Who's #1?

Either you earned the first pick through failure of circumstance and underwhelming play or just by overt chance, what do you do in the catbird seat for 2015?  

To me there's the top four of RBs - and everyone else.

In my order of preference …

Photo: CBSSportsline.com

1) Adrian Peterson: No matter what your personal take is, remember you're not picking him for father of the year. A full year off means he's fresher than you think despite him turning 30.

Other keys to consider:
 A) Norv Turner. An offensive genius - kids ask your dads about Emmitt Smith.

B) Teddy Bridgewater. The Vikings offense is surging with the second-year QB at the heart of it. Bridgewater started the last 12 games last year and got better every week, despite never throwing more than 2 TDs in a game. But, sleeper WR Charles Johnson and newly added Mike Wallace with a healthy TE Kevin Rudolph are all huge signs that better days are coming.

His 2,000+ season of 2012 and near-1,300 2013 year were with Christian Ponder at quarterback. He's played and produced with the likes of Matt Cassel and Tavares Jackson.

C) Consistency - as long as Peterson is healthy, worry not. Prior to 2014's suspension, he hit double-digit TDs every year of his career. At No. 1 you need a sure thing.

Photo: Fansided.com

2) Jamaal Charles: Five straight 1,000 yard seasons plus his 14 combined touchdowns last year placed him second behind Marshawn Lynch in running back scoring. He could arguably pass for the top pick.

Yay: Charles as TD-anytime speed (career 5.0 yard per carry mark) and has proven to be Alex Smith-proof.

In 2014 he also overcame a start that only inspired panic with 23 yards in his first two games and a week three ankle sprain. In the passing game,  free agent prize Jeremy Maclin will give the Chiefs a deep threat replacing the corpse of Dwayne Bowe as a No. 1 receiver.

Nay: His yards rushing dropped from 1,500 to 1,200 to just over 1,000 last year and his TD total is misleading. Charles ran for nine scores but picked up a fluky five scoring catches while his receiving totals dropped by about 30 catches and 400 yards from 2013's career receiving highs.


3) Le'Veon Bell: His suspension was dropped to two games. But that, combined with the Steelers' bye, leaves fantasy owners without him for three games - roughly a quarter of the regular season.

His upside is great, after hitting just shy of 1,400 yards in his second year, featuring a huge leap in performance after a solid rookie year. Not to mention the lethal Pittsburgh passing game which saw Bell snag 83 catches and a threat like Antonio Brown to keep defenses guessing.

His rushing TD numbers are also due to go up, since he somehow landed on eight scores in back to back seasons.

Just by handcuffing with DeAngelo Williams does not a plug-in replacement starter make. Williams is a shaky at best stand-in.


4) Eddie Lacy: He might be riding shotgun to Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, but first-world problems, people.

Photo: FoxSports.com

His touchdowns went up from 11 to 13 in his second season and he became a bigger part of the passing game, piling on nearly 200 more yards. With Jordy Nelson out and Randall Cobb battling preseason injury, Green Bay should be leaning on the run a little more than usual until the receiver position figures itself out.

This would be an out-side the box pick, but flush with upside. By 2016, the draft argument could be which third-year back - Bell or Lacey - should go No. 1.

Also receiving votes:

From: USA TodayAlso receiving votes:

Marshawn Lynch: A picture of consistency, he's averaged 13 rushing touchdowns the past three years and landed between 1,200 and 1,600 rushing yards. Shockingly, he crept up near 400 receiving yards a year ago.

But just as QB Russell Wilson is ascending, Lynch is going the opposite way. With Wilson improving and new top pass target Jimmy Graham along plus the addition of free agent RB Fred Jackson to steal carries, yuck.

I'd leave Marshawn for the mid- to late first round.

Shake up your snake draft - and pick a card

Any card.

The traditional "snake draft" has been around as long as the art of fantasy football itself.  Of course, that's when the draft order flip-flops round to round. The team to pick first goes last in the next round and so forth.

Instead, try shuffling up and picking cards to determine your draft fate. And not just doing it once, but every round.

First pick a round using team owners to determine a card picking order - like a  batting lineup. This way there is a rotation as to who picks in what order and it stops the possibility of everyone grabbing cards wily-nily.

Next, pick people to shuffle and lay down the cards in between every round. You might pick the 10-card three times in a row but it is a statistical long shot. And even if a bad run of luck rears it's head, don't fret, there's always another round.

It's a spontaneous way to run your draft and utterly random. And just because you may get stuck at the end of a few important rounds, doesn't mean you still can't lay in wait and capitalize on the mistakes of others.

It stretches the time of the draft a bit, but it's worth the wait. No matter if it's the fourth or the 14th round, there's a thrill knowing you might not wait long at all for your next pick, once the cards get flipped.

IMPORTANT: Obviously this refers to the old fashioned, drafting in person scenario. Online the snake is the only option for those not in auction leagues.

In my10-team league, we use the Ace as the first pick through the 10 card. For leagues bigger than that, use the Jack and Queen, or other face cards for picks 11, 12, etc.

What is a War Room?

Think of this as your Fantasy Football think tank. A place for draft ruminations, draft strategies, player stock assessments, tips and trends.

The War Room is where the tough choices get made on the clock every draft day or in most our cases, every fantasy draft day. But it's not draft specific -- every time you ruminate on a free agent, consider dropping some draft day baggage two months into the season or even ponder a team name change, the War Room is wherever you're at.

I've been playing fantasy football for almost 20 years in about five leagues per season. And just like you, no doubt, I have the names of players who've contributed to heroism and heartbreak seared into my soul. The main concentration here will be fantasy football, but not exclusively.

Besides running my own league, I play fantasy side games including the Fantasy College Bowl, Fantasy Super Bowl Grab Bag and more, which in due time, we'll get to.

I have written columns for SI.com for the past two years, while also juggling multiple leagues and trying to maintain a real life as a staff writer and part-time sports writer for the News-Herald.

In the meantime stick around, take a look and remember - fantasy football knows no off-season.