• Fantasy football's origin and Fab's favorite scoring system
Fantasy football scoring has evolved since the days of the Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League (GOPPL), which is considered the first-ever fantasy league. These days, commissioners and fantasy managers can choose from a number of different scoring formats, from standard scoring systems to any number of customized formats.
However, the scoring system that has become the most popular (and the only one I play in) over the last decade is called PPR. That simply stands for “Point Per Reception.”
PPR scoring systems, where players are rewarded either a half point or a full fantasy point per catch, have become the new standard. It makes sense, as the NFL has become much more of a passing league, with wide receivers and pass-catching running backs posing greater threats. As a result, catches have become a bigger part of the NFL and should, in turn, be a prominent category in terms of your “standard” fantasy football scoring system.
Whether you go with a half-point or a full point (I like the latter) is a personal preference and should be discussed between the commissioner and league mates. Regardless, PPR formats do a better job of rewarding a player who might have a lot of catches but not many yards.
For example, if Ladd McConkey catches seven passes but compiles only 51 yards, why should I just get 5.1 stinking points? In full-point PPR leagues, Laddy Daddy would get 12.1 points.
That’s more like it!
If you’re a fantasy newbie, you need to know which players will benefit most from getting points for catches in an effort to have a successful draft. Maybe the best example of PPR scoring helping a player’s value the past two seasons is wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.
The talented slot man is just 23rd among wide receivers in combined receiving yards over the past two seasons, but he is sixth in catches. Heck, he’s had more receptions than CeeDee Lamb, Drake London, A.J. Brown, and Davante Adams (to name just a few) in that time! While he didn’t compile a lot of yards, Robinson should be rewarded for all of those receptions.
This is true at running back as well, and Kenneth Gainwell is a perfect example from last year.
The veteran rushed for just 537 yards, but he compiled a career-best 73 receptions. That was the fourth-most catches among running backs. He also posted 486 receiving yards, good for the fifth-most at the position. Because Gainwell was rewarded for his skills as a pass-catcher, he finished 16th in fantasy points among runners … ahead of Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker III!
In all, 77 percent of Gainwell’s fantasy points were as a receiver. So he was clearly a huge part of the Steelers' passing game and was rewarded for that level of success (as he should be). If Gainwell didn’t get points for catches, he would have been far less valuable in fantasy.
Regardless of what the reward is for a catch, commissioners and fantasy managers who aren’t in a PPR league should get with the program and join one now. It gives players points for all of their skills and abilities and adds a different sort of strategy for your fantasy drafts.
PPR also equates to more points, and who doesn’t love more points?
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MICHAEL FABIANO
Michael Fabiano is a fantasy football analyst for Sports Illustrated. His weekly rankings and Start 'Em, Sit 'Em articles are must-reads for fantasy players. He is also the co-host of the Fantasy Dirt Podcast on SI. Before joining SI in August 2020, he worked for CBS Sports, NFL Network and SiriusXM. He also contributes to Westwood One Radio. Fabiano was the first fantasy analyst to appear on one of the four major TV networks and is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame.
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