FANTASY

NO MORE MR. NICE GUY

Wanna win? Don't be afraid to lose friends at the draft table.
By Shawn Peters

Over the next few months, you'll have opportunities to tweak your roster. But your upcoming draft is the only chance you'll have to mess with other owners' teams. So take advantage of it, because not only can you rattle your rivals into making mistakes, you can have wicked fun doing it.

First of all, forget all that jazz about drafting a balanced team. Instead, take the top guy available for the first eight rounds—even if it leaves you with five RBs and three QBs. Keep in mind, the owners picking right after you are tracking your roster, trying to predict whom you'll take. If they see you have a QB, they'll assume they can wait on their dream gunslinger for another round. Ooh, so sorry. When you grab Derek or Drew, you'll leave them scrambling. Suddenly, you're harder to read than Dostoyevsky, and no one's taking any chances.

Another head trip: being the fastest draw at the draft. Most leagues give owners a set amount of time to make their pick, and just about everyone uses all of it after Round 1. So shake things up. Three or four picks before it's your turn, pare down your options to a few names, and as soon as the owner before you makes a selection, pull the trigger. You'll end up going with your gut, which is usually right, plus the owner after you won't have your turn on the clock to work up his own short list. This is when the unprepared say something stupid, like "Ahman Green."

Finally, feel free to cuff-block. That's when you grab the "handcuff" (backup running back) of another owner's top-10 back. For example, Adrian Peterson's owner is counting on Chester Taylor's being available late in the draft as an insurance policy, and you can really throw a wrench into his plans by snagging Taylor in the middle rounds. And when AP pulls up lame in Week 3, guess who'll be whispering sweet nothings in your ear hoping to land Taylor in a trade?

Look, if you want to be the most popular guy in your league, ignore this advice. But in the words of former Dodgers manager Leo Durocher, "Owners of a kindly disposition compete not for glory and riches." Or was it, "Nice guys finish last"? Whatever. You get the point.

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HI, MY NAME IS …

By Christopher Harris

As we learn every season, fantasy stardom is often a by-product of opportunity (hello, Ryan Grant!). Here are four guys you've never heard of who might make some noise in 2008.

TIM HIGHTOWER, RB, CARDINALS
With Marcel Shipp gone and Edgerrin James struggling to average four yards a carry, look for Hightower, a physical back fresh off a 1,900-yard season at the U. of Richmond, to get a shot as the goal-line back. Yes, J.J. Arrington is still around, but that fantasy ship sailed long ago.

MARCUS THOMAS, RB, CHARGERS
Not to freak out LT owners, but imagine a scenario in which the Chargers' No. 1 RB goes down. Do you really think tiny Darren Sproles can handle a full-time load? Me neither. Now imagine a scenario in which this fifth-rounder beats out third-rounder Jacob Hester for carries. Thomas isn't fast enough to turn the corner (hey, neither is Hester), but he is a big, powerful runner with good pass-catching hands—just the kind of profile the Chargers love.

ANTHONY ALRIDGE, RB, BRONCOS
Just like the two guys ahead of him on the depth chart (Selvin Young and Andre Hall), the lightning-quick Alridge signed as an undrafted FA. And while he's been MIA this preseason with an ankle injury, remember that Mike Shanahan isn't afraid to give chances to the unknown.

MIKE WALKER, WR, JAGUARS
Opportunities abound in Jacksonville. Reggie Williams missed most of camp after knee surgery, Jerry Porter is battling hamstring issues and Matt Jones has a drug-trial date in October that could prove distracting. Walker was a big-time playmaker at UCF, and despite a case of the dropsies in camp, he has good hands.

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