darren waller

Fireside Chat With Heady

Welcome mafiosos to a little Q and A session with the only @Heady_Football. I took some time to gather some questions you on Twitter, our DFF Army, have asked over the off-season along with some questions I have been asked off-line, by my friends and family. Yes, don’t be shocked, I do have a life outside of fantasy football. Granted, it’s not much but it is one nevertheless. So, without further adieu, here are some of the best questions I received.

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Kickoff Countdown! 11 Days ‘til Football!

Welcome to the second entry in our twelve-part series counting down the days until we can once again sit and watch this sport that we love (and dominate our fantasy leagues in the process). If you missed the first article, you can find it here. The premise is simple: each article will have a numeric theme, counting down as each day is ticked off the calendar. There are just eleven days left until we are blessed with meaningful football and the sweat of Week 1 fantasy football matchups. Eleven days, eleven players on offense. See the pattern here? In this article, I’ll attempt to construct the best starting offense in football. The catch? I can only use one player per NFL franchise. Let’s see who made the cut.

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2021 Dynasty Profile: Bryan Edwards

Many of us in the dynasty community were excited about Bryan Edwards last year, but based on the stats he put up as a rookie, it is fair to call him a rookie face planter. Historically, wide receivers who fail to reach meaningful thresholds are longshots to ever emerge in the future. I think Edwards can be an exception to the rule. Given proper context, much of last year’s poor fantasy stats can be explained.

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2021 Dynasty Profile: Darren Waller

Darren Waller burst onto the scene during the 2019 season after years of bouts with substance abuse. Waller is a true American comeback story. After being suspended for the entire 2017 by the NFL, he overcame his addictions and found his way back onto the Ravens practice squad in 2018. From there, he was plucked by the Raiders and further developed behind aging starter Jared Cook. After Cook’s departure in free agency, Waller earned the starting job at TE for the Raiders.

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Bull’s Crystal Ball: Predicting the Top Three at Each Position for 2021

I don’t see too many changes amongst the rankings at the top of the list. Josh Allen has a huge amount of rushing upside and if he can be close to as efficient as he was last year, with an upgraded receiving corps, he has the likelihood of repeating. Patrick Mahomes is on another level, but I do expect the Chiefs to utilize their RBs at some point. While this may seem like slander to not predict Mahomes at 1; he is still my Dynasty Startup 1.01 as I think we can expect top-5 performances into his 30s. That consistency is the value to pay up for early in a startup, but Allen’s rushing upside cannot be overlooked. Jalen Hurts has the luxury that Lamar Jackson had in his second season. Hurts started enough games to have a taste, but teams haven’t schemed for him yet. He has the potential to put up 1000 yards on the ground and is in an offense that will throw the ball more than Baltimore has, and will likely trail in more games which will necessitate airing it out. I would like to be proved wrong but I think this will be the ceiling season for Hurts and at some point this year we should seek to move your shares or ride him to the ship and move on. Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, and Justin Herbert will likely feature in or around this list but regression or low volume will likely limit their vault into the top-3. 

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underrated dynasty assetss

2021 Redraft: Mark’s Positional “My Guys”

In 2QB leagues, Derek Carr is sitting as QB25 and is the 102nd player off the board. He isn’t very flashy and in dynasty, he would offer minimal value. But when you take away the questions of long-term value he offers a high upside play as you close out the 8th round. He is a great second or 3rd QB in 2QB leagues, especially if you’re drafting a rookie such as Justin Fields or Trey Lance, who will likely not start for their team at the opening of the season.

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tigh end adp gains

DFF Redraft League: Drafting From The Thirteen Spot

Two weekends ago the #DFFArmy organized its annual staff redraft league composed solely of DFF writers/editors as owners. Upgrading from 12 to 14 owners this season, your author willingly joined in the fun. The settings of the league are pretty conventional: a 0.5 PPR league with a starting lineup of 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 3 W/R/T, 1 K, and 1 DEF. Passing TDs are worth six points while rushing and receiving first downs are worth 0.5 points. There is also a 0.1 point per carry bonus and a 0.5 TE reception bonus.

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How Much Is A FFPC Dynasty Roster Spot Worth?

How much is a dynasty roster spot worth? Or how much should it be worth? Has anyone really tried to come up with a quantitative measure that can be actionable in some way when we are managing our dynasty rosters? We have trade calculators, rankings, projections, all customizable by league settings (for the most part). But roster spots are largely ignored. When a trade is made that involves a two-for-one player exchange, a roster spot has been cleared for one owner. Or perhaps two spots in a three-for-one, although those kinds of deals are rarer.

