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This fantasy football season has been crazy so far! We’ve seen many injuries in the last few weeks and lots of first round locks have turned out to be first round busts (Drew Brees, Frank Gore, …). There have also been some fantasy football studs that have lived up to their preseason billing and many of these are still the top players to start this week. Here are the top five players at each position for this week.

Quarterback

1. Tom Brady
2. Carson Palmer
3. Matt Hasselbeck
4. Donovan McNabb
5. Kurt Warner

Running Back

1. LaDainian Tomlinson
2. Ronnie Brown
3. Larry Johnson
4. Willis McGahee
5. Shaun Alexander

Wide Receiver

1. Randy Moss
2. Plaxico Burress
3. Terrell Owens
4. Larry Fitzgerald
5. Chad Johnson

Tight End

1. Antonio Gates
2. Jason Witten
3. Tony Gonzalez
4. Todd Heap
5. Chris Cooley

Kicker

1. Nate Kaeding
2. Neil Rackers
3. Matt Stover
4. Nicholas Folk
5. Shayne Graham

Defense / Special Teams

1. Ravens
2. Bears
3. Jaguars
4. Chargers
5. Patriots

With only about one week until the regular season starts many fantasy football drafts will be wrapping up very soon and you need all the information you can get. Even though the preseason doesn’t count for anything in the NFL, some players’ performances have caused their fantasy values to rise or fall.

• Drew Brees - Rising - His value was already high from last season but he has been on fire during the preseason and this has caused his value to rise even further. This is his second season in the same offense and he should be expected to take a step forward with a greater understanding of the nuances of the playbook. Also consider that he plays all of his home games in a dome and you can see that he is primed for a huge season. He should be considered a top three quarterback in your draft.
• Chad Pennington - Falling - Pennington has had a rough preseason and Kellen Clemens is now pushing him for the Jets starting position. Pennington is a marginal fantasy quarterback as it is but his value is even lower now. Only draft him if you are desperate for a backup.
• LenDale White - Rising - Although he hasn’t been declared the starter in Tennessee, it sure seems like they want him to emerge to fill this role. He had a decent preseason outing in week 3 and his workload should increase from last season. Even though he will be splitting time with Chris Brown, Brown is likely to get injured as the season wears on and you may find a steal in White since you should still be able to get him late. If you have the roster space, don’t be afraid to take a chance on White.
• Marshawn Lynch - Falling - Lynch should still have a great career and a pretty good season but his preseason is causing pre-draft jitters amongst fantasy football players. In week 3 he was supposed to get a heavy workload and finished with 9 carries for 9 yards. Buffalo’s revamped offense line is supposed to be opening holes for Lynch but he was often taking hits in the backfield. His value is still fairly high and he should be a serviceable second running back but his fantasy value has been downgraded.
• Vincent Jackson - Rising - Many fantasy experts have been predicting that Jackson may be a breakout receiver this year and his preseason performance has done little to discount that opinion. In the second preseason game he had a touchdown and then he added two more touchdowns in the third preseason game. He will hardly ever see double teams this season with teams having to focus on Tomlinson and Gates so he should have plenty of opportunities this year. He can be a very good number 2 receiver for your team and you can probably draft him a little later than some of the other players with established ‘name’ value.

Before the season starts, these are the Tight Ends that should be at the top of your draft board. Once these top 5 are drafted, many of the remaining tight ends are almost interchangeable.

1. Antonio Gates - San Diego Chargers - He will continue to be the focal point of San Diego’s passing offense but look for him to lose some catches to LaDanian Tomlinson this year.
2. Todd Heap - Baltimore Ravens
3. Tony Gonzalez - Kansas City Chiefs - His receiving opportunities will be limited this year because he may be required to block more often with the losses to the offensive line that Kansas City has experienced this year.
4. Vernon Davis - San Francisco 49ers - He should have a break out year because Alex Smith will be relying on him more often. He has all of the physical skills to be a dominate tight end.
5. Jeremy Shockey - New York Giants

Need some advice about which WRs to target early in the draft? Here are our Top 10 Fantasy Football Wide Receivers for the 2007 season. Keep in mind that this list may change when we get closer to the regular season:

1. Marvin Harrison - Indianapolis Colts
2. Torry Holt - St. Louis Rams
3. Chad Johnson - Cincinnati Bengals
4. Steve Smith - Carolina Panthers
5. Terrell Owens - Dallas Cowboys
6. Roy Williams - Detroit Lions
7. Anquan Boldin - Arizona Cardinals
8. Reggie Wayne - Indianapolis Colts
9. T.J. Houshmandzadeh - Cincinnati Bengals
10. Javon Walker - Denver Broncos

