Martin A. Schulman - Fantasy Football For Dummies

Winning in traditional fantasy football (not Daily Fantasy, which will be covered in Part 4) leagues is no different than winning in the NFL: Two teams play each other in season-long formats, and the team that scores the most points wins. However, the big difference is how points are scored. To give you a broad overview of scoring and to touch on something you probably already know if you’re a football fan, in the NFL, scoring breaks down as follows:

Touchdowns: 6 points

Field goals: 3 points

Safeties: 2 points

Two-point conversions: 2 points

Extra points: 1 point

In fantasy, however, a team scores points based on each player’s performance and personal stats, in addition to the standard NFL point system and not on the NFL teams’ win-loss records. The star offensive players who can run, catch, and pass for big yards and not just score are the elite players in the fantasy world. In essence, fantasy rewards a player for playing a good game even if he doesn’t score lots of touchdowns. Scoring touchdowns isn’t easy in the NFL, and just because an offensive player can’t reach the end zone doesn’t mean he’s having a bad game.

Fantasy football also awards points to kickers who kick field goals and extra points and to team defenses that can score fantasy points by limiting points allowed and creating turnovers, in addition to scoring TDs and safeties. (Check out the “ Shooting for Shutouts: Scoring with Defense” section later in this chapter for more info.) Basically, anything from fumble recoveries to receptions to field goal distance can add up for your fantasy team.

Every league provider has a default setting for the stats that will convert to fantasy scoring, but any NFL stat can translate into fantasy points — only your league commissioner can make the decision to change any defaults.

To know your league’s scoring default, make sure you check out your league’s scoring system when preparing for your season. The scoring rules of your league may affect your draft strategy (see Chapter 4) and will affect the outcome of each game during the season.

The old saying goes “defense wins championships,” but football fans know that offense makes the highlights. Exciting players who move the chains and score the TDs have always been the game’s superstars, so fantasy football was designed to focus on the offense. Big-time QBs, RBs, and WRs are the heart of any good fantasy team, and their total fantasy points scored will make or break your season.

This section gives you a basic breakdown of the default scoring values by position for the individual offensive positions — using Yahoo! as a default setting. I also explain why each position is valuable to your fantasy team and how the players can help you rack up fantasy points on game day. (For a more detailed analysis of each offensive position and how the scoring system will affect your fantasy draft, check out the chapters in Part 2.)

In most league formats, running backs are the most valuable players in fantasy football because they have plenty of opportunities to score fantasy points, and the great ones are hard to come by. This is because of the relative scarcity of good RBs to fill all your roster spots. With 32 teams in the NFL, you have 32 choices for starting QBs to slot into your single QB roster slot, and since each NFL team starts two WRs, this means you have 64 starters to choose from for the two to three WR slots in your lineup. But, since NFL teams only have one starting RB each, and you need to fill two running back slots (and FLEX options) in your lineup every week, good RBs can go very quickly in the draft.

More carries and receptions equal more chances to rack up yards and to score in the red zone — the area inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

The following list breaks down the default scoring for RBs on Yahoo!:

Rushing yards: 1 point per 10 yards

Rushing touchdowns: 6 points

Catches: 0.5 point per reception

Receiving yards: 1 point per 10 yards

Receiving touchdowns: 6 points

Kick/punt return touchdowns: 6 points

Two-point conversions: 2 points

Fumbles lost: –2 points

For every 10 rushing yards or receiving yards, your player and fantasy team get a point, compared to 25 passing yards to net the same amount (check out the “ Quarterbacks” section to compare). Rushing yards are more difficult to get in the NFL, so most fantasy scoring systems make them more valuable. And receivers must rely on getting open and on their QBs finding them; plus they have to catch the ball to get the points — which isn’t as easy as it sounds. All the RB has to do is take the handoff from the QB and hit the hole. For these reasons, RBs are the most valuable players in fantasy football, especially in full-point PPR leagues. And not only do they run for TDs, they gain points for yardage gained via the pass — not many QBs and receivers can get valuable rushing yards. A RB who can run and receive is extremely valuable. (Check out Chapter 5for more on scouting running backs.)

Many third-down/change-of-pace backs (better at catching passes) and vulture RBs (a running back who steals goal-line carries from the starter) are still valuable on your fantasy roster. A 6-point TD is worth 60 rushing yards and a reception is worth 5 rushing yards. These backup RBs might also become starters due to injury, so don’t sleep on them when setting your lineups or drafting.

Again, depending on the scoring system of your league, wide receivers are the second most valuable players in fantasy football, behind RBs, particularly because of the scarcity of truly elite RBs. The WR position’s value isn’t because they score more points than QBs; it’s because there are fewer high-scoring WRs in the league, and you have to start two or three each week, as opposed to one QB. In full-point PPR formats, which are becoming more common across the board, top WRs are gold.

In addition, WRs get hit and tackled less than QBs and RBs, so they make fewer mistakes, which means fewer negative points on average. They also take less pounding than RBs. With that in mind, NFL teams are turning to RB time-shares, whereas starting WRs tend to record higher snap-count percentages.

The following list breaks down the default scoring for WRs on Yahoo!:

Catches: 0.5 point per reception

Receiving yards: 1 point per 10 yards

Receiving touchdowns: 6 points

Rushing yards: 1 point per 10 yards

Rushing touchdowns: 6 points

Kick/punt return touchdowns: 6 points

Two-point conversions: 2 points

Fumbles lost: –2 points

The WR position has more depth in the NFL than the RB position, which makes WRs less valuable during fantasy drafts: There are simply more WRs to choose from! However, their fantasy points are very similar — the only difference being that very few WRs gain rushing yards or score rushing TDs on a regular basis — so don’t underestimate the need for having good WRs on your team! A great WR can dominate a game and carry a fantasy team if he gets enough passes thrown his way from a good QB. (Head to Chapter 6for info on scouting and valuing WRs.)