Why I have no Defensive and Kicker Rankings(WINNING TIPS INCLUDED!)

I was practicing for the real thing with a mock draft on ESPN one night and I was posed with the question of why I don't draft a defense any earlier than round 13 or 14. (Well,of course I can't give my tips away to everyone, so I told them to visit my website and I would explain why..lol)
So, as a bonus to you all just for visiting, here is a winning tip for all you beginners or maybe even you fantasy football buffs who just want to get better.

You'll notice how my rankings don't include kickers and defenses. Well, there is a very good reason for that. Here's my advice on kickers...NEVER TAKE YOUR KICKER UNTIL YOUR LAST PICK! Okay, there could be exceptions to this in certain circumstances, but for a Standard fantasy draft, there is no reason to take a kicker any earlier, as your goal is to build your roster with the best players available. You need depth for your QB,RB's and WR's. From injuries, to suspensions, to people just not performing up to their expectations, you cannot afford to give up depth here by drafting a kicker too early. There is hardly ever a season where the top rated kicker at the beginning of the season has been number one at the end. There are plenty of kickers to play around with on the waiver wire, and you can even get away with having a different kicker every week and have a winning team. Along with this, and I hope you may have been able to figure this out already, NEVER DRAFT MORE THAN ONE KICKER! For the reasons stated above, this will be devastating to your overall roster.

Okay, that being said, let's move on to the defenses. There is a reason I don't include defenses in my rankings, and I will now reveal to you why.

As I said previously, the key to building a winning team is depth. You need to have as much depth as possible to be sure your starting team has a good chance of winning every week. If your number one QB,WR or RB goes down, you still may be able to overcome their loss if you drafted wisely. Here is the thing about defenses. While it may be true you can score a lot of points by having the Steelers or Giants, for example, it is also true that if you miss out on them there will still be defenses available that will be able to provide enough points for your team to shine. My top defenses for 2009 are 1. Bears,2. Titans,3. Steelers, 4. Giants, 5. Patriots.

Guess what? Chances are at least one of these teams are going to be available late, after round 13 for example.
Guess what again? If they aren't, don't drive yourself nuts about it!

You see, in most standard leagues, the maximum amount of teams is 12. That means even if some people have 2 defenses(most will just have one though),there will likely be a defense on the board you can use to put up some nice points for your team in any given week. For example,let's say there are 18 defenses taken, there will still be 14 defenses on the waiver wire every week. Even if you don't have one of the top defenses, you can play a defense who has a great matchup for that week, and come away with possibly even more points for that week than if you had the top defense in the league.

Granted, in 12 team leagues your roster is thinner to begin with, and with injuries and other factors you yourself may find that holding onto 2 defenses is beneficial, but it all depends on the circumstance. An almost never talked about KEY TO WINNING is a simple basic fact that a lot of people don't think about, and I will tell you what that is right now...ready...Simply put, IF YOU HAVE A PLAYER OR A DEFENSE ON YOUR ROSTER, NO ONE ELSE CAN USE THEM! Simple, I know, but this is why I talk about depth so much and the fact that you need to build your team with the best players available. When you draft someone or even nab someone off the waiver wire, you are preventing another team from using that player against you as well as having them on your roster. This might be another subject for another article, but it is important to keep an eye on things going on in the NFL and in your league. You don't know how many times I have picked up a RB,WR, or QB not because I needed them, but because someone else did. The more aware you are of everyone's needs, the better results you will have and winning your league will be that much easier.

So remember,In a 10 team league your roster should be full of players that can help and fill in when needed. The art of the weekly defensive play becomes even more important the smaller your league is. Like I said, if you can get one of the top 5 defenses, great. If not though, don't throw away your chance to provide depth for your team by drafting a defense too high, as this could come back to haunt you in the long run.

Don't forget to check out my website at johnnynfl.com for more NFL info,football products, links to fantasy games and contest, and my updated Overall Fantasy Player Rankings-My Top 150 being posted today.

John Bishop
http://www.johnnynfl.com
http:/blog.johnnynfl.info