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The Fantasy Football Brothers Mailbag continues today with Part Two and a few more great questions . We have been getting all sorts of questions about player ranks, trade offers, and draft strategies. We will try and get out as many mailbags between now and the start of the Fantasy Football Season. As usual I’m not going to edit the spelling, or grammar.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR US? ASK US RIGHT HERE.

Corey Asks:

Will Rb Steve Slaton be a better Fantasy running back than RB’s LaDainian Tomlinson, Frank Gore and Steven Jackson this season?

Rob Thanks for the question, Steven Jackson has the most talent and upside out of all these backs, yes he is an injury risk, but his talent outweighs those concerns. Jackson will be a monster in PPR leagues as the Rams offense will run through him. In order, we like Jackson, Steve Slaton, LT, and Frank Gore. If you draft Jackson just make sure you back yourself up and you’ll be alright. Welcome to the Hood and thanks for the question.

Stephen asks

Hey guys,
love the site, great info for all us fantasy football lovers.
I have a quick question:
So I was one of the unfortunate souls that drafted Tom Brady in the 1st round of last year’s draft [i was position 9 or something like that].
My question is, is there a clear cut draft position in this years draft where you default/no matter what say you should draft QB in the first round? My league is normal scoring, should be 10-12 people and I’m just assuming ill be randomly assigned toward the end at some precarious position like “7″ or something like that. Reading your mock draft, QB Drew Brees was selection at #10. Can you guys definitively say at this point that QB should not be selected earlier than position say 8-10?
I know there are a lot of philosophical variables here, ie- WR/QB vs RB/RB strategy, but sometimes the live draft throws a wrench in the plans. In summation, Lets just assume I want to go conservative and draft RB/RB but draw position 10 on draft day…what do I do???
Thank for the help,

Rob Stephen thank you for the question and we’re glad you like the site.
What happened with Brady last year was unfortunate to say the least, I had him in a couple of leagues so I know what you went through. The conservative route in any draft is to abide by the RB/RB strategy but if you want to maximize your value outside of the top 7 or 8 then other possibilities arise. Such as taking a Larry Fitzgerald, Randy Moss, or Andre Johnson and getting an elite wideout, especially in leagues that start 3 wideouts or even a flex. Going with an elite QB like Brees or Brady also is maximizing value in the first round as they will more than likely outscore any runner that would remain to be selected. Example if you land in the 9 position in your draft would you be happy with selecting Brees with your 9th overall pick then on the wraparound taking Andre Johnson, Randy Moss, or Calvin Johnson assuming Larry Fitzgerald is gone. Right there you have locked up two elite players for your squad rather than taking a chance on a guy that is a middle tier back such as Clinton Portis or Frank Gore. If you go the conservative route with the RB/RB strategy you have to think at the outer draft spots like #9 you end up with any of these types of backs who are either aging or have injury questions with young guys nipping at their heels for carries such as Westbrook or Tomlinson. I know what happened to Brady last year sucked, but truth be told it is more likely to happen to a runner than a quarterback and I am of the belief that half of the running backs in the pre-season top 10 turn out to be flops which is why there is such high turnover in the running backs every year. This is not the case with QB’s and WR’s where the rankings have been consistent year in and year out, especially the QB position, which is why I believe that it is the best way to maximize your value in that later selection. Simply put taking an elite quarterback or elite wideout makes more sense to me than taking my 7th, 8th, or even 9th ranked runner. I know breaking away from the RB/RB draft strategy is scary, as that has been engrained into us for so long by fantasy experts, but again to truly maximize value I believe we must break this trend, I also believe that decent value in running backs can be found later in the draft where leagues are truly won.

Ron writes:

i have the 5th pick in 10 team draft, we start 2 quarterbacks each week, also start 2 rbs, 2 wrs, 1 te, 1 flex, k, and def. I like Steven Jackson but am concerned with his supporting cast and the fact he can’t stay on the field the past two seasons. Also really like Drew Brees, so my question is is #5 pick too early to take a top qb in a double qb league or should i stay with the rbs?

Paul It is definitely not to early to draft Brees. I say absolutely draft him. If Brees is gone I would take Brady. In a two QB league Brees has even more value. I also like S.Jackson I just don’t like the Rams. I’m going to avoid him this year. In a 10 team league your going to be able to draft some very good running backs in the later rounds. I would consider waiting until the 3rd round or beyond to draft your first back. Peyton Manning or a top wide receiver should be your focus in the second round. It’s all about value. Would you rather have the top QB and WR in football or the #15 running back?
Good luck at your draft and WELCOME TO THE BROTHERHOOD!

