2009 Bookmarks: Ronnie Brown And Steve Smith

Posted On Wednesday, February 10, 2010 by JakeTrain |

Most people are getting ready to pack up sshop on fantasy football, diving into other sports. Yet keeper and dynasty leagues require owners to be attentive throughout the off-season. READ MORE

If you are fairly new to fantasy football, enjoyed the fun of setting lineups each week and are looking to amp up the volume on your fantasy football hobby I suggest taking a look at keeper and dynasty leagues.

As with any league, there is a great deal of customization in these leagues. I'm not going to get into all the styles and types of leagues out there in this post, but I encourage you to explore the landscape prior to the 2010 fantasy football season.

If you are already playing in one of these leagues, you are aware of the challenges associated with choosing your "core" players. I've found one of the harder decisions to make is determining just when to let go of a solid fantasy veteran and roll with the younger developing stud.

Jerome Harrison and Jamaal Charles are examples of running backs that performed admireably down the stretch. So much so that the collective fantasy community is carrying that praise by moving these guys up their early rankings. In their wake lies a slew of fantasy veterans who are a little less shiny but still have plenty of gas left in the tank. These guys are being overlooked now and you can expect them to be overlooked even more after the NFL Draft when OTA's begin.

I thought I would take a quick look at two of these players before the season is too far removed. Leaving a few "bookmarks" from the previous season is extremely helpful in jumpstarting your preparation later in the year.

RB Ronnie Brown, Miami Dolphins - Brown is injury prone. Brown is good. Brown is actually really good. I'm not suggesting he is a player worth taking in the first round, but he is a first round talent when healthy. How many people wrote off Fred Taylor once he was labeled "injury-prone?" You might not get a full season from him, but he's a poor man's RB1 that can be had after the first round. He'll be passed by from risk averse owners until he falls in the lap from an owner making an educated gamble.

WR Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers - Smith may be the hardest to cover in the NFL. He is tough and can score any time he touches the ball. Injuries and quarterback issues have kept his fantasy output down in recent years. He is essentially the Ronnie Brown of the WR position. If you made Smith a part of your fantasy team in recent years, you probably don't want him on your squad. If your leaguemates fall asleep on him, be ready to scoop him up.

So what do you do with these players in keeper leagues? Your league settings and keeper rules will ultimately make the choice for you. If you keep four or less players in your league these guys are less likely to be kept making it possible for you to reacquire them at a more reasonable value. In leagues keeping a deeper pool of players, you have to keep them based on talent and potential alone. In these leagues, you might be wise to explore some trading opportunities as well.

Identifying brand names with above-average risk associated with them is a good starting place when looking for potential bargains for the 2010 fantasy football season when everyone is chasing the next Ray Rice or Maurice Jones-Drew.

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