I have been inspired by a recent Bill Simmons podcast and have decided to give you my top twenty players to draft in fantasy football if you held your draft today. At this point in the nfl season we know who is good, who is bad, who is hurt and who is missing the whole freaking season (Tom Brady I’m talking to you!). So let’s just say that you and nine friends all wish to do the 2008 fantasy football draft all over today (just before week 7). Well… my name is Brandon Schrey and here is who you should pick and why.

1) Marion Barber: 700 combined yards and 6 tds

2) Clinton Portis: 643 yards rushing (leader) and 6 tds

3) Adrian Peterson: 563 yards rushing and 3 tds

4) Reggie Bush: 239 rushing, 361 receiving and 8 total tds (3 PR)

5) Matt Forte: 459 rushing, 206 receiving and 5 tds

6) Drew Brees: 1993 yards and 12 tds through 6 weeks

7) Frank Gore: 524 rushing, 196 receiving and 6 tds

Ladainian Tomlinson: 405 rushing, 124 receiving and 4 tds

9) Brandon Jacobs:447 rushing and 4 tds

10) Michael Turner: 597 rushing and 6 tds

11) Maurice Jones-Drew: 301 rushing, 184 receiving and 5 tds

12) Ronnie Brown: 336 rushing, 107 receiving, 7 tds and 1 passing td

13) Brian Westbrook: 194 rushing, 94 receiving and 6 total tds

14) Greg Jennings: 653 receiving and 4 tds

15) Brandon Marshall: 521 receiving and 3 tds

16) Larry Fitzgerald: 546 receiving and 5 tds

17) Chris Johnson: 381 rushing and 2 tds

18) Marshawn Lynch: 319 rushing, 91 receiving and 4 tds

19) Stephen Jackson: 348 receiving, 243 rushing and 1 td

20) Roddy White: 566 receiving and 3 tds

This post was originally written by Brandon Schrey over at the Brandon Schrey Report.

No need to panic in this first bye week of the fantasy football season…we’ve got you covered.

Here are some potential bye week replacements that could be on your waiver wire right now for Week 4.

Running Backs:

Correll Buckhalter, Eagles: Not much good news out of Philly these days on Brian Westbrook, so Buckhalter has a good chance to be the featured back this week. Chicago’s run defense is fourth in the NFL, so Buckhalter’s value won’t be on the ground as through the air  when QB Donovan McNabb finds him in the flat or on a screen.

Steve Slaton, Texans: It was only a matter of time because Ahman Green’s inability to run the football effectively would cost him his job. Slaton has big play potential (18 carries, 116 yards, TD last week) and will get around 14-20 touches against Jacksonville. Even though the Jaguars can be stout on the run, they have given up 108.0 yards this year (ranked 17th), so Slaton is a good option.

Fred Jackson, Bills: St. Louis is going to have their hands full with Buffalo’s two-back attack, and Jackson has flex-play potential. He will be used as a receiver and change-of-pace back, which gives Jackson a chance to score against the league’s 30th-ranked pass defense.

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Championship fantasy football teams need their share of star quarterbacks and running backs.

But so many owners forget about drafting and obtaining star wide receivers, and it costs them the chances to be really good.

Trophy-winning, rub-it-in-every-other-owners-face, trash-talking and kiss-my-rear-end good.

So now I’m here to help you navigate the world of fantasy WR’s and why you must draft them high, and get the right ones.

I am in a 12-team dynasty keeper league that continues to be the rage of friends and co-workers. We keep 17 players each year, and draft five before the season begins. This allows the savy owner to build their franchise without concerns of losing their rookie, double-secret pickup in Week 17.

When I started out, my receivers weren’t very good. My first receivers (in 2001) were Laveranues Coles, Antonio Freeman, Todd Pinkston, Santana Moss, Darnay Scott, Dez White, Ed McCaffrey and Terance Mathis. While have eight WRs when you have a 22-man roster? Exactly. I was decent back then, but didn’t win the title. My starters (Coles, Moss and McCaffrey) were good enough because I had Corey Dillon, Curtis Martin, and Anthony Thomas (in Chicago).

As the year’s went by, I could never get over the top. I came close, but never quite had enough. As my RBs aged and retired, I filled in with rookie RBs, but my QBs (Drew Brees, Donovan McNabb) seemed to play well enough to keep me in the hunt for a championship.

My first decision was to look at the teams that were putting up big numbers from week to week. My surprise: great WR play.

No one can win without two solid wideouts, no matter how you look at it…(well, having Peyton Manning and LaDainian Tomlinson could help…)

First, I picked up a number of WRs through trades and waiver wires in 2004 (Plaxico Burress, Andre Johnson, and TJ Houshmandzadeh). I used those players to enhance other parts of my team.

I went after my first big WR deal, obtaining Reggie Wayne in 2005, who is one of my franchise pillars today. He was first WR that really broke out and could be used each week, along with Burress. That stabilized my WR so I could focus on RB and QB. But I still couldn’t win in the playoffs.

2006 was a turn point year. I traded Bress away for a first round pick, which landed me Jay Cutler, who is now my starter. More importantly, I grabbed Mike Furrey and Leon Washington…those moves allowed me to make my biggest deal yet.

With my eyes on getting another big WR to fill the WR/RB flex role, since I only had Brandon Jacobs and Corey Dillon, I went out in 2007 and obtained Terrell Owens using Furrey and Washington as main center pieces.

Later in the season, I finally dealt my first pick ever McNabb to a rival for Brandon Marshall. And now I knew that I had enough to win.

And the rest is history.

Last year, I went on to win the league championship. I had four amazing receivers (Wayne, Burress, Owens and Brandon Marshall). Remember when I had eight okay ones in 2001? The difference is that now I can use the other four roster slots on sleeper RBs that could become stars at any moment (aka Ryan Grant).

Even though I traded Burress this year to get RB Kevin Smith, I realize that receivers are really the key to any elite fantasy football team. There are too many backs-by-committee, so having solid starting WRs is the only way to guarantee points on the board.

Owens and Wayne are going to give you around 100 yards and a touchdown each week. You can’t expect that out of your RBs.

My advice is to draft at least one stud receiver, and then trade for another. Identify the best receivers by looking at scoring trends, comparing height vs red zone touchdowns, and injuries in their career. Then go after those wideouts you feel could start every week, no matter who they play.

Even in traditional leagues, you can draft one, and obtain the other. It’s picking smartly that give you leverage. Grab that backup QB to the superstar in Round 18. Take the sleeper RB with your last pick.

Those choices might open the door to that big name wideout that could equal championships for many years to come.