By Kenny Ortiz
Follow Kenny @kennethortiz
Kenny has been a fantasy football enthusiast since 1996 and has developed a strong track record of finding quality value picks throughout the draft. Last year, he participated in 12 fantasy leagues and made it to the championship game in six of those leagues and claiming three fantasy championships. Kenny has especially established himself as a guru of auction leagues and keeper leagues. As for his “day job” Kenny is a motivational speaker, web designer, real estate landlord, free-lance writer and the host of this website.
Also, be sure to check out WalterFootball.com’s 2014 Fantasy Football articles, including sleepers, busts, tons of 2014 Fantasy Football mock drafts and other material. Follow Walter @walterfootball for updates.
Published August 26, 2014
I have had a lot of success in fantasy football over the years, and the main reason I have been so good is really quite simple … it’s the same reason why real estate developers make money: buy low!
I know that the overwhelming majority of fantasy football participants would agree with this statement, but it is always shocking to me how many fantasy football owners violate this every single year. Literally, 99 percent of guys tell me they look for value, but yet less than 10 percent of those same guys actually target undervalued players.
Every year I have guys who ask me, “Hey bro, what do you think of my roster?” My answer is always the same. “I have no idea.” It’s hard to just look at a roster and determine if you drafted well or not. Why? Well, because players do not inherently have any value. Everything is relative.
Let me give you an example. What if you told me that you just bought a brand-new car. Let’s say you bought a Honda Accord that is valued at $30,000. Let’s say you paid $30,000 for that car. Let’s say you asked me, “What do you think of my car?” I’d probably say, “Sure, nice. Hondas have great reputations.”
But you paid full price. Now, is paying full price a bad thing? Not if you actually get what you paid for, right? I mean, if the Honda runs great for you and you love it, that’s awesome! But you still paid $30,000. The question would be, “Could I have gotten similar results from another car for less money?”
Okay … so, let’s say your friend buys a slightly used Honda Accord; a similar model to yours, but maybe it’s just one year older than yours. Let’s say that his car is low milage and valued at $25,000, but because of his connections, he was able to buy it at $15,000.
Which scenario is better? Which would you prefer? The car valued at $30k that cost $30k or the car valued at $25k that only cost $15k? Well, it’s obvious. The better “deal” will be better. Why? Because that guy got similar car but paid $15k less … meaning he could spend that $15k elsewhere.
In this scenario, the guy that bought the used Honda Accord got the better value.
Now, I realize that this is a very shaky metaphor. But I do think it gives us a slight understanding of the importance of value … and this concept should govern our choices in fantasy football.
Value should be the name of the game!!!!
The owner who gets the best value picks is the owner most likely to win a league title. The owner who is able to draft players who will far out-play their average draft position (ADP) is the owner who will win a lot of games!
The days of drafting the totally “darkhorse sleeper” is pretty much gone due to the advent of the internet and the incredible rise in popularity a fantasy football. Too many people are just too knowledgeable these days, so the deep sleeper might not be as easy to keep secret, but the ability to target “undervalued” players is still very much alive in fantasy football and ought to be your main goal every time you pick.
The goal is simply this: select a player who is highly likely to outperform the draft spot at which you are drafting that player.
Remember, players don’t have inherent value.
If you tell me that you drafted Aaron Rodgers with the first overall pick of your draft this year, I will tell you I hate that pick. But if you tell me you have Aaron Rodgers on your roster because you drafted him in the fifth round, I would tell you that is awesome and you are well on your way to a championship!
Remember, the player itself isn’t necessarily the problem, it’s the value that players represent that matter. Every player has some value. Every player has something worth investing in; it’s up to you to get more production than what you pay for.
Let’s talk about values at each position!
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Fantasy Football Rankings
2014 Fantasy Football Rankings:
2014 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks - 8/30 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs - 9/3 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers - 9/3 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends - 8/27 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Rankings: Defenses - 6/4 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Rankings: Kickers - 6/4 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings - 5/18 (Walt)
Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings: Dynasty - 8/22 (Walt)
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2014 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 2-QB - 8/21 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Standard - 8/14 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: PPR - 8/12 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 3-WR - 8/7 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Standard - 7/31 (Walt)
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2014 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Standard - 7/10 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets:
2014 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 - 9/3 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 - PPR - 9/3 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 - 2-QB - 9/3 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 250 - TD - 9/3 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Custom - 9/3 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Spreadsheets - 8/28 (Walt)
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2014 Fantasy Football Stock Report: Training Camp - 9/3 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football: It's All About Value - 9/1 (Kenny)
2014 Fantasy Football Sleepers - 8/31 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Busts - 8/31 (Walt)
2014 NFL Preseason Recap, Fantasy Football Notes - 8/30 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Preseason Stock - 8/30 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Quarterback Targets - 8/30 (Walt)
FanDuel $1 Million Contest - 8/30 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator - 8/30 (Walt)
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2014 Fantasy Football Stock Report: Running Backs - 3/28 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football: Overdrafted Players - 2/16 (Walt)
2014 Fantasy Football: First-Round Bust History - 2/14 (Walt)
Running Backs with Most Carries - 2/14 (Walt)
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2025 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 20
NFL Power Rankings - Nov. 19
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