As I've mentioned before, I have been on the lookout for some industry expert leagues to get into this season to represent FFChamps.com and promote our product a little more. I've found a couple of pretty good ones, and on Monday evening I took part in my first industry experts league draft of the year. I am competing in this particular league against 11 other fantasy football outlets, including pros from USA Today, CBS Sportsline, Pro Football Weekly, FFIndepth.com (the organizer of the league) and many others.

This league uses the same rules as the World Championship of Fantasy Football, most notably it's a point-per-reception (PPR) league. Our lineup consists of one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker, one team defense, and a flex position player (WR, TE, or RB).

I had the fifth overall pick, so after Maurice Jones-Drew went No. 1 (mistake!), Adrian Peterson went second, and Matt Forte went third, I was sitting on either Larry Fitzgerald Jr. or Andre Johnson with my pick. Remember, in PPR leagues like this, the popular strategy of taking a running back in the first round does not always apply. Well, as fate would have it, Fitz went No. 4 to PFW so I grabbed Johnson. (Yes, Beavis, that's what I said).

I employed the "do the opposite" strategy and ended up with a team I like a lot, including Johnson, Greg Jennings, and Peyton Manning with my first three picks, and three 1,000-yard rushers (Ryan Grant, Derrick Ward, and Thomas Jones) in my backfield.

For those of you unfamiliar with the "opposite" draft strategy, I invite you to check out our Fantasy Football University class on Fantasy Football Terminology. It's free to non-subscribers, like all of the FFU classes. For further details on doing the opposite, FFChamps subscribers can take a look at the article I published today on Draft Strategy.

Here's how my team turned out, ordered by round:

1. Andre Johnson, WR, Texans
2. Greg Jennings, WR, Packers
3. Peyton Manning, QB, Colts
4. Ryan Grant, RB, Packers
5. Derrick Ward, RB, Buccaneers
6. Thomas Jones, RB, Jets
7. Bernard Berrian, WR, Vikings
8. John Carlson, TE, Seahawks
9. Percy Harvin, WR, Vikings
10. Eli Manning, QB, Giants
11. Minnesota Vikings Defense
12. Justin Gage, WR, Titans
13. Earnest Graham, RB, Buccaneers
14. Kevin Boss, TE, Giants
15. James Davis, RB, Browns
16. Jason Elam, K, Falcons
17. Rashad Jennings, RB, Jaguars
18. Ryan Longwell, K, Vikings

According to the FFChamps C3 cheat sheet for PPR leagues, I have the No. 2 quarterback, No. 2 and No. 6 wide receivers, No. 2 kicker, No. 2 team defense, and the No. 6 tight end. Waiting on running backs hurt my depth there, but I still wound up with three top-20 backs. I like my sleepers (Justin Gage and Kevin Boss) and I like Eli Manning's matchup on Peyton's bye week (vs. Saints). Moreover, my two rookie running backs could surprise and I handcuffed Graham to Ward. I also don't have any bye week issues. All in all, I would say the draft was a success.

Here is my Week 1 Lineup:

QB - Peyton Manning
RB - Derrick Ward
RB - Ryan Grant
WR - Andre Johnson
WR - Greg Jennings
WR - Bernard Berrian
Flex - Thomas Jones
TE - John Carlson
K - Jason Elam
D - Vikings

Let me know what you think of my team.  I look forward to carrying the FFChamps flag to a championship in this league!

While it's never too early to start preparing for the fantasy football season ahead, there is definitely such a thing as "too early" when it comes to holding your league's draft or auction. I know of some leagues that have their drafts soon after the NFL conducts their's at the end of April. That's just plain silly! Even drafting right now is a tad ridiculous. And I'm not talking about mock drafts, either. Mocks are always an effective tool for getting ready for the real thing...which should happen in August at the earliest.

To clarify, I am not completely against holding fantasy football rookie drafts for those in dynasty and keeper leagues in June or July; however, it's still best to wait whenever possible. As far as non-rookie drafts go (meaning 99 percent of the fantasy drafts out there) holding them prior to August will mean drafting before you know all that can be gleaned from preseason games and training camps.

Think of all that remains unsettled. There are numerous position battles that remain to be fought out in camps and preseason games.  Depth charts are not even close to being finalized. Most of the rookies remain unsigned. We still don't know for sure whether Brett Favre will be a Viking, Brandon Marshall will remain a Bronco, Anquan Boldin will remain a Cardinal, or Braylon Edwards will remain a Brown. Will Michael Vick play this season? What about Plaxico Burress? Will Tom Brady truly be 100 percent once the hitting starts? When will Brian Westbrook be ready to play?

