Alright, so I decided to get serious about my fantasy football league this year. I mean, really serious. No more last-minute lineup changes based on a gut feeling. I wanted data, and I wanted it to be good.
So, my first step was to dig into some PPR rankings. I’ve always played in PPR leagues, because, let’s be honest, who doesn’t love those extra points for receptions? It makes things way more interesting. I needed a solid top 200 list to start building my draft strategy.
Finding the Right Resources
First, I hit up a bunch of the usual suspect websites, places I used in the past for a quick look. Looked around at what they had posted.
Honestly, it was a bit of a mixed bag. Some sites had rankings, but they were either outdated or didn’t feel super comprehensive, or were for standard scoring, not PPR! Others hid everything behind a paywall, and I wasn’t quite ready to commit to that yet. I mean, I’m dedicated, but I’m not that dedicated… at least not yet.
Compiling My Own List
After a few hours of digging, I had a bunch of browser tabs open. I decided the best way to make sense of it all was to create my own spreadsheet. Yeah, I know, it sounds nerdy, but it really helped!
- I started copying and pasting player names and their projected rankings from different sources.
- I made sure to note which site each ranking came from, so I could keep track of any biases.
- I also added columns for position, team, and bye week. Gotta plan ahead, right?
This part took a while, I won’t lie. There was a lot of back-and-forth, checking, and double-checking. I felt like a data entry clerk, but the more I worked on it, the more I started to see patterns and discrepancies between the different rankings.
Analyzing the Data
Once I had a good chunk of players in my spreadsheet (at least the top 100), I started doing some basic analysis. I looked at the average ranking for each player across all the sources. I also calculated the standard deviation to see how much the rankings varied. This helped me identify players who were consistently ranked high (the “safe” picks) and those who were more controversial (the potential sleepers or busts).
Then, the fun begin! I used some basic excel formulas to average, find median and played with the data.
The End Result (For Now)
I wouldn’t say I have a perfect “Top 200 PPR” list yet. It’s more like a “Top 100-ish with Notes” list. But it’s my list, based on my own research and tailored to my league’s settings. I feel way more prepared for my draft than I ever have before. And the best part is, I can keep updating this spreadsheet throughout the season as new information comes out. It’s like my own little fantasy football command center.
So, that’s my story. It might not be glamorous, but it’s real. And hopefully, it’ll help me crush my league this year. Wish me luck!