Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

Fantasy football is like a club, and like any other club, there are certain inside jokes and sayings that only club members understand.  While the jokes and sayings vary from league to league there are certainly some words and terms in fantasy football that you should know before the season starts.  Here you will find a complete list of terms and descriptions to help you better understand what’s going on when “Jim picks up Ryan Mathews’ handcuff”.  Some of these are self explanatory, but for the rookies out there I want to make sure they are understood.

ADP (Average Draft Position):  An average number of where that player is being taken in mock drafts or real ones.  Gives you an idea of what the fantasy world’s value is for an individual player.

Auction Draft:  A fantasy draft in which owners are allotted a certain amount of fantasy cash to fill their roster spots by bidding on NFL players. Owners take turns introducing an opening bid for a player.

Basic Scoring:  Fantasy points are only earned when your starters score touchdowns, kick field goals, and extra points.  Also see Performance Scoring.

Bench Players:  Players which you choose not to start; you receive no points for their performances while they are in the bench slot.

Bust:  A player who is predicted to have a poor season compared to general expectations. The player might be injury-prone, have a future star behind them in the depth chart, or just won't be able to live up to their hype.

Bye Week:  The NFL plays 16 games out of 17 weeks during the season. The game week a team doesn’t play is called their bye week. It is important in fantasy football to make sure that your starters and backups do not have the same bye week since one of the primary reasons for drafting backup players is to have coverage during the bye week of your starter.

Cheat Sheet:  A drafting tool that lists NFL players ranked in order of predicted fantasy points

Commissioner:  The person who is responsible for maintaining the league, reporting the results of the fantasy games, running the draft, collecting entrance fees (if any), and generally keeping things running smoothly. It is important for the commissioner to be unbiased (fair) and honest.

Cut or Drop:  To remove a player from your roster.

Deep league:  A league with more than 12 owners and/or large team sizes. There are more players on fantasy rosters in deep leagues than in a 'normal' league of 12 owners with total rosters of 16 to 18 players (total of 192-216 players drafted).

Depth Chart:  An NFL team roster with players classified as 1st, 2nd, or 3rd string.

Draft:  The meeting of owners and commissioner before the NFL season where owners select the players for their team. It can be done by auction or snake method. Some leagues give the top spots in the draft to the teams with the poorest records from the previous season, others draw for draft positions.

Dynasty League:  A league in which you keep your entire roster from year to year. The next season a draft is held to improve your team. Usually the draft order is based on the previous year's finish. Dynasty leagues are a long term commitment.

FF or FFB:  Short for Fantasy Football

Flex:  A spot in your starting lineup that you can use more than one type of position player; typically RB and WR. Some leagues allow TE’s and QB’s in the flex spot too.

Flier (or Flyer):  An ambiguous term meaning either taking a chance or picking a player off the waiver wire.

FPG:  Fantasy Points per Game

Free Agent:  A player who is not currently on any team's roster. If the league has a waiver system, free agents are players who have cleared waivers.

Gamble:  A player with both high potential and high risk. Players in this category are usually injury-prone, have a high probability for being suspended, or are approaching the end of their career. We recommend not drafting more than one or two gambles on your team.

Ghost ship:  A team that is not being actively managed by its owner or the act of not actively managing a fantasy team.

Handcuffing:  Drafting your stud RBs' backup in case the stud gets injured.

IDP (Individual Defensive Player):  Rather than a team defense approach, some leagues decide to have starters for defensive linemen (DL), linebackers (LB) and defensive backs (DB). The number of starters and scoring systems for these positions varies widely.

Injured Reserve (IR):  An option in some leagues, an injured player can be sent to the IR for a certain number of weeks. The player cannot return to the active lineup and does not earn the owner any points until that number of weeks passed; however another player can be added to the team since the IR player doesn't count against the player limit

Keeper League:  A league in which a certain number of players can be retained from the previous season by each owner, so that their whole team does not have to be redrafted. The number of players can vary. If you retain your whole team it is called a dynasty league.

Mock Draft:  A fake draft that is used to practice drafting strategy and gauge where players will be drafted in actual fantasy football drafts.

Owner:  The person who makes decisions about a fantasy football team. This includes drafting, cutting, and starters.

Performance Scoring:  A system where you receive points for yardage (as in 1 point for every 20 passing yards) in addition to the points scored in a basic scoring system.

