Bernard's Flow of Thoughts

Training camps have begun, which means you’ll soon be in the midst of your league’s fantasy football draft. If you are fortunate enough to have the No. 1 pick, this will be one of the harder years to figure out who you should draft first. Todd Gurley led all running backs in fantasy scoring among running backs in 2017, though that was his first and only year to finish in the top five in PPR scoring leagues. Over the last two years, no player has impacted fantasy teams than Le’Veon Bell, especially when it comes to PPR. During that span, Bell has caught a ridiculous 160 passes, the most among any running back. Unsurprisingly, he’s been the highest-scoring non-quarterback player during that span. If you get the top pick in a PPR league, Bell is your best bet, especially now that he’ll play under the franchise tag for potentially the final time, making 2018 effectively a contract year for him. If you choose to go wide receiver in Round 1, you’ll have an interesting debate between DeA

The 2018 fantasy football season is almost here, which means you’ll soon be in your league’s fantasy draft attempting to build a title-winning team. That will begin with whichever selection you have in Round 1, which, as usual, will be loaded with great running backs from which to choose. This is actually one of the deeper classes of proven backs that will go in the first round of most drafts. Le’Veon Bell and Todd Gurley top the list, followed by Ezekiel Elliott , Kareem Hunt , and Devonta Freeman . All of them have finished in the top three of scoring among running backs at least once in their career. If you choose to go wide receiver with your first pick, there are some worthy first-round options in Antonio Brown , Julio Jones, and DeAndre Hopkins to pick from. The way this year is shaping up, your first-round pick needs to be either a running back or receiver, as there aren’t any tight ends or quarterbacks worthy of a first-round pick in most standard leagues. Quarterback es

Normally, fantasy owners do not pay too much attention to the bye week period. However, with bye weeks starting in Week 4 and wrapping in Week 12, owners need to pay more attention to when players sit this season. It is smart to be prepared for your best player to miss a critical week. The last month of the fantasy regular season, 20 teams will have a bye week. Notable players such as Tom Brady, Travis Kelce, DeShaun Watson, Todd Gurley, Jarvis Landry, and Zach Ertz will miss a game in the final four games of the fantasy regular season. Most owners will feel the effect of these late season bye weeks. Best to be prepared for this problem instead of caught off guard. Week 4 - Carolina Panthers, Washington Quarterbacks - Cam Newton, Alex Smith Running Backs - Christian McCaffrey, Derrius Guice, C.J. Anderson, Chris Thompson, Samaje Perine, Robert Kelley Wide Receivers - Devin Funchess, Jamison Crowder, Josh Doctson, D.J. Moore, Paul Richardson, Curtis Samuel, Torrey Smith Tight End

In fantasy football, owners hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Usually that means drafting a cast of running backs from various teams. However, sometimes the best fantasy No. 2 rusher is on the same team as the starter. Picking up a handcuff in your fantasy draft often proves to be a smart strategy. Here’s a look at all 32 NFL running back starters and their primary handcuffs for 2018. Projected Starter: David Johnson Handcuff: Chase Edmonds Johnson returns to his starting job after missing almost all of 2017 with a wrist injury. The Cardinals are hoping he can stay healthy and return to glory this season. In the event Johnson does go down, they have rookie Chase Edmonds waiting in the wings. Edmonds has been impressive this offseason and he is expected to land the No. 2 role ahead of T.J. Logan. The fourth-rounder out of Fordham has a high fantasy upside because he can handle the load as an every-down back in Johnson’s absence. Projected Starter: Devonta Freeman Ha

The 2018 NFL season is fast approaching, with training camp in full swing, and the preseason schedule kicking into gear. August is when fantasy football drafts take priority, whether you are drafting for a single year, or you’re in the deepest of dynasty leagues. Everybody has some kind of strategy when they head into their annual fantasy draft. And most everyone sees their strategy derailed at some point. Regardless, you will have tough decisions to make when it comes to younger players in the NFL. Rookies in particular are extra difficult. Until an NFL rookie takes his first steps on the field, we’re working off of collegiate accomplishments, situation, and opportunity. Let’s take a look at how those elements can help or hurt the top-20 rookies ranked below: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports Saquon Barkley, RB New York Giants The Giants could have drafted their quarterback of the future second overall, but instead they made it clear they are going to ride out the Eli Mannin