Dave Caban

Senior Fantasy Analyst, app developer, hosts the RotoViz Radio Flagship, auction draft enthusiast.

Author Archive

In-Season Articles

In-Season Articles

Using Regression Tree Analysis To Understand WR Profiles and the 2021 Prospects

Ja’Marr Chase has been lauded by many as one of the best wide receiver prospects to enter the NFL in recent memory. With a ranking of 19 in the current RotoViz Dynasty Rankings, he’s our top prospect from the 2021 class. Why are we, and many others, so optimistic about his future? It’s pretty simple. He’s projected as an early Round 1 pick, made an…...

You’re Probably Targeting Upside and Safety in the Wrong Parts of Your Draft … And Killing Your Best Ball Win Rates – The Wrong Read, No. 67

The previous Wrong Read looked at best ball win rates as a function of age and experience. The surprising finding is that at almost every position, younger and less experienced players underperform. Two factors combine to make this the case. First, the optionality profile of best ball leagues makes them less ideal for players with a wide range of outcomes than traditional redraft leagues. If…...

Dynasty Workshop: How to Win Early Dynasty Startup Drafts Every Year

In the RotoViz Dynasty Workshop Series, dynasty fantasy football maven Curtis Patrick shares all the tips and tricks you need to make 2021 a winning season. In this edition, he shares a proven strategy you can use to win early dynasty startup drafts every year. Dynasty Workshop: How to Win Your Early Startup Draft Every Year Last season, I helped you build the perfect core in your…...

Are Your Best Ball Teams Too Young? Age, Experience, Upside, and Optionality in Redraft and Best Ball – The Wrong Read, No. 66

Anyone who spends much time perusing this site will soon realize we tend to have a strong youth bias. We’re constantly searching for the next rookie sensation, and much of our dynasty advice comes down to selling your stars — especially at RB — while you can still get your leaguemates to pay elite-level prices for them. Nearly always, we advise trying to make your…...

How Old Is Too Old for an NFL RB? The RotoViz Screener Provides Age-Based Targets and Fades

Many owners know, or at least believe, you should sell your running backs once they reach a certain age — around 25, perhaps. I’ve always been wary of such blanket statements, but could this narrative be true? Blair Andrews looked at how RBs age in Running Back Age Curves, Breakout Rates, And Failure Rates – The Wrong Read, No. 35. One of Blair’s key takeaways…...

Justin Jefferson and the Value of Checking All the Boxes: Why We Picked Him and How to Do It Again – The Wrong Read, No. 65

Justin Jefferson finished his rookie season with 1,400 receiving yards — the most for a rookie WR this century. His 64.2 receiving FPOE trail only Odell Beckham and A.J. Brown. His 274.2 PPR points trail only Beckham and Anquan Boldin. Yet going into the 2020 season, Jefferson was just the ninth player picked in FFPC rookie drafts. Likewise, Brown was the 10th player picked in…...

Dynasty Workshop, Part 1: Build Your Command Center

In the 2020 RotoViz Dynasty Workshop Series, dynasty fantasy football maven Curtis Patrick shares all the tips and tricks you need to make 2021 a winning season. Using his own dynasty portfolio as the case subject, Curtis will show you how to build your own Dynasty Command Center. Dynasty Workshop Part 1: Getting Organized The next thing you do is the most important thing you’ll…...

The Exploitable Relationship Between WR Age and Opportunity Is One of the Biggest Edges in Fantasy – The Wrong Read, No. 63

Much of the research that happens in this space suggests our fantasy teams should nearly always be younger than we tend to think. Breakouts and busts both happen earlier in players’ careers than the traditional age curves would lead you to believe. Although it’s true that many of best WRs in the NFL last year were somewhere between 25 and 30 years old,((Only two of…...

Does Hand Size Matter for Wide Receivers? The Wrong Read, No. 61

Welcome to the 61st installment of The Wrong Read. Shawn Siegele’s recent article on 2020 Freak Scores linked to some classic work by Fantasy Douche that renewed my interest in wide receiver hand size. We know, on the one hand, that production is all that matters for WRs. But on the other hand, that last sentence can’t possibly be literally true. So the question is,…...

