james white

Tyjae Spears

2023 Rookie RB Analytics: Tyjae Spears

Rookie / By /

Rookie scouting season is here and everyone is starting to research and prep for their rookie drafts. In this series, I will go through my process and scout different players for the incoming 2023 class. My process is mainly through an analytical view. This means I am thinking about hit rates, range of outcomes, and probabilities. I favor these things over whether I think the player is talented because that is not only subjective but also difficult. This consistent, numbers-only process allows me to play the odds and hit more than I miss with these rookies. So follow along as I go through Tulane running back, Tyjae Spears.

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Braelon Allen

Braelon Allen: 2022 Devy Profile

Devy / By /

A four-star recruit from Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, Braelon Allen burst onto the scene as a true freshman in 2021. Arguably the best two-way player in the state of Wisconsin coming out, Allen dominated the high school gridiron as both an All-Area Safety and All-Area RB. In his senior season, he averaged 14.6 yards per carry. Entering college, there was some doubt about whether Allen would play offense or defense at the next level. It was believed he could convert to MIKE LB, as his 6’2” 232 lbs. frame would suggest. Alas, RB would be Braelon’s calling and it was the right decision. 

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Training Camp Primer: Part 2

Dynasty / By /

Don’t have time to read every training camp update? DFF has your back with our Training Camp Primer series. We dive into team beat reporters and reporter tweets and differentiate between hype and reality. What rookies are impressing early? Who is ready to step into a larger role? What injuries occurred? We sift through it all to give you a leg up on your competition. Check out part one of the training camp primer series here.

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Six Redraft Shares to Watch After Week 3

All Access / By /

Unless we’re analyzing workhorse running backs or alpha wide receivers, a player’s usage can fluctuate from week to week. Some will shine and some will ruin your week. Remember, targets and opportunities are earned. In this series, I will provide weekly target shares, rushing attempt shares, and snap shares of SIX players (or group of players) to help you understand the value of each of them and decide whether to start ‘em, roster ‘em, or trade ‘em.

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Redraft Waiver Grind: Week 2

All Access / By /

Week 2 is now behind us, which means it’s time to start grinding the waiver wire again. Any little advantage you can gain in fantasy football you take and winning the waiver wire is one of them. Last week we covered Elijah Mitchell, Kenneth Gainwell, and K.J. Osborn. This week I’ll highlight three more players you should be eyeing from highest priority to lowest.

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Redraft 2021: Backfields to Avoid

All Access / By /

Finding a true bell-cow running back in the NFL is hard to come by these days. Most teams elect to utilize multiple backs for various situations. Whether it is goal-line work, third down, or simply just to keep the defense guessing, more running backs are getting involved on offense at a more frequent rate. While plenty of value and fantasy points can come from running backs on the same team, there are a few backfields that I am avoiding at all costs.

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DFF Redraft League: Drafting from the Seven Spot

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I don’t typically play in many redraft leagues these days but I’m always game for our yearly DFF Staff Redraft League. This year, with our growing staff, we decided to challenge ourselves a bit more with an increase to 14 teams instead of the standard 10-12 team league which presented difficult decisions from the get-go. I was granted the lovely honor of picking from the dead center of this draft, the 1.07 spot. I wouldn’t have chosen it this way and was titling from the moment I was on the clock for my first pick but I was surprisingly thrilled at the completion of this draft, so let’s dive into it.

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Knee Deep in Muddy Backfields: The Bucs

Knee Deep in Muddy Backfields: The Bucs

Dynasty / By /

After the NFL draft, there are quite a few backfields without a clear picture of who the workload is going to fall on. While it’s possible some backfields may continue as committees, more than likely, a few of them will have one guy receive a large volume of the work. That’s what I’m aiming to dive into in this series: who will emerge from the muddy backfields and cement their place as a fantasy value this season?

Luckily, JJ Zachariason has already put in the research to show us what to look for. Even though his research is primarily for redraft, we can apply it to dynasty as well. Breakout running backs typically aren’t handcuffs. They come from ambiguous backfields and are oftentimes drafted as the 2nd back from their team. Pass catchers have an easier route to breakout, as there is typically a three rush to one reception workload ratio. Most importantly, age doesn’t matter. Players in their 5th year are just as likely as rookies to break out in these situations.

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The 2021 RB4: A Case for Kenneth Gainwell

Dynasty / By /

Among running backs in the 2021 rookie class, three players have clearly risen to the top: Najee Harris, Travis Etienne, and Javonte Williams. All of these players are likely coming off the board in the first round of rookie drafts. The next RB to come off the board is where the questions start to come up. Who is the best of the rest? In this series, several members of the DFF staff will try to make a case for who they think answers that question. Today, I’ll be making the case for Kenneth Gainwell.

