Lucas believes that WRs are helping to fill the scoring gaps created by the proliferation of RBBCs.

NO!  Not to the latest & greatest magazine out there.  NO!  Not to websites that provide you with all kinds of insights on players.  NO!  Not Rookie Prospect Reports.

What is THE most important thing to consider when planning your draft?  It’s the RULES & SCORING of your respective league, of course!  If you don’t know the rules and scoring of your league, how can you even hope to be successful?  You can’t.  It’s virtually impossible to just jump into a league on a wing and a prayer and be successful, especially if it’s a league that requires a fee to join.  When playing in leagues like that, the owners will try to point you down the path of righteousness but in the back of their mind, they will be thinking “Thanks for your contribution”!

A trend that I have noticed this year in numerous auction leagues is the price WRs are going for.  In the past, you could pick them up relatively cheap and save the big bucks for RBs and LBs.  I think I know the reason behind this.

How many RBs are NOT in a RBBC nowadays?  Your featured backs are LT, LJ, SA, SJax, possibly Addai, Gore, Parker & Rudi Johnson.  Maroney should be, but will he hold up?  After that, the pickings are rather slim.  Portis certainly isn’t anymore.  He can’t stay healthy enough handling the load.  Look around the league and you will see many RBBCs and you really have to figure out who will be the “primary” and who will be getting the other 40%.  It’s really kinda difficult at this time of year.  Yeah, you know in most cases but there are some teams that will be fiddling around with that up to and into the season.  A Top 10 RB in HAFA style scoring averaged 384.3 but the scoring curve is pretty dramatic considering LT went for 536 while #10 Ladell Betts went for 278.  That’s a 49% drop in production and it spirals downward from there.

The LBs are getting more populous.  Granted there are a few who are standouts like Merriman, Ryans, Fletcher-Baker (although his change of address could have a say in that).  I know there are plenty more than that (please don’t hurt me Messers Urlacher and Briggs, amongst others).  After the big ones, there is plenty of depth in the position to go around.  A Top 10 LB in HAFA style scoring averaged 320.9 but the drop to a #10 LB is only 19%.

It is my belief (and remember, I did say MY BELIEF) that WRs are being used to fill deficiencies in the Featured RB role by getting those WR1 & 2s from those passing teams.  Further, the passing game is so WR friendly now (DBs can’t even breathe near a WR) that they are capable of producing the numbers that an “average” RB does now. 

Looking at HAFA scoring, while Marvin Harrison is no LT, Andre Johnson (#10 WR) OUTSCORED Ladell Betts 281-278.  Hell, the #20 WR is Plaxico Burress and he took out the #20 RB, Travis Henry 236-223.  To make it even more interesting, the #30 WR Braylon Edwards outscored the #30 RB Rock Cartwright 204-185.  Oh, by the way, using HAFA scoring, the drop from Harrison (#1 at 332) to Johnson is 15%.

So, while RBs are still a staple of Fantasy Football, the WR is coming up in value due to the RBBC approach employed by many NFL teams.  I am not telling you to go out and draft a team full of WRs though since the RB is still needed but it seems that the gap between WRs and RBs (with the exception of the few Elite RB’s) is closing which, in turn, is causing the cost of WR’s in auction leagues to rise.  Just something to be prepared for…

Well, that’s it for now.  So until next time, it’s time for this one to Ramble On.  See Ya Later.