20/20 with Drew Dodson

This week, The Dynasty Playbook creator and DLF IDP contributor, Drew Dodson, gave us a few minutes of his time so you could get to know him just a little bit better.

Where are you from?

I was born outside Chicago, but I grew up in Slidell, LA which is across the lake from New Orleans. 

What do you do for your regular job?

I am technically retired, but I spend my free time working on fantasy football content. Whether it be my IDP ranks or articles for DLF or my podcast, The Dynasty Playbook, which I recently put on hiatus while I work out what the future of the show is without my former co-host. 

What is the worst job you have ever had?

A few years ago I worked as a maintenance technician at a truck stop. I mowed the grass, I swept the parking lot, I pressure washed, and the best part was cleaning showers to get them ready for truckers. But hey, when you’ve got bills to pay you can’t be too good for any job. 

What is the best job you have ever had?

While I was in the Marine Corps I worked as an Expeditionary Airfield service tech. We worked machines that allow a jet to catch a cable on an aircraft carrier like in Top Gun, except we had them for land-based use. We also managed all the different lighting for the airfield, as well as actually building airfields and helicopter landing pads in different areas like Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Bahrain. It was a very interesting job where I got to do a variety of things and see different places. 

What do you consider your dream job?

It’s hard to say that I’m not doing my dream job already. I would love to expand the amount of content that I produce to include more devy and rookie draft content as I settle into a routine of actively producing content. 

How long have you been in the industry?

I originally worked my way into the industry back in 2015 when I started The Dynasty Playbook as a podcast dedicated to the /r/DynastyFF subreddit. For the first few episodes I recorded with the originator of the subreddit, but the working relationship didn’t last and the podcast found its long-time co-host, and one of my favorite people, in Tyler Huggins @HBombIDP. We recorded just short of 100 episodes before we went on hiatus in 2017 and that lasted until 2020 when I re-launched the show with @Mr_Eby. During my original stint, I did a small amount of writing for Fakepigskin and UTH, but I wasn’t able to keep up a steady stream of content while producing the show, going to school full-time, and working full-time 

How did you get your break into fantasy football?

I got introduced to fantasy football when the shop of guys I worked within the Marine Corps pulled me into the rec room and handed me a list of players and said we’re doing a fantasy draft and we need another person. I drafted like a homer, including taking Garrett Hartley (the Saints’ kicker at the time) in the 2nd round. My team started off awful, but I went and picked up a fantasy magazine and downloaded the only fantasy app that was available at the time “Pro Football Weekly.” I worked my butt off on the wire and put together a team and won a championship. It didn’t hurt that I drafted Gronk in his breakout season and Shady in a season where he scored a TD in the first 16 games of the season. I’ve been hooked ever since. 

What tool do you use the most on DLF?

It may not be any of the fancy tools, but I constantly go back to the ADP that @RyanMc23 has put together over the years. It helps me to see what players I’m higher on than consensus to pick them up or lower on so I can try and trade them while the iron’s hot. 

What tool do you use the most outside of DLF?

It’s hard to call it a tool, but I use Pro Football Reference’s advanced defense statistics all the time. Being able to track pressures from a source I trust is a great way to tell if certain players aren’t getting sacks because they’re falling off or if they’re only missing out on sacks by a fraction of a second. 

Who was the best sleeper you pegged that broke out?

My biggest offensive sleeper I’ve nailed was definitely Stefon Diggs. I loved him as a prospect, and I drafted him a round higher than his ADP in every league I was in at the time just to make sure I got him. 

My biggest defensive sleeper was Danielle Hunter. @HBombIDP and I preached from the rooftops for Hunter as a prospect even though he was extremely raw coming out. The athletic gifts he brought to the table were on a whole different level than most prospects. 

Who was your biggest whiff?

That 2015 class is a roller coaster for me because my biggest hits and misses come from that class. I completely whiffed on Nelson Agholor, I’ve only fought as hard as I did for my eval on a player one other time, and that was Tyler Boyd, who I had ranked as the WR1 in his draft class. But on the lower end, I LOVED Tre McBride, so I’ve definitely had my misses. 

What is the worst trade you have made?

It took a lot of digging, but the worst trade I ever made was in a now-defunct league. In 2014 I traded Davante Adams, Travis Kelce, and a 2016 1st for Tre Mason, Keenan Allen, and Charles Clay. Granted, at the time Adams hadn’t broken out, and Kelce was likely the TE4 behind Gronk, Graham, and Ertz, but in terms of today’s value that’s the worst one. (There’s video out there of my soul dying when the Rams drafted Gurley, I was a huge Mason fan) 

Who is your favorite underfollowed Twitter account?

It’s hard to narrow it down, but someone whose content is consistently on point is @jnammour24. Compared to most of the other content producers I follow he has a much smaller following

Who is your favorite NFL team?

The Saints 

Who is your favorite college football team?

LSU Tigers

Who was your favorite player growing up?

Deuce McAllister

Who is your favorite player of all time?

Kurt Warner 

What other hobbies or passions do you have outside of fantasy football?

I’m a super nerd. I love anime, video games, and comics. I even have a sword from one of my favorite games tattooed on my leg and I plan on getting a sleeve done using Spider-Man characters when I can spare a of couple grand. When I get interested in a series I become obsessed and I have to know everything about it. This also makes me into a real trivia buff. I also enjoy playing board games with my wife and friends. 

What are some of your favorite movies?

South Park Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, most 90’s Adam Sandler movies, most of Will Ferrell’s movies, early Tarantino (nothing against the newer stuff, just haven’t seen it), and Goodfellas.

Who are some of your favorite bands?

Alter Bridge, Metallica, Halestorm, Guns N’ Roses, Slash (solo), Linkin Park