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Risers and Fallers from the Divisional Round

Risers and Fallers from the Divisional Round

Dynasty / By /

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. Even in the playoffs, dynasty values still change weekly.

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. Of course, there are more risers and fallers than those I’m listing. With that said, let’s jump into the risers first, followed by the fallers.

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Early Offseason Dynasty Stashes

Early Offseason Dynasty Stashes

Dynasty / By /

I just wanted to give you all a quick look at some of my favorite early offseason dynasty stashes. If your league allows transactions at this time of year, I recommend picking up some of these players. Every player I’m listing here is likely on your dynasty waiver wire, or they at least could be there. On the other hand, if your league doesn’t allow add/drops right now, talk to your leaguemates. The best dynasty leagues have year-round activity. Having action all year keeps everyone engaged 100% of the time. With that said, let’s jump into the stash candidates.

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Looking Ahead to Week 12

All Access / By /

In this weekly article, I’m going to look ahead to the following week. I’ll point out a few players below 40% owned on ESPN who have strong matchups next week that you can pick up ahead of time to beat the waiver run. I’ll also try and get ahead of breakouts that could happen in the current week, as predicting breakouts is the best way to save your FAAB budget. Since most of these additions will occur on the weekend, I’ll exclude any players from the Thursday night game, as you won’t be able to add them to your rosters. This season more than any other, it’s essential to remain active and stay ahead of your league mates.

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Week 6 Early Game Storylines

Dynasty / By /

As usual, I’m trying a different type of article this week. I will go through each of the early slate games and discuss one dynasty-relevant storyline per team that I’m excited to see. If I get a chance, I might look at the rest of the games in another article, but I wanted to start with only the first set. This piece will give you something specific to look for in each contest, which I hope helps you enjoy the games even more. I’ve listed the home team first for each game. I won’t waste any more time, so let’s jump straight in!

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patriots team needs

Damien Harris: 2020 Dynasty Profile

Dynasty / By /

The Patriots selected Harris with the 87th overall pick in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. They had a relatively crowded backfield at the time, consisting of 2019 first-round pick Sony Michel, pass-catcher James White, and veteran Rex Burkhead. Given Michel’s relatively inefficient performances as a rookie, some people thought that Harris could challenge for the starting role. Even if Harris wouldn’t be the immediate starter, I believed he could compete with Michel for early-down work, alongside White as the third-down back.

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Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 5

Dynasty Risers and Fallers Week 5

Dynasty / By /

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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Start/Sit Week 5

All Access / By /

Each and every week, I’ll be covering a handful of players that I believe will either exceed expectations or let your team down in a major way. Here’s who you should be looking at for Week 5. This one should go without saying, but please start Kareem Hunt. He will operate as the undisputed lead back in Cleveland while Nick Chubb is on IR. Despite a tough matchup against the Colts’ much-improved defense, Hunt should be considered an RB1 this week and every week until Chubb returns.

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Adjusting the Lens Without Cam

Dynasty / By /

As fantasy players, we understand the risk behind playing each year, and if you participated this year the inherent risk was even larger. It’s exactly what most fantasy analysts predicted, a rough uphill climb to a championship. It may seem like players are being injured more frequently this season, but this was expected due to a lack of offseason preparation. Players’ unexpected absences from games were also expected, and hopefully, you followed fantasy advice from across the industry about adding IR and extra bench spots for just this scenario. 

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Dead to Me: Rob Gronkowski

Dynasty / By /

I’m taking my dead to me series into the dynasty realm. At least, dynasty leagues will be the primary focus for me in this series in the future. Writing about dynasty makes more sense for a series on burying a player, as we look at the player’s value over time. Now, it’s time to put the final burial on Rob Gronkowski. I mentioned Gronkowski in a short blurb in a risers and fallers article this week, but he deserves his own article. For someone who was once a star, he should get a proper send-off.

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The 2020 Exposure Report

Dynasty / By /

When it comes to fantasy football, we fall in love every year. During our offseason research, sleepers and favorites emerge. There are guys every season that you just have to have. But how many of those guys actually end up on your team? As buzz grows around your favorite players, ADP becomes your enemy and can end up thwarting your plans. All of a sudden, the guy you were getting in the seventh round of mock drafts all offseason costs you a fourth. You’re not alone. Here is my 2020 exposure report. It contains guys who I have a lot invested in based on where I could get them and some dudes who I wish I could have drafted more often.

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