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Byline: Josh Bousquet

COLUMN: FANTASY SPORTS

As anyone who tried Crystal Pepsi or New Coke can tell you, there's no substitute for the real thing. That is why no matter how many preseason rankings you consult, any solid fantasy player should also consult average draft positions (ADP) to prepare for a draft.

Every fantasy draft comes with some surprises - Johnny's drinking LITE beer? - but when the aberrations are removed, they mostly follow predictable patterns and these can be seen through ADP.

Where this tactic can be most beneficial is in the early rounds. It is impossible to keep one's personal feelings out of the game all the time; we all have players we love, and some we despise for no good reason. Then there are the players forever tainted in our minds because of some hearsay story someone once told us they heard from someone who heard it from someone who knew the player's college roommate. And if there's one thing we can all agree on, it should be that we should not be valued solely on some of our college choices.

Letting those things affect your early-round choices, though, will spell disaster. Those picks usually will not win a fantasy season, but they can destroy it.

So in the interests of not destroying your season before it even starts, I have included the first three rounds of average draft picks from fantasyfootballcalculator.com and fftoolbox.com with this column.

What is immediately clear at the top is that there are four top picks. Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Michael Turner and Matt Forte make up a leading tier of running back whose prominence is shown by the sudden introduction of wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald after them.

And, that, my friends, is one of those potentially season-destroying picks.

Yes, there is a definite drop-off to the next tier of running backs. Yes, Fitzgerald is probably the best fantasy receiver this year. No, he shouldn't be picked as the fifth overall selection, and definitely not as the top overall pick, which fantasyfootballcalculator reported as happening.

If you have the fifth pick, your team is going to be better with a LaDainian Tomlinson or a Steven Jackson at that spot. If you wait for the next pick to snake around, you'll still be able to fill your WR slot with the likes of Steve Smith, Roddy White, Marques Colston or Anquan Boldin. If you wait to try to get your first RB there, you'll be stuck instead with a Brian Westbrook or Clinton Portis.

The second tier of running backs is actually so good, that I can't believe Steve Slaton slips into the back end of the first round or early second. In a time when NFL teams that have one feature running back is decreasing, Slaton is the guy in Houston, a team with enough weapons to keep the running game active, and he ran for more than 1,200 yards last season.

People are jumping on a wide receiver at No. 5 and letting someone like Slaton slip from the first round? That makes as much sense as using anesthesia to sleep at night.

With the decrease in one-back NFL systems, it is also more difficult to legitimize the long-held fantasy ideal of getting a running back with your first two draft picks. As more fantasy owners try to get the next big thing and overreach early, it seems to have let legitimate, proven fantasy stars slip.

For example, even with fervent hopes that the Lions' new offensive scheme opens up some more scoring opportunities and possibly even gets them a win this season, how can one really be more satisfied with staking a claim to Calvin Johnson than to someone like Peyton Manning?

The Colts QB is still tossing to All-Pro Reggie Wayne; Johnson is still catching passes from either all-gimpy Daunte Culpepper or all-rookie Matthew Stafford.

Beyond the rapid-fire time of the first three rounds, though, there is another thing that one notices when consulting the average draft position charts. And it is that there are always stupid owners.

Like, who is the idiot who selected Stephen Gostkowski in the seventh round at fantasyfootballcalculator? The seventh round means it wasn't even a mistake; at that point, the owner already understood the drafting system. The best kicker in the history of kickers would never be worth a seventh-round pick. They simply never get the opportunity to be that much better than anyone else at the position. They are at the mercy of the rest of the team and should always be final picks.

And now that you have these handy average draft position numbers, you can make a valid attempt to not be that type of moron.

Josh Bousquet can be reached by e-mail at [e-mail].

By the numbers

Fantasyfootballcalculator.com

Rank Name Team Pos.

1 Adrian Peterson Min RB

2 Maurice Jones-Drew Jac RB

3 Michael Turner Atl RB

4 Matt Forte Chi RB

5 Larry Fitzgerald Ari WR

6 LaDainian Tomlinson SD RB

7 DeAngelo Williams Car RB

8 Randy Moss NE WR

9 Steven Jackson StL RB

10 Andre Johnson Hou WR

11 Chris Johnson Ten RB

12 Steve Slaton Hou RB

13 Drew Brees NO QB

14 Calvin Johnson Det WR

15 Frank Gore SF RB

16 Tom Brady NE QB

17 Reggie Wayne Ind WR

18 Brandon Jacobs NYG RB

19 Greg Jennings GB WR

20 Brian Westbrook Phi RB

21 Steve Smith Car WR

22 Roddy White Atl WR

23 Marques Colston NO WR

24 Anquan Boldin Ari WR

25 Peyton Manning Ind QB

26 Clinton Portis Was RB

27 Marion Barber Dal RB

28 Ryan Grant GB RB

29 Aaron Rodgers GB QB

30 Wes Welker NE WR

31 Pierre Thomas NO RB

32 Ronnie Brown Mia RB

33 Kevin Smith Det RB

34 Terrell Owens Buf WR

35 T.J. Houshmandzadeh Sea WR

36 Dwayne Bowe KC WR

www.fftoolbox.com

Rank Name Team Pos.

1 Adrian Peterson Min RB

2 Maurice Jones-Drew Jac RB

3 Matt Forte Chi RB

4 Michael Turner Atl RB

5 Larry Fitzgerald Ari WR

6 Steve Jackson StL RB

7 LaDainian Tomlinson SD RB

8 DeAngelo Williams Car RB

9 Chris Johnson Ten RB

10 Andre Johnson Hou WR

11 Drew Brees NO QB

12 Randy Moss NE WR

13 Frank Gore SF RB

14 Steve Slaton Hou RB

15 Tom Brady NE QB

16 Calvin Johnson Det WR

17 Brian Westbrook Phi RB

18 Reggie Wayne Ind WR

19 Brandon Jacobs NYG RB

20 Peyton Manning Ind QB

21 Greg Jennings GB WR

22 Marion Barber Dal RB

23 Steve Smith Car WR

24 Clinton Portis Was RB

25 Roddy White Atl WR

26 Anqun Boldin StL WR

27 Marques Colston NO WR

28 Aaron Rodgers GB QB

29 Ronnie Brown Mia RB

30 Wes Welker NE WR

31 Ryan Grant GB RB

32 Philip Rivers SD QB

33 Dwayne Bowe KC WR

34 Kevin Smith Det RB

35 Terrell Owens Buf WR

36 Pierre Thomas NO RB