PPR (Points Per Reception):  In some leagues, owners earn a fantasy point for each reception their players have during the game. In these leagues, wide receivers become more valuable, as well as running backs who catch well out of the backfield.

Projections:  Similar to a cheat sheet, projections rank players in terms of fantasy value, but predicted statistics are also assigned to players. Since many leagues' scoring methods greatly differ, this is more useful than a cheat sheet because you can apply your own scoring system to determine their fantasy value in your league.

QBBC (Quarterback by Committee):  A relatively new strategy in fantasy football, the QBBC strategy directs owners to pass on the big name QBs and instead draft multiple QBs in the middle to late rounds. Instead of drafting a big name QB in the early rounds you fill your roster with RBs and WRs.

RBBC (Running Back by Committee):  Running back by committee is used by more NFL teams each year. Teams are having success using a fast, small back between the 20-yard lines and a large power back near the goal line. Other NFL teams seem to rotate their RBs to keep them fresh.  However, this creates difficulties in fantasy football since points are awarded for both yardage and touchdowns. Running backs that get the bulk of both a team's yardage and touchdowns are becoming more valuable.

Scoring:  Abbreviations include: TD = Touchdown, FG = Field Goal, XP = Extra Point, INT = Interception and Pts = Points. Also see Basic Scoring and Performance Scoring.

Sleeper:  A draft term for a NFL player that an owner believes is going to have a breakout season. Usually sleepers are drafted in the middle to late rounds of a draft.

Snake Draft:  The type of draft where teams are in a specific order.  Teams will select players in the first round and then reverses the order in the second. For example, in a 12 team league #1 would draft first in round 1 & #12 would draft last. But in Round 2 #12 would draft first and #1 would draft last. The teams would be in normal order in odd rounds and reversed in even rounds.

Starters or Starting Lineup:  The players that you select for a particular week that you will receive points for. A typical starting lineup would include one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker, and one team defense. Some leagues include individual defensive players (IDPs) in lieu of a team defense.  Some leagues also include a flex position, see flex.

Stats:  A player's numerical accomplishments for a given week.

Stud:  A NFL player who has proved himself to be a top scoring player at his position. These players should be started each week regardless of match-up and should only be benched during bye weeks and significant injuries.

Team:  The collection of players that a fantasy owner has.

Team Defense:  Drafting an entire team's defense (rather than individual defensive players), you earn points when any player on the defense records a sack, interception, fumble recovery, safety or touchdown. Most leagues include special teams with the team defense, so if the team scores a touchdown when returning a punt or kickoff you will also earn points.

Trade:  The technique in which owners agree to swap players.

Transaction:  A roster change. Some leagues have a transaction fee.

Waiver Wire:  Some leagues have players recently dropped by teams to go into a "waiver" status for one or more days. When in this status, owners cannot immediately add the player. Instead they make a waiver claim for the player. When the commissioner processes waivers, usually the team with the least wins get first claim on players, and then the team with the second least wins, etc.

All fantasy football owners love draft day.  For some it may be the best part of the season, but here's to hoping its not.  Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a first year rookie there are some simple rules to follow on draft day to ensure you don't make some stupid mistakes.

Rule #1 - Cheat sheet, Cheat sheet, Cheat sheet!  It doesn't matter if you build your own or download one the day of your draft.  A cheat sheet will only improve your odds of making a smarter decision, IT WILL NOT HURT YOU!  I'm not talking about just a simple rankings list either.  Take the time to tier the players in every position, use highlighters, and mark your sleepers.

Having an organized cheat sheet that you put time into will ward off that evil voice in your head that says, "go ahead, draft that rookie 3 rounds early".  Stick to your cheat sheet, if you lose a guy you had your eye on then move on, that's why you devoted time to ranking and organizing in the first place.

Rule #2 - Every fantasy owner gets excited about their picks and theories, but don't feel this overwhelming need to talk to your buddy in your league about it.  He may applaud your "catch", right after he steals it from you in your draft.  Let your picks do the talking during the season, especially after your sleeper winds up being the 10th round pick of a lifetime.  

Rule #3 - Avoid distractions!!!  Facebook, your cell phone, hosting the draft at the buddies place with the hot roommate, all distractions.  It may seem trivial, however you're gonna look stupid and piss your friends off when you attempt to draft a player who got drafted 8 picks ago.  Distractions will also defeat the purpose of that valuable cheat sheet I brought up earlier.  In the later rounds it is easy to be distracted because a lot of the big names are off the board, however these picks are more valuable than you think.  Focus harder in the final rounds and make the picks purely based on fantasy value.

