Getting close to that time of year with our hours of preparation, our sleepers, our target players and favorite players that we have to have it goes on and on as the adrenaline builds up for that big draft!  Then the day of reckoning is here “The Fantasy Football Draft”! Egos begin to show as in our own mind and in our hearts we have a game plan that your league has no chance this season. Your team is going to be the best in 2012!

But in a reality sometimes we over prepare to the point we are set in our ways which is a huge mistake as we go into the draft day.

What you need is a plan then a back-up plan then a back-up plan to the back-up plan. What am I saying?

Let’s look into the 2012 season here are some Do’s and Don’ts for a fantasy football draft.

Let’s start with the Don’t List:

•    Panic on a position run in your draft (Don’t lock on 1 player)
•    Think you need to draft a RB in the 1^st Round
•    Take a 2^nd tier RB over a Top Tier WR  (Especially in a pass happy league)
•    Draft kicker/defense before  last 2 rounds-  Plenty of options off waiver wire during season
•    Avoid  favorite players go for BEST available
•    Take TE early it is plenty deep – TE is not winning you a championship
•    Grab aging Veteran vs. a young sleeper late in the draft- Aging Veteran is just that giving you minimum numbers all season.
•    Draft a player that is in greatest shape of life or coming off injury- means  nothing for your team
•   Take a sleeper too early  (He is not a sleeper then)

Important things on the DO List:

• Make sure your 1^st round pick is on the field year after year this is the core of your team ( You can’t afford this player not to be in your line-up week in week out)
• Have patience and flexibility in your draft approach
• Grab Solid 3 RB’s first 5-6 rounds before grabbing sleepers
• Create opportunity on position runs by looking at best available player at another position
• Follow other teams draft selections and positions filled/needed
• Your QB2 needs to be a solid QB with a great bye week match up
• Track your bye weeks for all positions
•  Back-up injury prone guys especially at RB

Now that we heading into the season let’s look into in season strategy:

• Watch your team if you have a player struggling vs. a solid defense don’t panic but if they are struggling vs. a weak defense time to re-think the plan
• Be active on the free agency list and grab players the first few weeks there will be gems
• If your QB2 is on fire after first few weeks don’t be afraid to throw him out there for trade options. There are teams in panic that will give up a struggling 1^st /2^nd round pick.
• Top-Players play but you can consider match-ups (Ex: WR1 vs Revis while WR3 is up against #31 Pass D in league) Go with your own gut feeling heck with the expert advice.
•  Get rid of non-active players and increase bench strength throughout season. Especially near

.playoffs since most leagues do not allow pick-ups during playoffs.

It all seems like simple stuff but a few mistakes can be the difference between making the playoffs or sitting and wondering where it all went wrong. Good Luck in 2012!

-Richard J Dudkiewicz Jr (Twitter @Rook33)