Don't worry, I checked and there's nothing to worry about. It's not plagiarism if you rip off your own work. For the past several seasons I've written a piece comparing the positions on a standard fantasy baseball roster to the analogous spots on a fantasy football team. This year I thought I'd change it up and do it DFS style.

This will work best if you've been playing DFS baseball but haven't yet ventured into DFS football. Some of the general concepts of roster construction transcend all DFS formats.

For example, while this is a bit simplistic, in DFS cash games a safer lineup with a high floor is preferred over a high variance squad with a lower floor but higher ceiling. This will be the general tenet driving the inter-sport comparisons.

?Specifically, it's generally accepted the key to MLB DFS cash action is nailing the pitcher(s). This doesn't necessarily require buying the most expensive arm but rather determining the best combination or talent and quality of opponent with cost not being a consideration. If the best option costs the most, so be it. Just click in the most expensive hurler.

The football spot akin to the baseball pitcher is the quarterback. Like top pitching, their performance has less variance than other positions. Choosing a quarterback entails the same thought process as a pitcher -- look for the combination of most talented quarterback playing the weakest pass defense and don't worry about the cost.

On the other hand, sometime it makes sense to take a chance on a lower end quarterback when trying to take down a tournament, just like using a lower tier pitcher could be optimal in a baseball GPP. Please note it isn't required to look for a lower tier quarterback, only that doing so is defensible in tournament play. The same holds true in baseball. Too often you'll hear you MUST go cheap on pitching (or a quarterback). You don't NEED to do anything. The more runners in a tournament the more differentiation it takes to make sure you have a unique lineup but there are spots other than quarterback to zag.

When setting a baseball lineup, one of the considerations is whether to spend on catching or troll the bottom feeders and hope for a knock and a run so you'll break even. Tight ends is the analogous football position. It's so tempting to spend up for Buster Posey or Rob Gronkowski because in general they're performance is reliable and you get a big advantage over others that opted to save some salary at the spot. But when you do so, more often than not you feel light elsewhere. It's a dilemma without a true right and wrong. Most of the time you let the match-ups dictate your directions but in both baseball and football, bottom-feeding at the position when no one stands out is the play since in general, the performance at the positions are inconsistent. Plus, just as you could be more willing to pay up for the reliable catcher in a cash game, you're more likely to invest in a top tight end in DFS football in cash action.

The notion of gaining a positional edge over your opponent was just referenced. In baseball, the middle infield spots often lend this advantage. In football. running backs can be a similar difference-maker. There are fewer impact players at the respective positions so utilizing the top tier can render an edge. There's a huge difference between the two sports and that's the late emergence of a cheap running back, but assuming there are no last minute starters available at the position, you'll be forced to decide if you want to pay up at the spot just as you did all summer when researching second baseman and shortstops. With respect to cash versus tournament play, this is often where you'll find an under the radar player with a high points potential for a GPP. However, just like in baseball when it's worth paying up for Troy Tulowitzki or Jose Altuve under the right circumstances, the same is true for the stud running backs for tourney play, but it has to be the ideal circumstance (weak run defense, strong pass defense, etc.).

In baseball, the positions that are relied upon for the majority of a club's offense are corner infield and outfield. The spots are deep, featuring both quality and quantity. While the analogy isn't perfect, at least in terms of a football team's reliance on the position, but wide receiver is similar in that the spot is deep. The sheer number of options means there will be an abundance of players in favorable spots, probably more than you can fit on a roster. Just as how high you could go in salary for your first baseman and outfielders was linked to how much you spent elsewhere, whether you run with the elite wide receivers or look further down the list revolves around how much it cost for your other positions. Of course, this is all a moving puzzle driven by match-ups, but since the inventory is usually so much more stocked at wide receiver, you have more flexibility to bounce between price ranges to find the optimal lineup.

Since baseball DFS sites generally don't use closers, there's no real analogy for football. Personally, I'll pay a little more than rock-bottom for a defense if I like the match-up but I'll rarely go with the iron unless the spot is so overwhelmingly positive. With respect to kickers, I may not take the cheapest, especially if I like my lineup and have a couple extra bucks to spend, but it's rare that I'll roster anyone more than five or six players above the lowest priced option, The delta in points just isn't worth it along with performance being so variable. Though, I must say, this will need to be re-evaluated as the new extra point rule fleshes itself out. Some teams may be forced to go for two to either make up for a missed extra point or to catch up.

As suggested, there's a lot more that goes into building a football lineup, just as there is in baseball. But if you're new to DFS football, this should give you a big-picture overview of the approach. Start with your quarterback, picked to match your format (cash versus GPP). Take a look at all the positions first to get an idea of what's out there then choose your tight end based on your sense of how much you can afford. Lock in your running backs then make it all work with your receivers - knowing you can go back and change any of the other spots. Once you set lineups for a few weeks, you won't be following a set pattern - everything will just meld together.

Good luck!