We were able to get ahold of veteran player Shawn Coots and get his view on many aspects of high stakes fantasy football.
Occupation (when not playing fantasy football)
Have been in the Air Force for 17 Years
Family life
I am married and have two little girls ages 8 and 5
Years playing fantasy football
Started playing fantasy football with friends in about 1991. We only had 6 teams and it was basic TD scoring with bonus points for every 100 yards.
Your biggest score(s) in fantasy football
My biggest score was this last season where I finished up winning just over $277K for all my leagues. Winning the 250K grand prize for the FBG tourney helped a lot.
Do you prefer drafting live or online? Why?
I prefer drafting live if giving the option. I really enjoy messing with the other competitors and having fun. I have always thought that half the fun was the draft alone. If you are in an online draft and no one types in the comment box it makes for a boring draft. I like the interaction with other players.
Name two players that you expect will be undervalued in most fantasy drafts this year. Explain why you think these sleepers could drastically outperform their ADP.
In drafts so far I believe B Pierce has been severely undervalued. I have been getting him anywhere from round 9 to 12 which I think is a steal. He will have a big role this year with R Rice having his issues. Another player has been MJD, I think he wins the lions share of touches in Oakland. Especially after McFadden gets hurt and could be a really nice value in rounds 7 through 10.
Name two players that will not be on your roster at any draft position. Explain why you think these busts could drastically under-perform their ADP.
M. Lynch will not be on any of my teams no matter where he falls to me. I’m not buying into the C. Michael hype train this year yet but he is still there to steal some carries. My biggest worry is the 1000+ carries he has had over the last 3 years including the playoffs. He never tries to avoid anyone so 1000 carries for him is more like 1200 for any other RB, those touches will take its toll I think this year. D. Bowe is the other. I have never liked Bowe and think his value is even less this year. He cannot separate from anyone, his QB has very little arm strength and they play from ahead too often which limits his possible touches even more.
Give us a snapshot of how you prep for a fantasy draft once you know your draft position?
Honestly I don’t accomplish much draft prep. I know going in whereabouts most players will go and what round I will have to take them in if I want them on the team I’m drafting that night. That being said I usually like to take the best player available in the first 4 rounds and then adjust for team construction at that point.
How do you go about evaluating talent that you will add via the waiver wire?
I try to watch every game back on Monday. What I look for is what part of the game were they for, what the situation was (a close game or blowout), and how many touches or targets are they getting. Looking at all these items it really helps me gauge what that players usage will be in the upcoming weeks.
How much of fantasy football is skill? How much is luck?
I truly believe that 80% or higher is skill and then you just hope you don’t get unlucky.. I never say I hope I get lucky and neither do any of the other top players, we just hope we don’t get unlucky with injuries. This is why you always see the same names at the top of leaderboards year after year.
What advice would you give a player taking a shot at high stakes for the 1st time? Without giving away all of your secrets, how can a newbie get up to speed quickly in the world of high stakes?
Honestly they will probably struggle for the first year or two learning when to take players without giving up too much value. For players just coming into high stakes I would recommend not paying attention to any ADP that may be out there and just take the guys you want. Many times I see FF players taking a guy just because the ADP says he is the next player that should be taking. If you are going to go down then at least go down with the players you really wanted. In all honesty I have found myself doing the same thing in years past. I vowed 3 years ago to not look at any ADP’s again and just make sure I get the guys that are on my board.
What is your favorite high stakes format? (Main Event, Draft Experts, Dynasty, Auction, etc). Why do you prefer this format?
I really like them all, I’m just a fantasy Nut!!! The Main Event is just so awesome when you walk into that room and have a thousand other drafters there. That is always my highlight of each year. I do however really enjoy the Dynasty Leagues. I have become very skilled at startup drafts and trading throughout the year. Being skilled in these areas has allowed me to build some extremely good teams that should payout for years to come. In saying that to make a profit is every ones end goal and I seem to do that every year with my Dynasty Leagues alone.
To tight end or not to tight end? With the FFPC dual flex (and awarding 1.5 points per reception for tight ends), this position is extremely valuable. Do you generally pay a premium for a top five tight end or do you seek value at RB/WR and look to grab your tight end later?
