Tips on How to Approach NFL DFS Preseason
Tips on How to Approach NFL DFS Preseason
Welcome Degenerates! I’m assuming if you are reading this article you are a degenerate like myself who has the itch to begin playing NFL DFS even if it is the just the NFL Preseason. While most people laugh at the notion of playing NFL Preseason, there is actually an edge for those who play and put in the necessary research to succeed.
This was evident in the most recent Hall of Fame game where players such as Mitch Tribusky, Jordan Howard, Alex Collins and Tarik Cohen garnered a decent chunk of ownership and didn’t even play in the game.
Casual fan’s or people seeking NFL DFS action will play just to play without putting in the necessary research needed to succeed, They will look for they players they know or the top rookies from the most recent draft. For example, Lamar Jackson garnered over 75% ownership in the HOF Showdown slate. Granted, that was a 1 game slate so ownership numbers are higher than normal. But, you can bet that other highly touted rookies and more well-known players will be near the top of ownership again this week.
Knowing that this will be the case, it allows us the opportunity to pivot off of these players in tournaments and go for the lesser known 2nd and 3rd unit players who will get majority of the snaps in this 1st game and 2nd game.
That being said, let’s dive in for some tips that will help you when playing NFL Preseason.
NFL DFS Preseason – Volume/Playing Time over Household Names
In fantasy football, the name of the game is volume and opportunity. This is even more evident in NFL Pre-Season where each week that passes starters usually play a little bit more than the previous week. The below is a general guideline of how most teams approach Preseason games but it’s obviously dependent on the team, coach and situation which we’ll get into more later.
- Week 1: Most offensive skill position starters do not play at all and if they do play it’s usually about 1-2 series MAX. Leaving most of the 1st half to the 2nd unit and all of the 2nd half to the 3rd and 4th unit guys who are fighting to make the roster.
- Week 2: The starting unit will usually play a few drives which could result in them playing the entire 1st quarter. For example, if a starting unit was only expected to play 2 drives but both went 3 and out, the coach may want to see the starting unit go out for another drive to see them sustain a drive. Again, the 2nd unit should play the remainder of the first half with some playing time spilling into the 2nd half. The majority of the 2nd half will be given to the 3rd and 4th unit guys again.
- Week 3; This is the week where we should expect to see the starters playing the most they have all Preseason. A lot of coaches look at the 3rd Pre-Season game as a dress rehearsal for regular season and this will be the last time the starters will play before Week 1. Starters should play most if not the entire 1st quarter with some starters playing the whole 1st half. This is the week where the 3rd and 4th unit guys should see the least amount of action.
- Week 4: No starters usually play Week 4 as this game is usually where majority of the 3rd and 4th unit players will get one last chance to show the coaches why they deserve to make the 53 man roster, practice squad or even just trying to get more game tape so they can potentially land somewhere else if they do get cut. Expect a lot of players on the roster bubble who are fighting for a spot to play in this game.
NFL DFS Preseason – Tips and Tricks
Follow Beat Reporters
To my above point, each team approaches Preseason differently as each team is facing a different set of circumstances. If a team is implementing a new scheme or has a new QB learning that scheme, there’s a greater likelihood that they’ll play more than a veteran player that is playing within the same scheme as he did the previous year.
No group of people has a better pulse or sense of their respective teams than beat reporters do during training camp and the preseason. While beat reporters aren’t talent evaluators, they are at every practice watching the team practice and are at every press conference listening to what to what the coaches have to say. Coaches will usually let on how much they expect a particular player to play before each Preseason game. For example. Hue Jackson recently said he expects Baker Mayfield will “play quite a bit” in Thursdays Night’s game.
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I personally subscribe to The Athletic, where I will check out each NFL team’s respective page to keep tabs on each team. I also find The Redzone as a great resource as it lists timely articles from a variety of sources for each team. In addition to the above, I also follow Chris Wesseling’s NFL beat reporters list which he provides each year. If you don’t follow Chris Wesseling already, he is a great follow who has a lot of great lists that you can subscribe too.
Monitor Injuries
As with regular season NFL DFS, understanding which players are injured can give you insight to which players should expect to play a lot on a given week. For example. the Eagles have 4 QBs on their roster in Carson Wentz, Nick Foles, Nate Sudfield and Joe Callahan. Wentz has already been ruled out for Thursday’s Preseason opener and it also look like Nick Foles will also be held out as he has missed the past few practices dealing with upper body soreness. That leaves the Eagles with Sudfield and Callahan playing the majority of snaps in this Thursday’s game against the Steelers.
Manage Your Bankroll
Yes, the Pre-Season presents an opportunity for those who really grind to find an edge. But it also possesses a lot of risk as there’s a lot of uncertainty that comes with it. This is a good time to try to slowly build your bankroll over these next 4 weeks but it is not the time to blow your bankroll before the NFL regular season even starts. I’ve always read that you should never play more than 10% of your bankroll on any given week which I know is easier said then done. That being said, your bankroll doesn’t have to be just the amount of funds that you have available on your account but the total amount you are willing to invest. With regards to game strategy, In the regular season, I usually try to play 75% of my entries in Cash formats (50/50’s, H2H, Double Ups) and the remaining in tournaments. But given the uncertainty with preseason, I will probably approach it closer to 50/50 approach with cash and tournaments.
Next. NFL DFS Week 1 Preseason Primer. dark
As with everything in life, the more research you do the better prepared you will be. Make sure to continue to monitor team news as it get closer to Thursday as a lot of team’s beat reporters will have a better sense of who will play and how much they will play prior to lineups locking on Thursday.
Best of luck!