Madden 11 Fantasy Draft guide

[PGaither84]

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Fantasy Draft Round 1
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To begin the draft, this is where you select your first of two Superstars. You can pick almost anyone you want. However, I would suggest you narrow your search down to a few key players.

QB's Aaron Rodgers and Philip Rivers are great selections here. Young QBs with great skill sets to lead your team for years to come.

TE's Vernon Davis, Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark, and Jason Witten are also great selections here. Tight ends offer every offense a threat in the passing game along with a great run blocker on the line and shine inside the red zone.

FS Ed Reed and SS Troy Polamalu are great members of the secondary to select as well. The NFL is a passing league, and madden is no different. Having defensive play makers n the secondary will give you an edge in breaking up plays and interception passes. Both of these stars also play hard to stop the run.

All are good selections, though I suggest Vernon Davis above all [except the 99OVR players, which you re not likely to see anyway.] Davis is the best run blocking TE in Madden. He is also the fastest TE in Madden as well. His low catch/route running/catch in traffic are his weaknesses, and even then, they are not that bad. Davis is a match up problem for any defense. Once the defense keys in on stopping Davis, you can really open up your passing game. think about listing him as your #4 WR so he will play in 4 wide formations as well, just split out.

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Fantasy Draft Round 2
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This is another chance at another Superstar. Every choice you make from here on out will be influenced by your prior selections.

In my opinion, the best selection in this round is Asante Samuel. Young and very talented with near perfect man and zone coverage ratings. If your friend's haven't picked him yet, get him. He will be trouble, much like Revis or Nnamdi, all game long. If Samuel is gone, here are my other suggestions.

Like Asante, fellow Corners Johnathan Joesph and Leon hall are also great selection for their youth and coverage skills. All 3 of these players are great, however, I obviously recommend Asante first.

NT like Vince Wilfork, DE Haloti Ngata, QB's Aaron Rodger, Philip Rivers, and HB Frank Gore are likely still on the list as well. All are great young players who will provide for you for years, baring injury. Vince Wilfork isn't young, but he isn't old either. he has a lot of years ni front of him. on this list, Haloti Ngata may be my prime Canidate because of his youth, though I have some personal bias toward Wilfork. Also, in real life, the NT is a key member of the 3-4 defense.

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Fantasy Draft Round 3
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In round 3 the computer tightens up on it's selections, going almost exclusively for Defensive Ends [13] and Corner Backs [16]. This is another reason why I suggest taking an elite CB, Ed Reed, or Troy Polumalu in the first two rounds. Having an elite secondary will pay off in spades.

There are a lot of great CBs to choose from even if you haven't selected one yet. however, if you do not pick one now, you will not get a great corner. Also, in franchise mode, drafting a great rookie Corner in the postseason is a crap shoot. None of the scouting reports reveal man or zone coverage ratings or the press ratings. This is another reason why taking corners in fantasy draft is important. It's your best guaranteed shot at having a talented secondary.

Also, if you are building a 3-4 defense, this is a chance to grab Luis Castillo. If you also snatched up Ngata, you will have a great front 7 in the making, but you are skimping out on a secondary, which every great 3-4 needs. Keep in mind that there are lower OVR rated DEs or DT that can be moved to DE in the 3-4 that will work nicely as well. Issac Sopoaga, for example is a 71 OVR who has 94-95 in his strength, block shedding and tackling ratings you can grab LATE in the draft.

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Fantasy Draft Round 4
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Similar to round 3, this round focuses on Defensive Ends [8 taken] but instead goes after Wide Receivers [13.] Now, I have nothing against receivers, and this is a good chance to grab a very talented one, but you can also take this opportunity to load up on another key defensive player. Megatron [Calvin Johnson Jr.,] Boldin, White Wes Welker, and others are available. For as much as I like White Wes Welker [different link,] Megatron may be "the pick" here in round 4 if still available.

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Fantasy Draft Round 5
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DEs, WRs and CBs are selected as mixed bag and their respective OVR ratings really begin to dip into the low 80's. If you haven't grabbed someone at this position yet, you may want to before all of the talent is gone. This is where I would keep an eye out for OLB Shaun Phillips or Center Ryan Kalil. I would likely be looking to dip in a round early and try to snag a player like MLB Johnathan Vilma who gets selected early next round.

