Eric Parker Out 10 Weeks

San Diego Chargers WR Eric Parker will miss the start of the season, and possibly as many as six games after having surgery on his big toe Friday afternoon. If he does miss the full 10 weeks, as the Chargers expect, he will likely not be able to play until Oct. 28 against Houston. This is bad news for a WR that was hoping to move up in the world this season, but for us fantasy players the injury opens the door for rookie WR Craig Davis to make a move. Davis should be the WR2 for the Chargers and have ample opportunity to help your fantasy team. Draft him as a sleeper and a WR4 at best.

Pre-Season Kickoff
It wasn't on cable TV, but the pre-season kicked off last night in the NFL. The Steelers beat the Saints 20-7. Nothing really happened in the fantasy world as most of the "real" players were on the bench. WR Santonio Holmes did catch a TD pass and he could be a nice draft selection in your upcoming drafts. The good news is that football is officially here. 

More Player News

Former LSU receiver Dwayne Bowe, who was the 23rd overall pick in the draft, agreed to terms with the Chiefs on Sunday, sources told ESPN.com's John Clayton. Bowe is expected in camp Monday. Bowe is very talented but he doesn't have a QB or a respectable offense going for him, so only draft him in keeper/dynasty leagues.

Cleveland Browns QB Charlie Frye is making impressive strides in recent training camp practices. After getting off to a slow, if not miserable start, Frye is now making some noise and putting pressure on Derek Anderson as the QB battle heats up. Don't buy into the optimism. Frye and Anderson are both QBs that should not be drafted in fantasy leagues.

New Orleans Saints WR Robert Meachem is still recovering from a knee injury, and it shows. His play during recent practices has been described as "erratic", and he's currently behind David Patten for the third receiver position. Meachem is a good draft selection in dynasty leagues but he cannot be depended on for redraft leagues. However, WRs Marques Colston and Devery Henderson are both very good draft selections.

Chicago Bears RB Cedric Benson has been fumbling regularly in training camp and has been losing snaps to Adrian Peterson. In fact, it's been Peterson, and not Benson that has been taking most of the snaps with the first team unit as of Saturday. I still believe Benson will be a very good RB this season. He should get the majority of the snaps for a very good Bears team. He is a second round draft selection in almost all redraft leagues.

Rookie wide receiver Calvin Johnson signed a six-year deal with the Detroit Lions on Friday, ending the No. 2 overall pick's eight-day holdout. Johnson is a stud and a freak of a talent. He should be taken #1 in dynasty leagues and drafted as a WR3 in redraft leagues. Take a chance on this guy, because he is something special.

The Stud WR Theory

This strategy is one that I have been forced to follow the past two seasons. Shockingly enough, although wildly inconsistent and lacking confidence, I have won back-to-back division titles. I know, unbelievable isn't it? I was forced into this approach by having the misfortune of selecting near the end of our serpentine draft, and had to find a way to keep up with the Tomlinson's.

The theory of this strategy is that instead of picking from the scrapings of running backs your fellow owners have left you with your top two picks; you instead take the top two wide receivers on the board. Starting out with players such as Marvin Harrison and Terrell Owens can give you an advantage over all of your opponents at this position on any given week. Seeing these top two receivers go may also spark a run on the position, thus leaving you more attractive options at running backs in the rounds to follow.

One other highlight to this strategy is that the top wide receivers in the league are usually consistent in their production from season to season, and every year there are running backs drafted before them that don't live up to the hype. See Cadillac Williams, Lamont Jordan and Ronnie Brown from 2006, all of which went before I selected Harrison.

The problem with this strategy is that wide receivers can be extremely erratic and you are now forced to draft even lesser talented running backs with your next two or three picks. Most also agree that the talent pool at wide receiver is much deeper than at the running back position, so how much of an advantage are you really going to have?

Like I said in the beginning, I have been forced to use this strategy two years in a row and have been fortunate enough to see success, but I was probably the most prepared owner going into the draft knowing that this was my fate. With your 3rd-5th round picks certain to be running backs, make sure you do your homework on the players that will be available to you in those rounds. Research and preparation such as Mock Drafting will help immensely and if you are lucky enough to uncover a diamond in the rough or find that rookie that outperforms expectations, it will make your season much less stressful when the LaDainian's and LJ's are scoring at will, knowing you still have a chance.

Championships have been won with numerous strategies and tactics on draft day. Weather you chose to follow the SRBT, VBD, the Stud WR Theory, make sure you have A plan. Do your research, study hard and find what will work best for you based on your league, and take that plan to the draft with confidence.