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tigh end adp gains

The Gains of Tight End ADP

Everyone wants to find the edge in fantasy football. Sometimes the edge is glaring at you from across the room, and you just fail to notice it; or in this case, everyone fails to notice. Everyone is enamored with top-tier running backs and quarterbacks because of the positional advantage they give your team. We should be looking at the difference in production between a top player at a position and the bottom end starter at the same position, but we need to set some criteria for this study to have the most helpful results. 

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The Myth of Vacated Targets

Every season teams lose valuable receiving options from the prior year, and every season fantasy managers daydream about the possibility of a random bench piece inheriting all that volume. While this narrative has played about favorably for a handful of players, in the grand scheme of the NFL, it is actually very rare. “Vacated Targets” is the snake oil of fantasy football. Don’t let yourself get duped.

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Fantasy Football Formats: Gotta Try’em All!

The best way to play fantasy football is to not care about the rules of the game at all. My home league had one flaw that kept hassling us as the years went by. We completely forgot that fantasy football is a game. It’s a game about a game and you make the rules. Why not play around with them? Keep you and your friends on their toes! Give no one an edge by mixing it up with your redraft leagues every year.

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Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 14

Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 14

In this weekly piece, I will bring you some risers and fallers from a dynasty lens. Whether it’s injuries, performance, or value, I want to discuss how players have moved around. Based on the week’s events, I’ll give some advice on how to act on the market’s movement, whether it’s buying, selling, or holding. 

I won’t limit myself to talking about any specific players or teams because I want to have the freedom to discuss whatever is most relevant. Also, of course, there are more risers and fallers than those I’m listing. However, it’s impossible to cover every single one of them, as dynasty values change weekly for many players. With that said, let’s jump into the risers first, followed by the fallers.

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Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 10

Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 10

In this weekly piece, I will bring you some risers and fallers from a dynasty lens. Whether it’s injuries, performance, or value, I want to discuss how players have moved around. Based on the week’s events, I’ll give some advice on how to act on the market’s movement, whether it’s buying, selling, or holding. 

I won’t limit myself to talking about any specific players or teams because I want to have the freedom to discuss whatever is most relevant. Also, of course, there are more risers and fallers than those I’m listing. However, it’s impossible to cover every single one of them, as dynasty values change weekly for many players. With that said, let’s jump into the risers first, followed by the fallers.

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tigh end adp gains

Darren Waller: 2020 Dynasty Profile

The Ravens drafted Waller in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft as a wide receiver. Waller saw almost no playing time behind veterans Kamar Aiken, Steve Smith, and Chris Givens, and he eventually landed on injured reserve. After 2015, the Ravens decided to convert Waller into a tight end, hoping that he could provide a new element to their offense. However, Waller’s 2016 season got off to a bad start when the NFL suspended him for the first four games for violating the substance-abuse policy. He returned and played the remaining 12 games, but unfortunately, there were few opportunities in the Ravens’ offense. Veteran tight end Dennis Pitta led the Ravens in targets with 121, leaving only scraps for Waller. The Ravens also rarely deployed 2TE sets, preferring to use 11 or 21 personnel.

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Week 5: Buy/Sell

Are you ready for some… Tuesday? Night? Football? Hopefully, everything goes according to plan and the NFL can stop playing hot potato with the schedule. But as we’re in unprecedented territory, you should be more and more willing to deal your guys. Don’t get attached to your favorite freight train of a running back (looking at you, Derrick Henry!) because anything can happen this season. Luckily, you have us to help you out. Here are our favorite buys and sells for the week.

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Hunter Renfrow: 2020 Dynasty Profile

The Raiders selected Renfrow in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Clemson. At the time, the Raiders had Antonio Brown and Tyrell Williams as their primary outside receivers, but they didn’t have any underneath or over the middle weapons. Tight end Darren Waller eventually emerged as their top target, but we didn’t know that when they picked Renfrow.

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NFL Player Props: Week 3

In this article, I look at three player props that I feel have a strong chance of paying out. This article will run the gamut and will include bets such as ‘passing yard totals’, ‘first player to score’, and even ‘total tackles’ for those who love defense. In addition, I will also make one “Longshot Pick of the Week”. This pick will always feature a more difficult bet that has a greater than 2:1 payout. The odds may be tougher, but if you’re into some fun player props take a peek!

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Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 3

Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 3

In this weekly piece, I will bring you some risers and fallers from a dynasty lens. Whether it’s injuries, performance, or value, I want to discuss how players have moved around. Based on the week’s events, I’ll give some advice on how to act on the market’s movement, whether it’s buying, selling, or holding. 

I won’t limit myself to talking about any specific players or teams because I want to have the freedom to discuss whatever is most relevant. Also, of course, there are more risers and fallers than those I’m listing. However, it’s impossible to cover every single one of them, as dynasty values change weekly for many players. With that said, let’s jump into the risers first, followed by the fallers.

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