Rule #4 - NO ALCOHOL... OK, maybe just a little.  Seriously though, if you are in any sort of big money league, then avoid drinking too much.  It will make you do stupid things, like ignore your.... that's right, cheat sheet.  You can even turn this rule into an advantage, if you have the money go ahead and buy a bottle of Jack and be sure to let your friends know its fair game.  Everybody has a couple of friends who get wasted on draft night.  Do them, and yourself, a favor; take their keys and feed them more booze!  

Rule #5 - Relax and enjoy yourself.  Fantasy football goes by quick and seems to take forever to arrive again.

Enjoy every minute of it.  Good luck owners!

Every year when it gets close to draft time, websites are flooded with articles about who you should and shouldn't pick for your fantasy team. The thing is, unless you're in an auction league and have the ability to take a player at any time based on a value that you assign, you can really only target certain players that have a perceived value to you greater than where they are currently being taken in the draft (in other words, their ADP or Average Draft Position). It's my goal in the next few weeks to go through some fantasy relevant players at each position and provide a short argument for why they should be targeted above their current ADPs. Remember, if the team managers in your league have above-average football intelligence, you will likely have to select these players (and any others you have your eye on) several picks earlier than their ADPs. For the purposes of this article we'll be using the ADP statistics from recent mock drafts (10-team standard league) at Fantasy Football Calculator (a tool that we often use) and you can access that updated data here: http://fantasyfootballcalculator.com/adp.php?format=standard&year=2014&teams=10&view=graph&pos=all.

Kelvin Benjamin

(Current ADP - 12.08)

I know, I know. I'm supposed to follow my own advice and temper my expectations for rookies. Especially for rookies like Kelvin, who has had problems in the past specific to dropped passes and a limited route tree. What you can't deny, however, are the favorable comparisons to guys like Alshon Jeffery and Plaxico Burress. Benjamin's measurables are immense: 6'5", 240lbs, 35-inch arms and a 4.5ish 40. Yikes. I'm going to be looking closely at Benjamin's play in upcoming preseason games to gauge his comfort level with the routes he is being asked to run, but from training camp reports we are hearing nothing but great things. In fact, it appears as though he has not yet dropped a ball at all. Finally, Benjamin looks to have no real competition for the starting WR role in Carolina. That said, there is a little talent there in Jerricho Cotchery, Jason Avant and of course Greg Olsen (who will likely end up leading the team in receptions). In fact, I tend to think that the Panthers' receiving core is actually better than it was last year.. Steve Smith showed a large decline in healthy game-to-game production last year (not to mention that his 5'9" frame is a little small for today's NFL) and Brandon LaFell and Ted Ginn have never been standouts (and are easily replaced by Cotchery and Avant in the short term). Bottom Line: the rumors of Cam Newton's demise have been greatly exaggerated and adding a freakishly athletic receiver to the mix should only be a boon to his numbers. While I'm not predicting a top 20 season for Benjamin, I strongly believe that he will finish inside the top 40 wide receivers (if only because of his immediate use in red-zone situations) which would be the right value to select him in the 10th or 11th rounds.

Marvin Jones

(Current ADP - 13.06)

Marvin Jones stunned the fantasy world last season in his 2nd year when he scored 10 total TDs (including 4 vs. NYJ in Week 8). Even taking out that game (which could be considered a statistical outlier) he improved on his rookie year production by 500+ yards and 5 TDs. And all of this while sharing time on the field with Mohamed Sanu. Although Jones only just came off the PUP list (he had an ankle injury that was not considered serious), he looks to be locked in as the starting receiver for 2014 opposite A.J. Green. This absence from training camp could explain the current low draft position, but don't let it fool you - he will surely be on the rise over the next few weeks as news continues to trickle out from Cincinnati. Most likely, Jones should average between 4-6 receptions per game (I'm predicting around 70 total) which should increase his total receiving yards toward 1000. In other words, even if he doesn't match the 10 TD's from last year his stock should still hover around the same value (he finished 2013 as the #24 WR overall in standard scoring leagues). Even a slight regression in TD's from 2013 then would still put him at the bottom of the top 30 WR's. We're talking about guys here like Emmanuel Sanders, Golden Tate, Kendall Wright, etc. and all of those guys are being drafted right now between rounds 7 and 10. With an ADP of 13.06, Marvin Jones is a prospect that is still being undervalued in rounds 10-12. Wait as late as you can to pick him up.. but not too late! Bottom Line: playing behind A.J. Green will only continue to help Jones.. watch out for a rising ADP over the next few weeks and catch him while you can.

