Want to be a fantasy football champ? First you need to learn the lingo
If you’re confused about some of the most common Fantasy Football terms, here’s a list to clip and save.
If you’re confused about some of the most common Fantasy Football terms, here’s a list to clip and save.
Fantasy Football — Owners select players from the NFL to create their teams. As their players score every week, the points get added to each team’s score. Highest score wins.
Strength of Schedule — The difficulty or ease of a team’s opponent as compared to other teams based on won/loss records. Good news Giants fans: the Eagles have the toughest 2023 schedule.
ADP — The Average Draft Position of players taken in a Fantasy draft. For example, an ADP of 28 represents the 28th player taken in a draft. Aaron Rodgers has a 104 ADP. Daniel Jones has an 85.
DFS — Daily Fantasy Sports is a game where entrants draft a Fantasy Football team, usually for one weekend of games, using a salary cap format and compete for cash prizes.
Fantasy Guru — See Jeff Mans.
Sleeper — An underperforming player you think will “wake up” with good stats this season. The best example is RB Jamaal Williams, with 3 TDs in 2021 but 17 TDs in 2022.
Reach — Drafting a player in a much earlier round than he’s worthy of. Underperforming TE Kyle Pitts was drafted in too many 3rd rounds last year.
Steal — Getting a top performer in the late rounds of your Fantasy draft. 14th rounder WR Garrett Wilson stole the show with 1,103 yards and 83 receptions.
Snake Draft — The draft pick order is reversed each round. (Round One 1-10, Round Two 10-1, etc.) creating a “snake-like” image on draft boards.
Targets — The number of times the ball is thrown to a receiver, regardless of him catching it. Justin Jefferson had 184 targets in 2022. He caught 128 of them.
YAC — Yards After Catch is just that; the number of yards a player runs for after catching a ball. RB Austin Ekeler led the NFL with 863 YAC last season.
Fantasy Experts — Veteran Fantasy advisors like Jeff Mans, Matthew Berry, Cynthia Frelund, Michael Fabiano, and myself are considered experts. Your drunk loudmouth brother-in-law at your Fantasy draft is not.
AI — Artificial Intelligence may be the future of Fantasy Football. “Siri, analyze my roster and put in the best possible lineup based on injury status, weather and opponent.”
Curmudgeon — See Bill Belichick.
Positive Regression — A player’s current poor performance moves back to a previously expected higher value. RB Alvin Kamara had 21 TDs in 2021. After scoring 4 TDs last year, he’s due for a positive regression.
Waiver Wire — Once a week, Fantasy managers add players to their teams that were not drafted or are available after being cut from other teams within the league.
Trade Bait — A good player you don’t need on your roster that entices other teams to trade for. QB Kyler Murray might be very enticing by Week 10.
3rd Year WRs — The belief that WRs reach full potential in their third NFL season. Superstars Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb are both entering Year 3.
Bust — A player who has not lived up to expectations. WR Kenny Golladay of the Giants signed a $72 million contract with a guaranteed $40 million. He had 43 receptions before they cut him last year. That’s about $1 million per catch. They don’t bust much bigger than that!
Jeff Mans — See Fantasy Guru.
Fade — Avoiding certain players because they stink. I’ll be fading the Houston Texans.
Combine — Annual invitation-only event that allows NFL scouts to evaluate draft-eligible players on medical, mental, and physical criteria. Tom Brady had one of the worst combine metrics for a QB ever. It’s not a perfect science.
Dart Throw — Picking a player in a draft that you have absolutely no idea how he will perform. Rookie WR Chris Olave was a 12th round bullseye with 1,042 yards and 72 receptions.
Stash — Keeping a player on your roster that currently has no value but hopefully will before long. Detroit WR Jameson Williams, suspended for the first six weeks of the season, makes a nice stash for 2023.
High Floor — A player whose worst performance is still better than most players, like QB Josh Allen.
Low Floor — A player who performs markedly lower than the league average, like QB Baker Mayfield.
Handcuff — A backup player that would replace a starting player because of suspension, injury, or poor play. Handcuff Saquon Barkley with Matt Breida.
PPR League — Points Per Reception leagues that award points for every catch a player makes.
TD Only League — The only points credited to a player are from the scoring of touchdowns. Very old-fashioned, it’s the Fantasy Football version of a rotary phone.
Vulture — Like the disgusting animal it’s named after, a “vulture” is a running back that enters the game when the ball is inside the five-yard line and scores the TD after your running back did all the work to get it down there in the first place.
Streaming Apps — These are all the streaming services the NFL says you’ll need to buy to watch every game this season: NFL, ESPN+, Paramount+, NBC Sports, Fox Sports, Yahoo Sports, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu +, fubo TV, and YouTube TV. Cha-Ching!
Bill Belichick — See Curmudgeon.
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