Ronald (editors note two different Ronalds)

in our lg. we can trade draft picks i have #1 ive been offered the 10pick 11 pick and then back to my original spot in the draft. in other words i swapped with the 10th picks 1st and 2nd for #1 and #10 what would u do standard scoring lg.

Shaun: Thanks for clarifying. AP will be tough to give up, but if there is a deal worth taking for him – this might be the one. You’re essentially getting two #1 picks for one.
The following info is based on Current ADP trends (Average Draft Position).
@ the 10 and 11 spots you’re most likely looking at some sort of combination of the following players:
RB: DWill, Chris Johnson, Steve Slaton, LT
WR: Andre Johnson, Moss, Megatron
QB: Brees, Brady
* Any combination of the above players will have your roster off to a solid start.

on the U-Turn @ the 20 and 21 spots
RB: Clinton Portis, Marion Barber, and Brain Westbrook are all falling.
Pierre Thomas, Ronnie Brown, Ryan Grant are also solid RB2 options
WR: Greg Jennings, Roddy White, Steve Smith
QB: Peyton Manning
* Solid WRs or Peyton Manning look to be more serviceable than questionable RB plays

@ 40 and 41
RB: Kevin Smith, Darren McFadden
WR: Chad Ochocinco, Vincent Jackson, Anthony Gonzalez
QB:  Aaron Rodgers, Phillip Rivers
TE: Jason Witten
* If you think you can hold off on a QB and land Rodgers here I would do so. He has top positional potential at a cheaper price than the Big 3. The second pick here can either allow you to jump on Witten, solidify a third dominant WR, or land some RB insurance. My philosophy on TE’s this season is “If you can’t get Witten, you might as well wait.” There is solid tight end talent deep in the draft. He may be a little bit of a reach here, but your extra pick allows you a little bit of room. If Kevin Smith falls this far I would not hesitate grabbing him. McFadden is probably the biggest Boom or Bust player in the entire draft. I would feel uncomfortable with him as my RB2, but the trade would allow you to roll the dice on such a player. Ocho looks to be back in pro bowl form. Landing him as your WR3 would be ridiculous.

An example of the type of roster that this trade could allow you to create:
10 – RB DeAngelo Williams
11 – RB Steve Slaton
20 – WR Greg Jennings
21 – WR Roddy White
40 – QB Aaron Rodgers
41 – TE Jason Witten, Ocho, McFadden

Looks like a title winner to me!
Hope this helps. WELCOME TO THE BROTHERHOOD. Set up shop with us all season. Draft, trade, waiver wire questions are all welcomed. Thanks for the question. Let us know how things work out.

FRANK writes:

I am in a basic scoring league – TD’s ONLY.
Please rank the following players by your projected TD’s scored:
QB: Romo, Schaub, Roethlisberger: please rank by TD’s scored
RB: C Johnson, S Slaton, M Barber, R Grant, K Smith, B Wells
WR: B Edwards, R Williams, V Jackson, M Colston, R White, S Holmes

Paul: QB:Romo 25-27 TD’s – Romo always manages to find the end zone.
Schaub 22-24 TD’s – He needs to stay healthy and be more consistent in the red zone.
Roethlisberger 20-21 TD’s – Pit runs way to much in the red zone

RB:1) Barber 12-13 TD’s – A repeat of his 2006 touchdown total of 16 is not out of the question.
2) Chris Johnson 10-11 TD’s – LenDale is the goal line back so I would say 11 is his ceiling.
3) Steave Slaton 9-10 TD’s – Slaton had 21 carries from inside the 5 yard line last year.
4) Kevin Smith 7-8 TD’s – should see all the red zone carries.
5) Chris Wells 7-8 TD’s – Hightower could be a vulture. If not bump Wells ahead of Smith.
6) Ryan Grant 5-6 TD’s – Grant just doesn’t find the end zone enough.

WR: 1)Marques Colston 8-9 TD’s – Colston has a big frame and soft hands. Perfect red zone target.
2)Vincent Jackson 7-8 TD’s – Broke out last year. Big target for Rivers.
3)Roddy White 7-8 TD’s – Tony Gonzalez and Turner take to many touchdowns away from White.
4)Braylon Edwards 6-7 TD’s – He had 16 in 2007. Could provide great value, if he can step up.
5)Roy Williams 5-6 TD’s – Has never been able to get it done in the red zone.
6)Santonio Holmes 5-6 TD’s – Holmes will be the 3rd or 4th option in the red zone .

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