Drafting to Win: The Ultimate Guide to Fantasy Football

by Robert Zarzycki

3.00 · rating details · 1 rating · 1 review

Fantasy Football has quickly become a multi-billion dollar industry Finally, for the millions of fantasy footballers who play for fun and/or money, here is a serious, comprehensive guide that teaches fantasy football from its basic terminology and fundamentals to the advanced strategies and systems needed to win consistently. In Drafting To Win: The Ultimate Guide To Fant...more

Paperback, 348 pages

Published June 13th 2005 by Authorhouse

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May 26, 2010

Timothy rated it

I have now read two selections from the burgeoning fantasy football “literature” (I find it interesting that such a literature exists): Drafting to Win and David Dorey’s Fantasy Football: The Next Level. If forced to make a choice, I would select Drafting to Win. There is a fundamental difference between the two books. Fantasy Football: The Next Level is more of a guidebook. Drafting to Win is more formal - Zarzycki presents a “system” that fantasy footballers can use to prepare for and execute ...moreI have now read two selections from the burgeoning fantasy football “literature” (I find it interesting that such a literature exists): Drafting to Win and David Dorey’s Fantasy Football: The Next Level. If forced to make a choice, I would select Drafting to Win. There is a fundamental difference between the two books. Fantasy Football: The Next Level is more of a guidebook. Drafting to Win is more formal - Zarzycki presents a “system” that fantasy footballers can use to prepare for and execute a successful draft. By formal, I do not mean that the writing is difficult or technical. Zarzycki goes to great lengths to make the book assessable and entertaining – complete with corny, guy-oriented jokes peppered throughout the book. Dorey also uses the “corny joke” tactic.

Both authors deserve credit – they clearly devoted considerable time and effort to understanding the game, and took the initiative to write a book. Zarzycki’s story is interesting. An average guy (I think he would agree with this description) with an MBA, who enjoyed fantasy football. He decided to enter a high stakes fantasy football competition and, by applying a system he created on his own, was able to finish 2nd out of 552 teams. He followed this by finishing 3rd the next year.

Zarzycki’s system is based on statistics and probability: using previous year data and league rules to calculate numbers that indicate the optimal ordering of player positions. This ordering provides useful pre-draft information. It provides hints on whether to, for example, draft the 13th ranked Running Back over the highest ranked Tight End. Then, Zarzycki’s system makes it possible to adapt this information on the fly during the actual draft, based on opponent draft picks.

While Zarzycki’s system is based on math, statistics, and probability, ultimately it can be considered a logic-based approach. And, in my view, Zarzycki’s logic is solid. Yet, it is telling that, even with strict application of Zarzycki’s system, subjectivity and luck can never be removed entirely. For example, the system can suggest that you should take the 13th Running Back over the 1st Tight End, but it cannot tell you whether or not the player you have slated as the 13th Running Back will have a successful season. If your opponents make better guesses about which players to rank in certain spots, they will beat you. In ranking players, Zarzycki simply advises close examination of “expert” rankings available from media outlets, the latest NFL news, and NFL depth charts.

And, Zarzycki admits that the system is a tool, but does not always lead to the best draft decision (especially later in the draft). The “numbers” may tell you to take the 8th Wide Receiver at a particular point in the draft, but a combination of factors may suggest otherwise.

Ultimately, I do believe that fantasy football players who apply Zarzycki’s system will have an edge on their opponents, especially in informal, low stakes leagues. But, the system is a truly just a tool, and an interesting one at that, if the reader likes numbers and logic.
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