With NFL rookies beginning to report to training camp this week, the calendar has officially flipped from the offseason to the preseason. The Hall of Fame Game will open exhibition action on August 3, and from there, the regular season will be just over a month away.
For casual football fans, this means that the wait for meaningful games is almost over. For fantasy enthusiasts, it means that draft season has arrived.
Ideally, those in season-long leagues won't draft until late August, when the risk of preseason injuries is lower and positional situations are clearer. However, this doesn't mean that managers can't get an early start on their prep work now.