I am participating in my first fantasy draft of the year tonight for MyFantasyLeague.com, so I am starting to think about my overall draft strategy for this year.

My first inclination, as I’ve conveyed a bit in this blog already this year, is that 2011 is not a year to mess around with for obvious reasons (the lockout). I’m not going to try to be a hero, and I’m going to play things a little conservatively. At least I’m going to try to. It might be tough because I’m a play-to-win guy, but I think it would behoove fantasy players to focus on as many stable options as possible, at least in the first 4-6 rounds of a draft. That means eliminating as much risk as possible.

And that’s why I think Michael Vick should not be drafted as the #1 QB in 2011. In fact, I don’t think he should be the second or even the third fantasy QB drafted.  At some point, likely any time in the 2nd round, he is too flashy and exciting to pass up on, but pass on him I might because I think it’s more important to avoid downside this year than it is to [...]

Note: Ages are accurate as of midseason 2010.

I’m a little behind breaking these out, but I did want to wait until the bulk of the free agent action took place. I’ll be busting my ass to offer similar overviews for RB, WR, and TE in the next 4-5 days. My goal’s to have them all up by next Wednesday, so we can move on to the NFL Draft and our pre-draft rookie stuff.

Here’s my take on the QB landscape for those in keeper leagues:

Given his youth, supporting cast, and what he's shown so far Packer QB Aaron Rodgers is about as appealing as it gets at the QB position for those in keeper leagues

The QB position in the NFL isn’t exactly bursting with young talent, so if you have a stud like Drew Brees (31), Peyton Manning (34), Aaron Rodgers (26), or Philip Rivers (28), then you’re doing really well at this position in your keeper or dynasty league. If you’re in a dynasty league or don’t have any restrictions in terms of the number of years you can keep a player, Rodgers (who will be 27 in December) and Rivers (who will be 29 in December) may [...]