Here are our Top 10 Fantasy Football Quarterbacks for the 2007 season. This list is subject to change as we get closer to the regular season but for now, here are our Top 10 QBs:
1. Peyton Manning - Indianapolis Colts (Who else?)
2. Tom Brady - New England Patriots
3. Carson Palmer - Cincinnati Bengals
4. Drew Brees - New Orleans Saints
5. Marc Bulger - Saint Louis Rams
6. Matt Hasselbeck - Seattle Seahawks
7. Donovan McNabb - Philadelphia Eagles
8. Jon Kitna - Detroit Lions
9. Tony Romo - Dallas Cowboys
10. Vince Young - Tennessee Titans

Here are our Top 10 Fantasy Football Running Backs this year before a down is even played. This list can change dramatically before the season starts because of extended holdouts, training camp injuries, and preseason game performance but these are our current Top 10 RBs.

1. LaDainian Tomlinson - San Diego Chargers
2. Steven Jackson - St. Louis Rams
3. Frank Gore - San Francisco 49ers
4. Larry Johnson - Kansas City Chiefs (Would be higher without the current holdout situation)
5. Shaun Alexander - Seattle Seahawks
6. Joseph Addai - Indianapolis Colts
7. Willie Parker - Pittsburgh Steelers
8. Brian Westbrook - Philadelphia Eagles
9. Rudi Johnson - Cincinnati Bengals
10. Reggie Bush - New Orleans Saints

It’s getting very close to one of everybody’s favorite times of the year - Fantasy Football Draft Day! Having a live draft where all of the team owners can get together and talk a little trash just adds to the excitement! If you are hosting a live draft, here are a few tips that you should keep in mind to make sure that the draft flows smoothly and everyone has a great time.

1. Have food - pizza, chicken wings, tacos, etc. Preferably something you can order!
2. Assuming that you followed tip 1, try to have your food ready a half an hour before the actual drafting of players starts. If you have your food ready at the same time the draft starts, some of your hungrier friends may be distracted by eating and not focusing on the draft.
3. Hold the draft in a room that’s large enough to let everyone spread out. People will have their draft lists, magazines, and computers so make sure there is enough room for everyone to be comfortable.
4. Have a recorder that will be responsible for entering the picks as they are made. If you can recruit someone who is not in the league to do this role, that will work out better. Often the commissioner gets distracted doing this job and not focusing on the draft. If you have a whiteboard available this is a great option for recording the picks. Everyone can easily see this and see who has been drafted already.
5. Impose a time limit on each pick. Every league I’ve ever been in seems to have that one team that takes as much time as possible on each pick. If you set a time limit on each pick (one minute works well) the draft will flow much better.
6. Request any last minute rule changes. Depending if you run your league as a dictatorship or a democracy, this is an optional step. See if anyone has any suggestions for new rules and if other teams agree, implement them before the draft starts. Once teams have been drafted it is not very feasible to change the rules because people may have drafted differently.
7. Have fun!

Hopefully some of these guidelines will be useful for your draft party. There is nothing like getting together with your friends for a fantasy football draft!

Every year a few rookies make a splash in fantasy football. Some are expected, like Reggie Bush last year, and others come out of nowhere, like Marques Colston. Here our top 5 sure fire rookies that we feel will make an impact on fantasy football this season.

1. Adrian Peterson - RB, Minnesota Vikings - As the year progresses, Chester Taylor should be relegated to his rightful backup role and Peterson should get a greater share of the load.  If you are in a keeper league and need a RB that will be a star, set your sights on Peterson.
2. Marshawn Lynch - RB, Buffalo Bills - Lynch will be starting in Buffalo right away and he should get a large number of carries especially when it gets cold in December.
3. Calvin Johnson - WR, Detroit Lions - Johnson joins a WR crew with Roy Williams and Mike Furrey which should lead to healthy doses of single coverage.  Especially early in the year, Johnson should get a great number of looks in Mike Martz’s offense.
4. Brandon Jackson - RB, Green Bay Packers - Monitor Jackson’s situation throughout training camp this summer.  Morency is the starter right now but Jackson will be given the opportunity to take over the starting role throughout the year.  As it is right now, he shows great promise as a keeper but if he has a great training camp, he may be a solid number 2 fantasy football RB this season.
5. Anthony Gonzalez - WR, Indianapolis Colts - Guess who’s throwing this guy the ball?  That’s right, Peyton Manning!  He will take over Stokley’s spot and should see a decent number of balls in his role as the slot receiver.  He will occasionally be a good spot start if you need a receiver during a bye week but if Harrison or Wayne get injured, Gonzalez will be a great option.

