I’m all for risk-taking on draft day. Actually, I think taking some chances is the best way to win in fantasy. But I don’t want to go overboard on too many guys that have more risk than I’m comfortable with. Here are a few that I like on draft day, but don’t want too many on my team.

Maurice Jones-Drew/RB/JAX

You know his story. First there’s the question of if he’ll report, then there’s the issue of when he’ll report and finally you have to wonder, if he does come in, how much action he’ll yield to Rashad Jennings this season.

Darren McFadden/RB/Oakland

Fantasy pundits praise McFadden’s potential. Some even say he’s the 3^rd best RB in the draft. But all of them also add the “but” clause which highlights the fact that he has never made it through a season without injury. No one knows what will happen this year, but…you can’t ignore history.

Ryan Mathews/RB/San Diego

The concern here is the number of weeks you have to go without him. It’s a good bet he’ll miss opening day, but then it’s a guessing game. Initial forecasts after he broke his clavicle hinted that he could be out until Week 3.

Trent Richardson/RB/Cleveland

The Browns are pinning all their hopes on Richardson who has missed most of camp. Fantasy owners ripped Chris Johnson last year for skipping camp (holdout) leading to a terrible season. And he’s a veteran!

Shonn Greene/RB/New YorkJets

I’d feel more comfortable taking Greene if the Jets passing game showed some upside. Will defenses stack the box against Greene showing no fear of the pass? Will Tim Tebow steal away TDs in the red zone?Lotto be concerned about.

Say what you want about Dallas Cowboys’ “Dez Bryant Rules”, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones may have done fantasy owners a big favor. The “rules”, which are a set of conduct guidelines the team wants Bryant to adhere to, gives fantasy owners greater confidence that Bryant will be playing in all 16 games this season. It’s no secret that Bryant is his own worst enemy and it’s his off-the-field stuff that threatens his fantasy value. Now that he’ll have a security team around him 24/7 to assure that he doesn’t wander into places he shouldn’t be going and gets him to team meetings on time, etc., I think much of his fantasy risk has been mitigated. Bryant has been going as around the 13^th or 14^th WR off the board on draft day. I probably wouldn’t take him any higher than that, but I’m more at ease taking him there. Glad to see the Cowboys protecting their investment and in the process showing such a great concern for fantasy owners!

Aside from kickers, the backup tight end position is probably the least sexiest fantasy position on draft day. Admittedly, if you take Gronkowski, Graham or any of the top five or six TE starters, you don’t have to worry much about this pick. However, let’s say you draft one of the guys in the latter half of the tight end rankings like Brandon Pettigrew, Fred Davis or Jacob Tamme. Comfortable? That’s why I think it’s prudent to have a good understanding of who you might take as your reserve. Investigate guys like Jermaine Gresham, Dustin Keller, Jared Cook and Greg Olsen and have an idea of where you intend to grab him in the draft. You might be looking at using him a lot more than just on your starter’s bye week.

For many, having to draft a backup QB is akin to having to take a kicker. It’s a pick you’d rather spend on another position. Other than when you’re starting QB is on a bye week, your hope is that you don’t have to play your backup any more than just that one game. But ask yourself the question of whether Matt Cassel, Alex Smith, Andy Dalton or a host of others can keep you competitive if disaster strikes.

It’s all a matter of opinion. If you feel the risk of losing your main QB is minimal then, fine, stock your team with other players until it’s painless to draft your backup. However, if you value that “insurance pick”, don’t be shy to be your league’s first drafter to grab that backup. Personally, I think guys like Jay Cutler, Matt Schaub and Robert Griffin III, all of whom are backup material according to the ADPs, can step in if needed and, at least, give you a fighting chance.