** Editor’s Note: With injury concerns piling up – Carson Wentz, Michael Thomas, Dak Prescott, Carl Lawson, Travis Etienne and more of the like – savvy fantasy leagues have been holding off on their drafts. But with the pro football season opening up on September 9, we can only hold off for so long. With that in mind, I’ll be rolling out John Frascella’s fantasy football series over the course of the next few weeks. Let’s go! – Aaron Torres
In Part I of this season-starting series, I talked about the old standbys: Standard Redraft, Redraft PPR and Dynasty.
This time around, we’ll be getting into the more exotic stuff. Though, if you are a sophisticated fantasy football player, you’ll already have a few tips and tricks of your own.
Still, these columns are all about finding little edges. Anybody can give you the generic, run-of-the-mill stuff; but you should turn to John Frascella and Aaron Torres Online for a little thinking outside the box.
And remember, JB Barry @FantasyCoachJB is once again along for the ride in this article!
BESTBALL
One-sentence explanation: Set it and forget it – we draft our team before the season and it never changes throughout the year; one-and-done.
Tip to help you win: All of the most annoying players in fantasy football are the guys you want.
You know what I mean?
I saw a vicious Twitter war this offseason in which one fantasy coach was complaining about how WR Tyler Lockett did all of his damage in just a few games. Many games he was a ghost. Well, that’s a Bestball hero right there. Monster individual games are what we want. We don’t particularly care if they come sporadically. The top scores are used toward your total each week; the crappy, low-output performances are thrown out.
FYI, Lockett’s over/under on DraftKings Sportsbook this season is 1,000.5 receiving yards. Personally, I can’t say 1,100 – 1,200 yards are out of the question.
Some other examples who pop immediately into my mind: Always Tyreek Hill at the top end. Mike Evans, Marvin Jones, Will Fuller and Nelson Agholor as we work our way down. Chase Claypool and Gabriel Davis, in terms of youngsters.
At the running back position we have Nick Chubb on the high end. Gus Edwards and Tony Pollard are closer to the “sleeper” designation.
JB Barry’s Take – In Bestball, I target players who have multiple TD upside. A guy like Gronk I am not drafting in a managed league since he can have 2 receptions each game. In a bestball, I realize he could have a few games with 3 targets, all in the red zone, and score 2 TDs.
DEVELOPMENTAL (BEST KNOWN AS “DEVY”)
One-sentence explanation: It all starts in the college ranks; now we are drafting and “developing” young players before they even reach the NFL.
Tip to help you win: Don’t get married to the “big” programs. Don’t devote all of your attention to the “major” schools and programs. I’ve seen Devy fantasy football coaches get buried by Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, USC, Oklahoma, Georgia, Ohio State and more of the like. (Speaking of Notre Dame, it is +5000 to win it all on DraftKings Sportsbook. Throwin’ a hundy down for fun?)
Mix it up! Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. Don’t get married to the hype and excessive media coverage. Media saturation can easily taint your views on young, developing football players.
JB Barry’s Take - Put some added focus on a player’s development. A player who makes a significant stride from his sophomore year to his junior year is showing us that he is learning more about how to be successful on the field, which can translate at the pro level as well.
INDIVIDUAL DEFENSIVE PLAYERS (BEST KNOWN AS “IDP”)
One-sentence explanation: I think the name of the format pretty much says it all, no? (We aren’t dealing with offensive players, here.)
Tip to help you win. Please, pretty please… don’t overcommit to last year’s individual defensive stats. I’ve seen this time and time again; and boy, it gets real ugly, real quick. Statistical performance on the defensive end can really fluctuate from year-to-year, with the exception of a handful of consistently elite stat rats.
So, that means, do your homework. Be serious about your projections. Take a look at the second half of last season – who was coming on, looking to make “The Leap” as they progress forward? That type of stuff. You get the idea.
Of course, there are strategies and tips for days and weeks and years. The list goes on, and on, and on. But hopefully these two pieces give you a little boost on your way to fantasy championship glory across multiple formats. Cheers to the beginning of an exciting season!
JB Barry’s Take – Generally, focus on Defensive Line players first due to the positional scarcity and Linebackers next for their point volume. Defensive backs have more equity so you can target that last.
John Frascella is a published sports author and Senior Fantasy Analyst for Aaron Torres Online. Follow him on Twitter @LegendSports7 for all things fantasy football.
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