Examining Wide Receiver Production After a Team Change: Can You Trust Odell Beckham in 2020?

Odell Beckham was primed to go absolutely nuts. He had never averaged fewer than 75.5 yards per game in a season and had consistently been an elite WR1 when healthy. And he did it with Eli Manning at quarterback. Now that he had Baker Mayfield — who was coming off of a season in which he set the rookie passing touchdown record — the sky appeared to…...

Which WR Prospect Metrics Tell Us Something Unique? The Wrong Read, No. 60

I seem to have become obsessed with correlation matrices, so I’m just going to lean into it. Below you’ll find a correlation matrix with many of our favorite WR prospect evaluation metrics. This is admittedly a simplistic way to look at the predictiveness of various metrics. But there are a number of interesting things going on here, which I’ll point out below. Keep in mind…...

Why Do We Care About Expected Points? An Explanation in 4 Correlation Matrices

If you spend any time reading RotoViz, eventually you’ll hear us talking about expected points. Expected points (EP) are the number of fantasy points that a target or carry should score based on game situation — down, distance, and field position. In other words, expected points allow us to transform raw opportunity, such as carries and targets, directly into fantasy points. From there we can…...

The 3 and 10 Rule – A Pair of Rookie Wide Receiver Metrics with an Astonishing Hit Rate

Author’s Note, August 2, 2019: so this piece can be used for research, I’ve changed the title and updated the piece with findings for 22-year old rookies since the year 2000. This piece originally posted on June 17, 2019 and featured only the 21-year-old findings. In my opinion, the RotoViz Screener is the most powerful, most useful, and most creative research tool in the fantasy football industry…....

draftkings week 17

Limit the Onesie Positions in DRAFT Best Ball Leagues

In the second installment of the DRAFT NFL Best Ball Roster Construction Guide, Michael Dubner finds a structural advantage using the 2-QB, 2-TE draft strategy. In my previous article, we found the one instance where the 3-QB, 3-TE Roster construction may provide a structural edge in DRAFT Best Ball leagues. Now that we’ve explored the roster construction that dedicates six spots to the onesie positions, we’ll now explore the…...

week 10 fantasy

You Really Can Win Your BestBall10s Solely at the Onesie Positions

So far in the Best Ball Workshop we’ve focused on the onesie positions: quarterback, tight end, and defense. And while there are some big reveals coming at running back and wide receiver, it makes sense to stop here for a moment and ask the question: Can you win your BestBall10s simply by playing the percentages with the onesies? The workshops have been based on a…...

FFPC Best Ball Roster Construction: Where to Draft Winning QBs

Whether you’re new to the TE-premium format, or a grizzled veteran of hundreds of FFPC best ball leagues, knowing how to attack the quarterback position is crucial. Where did last year’s winning FFPC best ball teams draft their QBs? Can you get by with just two studs? What happens if I miss out on the QB run? We now have the tools here at RotoViz…...

How Should We Measure College Breakouts? The Wrong Read, No. 55

Welcome to the 55th installment of The Wrong Read. We love breakouts at RotoViz. We want to target wide receiver prospects who break out in college, and especially those who break out early. The question then becomes, what should we count as a breakout? Breakout age is among the most important WR metrics apart from draft position — the skeleton key of WR prospect evaluation…....

Intro to Yahoo! PGA DFS Strategy

Yahoo! DFS is coming and they’re offering some really interesting contests for PGA DFS. It’s definitely a similar game to what we’ve become accustomed to from other sites, but there are a few tweaks. Let’s take a look at how the scoring breaks down first, then we’ll talk some strategy. Scoring Stat Points Hole-In-One (ACE) 5 Eagle (EAG) 9 Double Eagle (DEAG) 15 Birdie (B)…...

MFL10

Should We Ever Roster Six QBs and TEs in DRAFT NFL Best Ball Leagues?

Quarterbacks and tight ends are often overlooked in NFL Best Ball drafts, but Michael Dubner uses the RotoViz DRAFT Roster Construction Explorer to find a structural edge at these positions. Savvy season-long fantasy football drafters have routinely gained an edge using the Late Round Quarterback strategy, and owners are also realizing that elite Tight Ends provide a league-tilting advantage at the position. Although many think they have figured out the QB and…...

