He screen-shared a half-finished doc with a treasure trove of preseason usage data. I don’t know if he asked “Should this be a column?” or “Could this be a column?” or how it exactly played out. But it’s now a column. And it’s so good and so deep.

Is it useful? Obviously. I’m not just a company shill! I’ve only been here two months! But hard proof after the break…

What’s in today’s newsletter?

1. Dwain McFarland’s preseason takeaways and why they matter.

2. Chris Allen walks through strategy from the 1.12 spot.

3. Watercooler: A Hollywood horror…

Preseason Week 1 Data Dive

by Nando Di Fino

Look, it’s preseason, we all kind of know the drill at this point. But I consider this extremely helpful:

• Malik Washington started and played the first nine drives. He posted a 17% target share and had one carry for 21 yards. Washington is a name to keep an eye on if he can find his way to the WR3 role. He is a great YAC player who could boom in this scheme if Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle misses time.

Full disclosure, I never copied homework off of anyone in high school, but this is what I imagine it feels like.

According to our ADP tool, Malik Washington currently has an ADP of 214 on Underdog and 293.8 on NFFC. He’s not even registering on Yahoo or ESPN yet. This is how you win leagues, people!!

And this is just the first writeup in the column (before it gets pushed down as it updates later today for the Saturday night games — your pal Dwain is updating as we go along; his benevolent idea, not mine). 

I’d feel bad plugging this so hard if it fell behind a paywall. But it doesn’t. It’s free. Every week. It’s like an amuse bouche for the full-on Utilization Report. Which then leads to rankings and tiers. 

After our Column of the Day, I promise that the Watercooler will be all outside links so you don’t feel too Fantasy Life’d out.

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Optimal Draft Strategy from 1.12

by Chris Allen

It took me a few re-watches to understand the meaning behind Skyfall.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s probably the best of Daniel Craig’s James Bond movies. Javier Bardem’s opening monologue? Chef’s kiss. But the doom and gloom was overblown.

The first sequence shows Bond getting shot and falling to his death. Afterward, everyone questions why he returned to his likely demise. Plus, Adele’s hit song, starting with the lyric ‘This is the end,’ played into the dark tone. But Craig still reprised the role two more times. In 007 parlance, he lived to die another day.

Drafting from the 1.12 feels like the end. I mean, it literally is the end of standard leagues, but you know what I mean. Waiting for 11 picks to make your first selection is agonizing. Following ADP feels like a losing battle. However, like Bond, with some gadgets and tools at your side, you get through a (draft) battle without too much damage.

The First Round

*Draft Settings: PPR, Yahoo ADP, Standard Roster (1QB, 2RB, 2WR, 1TE, 1 FLEX)

The first round is like the super cool ski instructor meme from South Park. If you think you’re going to get one of the hyped, elite options at the 1.12, you’re going to have a bad time. You’ll be disappointed. At the same time, any pre-draft plans you may have had will go out the window. So, let’s set expectations.

Our Draft Champion tool can simulate a draft with a few mouse clicks. Even better, if you have a grasp of your league mates' tendencies (e.g., Zero RB, Heavy RB, etc.), you can assign the bots to use their approach. From there, we can see what we’re up against.

Christian McCaffrey’s calf strain and Puka Nacua’s busted bursa sac (I had to google what a bursa sac was) may drop their ADP, but this is a representative set based on Yahoo’s market. Regardless, there are two big takeaways here.

First, by our rankings and tiers, you’ll be picking out of the third grouping of players. Fortunately, there are still plenty of gems. But you’re not just making one pick. Consequently, having a loose plan regarding your draft strategy becomes a key component of the 1.12.

Will it inform your next move(s) at the 3.12? Yes.

Do you need to follow it for the rest of the draft? Nope.

But consider these three starts.

• Team 1: Davante Adams, Jahmyr Gibbs

• Team 2: Jonathan Taylor, Gibbs

• Team 3: Marvin Harrison Jr., Drake London

Swap the names out for whoever you’re more comfortable with at cost. The positional allocation is the focus here.

Team 1 offers balance, while the other two have the markings of Hero or Zero RB. There’s no requirement for any squad to adhere to the approach, but the third round (and beyond) becomes much more pivotal as we build out our core roster. 

The latest analysis and insights from our merry band of football nerds:

🎥 A Hollywood horror…not the most encouraging news for this key WR.

👀 Zac Jackson breaks down some Browns WRs who could make an impact in his camp notes.

🤝 Olympics news: Emma Hayes’ mom met Tom Cruise.

🏆 Can we take a second to appreciate Edge of Tomorrow?

🤩 Since we’re appreciating things, how about Kite Man getting a spinoff from the underrated Harley Quinn show!

📈 Not to take Watercooler completely off-track (Pete will be back tomorrow, I swear), but Bane in the Harley Quinn series is a top-10 character, any show, in the last decade.

🐅 Chase Brown is a name you’ll likely hear a lot this preseason. Remember he had the second-fastest ball carry in the NFL last year.

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