Can’t Cut List is our way of showcasing the friends, partners, and affiliates of The Undroppables. Fantasy Football has been a way for us to connect with people all over the world, allowing us to make strong bonds and friendships. Throughout the way, we’ve been fortunate enough to connect with the industry’s top upcoming names. Meet some of the brightest minds that have influenced us in our processes.
Stone Cold
Next up in our series is David Zach (@DavidZach16), the creator of the Fantasy Z-Score. Mr. Zach also writes for two of fantasy football’s biggest brands: FantasyPros and DynastyNerds. This analytics junkie has made an impact with his hard work and it’s only a matter of time before he joins the big names when discussing projection models.
When I called David for this feature, it quickly became apparent that this mechanical engineer hailing from Dickinson, North Dakota (where the temperatures are frigid) has forged David into a man with determination and unique perspective on life and fantasy football.
For those who are not familiar with mechanical engineering, it is essentially the design, development, and manufacture of machines and devices to transmit power. This science requires deep analytical thinking and an ability to predict results or consequences, similarly to what fantasy analysts use to build projection models. David also completed about 80% of the coursework for a Masters in Psychology, which evidences a desire to learn along with more analytical tools.
David isn’t always building machines and models, however. He is married with a beautiful wife and baby girl and loves spending his free time with them, playing board and card games and exercising. He is also a dancer with some “stone cold impressive dance moves” as he used them to lure his wife when they first met. If alcohol was involved (most likely), then it was likely a few vodka-Red Bulls. If he’s not with his family, David keeps himself busy exercising and getting in some Call of Duty.
Finding Meaning In Numbers
When David got into the fantasy football game, he was fortunate enough to connect with guys like Hayden Winks and Blaine Blontz, who took chances on a young, hungry kid out of North Dakota. Being able to showcase his projection model work was a tremendous opportunity for David but that didn’t stop him from learning from the best. As I spoke with David, it became evident that he has so much respect for great minds like Peter Howard and Garrett Price who have been great sounding boards during the modeling process.
Among his proudest accomplishments is being able to provide content that helps his readers get an edge in their leagues and drafts. In the end, for David, it’s all about putting together a meaningful interpretation of data. Whether it’s developing the Z-Score, Yards Created, TD regression, Air Yard Differentials, Vacated RB touches… this guy is constantly looking to build his next model. Go figure!
David’s biggest fear in evaluation is getting caught in tunnel vision, focusing too heavily on only a trait or two. To counter, David tries to be as holistic as he reasonably can and looking at the bigger picture. Like the rest of us, David has personal opinions on each player but tries his best to avoid being biased when creating models. If he is unable to explain very clearly why a statistic or metric is being included and how it should be applied, it does not belong in the results. Each statistic in a model must have a clear correlation to the result, which he usually measures by its R^2 and visual plotting. With his background in engineering, it isn’t a surprise that the beauty is in the details.
Words of Wisdom
“Have fun with fantasy football. It is an imaginary game for adults who love football after all!”
