In a fantasy football league, should you draft a kicker or a defensive unit first? The reasons for drafting kickers and defenses are obvious. Both are relatively easy to draft, but their range of points is relatively small compared to other positions. In addition, if you’re drafting a defense, you’ll have the advantage of having a defensive unit at your disposal.

Drafting a kicker

It is a good idea to draft a kicker or defense first, but not both. A good kicker is a necessary piece of any fantasy football team, and it can provide at least 10 points per week. If you’re drafting your kicker first, you’ll have to be patient, as the difference between a good kicker and a bad one is negligible. If you can afford a high pick, take the kicker you’ve selected early and fill the rest of your roster later.

Fortunately, there’s no hard rule that dictates which position should come first. You can, however, choose a kicker early if your team is struggling on offense. If a team has a good kicker, drafting him in the third or fourth round is a mistake. You’ll likely get some mockery from other leagues, and you won’t be able to win the championship.

Keep in mind that a high-powered offense will produce more fantasy points than a low-powered one. Kickers with good early-season matchups are worth the risk. While the difference between a high-powered offense and a low-scoring one is small, the difference between a kicker and a low-ranked team is massive. If you’re lucky enough to draft one of these players early, you’ll be getting the most fantasy points from them during the entire season.

Drafting a defense

While drafting a kicker is one of the most important positions, a team’s defense is often a weak link. Kickers tend to go early and all 10 teams had drafted one by the time they reached the seventh round. Wide receivers did not put up big numbers and four teams waited until the final pick to draft a tight end. Depending on the position, a defensive unit may provide more value than a kicker, but in most cases, this is not the case.

Fortunately, there are some ways to avoid this situation. First, draft your defense as early as possible. While you should never draft a kicker with the same position as another team, you may want to consider the Jets and Bears defenses. Both defenses allow fewer points per game, and both have some big-play DBs. You can also draft a D/ST unit before you draft a kicker.

The number of defenses you draft varies by league and best ball site. For example, the Fantasy Football Players Championship requires three defenses and has a 9.8% win rate, making three defenses the ideal starting unit. The Best Ball 10s requires only two defenses, and accounts for 69.9% of teams. Regardless of which site you use, you should always draft a defense first before you draft a kicker.

Drafting a running back

There are some obvious reasons to draft a running back before a kicker, defense, or kicker in your fantasy football draft. While many teams split their running back duties between two or three backs, the reality is that one of them will emerge as the team’s top RB and receive more carries. The best way to avoid this situation is to draft a running back in the first round of the draft.

Running backs are often the most valuable position in fantasy football, but they are not worth much before the second and third rounds. In the first round, you might consider drafting a tight end or split-carry back, but their value drops significantly after that. By the time you reach the last round, you’re left with only the RB#2 and RB#3 positions. A late round pick will have some value if injuries occur or if the running back is released early.

As a general rule, running backs should be selected in the first round, regardless of position. However, if you’re not comfortable with a running back, you can always go with a kicker or a defense, assuming you have the money. Those two positions have historically gone through high demand in fantasy football. If you’re in the first round, draft a running back before a kicker or defense, as long as you’re able to get him.