Historically, the third preseason game is the “dress rehearsal” for the regular season that formalizes depth charts and reveals lingering camp battles. Teams seem to be increasingly aggressive about sitting their starters in recent years, which complicates the picture. Oakland, for example, benched basically their entire active game day offense. We’ve never had more information about preseason than we do today, and yet we feel…...

As you prep for your 2019 fantasy football draft, you’ll need a shortlist of “your guys” for the first few rounds to serve as foundation players for your squad. So who should you start your fantasy draft off with? Fantasy seasons are not won and lost on draft day, but a strong draft will obviously go a long way in securing you a championship — and…...

Everyone loves Tyler Lockett. He’s fast, explosive, and hell, he even has a great smile. Lockett proved to be an enormous fantasy value last year, as he was drafted as the WR53 in the 11th round but finished the season as WR16.  Lockett’s breakout season is probably why you’re high on him and why you feel comfortable drafting him at his current ADP (51st overall). But,…...

You know that feeling when you finish a draft and can’t find any mistakes? Everything just falls perfectly in line with your plan and you wouldn’t change anything. Today we’ll be taking a look at one such perfect draft in superflex PPR leagues. As stated in the previous draft, I will follow these rules for my “Perfect Draft”: I can reach for players early, but…...

We’re now up to 57 installments of my favorite fantasy football series: The Wrong Read by Blair Andrews. Today we turn our attention to the statistical indicators in No. 46, The Anatomy of a Bounceback. Five bounceback gems are hiding in plain sight, each of them ready to rise from the fantasy ashes. Everyone has an opinion on the best bounceback candidates, but do those…...

There is a whole load of optimism surrounding Dalvin Cook ahead of the 2019 season. Gary Kubiak’s influence on the Vikings offense has long thought to be of benefit to Cook, relying as it does on zone blocking principles. The hiring of Kubiak, not to mention the overall desire to be a more run-based offense, has contributed to the overall high hopes for Cook in…...

“You pay for this, but they give you that.” That classic Neil Young lyric came to mind as I was researching this year’s “Why Buy?” series. We’re often so confident of what we’re going to get when we spend that sixth-round pick on the next big thing, but in reality, we rarely know what we’re buying. The solution? Pay less. That’s the concept behind our…...

Maybe you’re a longstanding Ronald Jones truther. Perhaps you love the fact that Peyton Barber had a top-10 opportunity share among all NFL RBs last season and delivered only 9.4 fantasy points per game. If you are, or even if you’re not[1]especially if you’re not then it’s hard to get really excited about the Tampa Bay backfield. But that’s why it’s not beyond the realm of…...

I’ve never much liked basing my draft day decisions on traditional rankings and projections. When it comes down to it — with your cursor hovering over one of the four players in your draft queue, your palms sweaty, pupils dilated — your mind reaches for any information that might inform your choice.  Who’s the safest guy? you think in the early rounds. Who has the…...

In early August, I participated in a 12-team “expert” auction coordinated by the good folks at The Huddle of USA Today Sports. Given the ever-changing nature of the fantasy football landscape, the results of this auction hold less meaning today than they did at the time. I’ll be posting the results of the auction and breaking down my approach in a future post. However, as I’ve written…...

I’ve had a hard time getting much else accomplished since RotoViz released its latest tool, the Range of Outcomes App, this week. On Monday I looked at one of the underrated names that popped out as belonging in the elite-WR category in Dave Caban’s model. And I want to take a quick look at another WR who appears to belong in the same category according…...

With redraft season officially upon us, it is important to know how to insure your high-value investment at the running back position. With any insurance policy, it is of the utmost importance to know both the cost and the payout should that policy need to be cashed in. At their most basic level, RB handcuffs are just insurance policies, and like any other purchase, it…...

A four-game suspension to the start the season and a high ankle sprain will ensure that Antonio Callaway will not be looking back on 2019 offseason too fondly in years to come. While his regular-season absence will immediately benefit fellow veteran Rashard Higgins. But his inability to showcase his skills in the exhibition season has led to an increase in opportunities for rookie wide receiver D.J…....

After watching Avengers: Endgame, I couldn’t stop thinking about the multiverse. Then, my mind drifted to the Projection Machine, which acts as a fantasy football time machine. Every little tweak in the timeline of fantasy football can have a wide range of repercussions that echo across the league. So, in this series, I’ll dial up that Projection Machine to examine players who could experience big…...

This past weekend, my high school friends and I had our 10th annual fantasy football draft. While I am the defending champion, have the highest net winnings in our league’s history, and draft in hundreds of DRAFT best balls throughout the year, my draft always plays out differently than I expect. I always find myself surprised by the way this home league draft unfolds, and…...

Most fantasy analysis is devoted to sorting the order of players likely to have an immediate impact, but every year there are a handful of overlooked deep sleepers who emerge to fill a starting role in redraft. Last year, it was guys like Phillip Lindsay and James Conner at running back. Deep sleepers at WR are a little harder to find, but we did tell you to watch out for Curtis Samuel,…...