I very rarely take a top tight end within the first 5 rounds. I just like to build my team differently so I tend to try and grab TE’s with upside later. I will mix things up and have a couple teams with Graham or another top TE but I will not have too many of these. In saying that I witnessed other players that almost always use the early TE strategy and have done very well over the years.
Give us your top six picks in the FFPC Main Event
With today’s date it would be in no exact order McCoy, Charles, AP, Forte, Calvin, and Dex with Lacy also in consideration.
Many of the best players in the FFPC wait on their quarterbacks. But with the NFL moving more and more to a passing league (and guys like Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers putting up ridiculous totals), when will you be looking to grab your QB in the Main Event?
I am known for waiting a very long time before drafting QBs. Unless a very good QB falls into my lap where I feel I cannot pass him up I wait until round 8 or later. On my championship team last year I waited until the 13th round to draft my first QB. Most teams already had 2 by that time. Every draft is different and I let the flow of the draft and talent on the board dictate when I draft positions.
Make a case for why someone should come to Vegas and participate in some high stakes events.
It is by far my favorite time of the year. The friendships and bonds that I have made with some other High Stakes players are incredible. We all get together to draft, trash talk each other, and have some fun on the strip. What more do I have to say, it is easiest the most fun you will ever have drafting fantasy football.
What's the biggest mistake you see high stakes players consistently making in these leagues?
I’m going to be very broad in this question.. I think they fail to have a good overall team construction.
Aside from the obvious payout and competition level, what's the biggest difference between high stakes leagues and regular leagues?
Availability of drafting every night if you choose to. It is very addicting once you get started.
What's the thing you wished you'd learned five years ago?
I talked about this earlier, just making sure I stick to my own cheat sheets and not look at ADP.
Can you take both a quarterback and a tight end in the first six rounds of an FFPC draft and be successful?
Not very often. Can it be done, sure but it makes your job that much more difficult.
At the end of the 20 rounds (Drafts/Auctions), how many of each position do you expect to end up with? In Draft Expert format (now 28 rounds), how many of each position do you plan to roster?
Usually 2 QBs, 6 to 7 recievers each, 2 to 3 TEs and then one kicker and one Defense. In draft masters it depends greatly on how I constructed my team through the first 6 rounds to be honest. I don’t have a set number that I shoot for other than Kickers and Defense, I like to have 3 of each if possible.
What is your basic waiver strategy?
I try to find that impact guy that rarely comes along and make sure that I get them. It could be week 1 for early drafts such as J. Thomas last year (for early year drafts) or a Z. Stacy/K. Allen in the middle weeks. There is always a couple every year that really push teams over the top.
Best guesses: By what week will you have spent 50% of your allocated dollars? How much money do you plan to still have after 10 weeks of play?
I don’t put any type of allocation amount when it comes to bidding. If that impact guy is there I will spend almost my whole budget on them. In many early FBG Leagues last year J. Thomas wasn’t drafted. So after week 1 there was a huge impact player available for everyone. I bid 990 on him in I think 8 leagues, I was fortunate enough to get him on 5 I think. Was he worth spending 99% of my budget on one player in the first week? The answer is simple and it is Yes. After week 10 if I didn’t spend big on one impact player I like to have about 30 dollars left.
Walk us through the emotions you experienced championship week with all that money on the line.
That week was very stressful to be honest. I really liked my team and liked it even more having a 21 point lead going into week 16. I had one week spot and that was my QB, looking at the teams behind me a lot of them had P. Manning and I knew that most of that 21 point lead was going to disappear with just the QB position. If I had a better option than E. Manning I would’ve felt a little better going into Sunday morning. I knew my key was D. Murray as NO ONE near me had him and his matchup was a plus one. I didn’t have any fingernails left before the games even started.
How did you celebrate in the weeks after it was official?
Well Christmas was that week so my Wife and I both had some time off of work to enjoy it. It was all a little hard to believe honestly, 250K is a lot of money and we were very happy to have been fortunate enough to win it. It probably didn’t sink in until February once we had all that money in our account.