Mike Wallace

(Current ADP - 8.01)

Reports from training camp are saying that Dolphins' QB Ryan Tannehill and Mike Wallace are still struggling to find a good chemistry on deep routes. Well, just remember that this is still preseason and words fly around like footballs this time of year. Wallace performed better in the last six games of the 2013 season than earlier in the year which makes it a little easier to trust him as a solid fantasy commodity, and new OC Bill Lazor (formerly working as the QB coach under Chip Kelly on the Eagles) has vowed to use Wallace all over the field rather than simply as a deep threat. We know that Wallace is fast and can be productive, and on this team there should be a fair amount of playing catch-up as the Miami defense finished the season in the bottom half of the NFL. Wallace will fill the Desean Jackson role in Lazor's offense and whether or not he and Tannehill are hanging out on their days off, he will exceed his production from 2013. I Expect Wallace to at least more closely approach if not get back to the numbers he had as an instrumental part of the Steelers offense (1,000+ yards, 8+ TDs) which would put him squarely into the top 20 receivers when we look back on the 2014 season. Finally, the Dolphins actually have the most favorable schedule for WRs (calculated here: http://www.fftoolbox.com/football/strength_of_schedule.cfm?type=e&sortby=WR from 2013 season data). Bottom Line: Mike Wallace had a hiccup of a season due to a few reasons (change of teams, coaching staff, new quarterback, etc) but despite that he still finished as a top 30 receiver.. look for his return to form this year.

Kenny Stills

(Current ADP - 12.10)

Last season Kenny Stills was a one-trick pony, but oh what a nice trick it was. As a rookie, Stills led the league in yards per reception (20.0) and had only one drop while finding the end zone five times. With the departure of Lance Moore and Darren Sproles, there are a lot of targets (143) that need to be filled. There has been talk at camp about Nick Toon and Brandin Cooks, but they are really fighting for the third spot, with Stills solidly in the second spot as long as he's healthy. He will at least split those 143 targets, giving Stills a solid 70+ this year. Taking into consideration Stills' low drop rate, a 60 reception season should net him over 1100 yards. It will look a lot like DeSean Jackson's second and third seasons (2009 & 2010). Stills has the potential to be a solid WR3, especially with a QB like Drew Brees under center. Bottom Line: with an ADP of 12.10, Stills holds fantastic value even a round or two earlier.

Markus Wheaton

(Current ADP - not drafted in standard leagues)

Of course it's difficult to put faith in a guy that only recorded 64 yards in his rookie campaign. That's what these sort of articles are all about though, right? First, Markus Wheaton is a prototypical burner receiver with a 4.4 40 time and good hands - the reports out of training camp this year have been ridiculous, to put it lightly. "He can be that guy that teams look at in the first four games and are like, 'Who is that dude running past people?'" said Ike Taylor, who's been going against Wheaton at practices (from Rotoworld - http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nfl/8406/markus-wheaton). Second, the Steelers lost Emmanuel Sanders to the Broncos in the off-season and did not look to replace him from outside sources (they drafted a developmental project WR in Martavis Bryant and picked up Lance Moore (possible split slot duty and Cotchery replacement) and Darrius Heyward-Bey who will provide some depth at the position). It was known last year that Wheaton would have had a bigger role if it wasn't for the two broken fingers that sidelined him for the majority of the 2013 season and it appears that the starting role opposite Antonio Brown is his to lose now. With the Steelers going no-huddle and after a very impressive offensive resurgence in the final weeks last year, it's pretty ridiculous that Wheaton is not even being taken off the board in standard redraft leagues. That said, the story here is that not many people who are casual fans of the game are familiar with the name. Bottom Line: Look for Wheaton's ADP to *exist* in a few weeks, but be sure to draft him in the late rounds for a value pick that could prove to be solid WR4 production. 

