Introducing Fantasy NFL

In under a month’s time, the NFL draft will get underway. No, not the actual NFL draft where the best college players are drafted, but the Fantasy NFL draft. This tournament is held once every year, with 32 competing teams divided into eight divisions of four (according to area location). Each team will play every other team in their division twice as well as various other teams from the other divisions over the 17-week regular season, with the top team from the eight groups progressing to the play-offs, along with the top two teams from the remaining teams.

This results from 12 teams becoming eight, then four, then a final two, who meet  in the Superbowl. The New England Patriots, the defending Super Bowl champions, will kick-off the NFL season with a home match against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday 10 September with the Super Bowl set to take place in the first week of February in San Francisco.

NFL and Fantasy sports fans in general can register for the NFL Fantasy game here.

It is important to note that each team has a bye week, so they play 16 games in season. You must have a player on the bench who can step in and replace this player. In FPL terms this is effectively a blank Gameweek, but one that does not result in a double Gameweek.

Below is a list of the rules, including how scoring and transfers work, and at the end of this article, you can find the password and the link to join the FFS Scout league for the Fantasy NFL game.

The Draft for the FFS Scout league will take place on June 21st. The timings can be arranged for everyone’s preference. It is important to note that the league has a maximum of 15 teams, so that means that only 15 people are allowed to take part.

THE RULES

SELECTING A TEAM:

You will select your Fantasy NFL team through the draft. Just like the real NFL Draft, you get the option of picking the best player available. The Draft works like this:

• The NFL.com Live Online and Autopick Drafts operate with either a “standard” or “auction” draft format.
• Standard – Standard drafts can either be “snake” or “linear”. This means that either the draft order reverses at the end of each round (snake) or the draft order remains the same (linear) after each round. Each team has a certain amount of time to make their pick before the next team is on the clock.
• Auction – Each team takes a turn nominating players. When a player is nominated, each team can make a bid on the player. The team with the highest bid wins the player. Each team has a budget that determines how much they can spend on nominated players.
• The NFL.com Live Online and Autopick Drafts operate with either a “snake” or “linear” drafting order.
• Snake – The team with the first overall pick selects, followed by the team with the second pick, third pick, and so on. At the end of the first round, the team that just drafted (with the last pick in the first round) will have the first pick in the second round, as the draft order reverses until the end of the second round sees the team that originally drafted first overall makes another selection.
• Linear – The team with the first overall pick selects, followed by the team with the second pick, third pick and so on. The draft order that is established in the first round will be the order that picks are selected throughout the entire draft. In other words, the order in the first round is used in all rounds and never changes.

The draft for the FFS Scout league on NFL.com will be standard and in a snake pattern. This means that the person with the last pick in the first round will have the first pick in the second round and so on.

One key difference between Fantasy NFL and FPL is that only one person in the league can own a particular player.

After the completion of the draft, all those players who went undrafted will become free agents or be on the Waiver Wire. These are essentially where you transfer players in and out. Click here for a guide to all the various transactions.

Once you have drafted a roster, you must select the players who you want to play for you. This part is just like FPL, where you have a starting team, and then a bench. The starting team must consist of:

• Quarterback: 1
• Running Back: 2
• Wide Receiver: 2
• Tight End: 1
• Wide Receiver / Running Back: 1
• Kicker: 1
• Defensive Team: 1
• Bench: 6

When you are drafting, you must select enough players from each position to be able to field a team (see above for positions). This means that you must draft one Quarterback.

A GUIDE TO THE DRAFT

The success of your fantasy football team hinges on your draft picks. Use the following strategies:

• Draft RBs early and often. Your exact strategy will vary based on your draft position, but taking two RBs in the first three rounds is the best approach.
• Look to acquire an elite WR in the first three rounds. Depending on your league, you should be able to grab a reliable top-five WR to anchor your receiving core for the entire season.
• Don’t take a kicker or defence too early. You can find plenty of depth at these positions at the end of the draft.
• Take quarterbacks in the middle rounds. Good, productive quarterbacks aren’t hard to find in the middle rounds. The top-ten QBs will be drafted before the tenth round, though.
• You take RBs and WRs before QBs as there is a greater difference between the 1st RB and the 10th RB than there is between the 1st and 10th QB.
• Understand and take advantage of position runs. Typically, there will be a waterfall effect once a player from a specific position is selected (for example — once the first team goes after a tight end, there will eventually be a mass-scramble from the rest of the league to acquire high-talent tight ends).
• Don’t draft studs with the same NFL bye week. Most Fantasy teams can’t avoid having some players on the same bye week, but having your best players on the same bye can cost you a win.
• Grab potential breakouts and sleepers late. You can pick up an average injury replacement during the season. In the later rounds, drafting players who may become studs could win you the league.
• After your Fantasy football draft is complete, analyse your team for strengths and weaknesses. Begin creating post-draft strategies to help address any areas of concern on your team.

EARNING POINTS

Players who are in your starting team earn points based on their actual performance in their scheduled match-up. The main points are calculated as follows.

Offence

• Passing Yards: 1 point per 25 yards
• Passing Touchdowns: 4 points
• Interceptions Thrown: -2 points
• Rushing Yards: 1 point per 10 yards
• Rushing Touchdowns: 6 points
• 100-199 Rushing Yards Bonus: 2 points
• 200+ Rushing Yards Bonus: 4 points
• Receiving Yards: 1 point per 10 yards
• Receiving Touchdowns: 6 points
• Kick-off and Punt Return Touchdowns: 6 points
• Fumble Recovered for TD: 6 points
• Fumbles Lost: -2 points

Kicking

• PAT Made: 1 point
• PAT Missed: -2 points
• FG Made 0-19: 3 points
• FG Made 20-29: 3 points
• FG Made 30-39: 3 points
• FG Made 40-49: 3 points
• FG Made 50+: 5 points

Defence / Special Teams

• Sacks: 1 point
• Interceptions: 2 points
• Fumbles Recovered: 2 points
• Fumbles Forced: 2 points
• Safeties: 2 points
• Touchdowns: 6 points

For a full list of points click on this link.

League system

• 16 teams.
• You will play 14 out of the 16 teams.
• The league concludes after week 14 of the NFL regular season schedule, after which the top 8 teams from the league make it to the play-offs.
• The play-offs begin in week 15.
• In the play-offs, the team with the best record (best winning record) will play the team with the 8th best record, the 2nd vs the 7th and so on.
• The winners will advance to the Semi-finals in week 16 and subsequently the championship game (Super Bowl) in week 17 of the regular season.
• The winner of the Super Bowl will be declared winner of the FFS Scout NFL.com fantasy league.

Remember, before every new Gameweek, make sure to submit your team, just like in FPL. You don’t want to be playing someone away at Chelsea (i.e. Seattle Seahawks) unless they are the top dog (i.e. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers).

For a full set of rules click on here. This will teach you about the complicated aspects of the game such as free agents, and the waiver wire.

Here  is also a handy link with all the fixtures listed to help you in the draft.

The password needed to join the FFS Scout league is: fantasyfootballscout. To join the league, click on this Here.

Note: Rules similar to general rules for NFL.com fantasy leagues. Newcomers to NFL are welcomed but it is suggested that you have some interest in the game and have familiarised yourself with the basic aspects of the game, and the fantasy game, before you play.

If you have any questions for me, post them below. I hope to see lots of you (well 15 of you) at Draft Day, 21st June.