Using Regression Tree Analysis To Understand WR Profiles and the 2021 Prospects

Ja’Marr Chase has been lauded by many as one of the best wide receiver prospects to enter the NFL in recent memory. With a ranking of 19 in the current RotoViz Dynasty Rankings, he’s our top prospect from the 2021 class. Why are we, and many others, so optimistic about his future? It’s pretty simple. He’s projected as an early Round 1 pick, made an…...

You’re Probably Targeting Upside and Safety in the Wrong Parts of Your Draft … And Killing Your Best Ball Win Rates – The Wrong Read, No. 67

The previous Wrong Read looked at best ball win rates as a function of age and experience. The surprising finding is that at almost every position, younger and less experienced players underperform. Two factors combine to make this the case. First, the optionality profile of best ball leagues makes them less ideal for players with a wide range of outcomes than traditional redraft leagues. If…...

Dynasty Workshop: How to Win Early Dynasty Startup Drafts Every Year

In the RotoViz Dynasty Workshop Series, dynasty fantasy football maven Curtis Patrick shares all the tips and tricks you need to make 2021 a winning season. In this edition, he shares a proven strategy you can use to win early dynasty startup drafts every year. Dynasty Workshop: How to Win Your Early Startup Draft Every Year Last season, I helped you build the perfect core in your…...

Are Your Best Ball Teams Too Young? Age, Experience, Upside, and Optionality in Redraft and Best Ball – The Wrong Read, No. 66

Anyone who spends much time perusing this site will soon realize we tend to have a strong youth bias. We’re constantly searching for the next rookie sensation, and much of our dynasty advice comes down to selling your stars — especially at RB — while you can still get your leaguemates to pay elite-level prices for them. Nearly always, we advise trying to make your…...

How Old Is Too Old for an NFL RB? The RotoViz Screener Provides Age-Based Targets and Fades

Many owners know, or at least believe, you should sell your running backs once they reach a certain age — around 25, perhaps. I’ve always been wary of such blanket statements, but could this narrative be true? Blair Andrews looked at how RBs age in Running Back Age Curves, Breakout Rates, And Failure Rates – The Wrong Read, No. 35. One of Blair’s key takeaways…...

Justin Jefferson and the Value of Checking All the Boxes: Why We Picked Him and How to Do It Again – The Wrong Read, No. 65

Justin Jefferson finished his rookie season with 1,400 receiving yards — the most for a rookie WR this century. His 64.2 receiving FPOE trail only Odell Beckham and A.J. Brown. His 274.2 PPR points trail only Beckham and Anquan Boldin. Yet going into the 2020 season, Jefferson was just the ninth player picked in FFPC rookie drafts. Likewise, Brown was the 10th player picked in…...

Dynasty Workshop, Part 1: Build Your Command Center

In the 2020 RotoViz Dynasty Workshop Series, dynasty fantasy football maven Curtis Patrick shares all the tips and tricks you need to make 2021 a winning season. Using his own dynasty portfolio as the case subject, Curtis will show you how to build your own Dynasty Command Center. Dynasty Workshop Part 1: Getting Organized The next thing you do is the most important thing you’ll…...

The Exploitable Relationship Between WR Age and Opportunity Is One of the Biggest Edges in Fantasy – The Wrong Read, No. 63

Much of the research that happens in this space suggests our fantasy teams should nearly always be younger than we tend to think. Breakouts and busts both happen earlier in players’ careers than the traditional age curves would lead you to believe. Although it’s true that many of best WRs in the NFL last year were somewhere between 25 and 30 years old,((Only two of…...

Does Hand Size Matter for Wide Receivers? The Wrong Read, No. 61

Welcome to the 61st installment of The Wrong Read. Shawn Siegele’s recent article on 2020 Freak Scores linked to some classic work by Fantasy Douche that renewed my interest in wide receiver hand size. We know, on the one hand, that production is all that matters for WRs. But on the other hand, that last sentence can’t possibly be literally true. So the question is,…...

