NFFC Profile - Dan Worthington

[Tom Kessenich]

Heading into the season, the running back position looked extremely shaky in fantasy football. There were only three players viewed as standout options and they were often gone by the time the fourth pick was on the board. The teams that were able to procure quality running back depth in their drafts were often well ahead of the game before the season had even begun.

Dan Worthington had one of those such teams in the NFFC. It certainly helped that he received one of the biggest Draft Day gifts in any Primetime league.

When Arian Foster fell to the eighth pick in Worthington's Las Vegas league he quickly pounced. Landing Doug Martin in the third round provided Worthington with the RB foundation he needed and he was off and running.

Ten weeks later, he's sitting near the top of the event's overall standings. Heading into Week 11, Worthington's team is a mere 12.5 points behind front-running Michael Edelman in the race for the $150,000 grand prize.

"The biggest strategy that's worked so far is understanding that RB1s and RB2s have about a 50 percent survival rate and the lack of running back depth," he said. "I avoided the Upside Down approach. Instead, taking running backs early and then strategically targeting rookies and backups later in the draft has consistently paid dividends."

Having stud running backs like Foster and Martin certainly is the stuff fantasy dreams are made of, but Worthington's strong team goes beyond those two players. He also has top scoring players at three other positions as well with Matt Ryan, Reggie Wayne, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez.

"The Falcons' offense with Ryan, White and Gonzalez has definitely helped a lot," he said. "The performances of Reggie Wayne and Tony Gonzalez, in particular, have been much better than expected. It's also helped that I've had maneagle injuries, only losing Ryan Williams and Pierre Garcon."

A strong draft certainly can be a godsend but any well-versed fantasy owners know the Waiver Wire can also be your friend as the season goes along. That's certainly been true for Worthington.

"I picked up Brian Hartline and Carson Palmer before they broke out," he said. "Hartline has been a beast as a WR3 and Palmer filled in very nicely during Ryan's bye and gives me a nice backup."

The 49-year-old Worthington lives in Misson, Texas with his wife and three children. He is a civil defense attorney in McAllen, Texas and is currently President of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel.

When he's not confronting pressing legal issues, Worthington is knee deep in fantasy football preparation. A longtime high-stakes player, Worthington had two Top 25 WCOFF finishes on his resume before diving into the NFFC last year.

He knows that while the playoffs are just around the corner there is still plenty of work left to be done if he's going to make a serious run at the Primetime championship.

"The competition has been very close in my league," he said. "There are still seven or eight teams in the hunt for a playoff spot. Apart from avoiding injuries, I need the Falcons and Texans to score a lot of points but lose some games. I also need a lot of luck."

[ChiTwn]

Foster fell to 8th?? wow. And I couldn't even get Brees to fall to me at 7.

[Greg Ambrosius]

This is a great writeup on Dan and his successful season. I really enjoy reading about our top guys because I don't always get a lot of time to meet everyone at the live events. I remember talking with Dan briefly after one of his drafts and I'm so glad to have a good, veteran fantasy player still in the space after what happened at the other event. Congrats on a great start Dan and thanks for choosing the NFFC when you were forced into "free agency." Continued good luck.

[nolencole]

Mr. Worthington, Close is your other PT league that you landed Foster / AJ Green with first 2 picks.

good luck

[Money]

Don drafted a Great team. This is probably one of the closest leagues in the Primetime event with the exception of his team as he is lapping the field by 214 points!!! That is a lot of points. 2nd place through 10th place (8 teams) are separated by a mere 14 points. I would have never thought that possible.

Congratulations on the great start Don. I always enjoy seeing someone from my leagues compete in the overall if it can't be my team.

[JD CUBE]

Thanks. Need a little help with the Foster/Green team. Hopefully, it will get on track. Good luck to y'all as well....