Get out the draft.

What's the Boy Scout's motto? Be prepared. And that holds true for your fantasy football team as well. I know that this post probably should go without saying, but I just want to hit the point home.

Every fantasy owner has their favorite magazine that they pick up every year. Some follow take their suggestions too literally, some don't follow them enough. But everyone reads the papers, listens to sport talk radio, and takes their markers and highlighters and picks their favorite players.

But all that studying might not help you when you're under the gun and the clock for your draft pick is bearing down on you. This is why is suggest that you try ESPN's Fantasy Football Mock Draft. It's a neat little tool that they've developed to help you prepare for your true draft. In previous years, if you wanted to try an online draft to prepare for your real draft, it meant that you would have to start a team in a league with 11 other dorks from around the country. With the new mock draft, ESPN has given owners an opportunity to bone up for the draft without having to field a new team.

It's interesting what you can learn if you do enough of these drafts. About where is Randy Moss going to go? How quickly are the top tier quarterbacks disappearing? All these little questions can be answered before your actual draft. Trying this out a time or two can help you get ready for how your own draft will play out.

I've done my fair share this year, and will probably do one the night before my draft. Its given me a real opportunity to review my own style. What I've found is quite interesting to me, and it surprised me. I've found that, duh, running backs go quick. If you don't pay attention, before you know it your choosing between Leon Washington and Kevin Barlow. Some of my mock drafts, I have picked up three backs with my first three picks. In other drafts, I tend to lean too much on potential,while passing on good consistency.

Having the opportunity to evaluate these drafts are a real help to my draft day strategy. I can come to grips with what prices I'm willing to pay, and I've identified what players I am truly after.

So, if you have the opportunity, take a look at a mock draft. You might be surprised with what you learn.