Examining Wide Receiver Production After a Team Change: Can You Trust Odell Beckham in 2020?

Odell Beckham was primed to go absolutely nuts. He had never averaged fewer than 75.5 yards per game in a season and had consistently been an elite WR1 when healthy. And he did it with Eli Manning at quarterback. Now that he had Baker Mayfield — who was coming off of a season in which he set the rookie passing touchdown record — the sky appeared to…...

Which WR Prospect Metrics Tell Us Something Unique? The Wrong Read, No. 60

I seem to have become obsessed with correlation matrices, so I’m just going to lean into it. Below you’ll find a correlation matrix with many of our favorite WR prospect evaluation metrics. This is admittedly a simplistic way to look at the predictiveness of various metrics. But there are a number of interesting things going on here, which I’ll point out below. Keep in mind…...

Why Do We Care About Expected Points? An Explanation in 4 Correlation Matrices

If you spend any time reading RotoViz, eventually you’ll hear us talking about expected points. Expected points (EP) are the number of fantasy points that a target or carry should score based on game situation — down, distance, and field position. In other words, expected points allow us to transform raw opportunity, such as carries and targets, directly into fantasy points. From there we can…...

The 3 and 10 Rule – A Pair of Rookie Wide Receiver Metrics with an Astonishing Hit Rate

Author’s Note, August 2, 2019: so this piece can be used for research, I’ve changed the title and updated the piece with findings for 22-year old rookies since the year 2000. This piece originally posted on June 17, 2019 and featured only the 21-year-old findings. In my opinion, the RotoViz Screener is the most powerful, most useful, and most creative research tool in the fantasy football industry…....

draftkings week 17

Limit the Onesie Positions in DRAFT Best Ball Leagues

In the second installment of the DRAFT NFL Best Ball Roster Construction Guide, Michael Dubner finds a structural advantage using the 2-QB, 2-TE draft strategy. In my previous article, we found the one instance where the 3-QB, 3-TE Roster construction may provide a structural edge in DRAFT Best Ball leagues. Now that we’ve explored the roster construction that dedicates six spots to the onesie positions, we’ll now explore the…...

week 10 fantasy

You Really Can Win Your BestBall10s Solely at the Onesie Positions

So far in the Best Ball Workshop we’ve focused on the onesie positions: quarterback, tight end, and defense. And while there are some big reveals coming at running back and wide receiver, it makes sense to stop here for a moment and ask the question: Can you win your BestBall10s simply by playing the percentages with the onesies? The workshops have been based on a…...

FFPC Best Ball Roster Construction: Where to Draft Winning QBs

Whether you’re new to the TE-premium format, or a grizzled veteran of hundreds of FFPC best ball leagues, knowing how to attack the quarterback position is crucial. Where did last year’s winning FFPC best ball teams draft their QBs? Can you get by with just two studs? What happens if I miss out on the QB run? We now have the tools here at RotoViz…...

How Should We Measure College Breakouts? The Wrong Read, No. 55

Welcome to the 55th installment of The Wrong Read. We love breakouts at RotoViz. We want to target wide receiver prospects who break out in college, and especially those who break out early. The question then becomes, what should we count as a breakout? Breakout age is among the most important WR metrics apart from draft position — the skeleton key of WR prospect evaluation…....

Intro to Yahoo! PGA DFS Strategy

Yahoo! DFS is coming and they’re offering some really interesting contests for PGA DFS. It’s definitely a similar game to what we’ve become accustomed to from other sites, but there are a few tweaks. Let’s take a look at how the scoring breaks down first, then we’ll talk some strategy. Scoring Stat Points Hole-In-One (ACE) 5 Eagle (EAG) 9 Double Eagle (DEAG) 15 Birdie (B)…...

MFL10

Should We Ever Roster Six QBs and TEs in DRAFT NFL Best Ball Leagues?

Quarterbacks and tight ends are often overlooked in NFL Best Ball drafts, but Michael Dubner uses the RotoViz DRAFT Roster Construction Explorer to find a structural edge at these positions. Savvy season-long fantasy football drafters have routinely gained an edge using the Late Round Quarterback strategy, and owners are also realizing that elite Tight Ends provide a league-tilting advantage at the position. Although many think they have figured out the QB and…...