Before I make my 5th selection, I likely have 2 top flight Corners [or Ed/Troy and a corner] a WR and one of the following: QB/TE/DE. it's really up to you again to make a choice here. i like Shaun phillips or reaching for Vilma because I run a 3-4 scheme.

EDIT: This is what I call an "Up in the air" round. When left to it's own devices, the computer picks the same each time. When users are involved, the game mixes things up on you here. Sometimes I will see QB's and/or DTs go early [normally round 10 for each.] Sometimes OLBs are taken [they tend to go in round at the end of 11 and the begining of 12.] HBs may also get taken here as well [they don't tend to go until 8.] This is where I would take a look at these key positions and see who is left and where you are in the round. These are the only positons that appear to be taken "early" though. Please tell me if you see any others.

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Fantasy Draft Round 6
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This is the last time, for a long time, the computer dips into the DE pool[20 selected,] dropping the OVR talent down to 77 OVR or so. MLBs and Offensive Tackles get attention here. Johnathan Vilma, LT Michael Oher and OLB Terrel Suggs are all nice selection here.

While defensive linemen in the 3-4 are important in real life, they o not need to have a high OVR ratings to do well in Madden 11, as a result you don't need to invest early selections on them, though players like Ngata and Castillo are solid picks. In round 6 and 7 I am actually looking to pick up two amazing MLBs. While I don't want to turn down selecting a great LT like Michael Oher, having a pair of elite MLBs and a pair of elite Cover Corners on defense will make life rough on anyone you play.

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Fantasy Draft Round 7
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Around 14 MLBs are taken in round 7 along with around 14 Offensive Tackles. As I wrote about in round 6, the possibility of having two amazing 3-4 MLBs is very tempting, though at some point you are going to have to draft offensive linemen. Like I said at the beginning, I value a great O-Line over a great HB. If you haven't selected offensive linemen at all yet, keep this in mind. Based on OVR, Offensive Tackles drop down to 85 OVR by the end of this round.

I likely picked up Vilma in the 5th round,and may have picked up Oher in the 6th. this is where I will either try for that 2ed MLB or a LT/RT to help shore up the outside of my O-Line. MLB A. J hawk ad others will still be on the board for rounds to come, likely [depending on your friends] so a Tackle is still a good call. It's up to you.

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Fantasy Draft Round 8
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This is where the first FBs are taken. HB are taken in mass here, 16 in total. Lastly, a few MLBs and offensive tackles as well. You don't need to get a FB here, as only 3 or 4 are taken, and the average FBs will still be there rounds later, but the elite FB's like L. McClain are gone. If you do not have a great HB yet and want a "starter" here is your chance. Again, I'll hold out for players like Reggie Bush or Darren McFadden myself, but feel free to go after the Johnathan Stewart's and Mendenhall's of the league. This is another round that is really up to you and what you have drafted so far.

Ideally, to me, I have selected TE-CB-CB-WR-MLB-LT-MLB and now in this round a RT or a LT to start at RT.

Note: round 9 is where a lot of Guards are taken. Think about taking a LG/RG early this round instead.

EDIT: This is antoher "Up in the air" round in my experience. Sometimes HBs are taken in mass, other times you will see the DT's, QB's or OLBs again "taken early."

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Fantasy Draft Round 9
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Like I just said, Guard are taken here along with remaining Tackles and HBs. If you took a guard last round, you can shore up another one here. In fact, as I think about it, that is likely the best call.

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Fantasy Draft Round 10
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The QB round. If you didn't grab Aaron Rodgers or Philip Rivers, look for your starter here. there are a lot of good choices. depending on who your friend's have selected, Big Ben, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Jay Cutler, Mark Sanchez and Sam Bradford are all nice picks. Matthew Stafford isn't bad, but his high throwing power, in my opinion, doesn't outweigh his low starting accuracy ratings. it will take some years of good numbers to rasie those up, years that you could raise Bradford and his 88 Throwing power [which is the same as Drew Brees and Philip Rivers, so it isn't bad] could go up to elite levels. this is a QB driven league, and I really recommend that you get your QB by now.

