Alright, so I’ve been messing around with fantasy football again, and this time I decided to dive into the world of optimizers, specifically for FanDuel. I’ve always been pretty decent at picking players, but I figured, why not try to get an edge? So, I went searching for an “nfl fanduel optimizer.”
Finding the Right Tool
First thing I did was some good old-fashioned searching. There are tons of these optimizers out there, some free, some paid. I played with a few of the free ones, just to get a feel for how they work. It was pretty simple.
- I Found a free optimizer online. It was super basic, but it did the job.
- Input Player Salaries: I typed in all the FanDuel player salaries for the week. This took a little while, but hey, gotta put in the work, right?
- Set the parameters for positions: such as 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 FLEX, 1 D/ST.
Experimenting with Projections
Now, here’s where it got interesting. Most optimizers let you use their own player projections, or you can plug in your own. I started with their projections, just to see what would happen.
I used a website’s player projections (points, not dollars).I tweaked them a bit. I bumped up the projections for a couple of players I felt were being undervalued, and lowered a few I thought were overhyped.
Running the Optimizer
Generating Lineups: Once I had all the salaries and projections in, I hit the “optimize” button. The thing churned for a few seconds and then spit out a lineup. I actually generated a bunch of lineups, like 10 or 15, just to see the different combinations it came up with.
Analyzing the Results
I Took a close look at the generated lineups, and here is what I focused on.
- Player Exposure: Did the optimizer keep picking the same few players over and over? If so, it might mean those players are really good values, or it could mean my projections are skewed.
- Salary Cap Usage: Did the lineups use up most of the salary cap? You don’t want to leave too much money on the table.
- Stacking: Did the optimizer “stack” players from the same team (like a QB and WR)? This can be a good strategy, especially in high-scoring games.
Tweaking and Refining
I didn’t just take the first lineup and run with it. I went back and made some more adjustments to the projections, played with some settings in the optimizer and try to added in other parameters.
I Fiddled with the “randomness” setting: Some optimizers have a setting that lets you control how much variety there is in the lineups. I wanted a mix of “chalk” (obvious) plays and some contrarian picks.
The Final Product
After all that tinkering, I ended up with a handful of lineups that I felt pretty good about. I ended up pick my lineup for my contest.
It was a fun experiment! I’m not sure if it’ll make me a millionaire, but it definitely made me think more strategically about how I build my lineups. We’ll see how it goes this weekend!