Using Regression Tree Analysis To Understand WR Profiles and the 2021 Prospects

Ja’Marr Chase has been lauded by many as one of the best wide receiver prospects to enter the NFL in recent memory. With a ranking of 19 in the current RotoViz Dynasty Rankings, he’s our top prospect from the 2021 class. Why are we, and many others, so optimistic about his future? It’s pretty simple. He’s projected as an early Round 1 pick, made an…...

You’re Probably Targeting Upside and Safety in the Wrong Parts of Your Draft … And Killing Your Best Ball Win Rates – The Wrong Read, No. 67

The previous Wrong Read looked at best ball win rates as a function of age and experience. The surprising finding is that at almost every position, younger and less experienced players underperform. Two factors combine to make this the case. First, the optionality profile of best ball leagues makes them less ideal for players with a wide range of outcomes than traditional redraft leagues. If…...

Dynasty Workshop: How to Win Early Dynasty Startup Drafts Every Year

In the RotoViz Dynasty Workshop Series, dynasty fantasy football maven Curtis Patrick shares all the tips and tricks you need to make 2021 a winning season. In this edition, he shares a proven strategy you can use to win early dynasty startup drafts every year. Dynasty Workshop: How to Win Your Early Startup Draft Every Year Last season, I helped you build the perfect core in your…...

Are Your Best Ball Teams Too Young? Age, Experience, Upside, and Optionality in Redraft and Best Ball – The Wrong Read, No. 66

Anyone who spends much time perusing this site will soon realize we tend to have a strong youth bias. We’re constantly searching for the next rookie sensation, and much of our dynasty advice comes down to selling your stars — especially at RB — while you can still get your leaguemates to pay elite-level prices for them. Nearly always, we advise trying to make your…...

How Old Is Too Old for an NFL RB? The RotoViz Screener Provides Age-Based Targets and Fades

Many owners know, or at least believe, you should sell your running backs once they reach a certain age — around 25, perhaps. I’ve always been wary of such blanket statements, but could this narrative be true? Blair Andrews looked at how RBs age in Running Back Age Curves, Breakout Rates, And Failure Rates – The Wrong Read, No. 35. One of Blair’s key takeaways…...

Justin Jefferson and the Value of Checking All the Boxes: Why We Picked Him and How to Do It Again – The Wrong Read, No. 65

Justin Jefferson finished his rookie season with 1,400 receiving yards — the most for a rookie WR this century. His 64.2 receiving FPOE trail only Odell Beckham and A.J. Brown. His 274.2 PPR points trail only Beckham and Anquan Boldin. Yet going into the 2020 season, Jefferson was just the ninth player picked in FFPC rookie drafts. Likewise, Brown was the 10th player picked in…...

Dynasty Workshop, Part 1: Build Your Command Center

In the 2020 RotoViz Dynasty Workshop Series, dynasty fantasy football maven Curtis Patrick shares all the tips and tricks you need to make 2021 a winning season. Using his own dynasty portfolio as the case subject, Curtis will show you how to build your own Dynasty Command Center. Dynasty Workshop Part 1: Getting Organized The next thing you do is the most important thing you’ll…...

The Exploitable Relationship Between WR Age and Opportunity Is One of the Biggest Edges in Fantasy – The Wrong Read, No. 63

Much of the research that happens in this space suggests our fantasy teams should nearly always be younger than we tend to think. Breakouts and busts both happen earlier in players’ careers than the traditional age curves would lead you to believe. Although it’s true that many of best WRs in the NFL last year were somewhere between 25 and 30 years old,((Only two of…...

Does Hand Size Matter for Wide Receivers? The Wrong Read, No. 61

Welcome to the 61st installment of The Wrong Read. Shawn Siegele’s recent article on 2020 Freak Scores linked to some classic work by Fantasy Douche that renewed my interest in wide receiver hand size. We know, on the one hand, that production is all that matters for WRs. But on the other hand, that last sentence can’t possibly be literally true. So the question is,…...

Examining Wide Receiver Production After a Team Change: Can You Trust Odell Beckham in 2020?

