Much of the news coming out of the NFL has been dark lately, and the league its self is faced with the challenge of finding a way for its players to avoid landing themselves in a jail cell.
Despite the recent controversies surrounding some of the league's high profile stars, Fantasy Football is in full swing and is rapidly becoming more than just a hobby for football enthusists. Fantasy football managers everywhere have drafted their teams in a competition to see whose football knowledge reigns supreme.
Fantasy football brings out the NFL analyst in all fans, as fantasy owners across the country try their best to figure out who’s a sleeper and who’s worth that critical first round draft pick.
“My top five choices were Peyton Manning, Marshawn Lynch, Matt Forte, Jamaal Charles and AJ Green,” said five year fantasy football player Tyler Ryan, a Ramapo College sophomore. “I ended up with Peyton Manning.”
According to Yahoo! Sports, the top five players in fantasy football are LeSean McCoy (RB), Jamaal Charles (RB), Matt Forte (RB), Adrian Peterson (RB) and Eddie Lacey (RB). Perhaps the most notable thing is the absence of quarterbacks in the top 5.
The first quarterback on the list, Peyton Manning, appears at 17. The 16 highest ranked players consists of running backs and wide receivers.
These rankings are merely suggestions from Yahoo! Sports. Players often anticipate the possibility that a lower ranked player is going to have a better year than someone ranked above him.
Players must weigh the risk and rewards of their top picks and thoroughly analyze players across the NFL before making that essential first round choice.
A variety of factors will affect the success of a fantasy manager’s roster. High profile NFL stars will be expected to consistently put up big points, and a slumping star means trouble for fantasy managers everywhere. Injuries are another unpredictable element that can derail a promising fantasy football season for even the most carefully drafted teams.
Finding a diamond in the rough in a late round of the draft is always a welcome surprise for fantasy managers and can help if a star player goes down. But there are ways to adapt a struggling roster during the season.
Fantasy managers should keep an eye on free agency throughout the season to see if they can pick up a low-risk, high reward player. They can also negotiate trades with other fantasy owners in their league.
Ramapo junior Anthony Misrendino thinks that the excitement and culture of fantasy football is doing more than just growing across the football loving nation.
“Fantasy football is already huge,” Misrendino said.
Misrendino is probably right. According to Forbes.com, roughly $11 billion are spent on playing fantasy football in America.
To put it into perspective, the NFL’s annual revenue is $10 billion. So fantasy football has a greater revenue than the very league it is based on.
With unexpected twists and turns sure to come, this season will be nothing short of an exciting one for fantasy owners around the country.