NOTE: Some times when drafting, QBs get taken earlier than this round. Keep an eye on the draft! I wrote somewhere else how DT N. Shu was taken 5 rounds early for some reason in a draft I had. We had a Draft where 80 OVR Sam Bradford and those before him were taken by round 8. I really don't want to lose out on these QBs, so check in on the QBs as you draft.

EDIT: This is yet another "Up in the air" round. Depending on how earlier rounds go, round 10 may look a lot different. One time I took Matt Shaub [89 OVR] with the 19th pick in the 10th round and QB's were still on the board with my 14th selection in the 11th. Again, keep an eye on DT's, OLBs, and HB's.

This concludes the first 10 rounds. My next post will be on rounds 11-20

[PGaither84]

Rounds 10-14 are where things start to change a lot. In my charts, QB's and DT go in round 10, though, as I have said before, I have seen DTs go as early as 5 and QB's as early as 8. In the IGN article, DTs go as late as round 13.

Both of our charts agree rounds 11 and 12 have WRs and CBs disappear again, likely the 2ed stringers for most teams.

In my charts, OLBs are taken in round 13 almost exclusively, while they go in rounds 11 and 12 on the IGN chart. TEs go in round 13 for IGN and round 14 for my chart. things settle back in for rounds 14 and 15 where we see FS and Center get taken a lot on both charts.

Both of our charts also agree that in rounds 16 and 17 we see Guards, and OLBs along with remaining some FBs, remaining FS, and TEs. Our charts also agree SS go in the 18th round. along with Kickers ad Punters between 19-22.

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Key Notes:

• Watch out for DT and QB as early as round 5 & 8. if there is a key player you want, take him to be safe, just know what you may be giving up.
• OLBs in rounds 11-13.
• FS and Centers in 14 & 15.
• I would look to "steal" a SS by round 17 or draft one in 18.

After you get a Kicker and Punter in 19 and 20, it's up to you to find some role players to finish your team.

After round 20 I would just look to snipe up key role players, gems that you may know about. Later I will try to compile a list of "gems" to look out for and to snipe for your team.

There are three types of plays in fantasy draft:
Your elite superstars - Rounds 1 and 2
Your starters - Rounds 3 through 20
Your role players - Rounds 21+

If you draft a good mix of all of these positions, you should have a solid team.

Offensively I am happy if I have a stout line, a star QB or a future star like Matt Ryan or Sam Bradford, a capable HB, a threat at TE and a stable of competent WRs.

Defensively I want strong linemen with high block shedding to stop the running game, an amazing secondary to shut down the passing game as best they can, and a fast LB core to chase backs sideline to sideline and rush the passer out of the 3-4.

[PGaither84]

Key ratings to look at by position

QB: Throwing Accuracy Medium. Most of my passes tend to be in the medium range. I will take a shot down field or dump a pass off to a back, but the mid range passes are the bread and butter of the NFL.

HB: Honestly, speed, acceleration and agility. When you line opens up a hole, you need to be abel to take advantage of it. An elite HB with all of the tools is nice, but if you don't have one of those, all you really need is a fast back and a power back for short yardage situations. you can get both in later rounds and be just fine.

FB: Impact block. Run blockign is nice, but you want a FB that will hit the defender right in front of him and get that guy out of the way, and maybe get a pancake to move to the next level. you don't need a FB to hold his block like a lineman, you just need someone to lead you through the hole.

TE: Run Blocking footwork/Impact block. Similar to a FB in the running game, TEs tend to face off against DEs or OLBs who often will have a high Finesse Move rating compared to DT who have Power Moves. high catch in traffic is important as well. Most Ts will be catching passes in the middle of the field where all the traffic may be.

WR: Catch in Traffic. Route running is very important as well. I have seen slower receivers like Reggie Wayne [88 speed] beat much faster corners like Revis and Cromartie simply because his 99 route Running rating said he should. I am still convinced that Route Running doesn't effect the actual route he runs, but is just checked agaisnt the man and zone coverage ratings to see who "won" the route in coverage to get open and get to the ball.

Tackles: Pass Blocking Footwork. Most Des and OLBs who passrush will likely have high a Finesse Move rating. you want to counter that witha high footwork rating.

