Alright, so I decided to get serious about my fantasy football league this year. I mean, really serious. No more last-minute draft picks based on gut feelings. I wanted to dominate, and that meant diving deep into 2023 Fantasy Football Rankings, specifically for PPR (points per reception) leagues.
First thing I did was hit up the usual suspects – you know, the big sports websites. I figured they’d have some decent rankings to start with. I opened up a bunch of tabs, started taking notes, scribbling down names and projected points.
Digging into the Data
I created a simple spreadsheet. Nothing fancy, just columns for Player Name, Position, Team, and then a bunch of columns for projected stats – receptions, receiving yards, touchdowns, and so on. Then I started plugging in the numbers from the different sites. I quickly realized there were some pretty big discrepancies between the rankings. One site would have a guy super high, another would have him way down the list. What a Mess!
It became clear that just looking at overall rankings wasn’t gonna cut it. I needed to go deeper. So I started looking at player-specific stats from last year. How many targets did they get? What was their catch rate? Did they have any injuries that might affect their performance this year?
Tier-Based Ranking
I found some articles talking about “tier-based” rankings. The idea is that instead of just ranking players 1 through whatever, you group them into tiers. So you might have a tier of elite running backs, a tier of solid starters, a tier of guys with upside, and so on.
This tier-based approach made a lot more sense to me. It’s not about saying Player A is definitely better than Player B, it’s about saying they’re in the same general ballpark.
My Custom Rankings(Finally!)
- Built My Own Spreadsheet I copied and pasted, and typed everything in, using different sources for rankings and stats.
- Focused on Consistency. Looking at many expert’s opinions.
- Considered Upside,weighed Risk. I thought about the risk. Some guys have huge potential, but they’re also more likely to bust.
- Adjusted for PPR. Catches are king!
It took a few days, working on it a little bit each night, I put my efforts in it. I’m feeling pretty good about it. I’ve got a solid list of players I’m targeting, and I’m ready to crush my draft. Of course, anything can happen in fantasy football, but at least I know I’ve put in the work. Wish me luck!