Since 2015, I've offered preseason fantasy rankings to anyone who wants them, updated throughout the summer. In 2016 I started asking for donations--whatever people wanted to offer. More than 1,000 donations later, I joined Pro Football Network (last October), and that's meant pouring everything I have into PFN. Same focus on compelling, actionable content. Same commitment to engaging with this truly amazing community. And absolutely no donations. You all have done enough, and I've really appreciated it.
A few months ago, PFN tasked me with creating a Fantasy Draft Kit. In coordination with my incredible colleagues, I assembled a framework for a new kind of preseason fantasy tool. It had to have rankings--but not just any rankings. It had to feature player profiles--but not the overly long, derivative write-ups that many people won't want to read. It had to include contrarian predictions--a cornerstone of my preseason fantasy content since 2013. It needed to include research that would challenge readers' draft assumptions.
Basically, I sat in a quiet room for a day and devised an outline for a Draft Kit that I, as a highly competitive fantasy football manager, would want to buy and read, cover to cover. Then I spent the next three months researching and writing, while the PFN team focused on web coding, graphics, video production, and everything else that I could never hope to figure out on my own.
The result is a 100,000+ word Fantasy Draft Kit, which officially launched yesterday as part of PFN's new "PFN Pass" website (https://pass.profootballnetwork.com/). I want to take a minute to walk through what's in the Kit, and how it illuminates and elevates the fundamentals of this decade-old Facebook community. Basically, if you've found my rankings helpful, my hope is that this Kit will change how you approach fantasy in 2022 and beyond.
(1) Fantasy Rankings -- I've racked my brain for years trying to figure out a "better" way to do rankings, and at times I've shared on this page what's wrong with simple lists. They don't provide context, and they don't reflect managers' varied draft strategies. My rankings in the Draft Kit are based on what I call "realistic ranges of outcomes" for each player. Those ranges then produce three distinct types of positional rankings: "traditional" (normal rankings), "optimal" (if you're drafting for high upside), and "minimal" (if you're more risk-averse). Just as in past years, I'll update these rankings regularly throughout the summer.
(2) Individual Player Profiles -- After researching 350+ players (QBs, RBs, WRs, and TEs), I identified the most notable variables impacting their 2022 fantasy production. These variables are highlighted for all draftable players, as well as more than a 100 largely undraftable players--like many #3 RBs, #4 WRs, and #2 TEs. Because every years, a handful of these ignored players shine (for example, Elijah Mitchell last year). This Kit shows you their most likely paths to fantasy relevance.
(3) Positional Roles -- The rankings and profiles include regularly updated information concerning players' depth-chart status. When I'm drafting in the middle rounds, for instance, I'm targeting the last available team #1 WRs. In this Kit, I've presented nuances like "Glorified Handcuff" vs. "Direct Handcuff" vs. "Partial Handcuff," because these nuances tie in with players' floors and ceilings, which should impact how we value them in drafts.
(4) Research -- With the aid of charts and graphics, I've shared some of my proprietary research--the kind of stuff I use to compete against my opponents in the Premier Fantasy Football League. I can't guarantee anything. But I can come very close to promising you that my research in this Kit will be compelling and actionable as you prepare for the season.
(5) Contrarian Predictions -- There will be plenty of controversy over this year's contrarian predictions. There always is. And that's what makes the preseason interesting. You all know I don't play it safe, because if my research points to something entirely different than what the market says, I go with my research. My write-ups for these predictions are backed by detailed statistical analyses and heaps of context.
(6) "Chaos" Players -- Some players are hard to pin down. Are they better than people expect, or worse than people expect? Saquon Barkley comes to mind. There are dozens. I've included several in this Kit, highlighting the outsized risks and rewards of drafting these players.
(7) Fantasy Instructional Videos -- The plan is to create quick instructional videos for increasingly competitive managers, where the "500-level" classes feature predictive analytics based on never-before-shared research. For this first year, we got through the 200-level classes. Most of you are beyond this point. But if you're in the early stages of your fantasy career, these could be very helpful. And as we get into the higher-level classes, you'll see a more intense approach to gaining an edge over competitors (and yeah, in my league, I'm pretty intense, despite my mild-mannered exterior).
(8) Advisory Services -- PFN is offering 20 subscriptions for advisory services. I'd work directly with you for the next month, the rest of the summer, 'til the end of the season, or for the next year (into next summer). We'd kick things off with a 30-minute video meeting to talk whatever you want to talk about: draft strategy, keeper questions, trade best practices, an entire convo on Zeke Elliott . . . anything that matters to you. Then we'll spend the next month(s) to a year connecting whenever you need to. This also includes betting advice (something I'm going to focus on more than usual for PFN this season). So if you want weekly convos on optimal DFS lineups, check out advisory services.
If you have any questions--any at all--you know where to find me. Sign-up and content info can be found here: https://pass.profootballnetwork.com. If you do subscribe, I hope you'll let me know what you think. Because this is a very competitive industry, and this content has to be worth your time and money. I believe it will be.
A few months ago, PFN tasked me with creating a Fantasy Draft Kit. In coordination with my incredible colleagues, I assembled a framework for a new kind of preseason fantasy tool. It had to have rankings--but not just any rankings. It had to feature player profiles--but not the overly long, derivative write-ups that many people won't want to read. It had to include contrarian predictions--a cornerstone of my preseason fantasy content since 2013. It needed to include research that would challenge readers' draft assumptions.
Basically, I sat in a quiet room for a day and devised an outline for a Draft Kit that I, as a highly competitive fantasy football manager, would want to buy and read, cover to cover. Then I spent the next three months researching and writing, while the PFN team focused on web coding, graphics, video production, and everything else that I could never hope to figure out on my own.
The result is a 100,000+ word Fantasy Draft Kit, which officially launched yesterday as part of PFN's new "PFN Pass" website (https://pass.profootballnetwork.com/). I want to take a minute to walk through what's in the Kit, and how it illuminates and elevates the fundamentals of this decade-old Facebook community. Basically, if you've found my rankings helpful, my hope is that this Kit will change how you approach fantasy in 2022 and beyond.
(1) Fantasy Rankings -- I've racked my brain for years trying to figure out a "better" way to do rankings, and at times I've shared on this page what's wrong with simple lists. They don't provide context, and they don't reflect managers' varied draft strategies. My rankings in the Draft Kit are based on what I call "realistic ranges of outcomes" for each player. Those ranges then produce three distinct types of positional rankings: "traditional" (normal rankings), "optimal" (if you're drafting for high upside), and "minimal" (if you're more risk-averse). Just as in past years, I'll update these rankings regularly throughout the summer.
(2) Individual Player Profiles -- After researching 350+ players (QBs, RBs, WRs, and TEs), I identified the most notable variables impacting their 2022 fantasy production. These variables are highlighted for all draftable players, as well as more than a 100 largely undraftable players--like many #3 RBs, #4 WRs, and #2 TEs. Because every years, a handful of these ignored players shine (for example, Elijah Mitchell last year). This Kit shows you their most likely paths to fantasy relevance.
(3) Positional Roles -- The rankings and profiles include regularly updated information concerning players' depth-chart status. When I'm drafting in the middle rounds, for instance, I'm targeting the last available team #1 WRs. In this Kit, I've presented nuances like "Glorified Handcuff" vs. "Direct Handcuff" vs. "Partial Handcuff," because these nuances tie in with players' floors and ceilings, which should impact how we value them in drafts.
(4) Research -- With the aid of charts and graphics, I've shared some of my proprietary research--the kind of stuff I use to compete against my opponents in the Premier Fantasy Football League. I can't guarantee anything. But I can come very close to promising you that my research in this Kit will be compelling and actionable as you prepare for the season.
(5) Contrarian Predictions -- There will be plenty of controversy over this year's contrarian predictions. There always is. And that's what makes the preseason interesting. You all know I don't play it safe, because if my research points to something entirely different than what the market says, I go with my research. My write-ups for these predictions are backed by detailed statistical analyses and heaps of context.
(6) "Chaos" Players -- Some players are hard to pin down. Are they better than people expect, or worse than people expect? Saquon Barkley comes to mind. There are dozens. I've included several in this Kit, highlighting the outsized risks and rewards of drafting these players.
(7) Fantasy Instructional Videos -- The plan is to create quick instructional videos for increasingly competitive managers, where the "500-level" classes feature predictive analytics based on never-before-shared research. For this first year, we got through the 200-level classes. Most of you are beyond this point. But if you're in the early stages of your fantasy career, these could be very helpful. And as we get into the higher-level classes, you'll see a more intense approach to gaining an edge over competitors (and yeah, in my league, I'm pretty intense, despite my mild-mannered exterior).
(8) Advisory Services -- PFN is offering 20 subscriptions for advisory services. I'd work directly with you for the next month, the rest of the summer, 'til the end of the season, or for the next year (into next summer). We'd kick things off with a 30-minute video meeting to talk whatever you want to talk about: draft strategy, keeper questions, trade best practices, an entire convo on Zeke Elliott . . . anything that matters to you. Then we'll spend the next month(s) to a year connecting whenever you need to. This also includes betting advice (something I'm going to focus on more than usual for PFN this season). So if you want weekly convos on optimal DFS lineups, check out advisory services.
If you have any questions--any at all--you know where to find me. Sign-up and content info can be found here: https://pass.profootballnetwork.com. If you do subscribe, I hope you'll let me know what you think. Because this is a very competitive industry, and this content has to be worth your time and money. I believe it will be.