Interrogate The Industry No. 10: JJ Zachariason

It seems as if the closer and closer football season is getting, the more and more I want to Interrogate the Industry! “Everyone, I want to interview everyone” *Lets out an evil laugh*. Seriously though, the Baseball season still has my full attention ,but it is getting more and more difficult to stay focused, especially with the barrage of injuries this week to more big name players. What is going on this year?

If you follow myself or David you have likely seen our latest infatuation, and what should be one of the most fun and challenging Daily Fantasy contests this NFL season. It is called Fan vs Machine on Skyllzone.com and you can read up more on it here : Gonos’ post and Chris’ post .

I also want you all to keep an eye out for my continued Draft Strategy series on davidgonos.com and other Football related posts on fakepigskin.com. I am trying to stay busy, and also keep up, but will always try to answer any questions as soon as I can. Also, special thanks to FantasyRundown.com, a site everyone should utilize to find the best articles daily when it comes to fantasy sports. Of course, the player cards used below, and in every post now are provided by another favorite FantasyPros.com.

Enough about me. Let’s get to JJ shall we?

Interrogate the Industry #10: JJ Zachariason

1. Everyone got their Fantasy Industry start somewhere. Talk about yours as brief or detailed as you like. 

When I first started doing all this, I was working as a project manager at a marketing agency. It was fine, but it wasn’t fulfilling. I opened up a Word document one day at work, and just started writing down everything I knew about fantasy football strategy. I have no idea what really prompted it, but day after day, month after month, I started putting concepts together that would become my first e-book  The Late Round Quarterback. (Chris: You really should check it out)

I started blogging on LateRoundQB.com once the book launched, and didn’t turn down opportunities to write on other sites (DavidGonos.com being one of them). About six months after the book launch, I received a message from Evan Silva to do some work on Rotoworld about the strategy. Naturally, I jumped on it.

After a five-part series on why you should draft your quarterback late, I joined up with Mike Clay and his team over at Pro Football Focus. A few months later, numberFire came calling, and I’ve been the Editor-In-Chief there ever since. I’m living the dream.

2. You seem to be very busy already over on numberfire.com and rotoworld.com already. Do you have larger aspirations, or more goals in the industry?

I’m thrilled with where I’m at right now, and to be honest, my main goal has always been to simply have a voice – and hopefully a smart one. We’ll see where things keep moving, but right now, it’s all gravy.

3. Would you rather play in a very competitive fantasy league with people you don’t know at all, or in a league that is largely indifferent, but with people you do know well?

Probably the latter. I’m not necessarily a player who plays just to win. Sure, it’s fun to make some bank on the side when things go your way, but the end-game to fantasy football is entertainment. It’s fun. Give me a league with my friends – even a casual one – and I’ll enjoy it more.

4. How do you manage your everyday life and fantasy life? Have you had issues or difficulty focusing on both, or have you had to sacrifice some things you used to enjoy?

Fortunately my day job is with numberFire, so things kind of mesh together. Because I’m managing and editing a lot of content on the site these days, the sacrifice I’ve made is essentially writing articles on my own. It’s really just finding time to do that while keeping up the pace on numberFire.com. It can get pretty hectic, especially around this time of year.

5. I love your podcast Living The Stream with @CDCarter13, I especially enjoyed the “Best Ball Strategy episode. Do you have any future episodes you want to hint at, or explain why we should listen to your podcast?

Listen here: Living the Stream Fantasy Football

Thanks! Denny’s an awesome dude to host with, and it’s been a blast to do over the last year and a half. We’ll be hitting on the basics prior to the season, but once things get going, we’ll be providing streaming advice during each week of the season for everyone.

6. Who are a few Fantasy Football “Sleepers”, or undervalued players on your radar this season? Anyone like James White peak your interest?

Since “sleeper” is such a loose term, I’ll preface by saying these guys are more values than anything else. I think Roy Helu will get some work in the Washington Redskins offense this year. And though he’s not a sleeper, I’m totally on team Justin Hunter. At quarterback I’m a pretty big Carson Palmer guy this year with Michael Floyd taking a step forward. I’m on record saying it’s very possible for Jay Cutler to be a top-five passer this year, too.

7. Are there any Fantasy Football league formats you heavily favor over others? If so why?

I’m down for anything. I think people assume I wouldn’t want to play in a two-quarterback league given my signal-calling stance, but that’s actually the opposite of true. I love challenges, and think two-quarterback – or at least superflex – leagues are the future.

8. If you could choose to hang out and do anything at all with one celebrity or person in general, with zero consequences, who would it be? What would you hope to do?

You Chris, I’d want to hang out with you. (Chris: I just looked out my window to see if JJ was outside….)