For the general public, a standard fantasy football league suffices. If you’re reading this article, you may have grown weary of normal leagues and would like to try something new. Crash Course, a Fantasy Football Universe series, delves into unique formats. So, let’s start with PPR Powerhouse: Dominating Tiered Leagues.
How Does it Work?
Tiered PPR isn’t a whole new format, but rather a scoring change to traditional fantasy leagues. It is also a format that is subject to customization. You can skew the settings to whatever your heart desires. For me, the goal is to make the positions as balanced as possible across the board.
The changes to scoring can be done in a variety of ways. Tight end, wide receiver, and running back scoring can all be altered as well as the level of PPR to each position. My personal favorite is to go one step further and also make it Tiered Points per First Down. The only thing I should add is that doing these things can greatly skew the scoring in favor of pass-catchers, to combat this I like to add a point-per-carry bonus to the running backs otherwise the traditional rushers are rendered useless.
What you need to know is that each of the three positions (WR, RB, TE) has different scoring settings for everything from receptions, yards, touchdowns, and even first downs, making the scoring vastly different for each position.
How is it different?
This format isn’t different at all. It plays out like a normal fantasy league with only a slight difference in the way the positions are valued and scored. Traditionally this format is more high-scoring due to the boost for pass-catching. The only thing that changes is the positional value and scarcity based on how you choose to change the scoring settings.
As I stated above, I like to go for a balanced approach where I give a reception and first down bonus while also giving a bonus for rushing carries, but how you choose to score each of the positions is entirely up to you.
How does the Draft work?
The draft doesn’t change about its overall size or format but it changes dramatically in how it plays out. If you do the traditional boosts, the draft will be skewed towards volume wide receivers and pass-catching running backs. If a tight end premium is included it can also drive the value of the tight ends up heavily.
That’s why I typically try to balance this tiered format out with a running back carries bonus, otherwise running back values plummet. It’s impossible to say exactly how the draft will play out without knowing the exact specifications of the league but in general, they are similar to a standard draft and can be both redraft or dynasty.
A look at the Rosters
Rosters are open to league preference, and the size is unaffected by this scoring change, the rosters are however impacted heavily in their composition. A tiered PPR that is weighted toward receivers will have more receivers being drafted instead of a balanced lineup.
The difference can be more evident in the starting lineups. In a standard league, you typically assume that most flex positions are an even mix of running backs and wide receivers. Depending on which way your tiered scoring leans you may instead see managers flexing only wide receivers or running backs, and if the tiered scoring benefits the tight ends most, you may see teams starting multiple tight ends with one or two as flex players.
How does the Waiver Wire work?
As always, the waiver wire settings are a matter of personal preference and vary depending on the league. The only thing that is universally true across all dynasty leagues is that the waiver wire is almost non-existent. With how deep the average roster is, there are very few players left on the waiver wire at a given time. Instead, the typical waiver wire claims consist of backup running backs who gained value due to injury, backup quarterbacks starting in an emergency, and receivers who came out of nowhere to relevance.
Rookies can also be a common target on the waiver wire and are often the best way to find a free star in a dynasty league. Often the rookies drafted, especially in shorter rookie drafts, are not the ones who end up fantasy-relevant. I always like to keep a rookie watch list for my dynasty waiver wires.
How the scoring works
Again, scoring is not impacted by the league and can be done in any manner of your choosing. There is no wrong or right answer here, it’s all up to you and your league mates.
The goal should always be to tier the scoring in a way that makes each position equally valuable and critical to the league. Tight ends should receive the highest bonus to make up their lower value, while receivers should be boosted just enough to catch up to running back values without eclipsing them.
If you get through your draft and one position has been significantly ignored or targeted, you have likely overcompensated the tiered scoring at that position.
The Consensus Strategy
- Build a Balanced Team: This is common in most leagues and holds if the league has done a good job of balancing the scoring. If the scoring is even across the board, then you want to have a balanced lineup with depth and versatility. This becomes a study in value-based drafting.
- Target Pass-Catchers: Many Tiered PPR leagues put a heavy emphasis on receptions, as a result, you must target the volume receivers over the high-yardage guys. Even more critical in this situation is to target the pass-catching running backs as they will fly off the board early and often.
My Strategy
- Know Your Settings: It doesn’t always help but you need to look over your scoring settings thoroughly. It’s crucial to know which setting affects each position and draft accordingly. Not all positions are created equal and you must lean into your scoring format. It’s a common occurrence to see one team going running back heavy while the rest of the league stacks wide receivers, this often means that someone didn’t read the scoring and is just drafting on generic rankings.
- Customize your Rankings: Since I brought up rankings, not all rankings are created equal. This goes for projections too. I understand that not everyone out there does their custom projections but at the very least you should be downloading projections from a source you trust and customizing them in a spreadsheet to fit your scoring. A few weeks here and there can have an impact on an analyst’s projections and rankings and not customizing to your league is putting you at a huge disadvantage.
In Closing
This format is used by most as a way to balance out the positions in hopes of ensuring that no position is excessively more valuable than another. Balance is key here but also be mindful of looking for discrepancies if your league’s commissioner didn’t get it correct.
One small difference in scoring can be the difference between a player being the 15th most valuable player and the 50th most valuable player. So do your preparation and draft accordingly.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Crash Course Series.
