And we're back. 10th season. 1,600th column. 16,000+ people. Let's do this.
First off, looking forward to reconnecting with hundreds (thousands?) of you these next 7+ months. That's the best part of this. I'd rather lose in the finals with this community than win alone. Yep, mean that.
Second, as always, the right answers are the what happens on the field (and sometimes off of it). There are no before-the-fact right answers. For my part, I'll keep saying what I believe based on better-than-50/50 probabilities. As always, my goal is that by the end of the season, reality will align more closely with what you've read here than what you've read anywhere else--particularly on unconventional viewpoints that sometimes prove to be difference makers.
Third, I'll keep doing my best to share my two cents in response to every single question. And you all are encouraged to weigh in publicly--especially if you disagree. Love constructive push-back. We're all empowered to bring blind spots to light.
Fourth, the Premier Fantasy Football League will return for a fourth season. Stay tuned for details. About 95% of you are returning from last season, which is fantastic. And we already have a few new people signed up. There are a handful of spots remaining. If any of the rest of you want to compete in a free league for dedicated fantasy footballers (i.e. if you're 2-9, you keep clawing 'til the end) where every trade is vetted by eight objective sub-commissioners, and where the best managers move up to higher divisions after each season, message me that you want in. And if you already compete and have a friend who wants in, same deal.
Fifth and finally, since 2016, hundreds of you have kindly donated to receive my preseason players rankings. That's all changing for the better in 2022. For the past two months at Pro Football Network, the PFN folks and I have been developing a far more comprehensive fantasy draft kit: "three-dimensional" player rankings based on likely ranges of outcomes, an eight-page report on the impact of preseason ADP and ages on actual performance, "chaos" players, contrarian predictions, and a roughly 100,000-word document outlining 300+ players' key variables for outperforming or underperforming expectations. We have a graphics department, a video department (yes, there are videos), etc. It's an incredible team committed to professionalizing what I've produced solo for years.
And for what it's worth, I'm still the guy producing all the rankings, research, analysis, and player profiles, and I'll continue to keep it updated throughout the summer as players' values change. So if you liked my rankings, I can all but promise that you'll love this far more comprehensive, actionable draft kit, which I'll continually update all summer until right before Week 1. The kit's official release will be in a few weeks. In the meantime, if you want to be notified when it's out (and receive a discount), click on any PFN article and enter your e-mail--or send me your e-mail privately if that's easier--and we'll contact you when draft kit subscriptions go live.
Tomorrow I'll kick off the usual "32 teams in 32 days" content, running down some initial fantasy takes on roughly 300 notable, not-yet-notable, and probably-never-notable-but-you-never-know-because-Elijah-Mitchell-etc players. To understand the fantasy draft universe, we first have to understand the entire known universe, figure out who we can largely ignore for now, determine who might be a high-upside midseason waiver add, and assess how the guys everyone tells us are "can't-miss" players could, in fact, miss.
Great to be here, folks. Looking forward to lively conversations from here on out.
First off, looking forward to reconnecting with hundreds (thousands?) of you these next 7+ months. That's the best part of this. I'd rather lose in the finals with this community than win alone. Yep, mean that.
Second, as always, the right answers are the what happens on the field (and sometimes off of it). There are no before-the-fact right answers. For my part, I'll keep saying what I believe based on better-than-50/50 probabilities. As always, my goal is that by the end of the season, reality will align more closely with what you've read here than what you've read anywhere else--particularly on unconventional viewpoints that sometimes prove to be difference makers.
Third, I'll keep doing my best to share my two cents in response to every single question. And you all are encouraged to weigh in publicly--especially if you disagree. Love constructive push-back. We're all empowered to bring blind spots to light.
Fourth, the Premier Fantasy Football League will return for a fourth season. Stay tuned for details. About 95% of you are returning from last season, which is fantastic. And we already have a few new people signed up. There are a handful of spots remaining. If any of the rest of you want to compete in a free league for dedicated fantasy footballers (i.e. if you're 2-9, you keep clawing 'til the end) where every trade is vetted by eight objective sub-commissioners, and where the best managers move up to higher divisions after each season, message me that you want in. And if you already compete and have a friend who wants in, same deal.
Fifth and finally, since 2016, hundreds of you have kindly donated to receive my preseason players rankings. That's all changing for the better in 2022. For the past two months at Pro Football Network, the PFN folks and I have been developing a far more comprehensive fantasy draft kit: "three-dimensional" player rankings based on likely ranges of outcomes, an eight-page report on the impact of preseason ADP and ages on actual performance, "chaos" players, contrarian predictions, and a roughly 100,000-word document outlining 300+ players' key variables for outperforming or underperforming expectations. We have a graphics department, a video department (yes, there are videos), etc. It's an incredible team committed to professionalizing what I've produced solo for years.
And for what it's worth, I'm still the guy producing all the rankings, research, analysis, and player profiles, and I'll continue to keep it updated throughout the summer as players' values change. So if you liked my rankings, I can all but promise that you'll love this far more comprehensive, actionable draft kit, which I'll continually update all summer until right before Week 1. The kit's official release will be in a few weeks. In the meantime, if you want to be notified when it's out (and receive a discount), click on any PFN article and enter your e-mail--or send me your e-mail privately if that's easier--and we'll contact you when draft kit subscriptions go live.
Tomorrow I'll kick off the usual "32 teams in 32 days" content, running down some initial fantasy takes on roughly 300 notable, not-yet-notable, and probably-never-notable-but-you-never-know-because-Elijah-Mitchell-etc players. To understand the fantasy draft universe, we first have to understand the entire known universe, figure out who we can largely ignore for now, determine who might be a high-upside midseason waiver add, and assess how the guys everyone tells us are "can't-miss" players could, in fact, miss.
Great to be here, folks. Looking forward to lively conversations from here on out.