Guards: Run blocking strength and impact block. These players are likely to be faced up against 3-4 DEs an 4-3 DTs most often. Those players posses high block shedding and high power moves most often.

Centers: Same as Guards. Obviously, just like guards, you'll want Centers who also have high pass blocking strength as well for the same reason. few DTs in Madden have a high Finesse Move rating ,though some do, it isn't worth worrying about. balanced linemen are always beter, but when some have a crazy high stat in these key areas, think about it.

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DE: Finesse move if a pass rusher, block shedding and tackle if a 3-4 end.

DT: Shh... keep this betweeen you and me... look for the few DT in the 4-3 that have high finesse moves. if you can find one, most offensive lines won't be ready for you. Other than that, power moves, block shedding and tackle are all important. More so for a NT in the 3-4.

OLB: Similar to pass rusing DE regardless of you usign the 4-3 or the 3-4. It helps to have nice zone ad man coverage ratings as well. you won't be pass rushing every down. Speed is always nice to chase people down sideline to sideline. Tackle is THE key stat though. If you can't tackle you might as well not be out there.

MLB: Like OLBs, high sideline to sideline speed is important. However, good man and zone coverage are more important here than pass rushing stats. Again tackle is you most important rating to pick out the best MLB to take.

CB: A combination of Man and Zone coverage. I value Man Coverage higher though. A high press rating for all three of your CBs is important as well. you want to lock down your opponent's receivers for as long as possible to give your pass rushers time to pressure the QB and force a bad throw, or even get a sack.

FS: Man coverage. I thought zone at first, but I find myself placing my FS in man a lot. Cover Zero man and also doubled up on the X or Y [slot] receivers needs high man coverage to make it work.

SS: Speed, tackle and zone coverage. i love to have lurking Strong Safeties. I know Ronnie Lott played a lot of FS, but he played SS from time to time as well. Rodney Harrison, Troy Polumalu, and Bob Sanders are great examples of lurking Free Safeties.

[PGaither84]

After all of that, I feel like I should say something, like "Ta-Daa!" or

THE END.





Thank you.

[OG_McNabb]

I've been waiting for this and I have not read it yet. Whether I use it or not, I'd like to say THANK YOU beforehand.

[PGaither84]

Thank you as well. The real big thing about using this information is just knowing that if you draft a QB in the 5th round, it is likely a bit early, as that player will have likely stayed on the board 3-5 more rounds and you missed out on other players. On the other hand, if you think you can wait to get a defensive end with a high OVR rating, you'll be very sad to see they vanished QUICKLY.

In the end, it still matter how you want to build your team. 3-4 or 4-3 defense? Running team, passing team, balanced team? Do you feel you need current stars at you skill positions, or are you willing to wait and draft younger players with a lot of potential, who may have been top picks in the NFL draft [like C.J Spiller, Darren McFadden, or Reggie Bush]

[OG_McNabb]

Quote: Originally Posted by PGaither84

Thank you as well. The real big thing about using this information is just knowing that if you draft a QB in the 5th round, it is likely a bit early, as that player will have likely stayed on the board 3-5 more rounds and you missed out on other players. On the other hand, if you think you can wait to get a defensive end with a high OVR rating, you'll be very sad to see they vanished QUICKLY. In the end, it still matter how you want to build your team. 3-4 or 4-3 defense? Running team, passing team, balanced team? Do you feel you need current stars at you skill positions, or are you willing to wait and draft younger players with a lot of potential, who may have been top picks in the NFL draft [like C.J Spiller, Darren McFadden, or Reggie Bush]

I've only looked at the post containing the first 10 picks but I like what you stated. The only thing is I'm in an online fantasy draft (all HUM). You may have helped me decide my first pick though. If V. Davis is there I'm taking him even though I would like a RB. I trying to build my team around the Running game on Offense and a speedy 3-4 on Defense.

[RJ SHAKER]

Thank you so much man! this helps alot and im just like you... i love lock down secondary (Corners most def) and i love the 3-4 . do you have any tips for me like coaching themes, depth chart tips, any thing that will help me in a simulation fantasy I <3 Defense