A sound, general rule of thumb when it comes to fantasy drafting – especially early in a draft – is to forget about bye weeks altogether. If a fantasy owner has the opportunity to take two stud players, he/she should regardless of a conflicting bye week schedule.

But a lot of fantasy owners pay too much attention to the bye week schedule. If confronted with a conflicting situation, the owner will opt to take a lesser-talented prospect only to avoid the one-week void in the lineup by two more-talented players.

It sounds like a good plan on paper, but only hurts the owner in the long run.

Think about it. Two players with the same bye week are out of an owner’s lineup for one week out of the entire season. As long as both avoid injuries, these players will be relied on for 12+ regular season weeks as well as the fantasy playoffs. Sacrificing one week out of the entire season is a small price to pay for the type of production two solid prospects should offer an owner on a week-to-week basis.

This is not to say bye weeks should not be considered at all by fantasy owners. Of course if an owner drafts a team full of players with a slate of too similar bye weeks, things might not look so good for several stretches of the fantasy regular season. It would be rather debilitating relying on a starting roster of waiver wire players during the fantasy playoff race.

Knowing when to key in on bye weeks during a draft is the key.

It is a pretty fine line. When an owner stops drafting starting players (usually 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs and 1 TE), it usually is a good time to start paying attention to the bye weeks of potential draft picks and how they stack up against the starting lineup.

However, I say usually because there are — of course — exceptions. If a player is dropping like a rock for whatever reason and has far greater value than anyone else on the board, a fantasy owner would be wise to snatch him up regardless of bye week. Might put owners behind the eight ball as the draft progresses, but better players on the roster equal more success in the long run.

Remember, the goal is to amass as much talent as possible. By doing so in the draft, fantasy owners give themselves far more options over the course of the season. That said, below is a subject-to-change compilation of the best fantasy prospects per team broken down by bye week. If you have to make a tough decision, hopefully this will come in handy.

Week 4
Cardinals: Kurt Warner, Beanie Wells, Tim Hightower, Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald
Falcons: Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez
Panthers: Jake Delhomme, DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Steve Smith
Eagles: Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Brent Celek

Week 5
Bears: Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, Devin Hester, Greg Olsen
Packers: Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Grant, Greg Jennings
Saints: Drew Brees, Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Jeremy Shockey
Chargers: Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson, Darren Sproles, Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson

Week 6
Cowboys: Tony Romo, Marion Barber, Felix Jones, Roy Williams, Jason Witten
Colts: Peyton Manning, Joseph Addai, Donald Brown, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark
Dolphins: Chad Pennington, Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams
49ers: Shaun Hill, Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree

Week 7
Ravens: Joe Flacco, Willis McGahee, Ray Rice, Derrick Mason
Broncos: Kyle Orton, Knowshon Moreno, Brandon Marshall, Tony Scheffler
Lions: Matt Stafford, Kevin Smith, Calvin Johnson
Jaguars: David Garrard, Maurice Jones-Drew, Torry Holt
Seahawks: Matt Hasselbeck, Julius Jones, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, John Carlson
Titans: Chris Johnson, LenDale White, Jared Cook

Week 8
Bengals: Carson Palmer, Cedric Benson, Chad Johnson, Laveranues Coles
Chiefs: Matt Cassel, Larry Johnson, Dwayne Bowe
Patriots:  Tom Brady, Fred Taylor, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Ben Watson
Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger, Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall, Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward
Buccaneers: Derrick Ward, Antonio Bryant, Kellen Winslow
Redskins: Jason Campbell, Clinton Portis, Santana Moss, Chris Cooley

Week 9
Bills: Trent Edwards, Marshawn Lynch, Terrell Owens, Lee Evans
Browns: Brady Quinn, Jamal Lewis, Braylon Edwards
Vikings: Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, Visanthe Shiancoe
Jets: Mark Sanchez, Thomas Jones, Leon Washington, Jerricho Cotchery
Raiders: JaMarcus Russell, Darren McFadden, Michael Bush, Darrius Heyward-Bey
Rams: Marc Bulger, Steven Jackson, Donnie Avery

Week 10
Texans: Matt Schaub, Steve Slaton, Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels
Giants: Eli Manning, Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Hakeem Nicks, Travis Beckum

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