ESPN

It happens every fantasy football draft. Somebody gets stuck with the last pick and ends up completely depressed. He won't get a chance to select Michael Turner. He's never owned Adrian Peterson in his life, and this year will be no different. Larry Fitzgerald? Long gone.

Well, it doesn't have to be this way. If you play Gridiron Challenge, you finally have the chance to select whichever players you darn well please. No more missing out on Drew Brees just because your best friend picked him first. The only thing stopping you from picking the guys you want is yourself.

Well, all right, I lied. You can't pick everyone you want. You have to fit your starting lineup into a $50 million salary cap. With nine roster spots to fill, that means that if you have five $8 million superstars on your team, a bunch of scrubs will have to comprise the rest of your lineup. But even that option is available to you if you want to give it a try. It's your team. You can fill your roster how you want. And if you don't like how a player is doing, swap him out for someone else. As long as you stay under that salary cap, you're free to change your team as much as you like. You don't have to worry about whether another owner will trade with you or whether your league will void your moves with a veto.

Each week, as players play more games and accumulate more stats, their salaries will be re-evaluated. A good performance will cause a player's value to rise. A clunker may cause a player's salary to drop. Here's where we reward you for taking chances: If you wish to keep a player on your team after his salary drops, you can renegotiate his salary and use that extra money elsewhere. But if you take a chance on an unproven, discounted player who comes from out of nowhere to shine as Kevin Smith did last year, you'll be able to keep him on your team at the initial low salary at which you signed him, regardless of how high his market value climbs.

Playing the game is fun and easy. Just check the Week 1 schedule and identify some matchups that you like. Select two quarterbacks, two running backs, two wide receivers, a tight end, a kicker and a team defense. Make sure they fit under the salary cap, and you'll be set. Your lineup will earn points for things it does during that week's games, such as scoring touchdowns, gaining yards, kicking field goals and sacking the quarterback. When the week ends, you can compare your results with those of all the other owners in the competition. You can even set up a private group with your friends to see which one of you can grab bragging rights.

Here are a few tips for first-time owners playing the game for the first time:

Tip No. 1: Spread the wealth. You don't want to have too many players from the same team … even a good one. Putting all your eggs in one basket means that all it will take is one bad game for your whole team to plummet in the standings. In addition, when it comes to that team's bye week, you'll to have to make wholesale changes to your roster.

Tip No. 2: All that glitters isn't gold. Though a player may cost more, he won't necessarily put up the stats if his matchup is not a good one that week. Don't be afraid to bench an expensive player for a cheaper one who is facing a more favorable opponent. You can swap back next week, and if the "star" does have a bad day, you'll probably receive a little salary cap cash for your efforts.

Tip No. 3: Don't overspend on your kicker. With a limited budget, you are far better off spending a little more on your quarterback or running back than on your kicker. There's no real way of predicting how well a kicker will do in a given week. Remember, the kicker on a team that scores seven touchdowns and wins 42-9 earns only seven points. The kicker on that losing team who kicked three field goals gets at least nine points. Fill your other lineup spots first, and then buy a kicker with what you have left.

Tip No. 4: When in doubt, leave him out. If a player is gets hurt this week and there's any question at all that he might not start, drop him for somebody else. You don't have to worry that some other owner might snatch him up because you always have the option to re-sign him when he is healthy again. It's better to have a lineup full of players you know for sure will play than to risk the zero.

Tip No. 5: Have fun. This isn't life and death -- it's fantasy football. If you want to pick a player because he has a funny-sounding name, go for it. If you want to pick a player just to have someone to root for on Monday night, be my guest. Just don't be afraid to give it a try. It's not that hard to do, and who knows, you just might learn something along the way. Na-na-na! Gonna have a good time! Hey! Hey! Hey!

Good luck!

AJ Mass is a fantasy baseball, football and college basketball analyst for ESPN.com. You can follow AJ on Twitter or e-mail him here.