Wes from Eagleton asks: Lots of guys are "poised" for breakout years, but who is actually going to have the best year: Montee Ball, Andre Ellington, Toby Gerhart or Rashad Jennings? Btw, I play in only PPR leagues!

Wes,
Montee Ball is my favorite from this list. The Broncos have made moves that indicate they are interested in taking advantage of the run this season. Orlando Franklin has moved to left guard and will pair with Louis Vasquez at right guard. Both of these men are 6’5" with a combined average weight of 325; they are people movers. Cody Latimer, the second round wide receiver pick for the Broncos, is regarded as one of the best run blocking wide outs in the game. That is yet to be seen, but you get the idea that Denver is focusing on taking advantage of their unique situation when it comes to Peyton Manning. Manning is really the key to Montee Ball breaking out this season. As teams go smaller to protect against the pass Ball will get more room to run. There are also reports that Montee Ball has impressed coaches this off season with his improvement in his receiving game. Considering your addiction to PPR leagues this is another huge positive that puts Ball on the top of this list.

Grant P, from Des Moines writes: Getting excited for the fantasy season - my buddies and have our draft scheduled for late August (12 team, PPR) and I'm picking 10th. Based on mock drafts that I've done it looks like I'll miss out on the major RB's and also Jimmy Graham. I'm thinking my strategy will be to take 2 WR's here.. assuming only Calvin Johnson is taken I really like Demariyus Thomas but should my second guy be Dez Bryant, A.J. Green or someone else?

Grant P,
12 teams leagues can be tricky. I understand that you have your strategies and you know your league better than I would, but I want to mention something to think about when drafting for a 12 team league. First, to answer your question if you are dead set on taking two WR’s with your first two picks. Dez Bryant and A.J. Green are both projected to be top 5 this fantasy year. While Calvin Johnson and Demariyus Thomas are favorites to be in the top 3 the question really is who is going to be the other top 3 wide out. It really is a toss-up based on past performances, but A.J. Green is the guy I would go with. Green is the go to guy for Andy Dalton and that offense is going to be built around him. He has that Calvin Johnson like ability to make plays even when teams know he is the guy to focus on. Dez Bryant is a play maker in his own right, but A.J. Green is going to take it to new heights this season.

Now a bit of advice, you can take it or leave it. I would highly recommend you grab an RB with your second pick. I am assuming your league uses a traditional snake draft and in that case you risk putting yourself out of serious RB contention if you wait until your third round. Keep an eye on guys like Giovani Bernard, Montee Ball, Le’Veon Bell and even Andre Ellington with your 15th overall pick. Once you get down into the 30th overall pick for your third rounder the talent pool has dropped off a lot. This is especially true considering you are in a PPR league.

Jason writes: As a fantasy football fanatic, do you think it's worth it to actually go to a live game on a Sunday, or would you rather the front row couch seat?

Jason,
Damn you for bringing this up! I feel a particular allegiance as a Bears fan and this question just tugs at my heart strings. Honestly though when you weigh the pros and cons the best seat in the house is at your house. From a fantasy perspective there is both excitement and strategy involved with this decision. The most apparent reason to stay home is obviously the variety of games you can watch. Going to a game on Sunday really does take you out of the entire Sunday when you add in tailgating, game time and postgame drunkenness. Missing that Sunday as a fantasy fanatic will put you at a disadvantage heading into the following week as you play catch up. You’re also going to risk missing late roster notices for the later games. Now, I know in the world of smart phones and constant internet connectivity you could argue you would have a firm grip on your team and what’s going on, BUT it is important to remember that the rest of the 70,000 fans in the stadium are attempting to do the same. Cell service tends to suck when humanity gets together in large groups. I don’t know if that is a testament to our technological advances or a sad fact that we aren’t truly social anymore. Either way do you really want to risk missing a roster move because the tweens next to you need to upload their “OMG Bears gameeee Selfie!”

Money is the other factor to consider when pondering this decision. Going to an NFL game, or any sporting event, these days is ridiculously expensive. I will save myself the $8.50 bud light and $10 nachos by visiting my local craft brew distributor and grocery chain. Then while I’m sucking down my IPA in all my beer snob glory I have access to multiple games and the ever important “Fantasy Command Post” (FCP). Every fantasy fanatic has his/her own version of the FCP. For me it’s my laptop streaming another game, my tablet updating my scores and news while my phone stands ready for shit talking, bitching and moaning and tweeting #fantasyslut.