Back in 2008 I was part of the wide receiver first revolution, which involved a new draft strategy that moved away from the tradition of drafting runningbacks in the first round or the occasional quarterback, but instead focusing on building a strong wide receiving core.  I often discussed this strategy on our podcast Fantasy Football Tonight, which you can find on Blog Talk Radio.  We’ve all seen in year in and year out, where several big name #1 draft pick runningbacks turn out to be busts.  In 2009 Michael Turner, LaDainian Tomlinson, Matt Forte, and even Frank Gore were busts.  However, if you picked later in the first round you probably got Larry Fitzgerald or Andre Johnson and you were much better off.

If you examine our cheat sheets at www.fantasyfootballsearch.com, you’ll notice that there are not only plenty of qualified #1 draft picks that aren’t runningbacks, but that there are also a large number of productive runningbacks you can pick up in the second, third, or even fourth rounds.  A draft strategy that I would offer you with proven success is either be happy with a lower overall draft pick or trade down in the first round.  Select a Andre Johnson or Peyton Manning in the first round and your draft will be a success from the start.  Then in the second round get another wide receiver or your first runningback.  In my first expert league draft this year, I had the 11th overall pick.  I went with Peyton Manning and followed up with Miles Austin.  I think that there will be far more consistency in those two guys then some of the runningbacks being selected early in the first round.  Remember, runningbacks carry the ball 20-30 times a game and they are normally the first to get seriously hurt.

About the author: Todd Farino is President/Owner of fantasyfootballsearch.com, a leading content provider of fantasy football for over 10 years.

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