Odell Beckham was primed to go absolutely nuts. He had never averaged fewer than 75.5 yards per game in a season and had consistently been an elite WR1 when healthy. And he did it with Eli Manning at quarterback. Now that he had Baker Mayfield — who was coming off of a season in which he set the rookie passing touchdown record — the sky appeared to…...

Which WR Prospect Metrics Tell Us Something Unique? The Wrong Read, No. 60

I seem to have become obsessed with correlation matrices, so I’m just going to lean into it. Below you’ll find a correlation matrix with many of our favorite WR prospect evaluation metrics. This is admittedly a simplistic way to look at the predictiveness of various metrics. But there are a number of interesting things going on here, which I’ll point out below. Keep in mind…...

Why Do We Care About Expected Points? An Explanation in 4 Correlation Matrices

If you spend any time reading RotoViz, eventually you’ll hear us talking about expected points. Expected points (EP) are the number of fantasy points that a target or carry should score based on game situation — down, distance, and field position. In other words, expected points allow us to transform raw opportunity, such as carries and targets, directly into fantasy points. From there we can…...

The 3 and 10 Rule – A Pair of Rookie Wide Receiver Metrics with an Astonishing Hit Rate

Author’s Note, August 2, 2019: so this piece can be used for research, I’ve changed the title and updated the piece with findings for 22-year old rookies since the year 2000. This piece originally posted on June 17, 2019 and featured only the 21-year-old findings. In my opinion, the RotoViz Screener is the most powerful, most useful, and most creative research tool in the fantasy football industry…....

draftkings week 17

Limit the Onesie Positions in DRAFT Best Ball Leagues

In the second installment of the DRAFT NFL Best Ball Roster Construction Guide, Michael Dubner finds a structural advantage using the 2-QB, 2-TE draft strategy. In my previous article, we found the one instance where the 3-QB, 3-TE Roster construction may provide a structural edge in DRAFT Best Ball leagues. Now that we’ve explored the roster construction that dedicates six spots to the onesie positions, we’ll now explore the…...

week 10 fantasy

You Really Can Win Your BestBall10s Solely at the Onesie Positions

So far in the Best Ball Workshop we’ve focused on the onesie positions: quarterback, tight end, and defense. And while there are some big reveals coming at running back and wide receiver, it makes sense to stop here for a moment and ask the question: Can you win your BestBall10s simply by playing the percentages with the onesies? The workshops have been based on a…...

FFPC Best Ball Roster Construction: Where to Draft Winning QBs

Whether you’re new to the TE-premium format, or a grizzled veteran of hundreds of FFPC best ball leagues, knowing how to attack the quarterback position is crucial. Where did last year’s winning FFPC best ball teams draft their QBs? Can you get by with just two studs? What happens if I miss out on the QB run? We now have the tools here at RotoViz…...

How Should We Measure College Breakouts? The Wrong Read, No. 55

Welcome to the 55th installment of The Wrong Read. We love breakouts at RotoViz. We want to target wide receiver prospects who break out in college, and especially those who break out early. The question then becomes, what should we count as a breakout? Breakout age is among the most important WR metrics apart from draft position — the skeleton key of WR prospect evaluation…....

Intro to Yahoo! PGA DFS Strategy

Yahoo! DFS is coming and they’re offering some really interesting contests for PGA DFS. It’s definitely a similar game to what we’ve become accustomed to from other sites, but there are a few tweaks. Let’s take a look at how the scoring breaks down first, then we’ll talk some strategy. Scoring Stat Points Hole-In-One (ACE) 5 Eagle (EAG) 9 Double Eagle (DEAG) 15 Birdie (B)…...

MFL10

Should We Ever Roster Six QBs and TEs in DRAFT NFL Best Ball Leagues?

Quarterbacks and tight ends are often overlooked in NFL Best Ball drafts, but Michael Dubner uses the RotoViz DRAFT Roster Construction Explorer to find a structural edge at these positions. Savvy season-long fantasy football drafters have routinely gained an edge using the Late Round Quarterback strategy, and owners are also realizing that elite Tight Ends provide a league-tilting advantage at the position. Although many think they have figured out the QB and…...

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