The ABCs of Fantasy Football: Part IV (P - T)
File under Fantasy 101
P - PPR
PPR stands for Points Per Reception. Basically you get a full point every time your player catches a pass. Sounds simple, but it’s very easy to get confused as there are other kinds of scoring options, one of the other main ones is Half-PPR (or .5 PPR).
But let’s stick with PPR for now. This is how you’ll score points in most managed leagues.
That slot receiver catching 8 passes for 60 yards? He just scored 14.0 points, not 6.0.
And your deep threat with 2 catches for 90 yards? Only 11.0.
Pass-catching running backs become gold. Bijan, Gibbs, CMC. They aren’t just runners. They’re also safety blankets.
Slot receivers jump up draft boards.
Tight ends can get more valuable.
In regular, no-frills PPR, ideally target volume magnets.
For a simplified way to understand PPR vs Half-PPR, be sure to read this article:
Q - Q Tags
This one's for the injury paranoids (we all know at least one).
Q tags mean "Questionable." It’s a scarlet letter (literally a red Q) on players.
The dreaded designation could show up at any time. Your wideout is nursing a hammy, and now you're refreshing X every five minutes for insider or team updates.
Here’s what a lot of people forget. Most questionable players actually play. The tag is more about liability than actual injury severity.
Listen, if it's a skill position player and he practices Friday for a Sunday game, he's probably playing.
What’s occasionally maddening is they won’t pull the tag until the game starts or they may even call a player a “game-time” decision.
Be vigilant, but don’t freak out when setting your lineups.
If it's a running back with a Q tag, start looking at your bench or the waiver for an insurance pick up just to be safe.
But, above all else, never panic-bench (or worse, drop) a guy because of the Q tag.
The tags you really want to watch out for are O (out) and IR (injured reserve). That’s when it’s Bench City, USA.
R - Robust QB/RB/TE
Some strategies aim for balance. Others are like loaded fries.
Robust anything means jamming your early part of the draft with multiple rock-solid, every-week starters you never have to think about. These, in theory, are your set-and-forget guys. Generally the Robust part is going to refer to Robust QB, Robust RB, or Robust TE builds.
Quarterback: I don’t really recommend this one but you see it more often that you’d expect. Someone grabbing both Lamar and Mahomes, say. The reason I don’t recommend it is (unless you’re playing a Superflex league) you’re only starting one QB a week. And while they’re both potentially league-winners, you can only use one, so why waste good draft capital on positions where you could draft more useful players. No need for an Allen, Daniels, or Mahomes when you already got Lamar.
Running back: We’ve talked about Hero RB and we’ll get to the (spoiler, you alphabet fiends) Zero RB later. With Robust RB, you’re basically taking 3 running backs with your first 3 or 4 picks. The upside? You might have the RB1 and RB2 for the fantasy season, and RB3 in your flex. And RBs can score a lot of points if they’re pass-catching backs or bell cows who will see a lot of volume. The downside? You’re then starting super thin at Wide Receiver.
Tight end: This is another one I don’t particularly recommend, but it’s doable. You’re spending some of your early draft capital on two premium Tight Ends. Like Brock Bowers and Trey McBride. Or Brock and George Kittle. Why skip it? You’ll only start one TE a week unless you use the other in your flex spot and TEs can be as unpredictable as judgment day. (I’m not sure that’s a great simile, but definitely something many have tried and failed to predict.)
Some of these strategies are used more frequently in contests like Best Ball. But you always need to know your options and it’s important to try different things out.
S - Spike Weeks
Players who have spike weeks are the players that can win you championships.
Spike weeks are those eruptive performances from an elite, or sometimes even a surprising, player.
Every elite player should have them, it’s why they’re going so high on the draft board, but not every player available has the ceiling to reach them.
Spike weeks can come in many forms or circumstances:
Favorable conditions (bad defenses, weather, domes)
Game script / flow (shootouts, garbage time)
Random chaos (just a damn good day)
We’re looking for players with the potential for 30+ point ceilings.
You’ll need 2 - 3 spike weeks from your core guys to win leagues. Ideally, every one of your main starters will be spiking in the season.
T - Tiers
If you’re someone who overanalyzes, tiers might help you stop overthinking every single pick.
Break the players into tiers, not list rankings, so the long, vertical register of players and ADP don’t become overwhelming for you.
Just group players into tiers by talent level.
Instead of agonizing over whether the 14th-ranked receiver is better than the 15th, group them in the same tier and pick based on situation or who’s still available.
One way you could build tiers, or pools, of players:
Tier 1: Elite, every-week starters, the highest of high ceilings
Tier 2: Sub-elites, high touches or targets shares but not S tier types
Tier 2: Starters with weekly upside
Tier 3: Flex plays
Tier 4: Matchup Dependent
Tier 5: Bench depth
Tier 6: Late-round fliers
Tier 7: Complete dart throws
As you’re drafting, once a tier breaks and you’re out of players, move to the next tier. If there are 3 running backs left in your Tier 2 but 8 wide receivers still hanging around in it, grab the RB first and soak up the WRs later.
Tiers can help you eliminate paralysis analysis.
You're not stuck comparing Player A to Player B. They're in the same tier. Just pick the better situation.
Think buckets, not rankings.
Here's to champions,
Mike
P.S. -
If you want a refresh of previous articles, read A - E (ADP through EV) here:
And for F - J (Fading through Jokers), visit here:
And for K - O (Kickers through On the Clock) go here:
