It goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway; if you don’t do adequate research you will not win your fantasy league. However, some think that research consists of looking at rankings 2 weeks before the draft, highlighting a few sleepers, and boom you’re ready to go. The problem with that thinking is that you are only getting a small side of the story for many players. I’ve said it over and over again in our podcast; you must use multiple means of research to make your owndecisions. The key there is the phrase “your own.” What is the point of blindly following someone else’s biases towards or against a player? For me, if I’m going to lose, I want to lose with my own stupid thoughts not someone else’s.
Well okay, let’s just say you know that already. You do research and you look on ESPN, Yahoo, FantasyPros, etc. The problem there lies within the small details. Many larger companies such as the ones mentioned are afraid to make bold statements or predictions about players. This is due to their large role in the public eye, and the fear of being too incorrect. Don’t believe me? Listen to the Andrew Luck segment in our QB episode. The key to success is to look at lesser known podcasts and youtubers to fill the gaps on statistics.
The question still remains: “But Zach! Where do I even begin to look? There’s so much out there!” Well, look no further. We’re going to break down the top fantasy platforms, websites, podcasts, and youtubers, so that you can stare down a championship trophy in 2018.
*Feel free to click the pictures to be linked directly to their page*
Fantasy Platforms
- ESPN- Look, as much as I criticize the ESPN analysts for their rankings and predictions, they have a great fantasy football platform. Setting your lineup is quick, easy, and very user friendly. It’s pretty much impossible to be confused when navigating their app. The blurbs that they provide weekly on each player are concise and helpful as well. All in all, ESPN is the standard for fantasy football and if your league doesn’t use it, you need to start.
- Yahoo- Clearly inferior to ESPN, but still includes the basics to get it done. Changing your lineup is easy, finding player information is just as easy, but they fall short with the waiver wire. On the app, it may automatically sort by points scored so far this season. This may lead to injured guys being listed at the top of waivers, and then you have to manually sort by projected points. In addition, the projections are very strange. They project every players’ points for the entire season week by week. What do they know about the week 16 matchup before week 1 even starts? So weird…
- Fantasy Squared- Fantasy Squared has yet to hit the market but when they do they are going to make a big splash! Not only do they provide you with a user-friendly platform, they also include an expert rankings system that is going to change the face of fantasy football. In simple terms, anyone can make projections (not just the “experts”) and then you are ranked based on your success. This means that even you can put your knowledge to the test against top fantasy football experts. How cool would it be to have everyone following your fantasy advice each week?
Websites
- Fantasy Pros- Most fantasy websites rely on two or three experts to be the main source of their content. That’s not the case with Fantasy Pros and this is what sets them apart from the pack. Their rankings are based on 94 experts, which alleviates bias. You can also select certain experts if you favor some over others. What I love most about these guys is their attentiveness to deliver un-biased fantasy advice. You can, also, search a player and receive news and notes, articles, strength of schedule, ADP, consensus rankings, ADP vs. consensus ranking comparison, projected points vs. actual points comparison, and then each individual ranking of every expert. They even show you the rank of the expert! How do you think we get all of our information on how each individual player is ranked on our show? Need I say more? All in all, Fantasy Pros is a must before draft day!
- Reception Perception via The Ultimate Draft Kit- We are all merely Jon Snow when it comes to wide receivers compared to Matt Harmon. Yes this content does cost $ but it is worth every single penny. Do not even think about entering your draft, or discussing any wide receiver in any way, until you have viewed reception perception in its entirety. What makes it such a powerhouse of content? Well, it uniquely analyzes wide receivers at a deeper level. Matt Harmon looks into types of routes run, success on routes run, percentage of routes run in certain coverages, success against certain coverages, and even analyzes the wide receiver’s situation to see if they will continue to produce in situations that they were successful in. Believe me when I say, this is the ONLY content that truly paints a complete picture of the wide receiver position.
- Any Site That Isn’t a Main Fantasy Platform (ESPN, Yahoo, etc.)- At this point, it’s really up to you in terms of doing research on websites. My only suggestions would be: don’t use only one website to inform your decision making, and DO NOT use one of the large fantasy platforms such as ESPN and Yahoo. They are great to use for your league, but they aren’t a good resource for everyday lineup decisions. The reason is that they often make safe picks, ones that tend to be common knowledge, in order to avoid large mistakes in the public eye. Don’t even waste your time, look to other sites for analysis. I personally like Rotoviz (or any of the Rotos for that matter), but this is up to personal preference.
Podcasts
- The Fantasy Footballers- Foot Clan assemble! Besides being the most energetic fantasy football podcast out there, there are many reasons that The Ballers are the clear cut #1 on this list. Openly criticized for being “not serious enough” the Ballers put that to rest with 2 of the 3 of them being ranked in the top 10 most accurate fantasy football experts in 2017. They flawlessly combine their wit with high quality research and statistical analysis. What makes them even more successful from a logistical point of view is their show’s layout. Their episode content is very clear, and they transition from point to point effortlessly. The Fantasy Footballers are the staple of podcasting in the fantasy football universe. Nothing more needs to be said, go check them out for yourself; you won’t be disappointed.
- The Audible- To me, the Audible is like The Fantasy Footballers lite. If you commute far to work and don’t have the hours to put into reading tons of fantasy football research, then this is the podcast for you. One thing I really like about them is that they discuss positive football situations that lead to positive fantasy football situations. For the preseason, they have a “watch list” that goes through each and every NFL team, and dissects the players and situations. It’s fun, in depth, and analytical. What more could you ask for?
- The Challenge Flag- Oh c’mon, you didn’t think that we would get through this whole article without self-promoting, did you? Just hear me out. If you have listened to us so far, you will notice that the preseason is riddled with positional rankings. However, that is soon coming to a close and the real analysis begins. We are the only fantasy football podcast that doesn’t shove our own personal biases down your throat. Our goal is to take a hard look at the experts, how well they actual do their job, and then report to you on who you should be listening to. We basically save you time and energy on your fantasy football research. Pretty soon we will have vs. battles between experts. You won’t want to miss it!
Youtube Channels
- Fantasy Football Advice- This is more of an “accuracy by volume” pick, but I can’t deny that Fantasy Football Advice puts out really great content. Their videos are clear, stats based, and very frequent. They cover the most fantasy football content of any YouTube channel (hence my accuracy by volume comment). At times, they can seem biased towards or against players and stat selective to support their biases, but on the whole they do a good job of accurately reporting the stats.
- Nick Ercolano- Just a dude sitting in his room talking about fantasy football…so what’s so special about Nick? Well, he’s smart. Very smart. He puts in countless hours of research in order to provide accurate content to his viewers. He is the one who changed my perspective on Drew Brees, and it only took about 2 minutes of him reporting his findings to do so. He’s laid back, but don’t let that fool you, he’s someone it would be advantageous to listen to.
- Samuel Gold- My personal favorite of the 3, but it isn’t strictly fantasy football related so I didn’t have the heart to put him at #1. Sam Gold’s YouTube channel consists of NFL film analysis. How does this help us in fantasy football? I’ve mentioned on our podcast that success in real football can help us to predict success in fantasy football. If you’re not sure about a player, go watch their film analysis on his channel. It gives you a closer look at a player’s success, or lack thereof, and offers you a unique insight that not many other league mates may have.
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