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I got an e-mail today from a lady that taught my middle school English class asking for advice on fantasy football. I decided to go ahead and make a blog out of it, thinking that it may be of use to anyone else that isn't sure of a strategy when it comes to drafting a fantasy football team. Hopefully my grammar will still pass her test several years later.

First off, I don't really employ a certain strategy when I draft a fantasy team. The only real strategy for me is to take the best player available for a position that I need. I know that most "experts" say that you should draft a running back first, but I don't know that putting more emphasis on a certain position in the first round is a good idea. After the first round, I usually look to fill positions that generally touch the ball more.

I usually only participate in one league, so I am stuck building the team that I draft throughout the season. I doubt that I will have a very good team this year, but that is due mostly to the fact that I had a terrible draft position more than anything. I was in the 15th out of 16 positions, and, for the first time that I can remember, draft order was the same in every round. The order didn't reverse every round like it does in most leagues, so I was often left with a pretty thin selection. I am in the first season of an ESPN keeper league. Here is my team as I drafted it:

Round 1: Randy Moss, WR, New England Patriots

Round 2: Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Seattle Seahawks

Round 3: Reggie Bush, RB, New Orleans Saints

Round 4: Chicago Bears Defense/Special Teams

Round 5: Tony Scheffler, TE, Denver Broncos

Round 6: Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions

Round 7: Nate Kaeding, Kicker, San Diego Chargers'

Round 8: Patrick Crayton, RB/WR, Dallas Cowboys

Round 9: Chris Brown, RB, Houston Texans (Dropped for Kolby Smith, RB, Kansas City Chiefs)

Round 10: Trent Edwards, QB, Buffalo Bills

Round 11: Nate Burleson, WR, Seattle Seahawks

Round 12: Kevin Boss, TE, New York Giants

Round 13: Najeh Davenport, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers (Dropped for Anthony Alridge, RB, Denver Broncos)

Round 14: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense/Special Teams

Round 15: DeSean Jackson, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Round 16: Sean Suisham, Kicker, Washington Redskins

Conventional wisdom says to take a RB with your first pick. I took Randy Moss because, simply, he was the best player available when my draft position came up. All of the marquee running backs were off the board, and I imagine that Moss will be very productive again this year. He probably won't match last year's fantasy production, but he will be among the leaders again.

Matt Hasselbeck was the best quarterback available with the 31st overall pick, so I took him. I figured that I could get a 2nd-tier running back in the 3rd round, so I took a QB that will produce better than a lot of others at that position. He figures to throw the ball a lot this year, as Seattle's running attack won't be very potent.

After that, I looked to plug holes with the best player available. Reggie Bush probably isn't the best running back to have, but I took a flier on him in a high round. I think that he will catch a lot of passes out of the backfield this year. With good receivers and Jeremy Shockey in the fold, he will be the open man on a lot of plays, and I think that he could produce at a higher level than he has in the past.

Most don't think that drafting a defense is good in the higher rounds, but it is when you can get a D that will get you a lot of points. In this case, I also got the special teams, which is why I selected the Bears. They always have a good defense, and I got Devin Hester to go with it by virtue of the special teams.

I may have handled the draft differently if my draft position was more favorable. It wasn't, though, so this is the way it shook out in the end.