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Five key factors to consider when playing daily fantasy NFL

Five key factors to consider when playing daily fantasy NFL
Five key factors to consider when playing daily fantasy NFL

Daily fantasy sports have soared in popularity over the last half-decade. While traditional fantasy football is still widely played, more and more NFL fans are turning to the daily fantasy sports space.

Instead of a season-long commitment, sports fans can engage in DFS games with quick outcomes and returns. It’s well-suited to the fast-paced nature of modern entertainment. Here are five key factors to consider when playing daily fantasy football:

Research Matchups

It’s vital to look into the specific matchups on a given day. This goes beyond the team head-to-head records and requires users to analyze whether a wide receiver is likely to get to go at an inferior player in the secondary.

The best fantasy platforms make it easy to look into the upcoming matchups when selecting your fantasy players. Whether you’re a seasoned fantasy player or among the many new users joining Dabble fantasy, you can check out the previous statistics for a player in a given category, like Justin Jefferson’s receiving yards in his last five games. This can help to inform your DFS picks, particularly if you think Jefferson is going to have an advantage against the opposing cornerback.

Dive into the Stats

Sites like Pro Football Reference are perfect for conducting your research when playing Dabble fantasy or other alternatives. These provide historical statistics for every player in the NFL, including game logs from each of their seasons in professional football.

You can also access detailed season-long breakdowns, such as average passing yards, yards per carry, and much more. If you’re trying to dive a little deeper, the splits section can be particularly enlightening, as this shows their statistics against a given opponent, how they fare at home versus away, and whether they are better playing indoors or outdoors.

Look at the Weather Forecast

Weather can have a significant impact on the outcome of an NFL game. It can also influence the stats produced by key players in daily fantasy football.

In very cold, windy, or wet conditions, it becomes much more difficult for quarterbacks to throw the ball, and it is inevitably challenging for receivers to cling on to passes. This tends to lead to teams running the ball more frequently, so a snow game is a good time to take the over on a rushing attempts.

Check for Key Injuries

Injuries are – unfortunately – a constant problem in the NFL. Each team has a cluttered injury report even a couple of weeks into the season.

These obviously fall into different categories of severity. Some players might be out for the year, which means it’s a case of remembering who is unavailable. Others have a more fluid prognosis, which can be trickier to keep on top of when making your daily fantasy sports picks.

For example, if the left tackle is questionable, you may want to wait until their status is confirmed before deciding on your selections. A weaker offensive line doesn’t grab the headlines like a quarterback or star receiver being injured, but it can have a massive impact on the effectiveness of the offense.

Consider Coaching Impact

The head coach and coordinators are the brains behind the operation of each NFL team. Their role cannot be overstated. A great head coach can turn losses into wins. Smart coordinators can outmaneuver their opponents, leading to turnovers on defense and extra yardage on offense.

The coaching matchup can be a decisive factor in an NFL game. This can change the outlook for players when making daily fantasy selections, too, as poor play calling can undermine even the league’s best players.

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