. Bell is coming off a knee injury (the second-straight year his season was cut short by injury), Charles is coming off his second career knee injury, Elliott has never played a snap in the NFL, Gurley is on a team whose offense might be bad at best, and his value seriously diminishes if he's not in the field on third down, and while I really like David Johnson, he could end up being the next in a looking line of backs who had breakout second halves and screwed the owner who drafted them the next season.

 

I don't disagree with anything you say. But in most leagues, you still need to field two. Need to get two that aren't going to be in a platoon if you can.

 

The position is such a crapshoot these days that you can win without them. I took one first-round RB last year (Bell) and one second-rounder (Muray) in the give leagues I played. I made the championship game in all five and won four. I know what I'm talking about. #thatlastsentencewasfor@Reacher

 

I picked 8th in a 13-team league with a snake format (1-13 in first round, 13-1 in second). I took Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham with my first two picks and Ben Roethlisberger in the third round. Mark Ingram was my RB1 and I pieced together the rest of my RB corps out of pieces parts. Finished second, so I was quite happy with how things turned out. I will probably go something like that route again this year.