The later your league holds your draft, the better chance there is of knowing the answers to these, and myriad other, questions.

Then there's the injury factor. The disappointment and frustration of drafting a player the last week in July only to see him shred his knee in the team's second preseason game can't be measured. I've seen it happen too many times and it's never fun for anyone.

We know you are excited to get started; so are we.  But at what cost?  Just wait until August, late August if possible. Early September works even better.  Week 1 doesn't kick off until September 10 this year, so there's plenty of time. 

In the meantime, I suggest getting your drafting fix here at FFChamps, by doing some mock drafts using the industry's best mock draft tool. No, it's not the real thing, but the real thing is worth the wait...with the emphasis on "wait."

I didn't mean to frighten anyone away with that headline. No, I'm not referring to myself when I say "looking good in shorts," though my wife my argue that I do and that's all that matters to me.

But I digress.

What I am referring to with the "looking good in shorts" headline is the tendency to overreact to news coming out of OTA's and minicamps at this time of year. This can happen both positively and negatively. Hearing about players who are in the "best shape of their career" is common at the start of summer. Those players inevitably wind up getting hurt. Or so it seems. Even if they avoid injury, it's best not to overreact to June hyperbole. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard about a player in the best shape of his career in June, I'd add a gym onto my house so I could get in the best shape of my career. You need to be in good shape to write, you know.

Seriously, players are running around with shorts on in minicamp. And there's no contact. Well, ok, there's not supposed to be any contact per league rules, but it's a thinly-veiled secret that there's already some contact going on prior to training camps. Still, there's not a lot of contact, and until players are out there in full uniform going full speed and hitting one another it's hard to make any sweeping judgments. Being in shape is different than being in football shape. Ask any player.

Therefore, when I hear about guys like Marques Colston or Reggie Bush looking good in Saints minicamp this past weekend, I have to stifle a yawn. It means almost nothing. Both are coming off of microfracture knee surgeries... and I have yet to see a player not have trouble coming back from said procedure. I will await final fantasy evaluation until the reviews trickle in from training camp and preseason games. Similarly, the Colts Anthony Gonzalez hurt his leg over the weekend in practice. Yawn! The word is he might be back in practice this week and the last I checked they don't play a game that counts until September.

There are exceptions, of course. Brian Westbrook undergoing ankle surgery that may sideline him much of the preseason is news. Big news. I have heard some say that he will be absolutely fine by the time the season starts. I have heard others suggest he will not be 100 percent all season. Judging by the number of injuries he has had, the length of time they have lingered (he injured this ankle last September), and the fact that he turns 30 before the season starts, I am officially concerned.

As a rule, however, remember that while it is important to stay abreast of the news at this time of year so that you know what to look for once training camps begin, it's imperative not to overreact to the little injuries and the glowing reviews of players looking good in shorts.

The Miami Dolphins made a splash last year by rolling out the widcat offense to upset the Patriots in Week 3.  It mattered to fantasy owners because the game made a one-week fantasy monster out of Ronnie Brown, as he rushed for four touchdowns and passed for another.  He single-handedly decided games that week. Brown would only score six touchdowns the rest of the season and the wildcat offense failed to take the league by storm, leaving many to write off the whole idea.

No doubt the single-wing gadget plays that are run in the wildcat are gimmicky. Warren Sapp even called them disrespectful. The scheme has never consistently worked beyond the college football level, but there is no rule that it can't; especially when you have an increasing number of "slash" like players entering the league.

The Dolphins aren't letting the offense go. Rather they are seeking to augment it in 2009, and they drafted wide receiver/quarterback Pat White to help them in that regard. The Ravens dabbled in it effectively with Troy Smith last season. Now the Vikings are practicing the formation in minicamp with Percy Harvin taking the snaps. Other teams like the Jaguars, Cowboys, and Raiders (Darren McFadden ran it in college at Arkansas) are rumored to be considering it as well.

One other name that is starting to crop up in wildcat discussions: Michael Vick. He may be available to return to the NFL soon and the wildcat offense would seem to suit his skill set perfectly.

In short, I think the wildcat offense is not going away any time soon. I don't know that it's going to revolutionize NFL offenses, but at a minimum it will force defenses to have more wrinkles to prepare for. For instance, the Vikings may run it just enough to give opposing defenses fits because it will be just another way to get Harvin and Adrian Peterson on the field at the same time. Talk about a defensive coordinator's nightmare!

Will it change the way I draft my teams this year? No, not really. But I'll be keeping an eye on the wildcat this preseason, and I'll be prepared to change player values here at FFChamps if need be. The more likely scenario is that the widlcat may start impacting player values and in-season pickups this season and the offense may have a meaningful fantasy draft day impact as soon as next year.