Less than a week away from the draft and we’ve got a few changes to our draft board.One of the biggest changes we have is Adrian Peterson falling to the Vikings and the Browns taking Brady Quinn instead.If this does happen, the Vikings will be getting quite a steal with the number 7 pick.There are also rumors of the Chiefs looking to move Larry Johnson before draft day and if that happens look for a shakeup of the draft board.Here’s how we see the draft going now:

1. Oakland Raiders - JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU
2. Detroit Lions - Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson
3. Cleveland Browns - Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech
5. Arizona Cardinals - Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin
6. Washington Redskins - Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville
7. Minnesota Vikings - Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma
8. Atlanta Falcons - LaRon Landry, FS, LSU
9. Miami Dolphins - Levi Brown, OT, Penn State
10. Houston Texans - Leon Hall, CB, Michigan
11. San Francisco 49ers - Alan Branch, DL, Michigan
12. Buffalo Bills - Patrick Willis, LB, Mississippi
13. St. Louis Rams - Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas
14. Carolina Panthers - Reggie Nelson, S, Florida
15. Pittsburgh Steelers - Darrelle Revis, CB, Pittsburgh
16. Green Bay Packers - Marshawn Lynch, RB, California
17. Jacksonville Jaguars - Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska
18. Cincinnati Bengals - Greg Olsen, TE, Miami
19. Tennessee Titans - Ted Ginn, Jr., WR, Ohio State
20. New York Giants - Joe Staley, OT, Central Michigan
21. Denver Broncos - Jon Beason, OLB, Miami
22. Dallas Cowboys - Dwayne Bowe, WR, LSU
23. Kansas City Chiefs - Robert Meachem, WR, Tennessee
24. New England Patriots (from Seattle) - Brandon Meriweather, FS, Miami
25. New York Jets - Chris Houston, CB, Arkansas
26. Philadelphia Eagles - Aaron Ross, CB, Texas
27. New Orleans Saints - Jarvis Moss, DE, Florida
28. New England Patriots - Paul Posluszny, OLB, Penn State
29. Baltimore Ravens - Ben Grubbs, OG, Auburn
30. San Diego Chargers - Michael Griffin, FS, Texas
31. Chicago Bears - Arron Sears, OL, Tennessee
32. Indianapolis Colts - Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee

The NFL Draft is in 2 weeks and the first round draft board is constantly moving and will keep moving all the way up until draft day. Here is our current mock draft board:

1. Oakland Raiders - JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU
2. Detroit Lions - Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson
3. Cleveland Browns - Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech
5. Arizona Cardinals - Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin
6. Washington Redskins - Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville
7. Minnesota Vikings - LaRon Landry, FS, LSU
8. Atlanta Falcons - Alan Branch, DT, Michigan
9. Miami Dolphins - Levi Brown, OT, Penn State
10. Houston Texans - Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma
11. San Francisco 49ers - Adam Carriker, DL, Nebraska
12. Buffalo Bills - Patrick Willis, LB, Mississippi
13. St. Louis Rams - Leon Hall, CB, Michigan
14. Carolina Panthers - Reggie Nelson, S, Florida
15. Pittsburgh Steelers - Darrelle Revis, CB, Pittsburgh
16. Green Bay Packers - Robert Meachem, WR, Tennessee
17. Jacksonville Jaguars - Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas
18. Cincinnati Bengals - Jon Beason, LB, Miami
19. Tennessee Titans - Marshawn Lynch, RB, California
20. New York Giants - Paul Posluszny, LB, Penn State
21. Denver Broncos - Joe Staley, OT, Central Michigan
22. Dallas Cowboys - Brandon Meriweather, FS, Miami
23. Kansas City Chiefs - Dwayne Bowe, WR, LSU
24. New England Patriots (from Seattle) - Aaron Ross, CB, Texas
25. New York Jets - Greg Olsen, TE, Miami
26. Philadelphia Eagles - Lawrence Timmons, LB, Florida State
27. New Orleans Saints - Chris Houston, CB, Arkansas
28. New England Patriots - Anthony Spencer, DE, Purdue
29. Baltimore Ravens - Ben Grubbs, OG, Auburn
30. San Diego Chargers - Ted Ginn, WR, Ohio State
31. Chicago Bears - Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC
32. Indianapolis Colts - Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee