The Fantasy Football season starts as soon as the offseason does, and there is a lot of speculation starting with the NFL Draft news. Rookies are going to be judged on their ability to earn fantasy owners points and wins, even before they have taken the field, or worn the uniform.

Big name players in college don’t necessarily translate to big point getters in Fantasy Football. The hottest QB in college can quickly become a guy playing backup to a veteran starter and not see much playing time at all. The same thing goes for all positions. With the combination of salary cap space and new players coming in, some of last year’s best players may also find themselves competing with a rookie for the starting job.

That’s where the fun starts. As a Fantasy Football owner, you need to constantly stay up to date on the NFL Draft and speculate where good players to pick may be hiding. Everyone knows that Payton Manning is going to be a sought after pick, but if you analyze the draft well enough, you may know of a “sleeper” pick that’s going to a team that is going to earn a lot of playing time.

It is best to know the big name rookies, as well as the teams they are drafted to to get an estimation of how often they are going to play based on need for that position and fit with that organization. Generally NFL teams are looking to build the strongest roster that they can with a wide array of specialty players. That is what you need to do as well. One player is not going to help your season, and the only way to win is to have the best combination of points earners out there.