Fantasy : A Look Ahead : Dynasty Central

For those of you who had been holding out hope on your fantasy season and have a less than average record, it’s time to give in to the sadness of a losing season. The main idea of this week is to start looking towards the future. That’s the best part of dynasty leagues. When you have an off year, there’s always next year. You should always take into account the age of your current players, incoming rookie prospects, and possible steals in free agency. In this edition of Dynasty Central, we’ll cover all 3 of those important tasks.

The first thing that you need to prepare for when looking ahead to the fantasy offseason is free agency. It can’t hurt to search through NFL teams to find big name players with expiring contracts and those who you know are moving to new teams. They are the best players to bite on for next season. If you can get an early jump on those players, you could really be in shape to make a move for next season.

When looking to next season, it’s important to take the age of your current players into account. If you have an older Runningback, then you should probably look into drafting a rookie Runningback in the first round. That being said, I’m going to introduce something new to the program. Each week I’m going to give you my top 3 offensive prospects in the incoming rookie class. First up, Quarterbacks:

1. Colt McCoy (Texas) – McCoy is probably the most NFL-ready QB in the class. Some consider him the #2 prospects behind Sam Bradford, but Bradford comes out of the spread. McCoy has the tools a pro Quarterback needs to succeed.

2. Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) – It’s safe to say I have a man-crush on Bradford. He’s this year’s Matt Stafford. He’s got the playmaking abilities to make a big impact in his first year depending on where he lands.

3. Jevon Snead (Ole Miss) – If he decides to go pro, he’ll easily compete for a top 10 pick. Snead is the dark horse to be the best QB in this class. He’s got the tools you need and has shown he can perform. Look for a late first round team to grab him.

All of this is subject to change once the NFL Draft goes down, but we’ve got a while until then. In the meantime, here are my starts and sits for the week:

Start: Beanie Wells (RB/ARI) – Beanie had a big game last week, racking up over 80 yards and two touchdowns. This weekend the Cards are playing the Rams, so I’m looking to see at least 10 fantasy points out of Wells.

Sit: Michael Turner (RB/ATL) – With his high ankle sprain, Turner may not play and even if he does, he’s not going to perform all that well. Jason Snelling will get a large chunk of the leftover carries, but I wouldn’t count on the Atlanta running game this week.

Start: Justin Forsett (RB/SEA) – If you really need a 3^rd Runningback, Forsett may be your guy. He had a big week last week and is taking the load with Julius Jones ruled out. It’s a gamble but it could pay off.

Sit: Eddie Royal (WR/DEN) – Denver hasn’t had the greatest passing game and they’re playing against division rival San Diego. I’d pass on Royal for a better option this week.

As the fantasy playoffs approach, I’m going to get some last few upset picks in. Here’s the Week 11 pick:

San Diego Chargers over Denver Broncos (by 5) – The Broncos really don’t deserve to win. Terrible coaching moves and the fortunate landings of some defensive stars has earned their record that they have. They are due to lose soon and who is in a better position to beat them then the Chargers. I like the matchups in this one and if LT can get the ground game going, the Chargers should be in good shape.

If you want to submit any questions or want to get a shout-out in next week’s column, please send your e-mails to bkardane11@yahoo.com and I’ll try my best to get back to you and hopefully you can be a part of Dynasty Central for the coming weeks.