RotoAcademy Preview: Constructing Your Core
When people transition to multi-entry, the single biggest mistake they make is wanting to play too many players. The general public thinks that making 150 lineups means a player can cover every imaginable scenario. If that were true, one in every 150 teams would be winning first place in every tournament.
When you’re making a lot of lineups, the goal should not be to try and cover every possible player. Instead, our aim should be to cover as many angles as possible on a small core of players.
I bolded that section because I think it’s that important. In fact, I think it’s probably the most important piece of information in this entire course. The best way to make sure that you don’t profit from scripting is by trying to cover every angle in the slate. There are simply too many angles to cover. It’s simply not possible. Instead, the goal should be to find a core group of players who put you in the best position to win and then go from there with the angle on them.
A lot of people ask how many players they should play at a given position when multi-entering. The answer (as usual when talking about DFS) is, “It depends.” Some weeks I might have three or four running backs I like. Some weeks I might have six or seven. Some weeks there might be five wide receivers. Some weeks there might be 11. It all depends on the slate and how many good spots there are.
When determining how many guys you want, start by being brutally aggressive when it comes to cutting a player. Is a running back in an above-average spot but bound to be popular? Cut him. We want guys in great spots. Is a tight end in a spot where he could score a touchdown, but the targets likely won’t be there? See ya later. Is a wide receiver going to be shadowed by one of the best cornerbacks in football? Good bye.
When you start looking for the absolute best of the best spots and cutting everybody else, your core will become very evident. Developing a strong core is essential to scripting. It’s what gives your teams high floors since all of your players are in spectacular spots to succeed. It’s also what gives your teams high ceilings, since you’re going to be covering as many iterations of this core as possible.
Editor’s Note: This is one of the many valuable DFS lessons that can be found over at RotoAcademy. Click here to browse through all of our free/premium offerings and improve as a daily fantasy sports player!
When I start my research for the week, the first thing I do is open up the RotoGrinders Lineup Builder and exclude everybody. I don’t want to see anybody on my list of possible plays. It’s a psychological trick I play on myself because it’s easier to leave somebody in a script than it is specifically to choose somebody for your script. It may not work for you, but it’s what works for me.
From there, I sort the teams alphabetically and look at the situation of the first team. If that team is the Arizona Cardinals, I’ll take a look at the passing game matchup. Is the opposing defense vulnerable to passes to the WR1 or the WR2? Can the Cardinals’ opponent be beaten via the tight end? Is the defense more vulnerable to short passes or long passes? Is there a cornerback matchup that is especially exploitable?
I ask all of these questions and only then do I look at what Arizona’s passing attack likes to do. If the strength of the Cardinals passing offense lines up with the weakness of the defense, the player who benefits the most from this alignment goes into my script. If nothing correlates well, then I continue.
Next, I look at the running game to look for weaknesses to exploit. Does the defense give up a lot of yards to the right side, while Arizona runs the ball to the right side more often than not? Does the defense give up a bunch of catches out of the backfield? How has this defense been exploited previously by running backs, and will the offense be able to exploit the defense in the same way?
I read news and notes from beat writers who have been attending practices. I search for any injuries that might affect how a defense is able to defend a certain player. I look for every single edge I can find. If I can’t find a significant edge for a player, he doesn’t get selected.
I do this for every single team. Again, I am brutally aggressive when it comes to dismissing players. If I’m going to have a core of guys, it’s going to be the best of the best.
The reason I use this method is because I want to see exactly how many players I absolutely need to roster at each position. No matter what happens from here, barring any late news, this is going to be my core.
Some weeks my core consists of just three running backs, five wide receivers, two tight ends, and three defenses. That’s perfectly OK, because the goal of selecting players the first go-around is to have on your rosters the guys who are in the absolute best spots. By the way, did you notice how I don’t have any quarterbacks yet? That’s because usually they’re the last players I select.
In Mass Multi-Entering NFL GPPs, you’ll learn:
• How to Use the RotoGrinders Lineup Builder
• How to construct your core with a script
• The secondary options to target for GPPs
• The quarterback correlations to exploit
• How to bulk-edit your lineups
• How to manage your your lineup with late swap
To read the rest of “Mass Multi-Entering NFL GPPs,” you must purchase the course!
