Non-PPR or PPR: Which format should I choose?

Fantasy football is about putting together a roster that can beat any opponent on any given week. Choosing the right format is critical to determining which players you should invest in. Let’s dive into how to value players in non-PPR and PPR formats.

If you intend to win your league, and what sane person doesn’t, you will be the person that understands the scoring system best and chooses a roster in such a way that matches a player’s best attributes with the areas that provide for the highest possible scoring opportunities.  Generally, most FF Leagues follow either a Non-PPR scoring system or a Points-Per-Reception (PPR) format.  For the purposes of our discussion here, I will use Non-PPR vs. PPR leagues since those leagues with ½ PPR scoring formats are in many ways a compromise choice between the two other formats.  In a Non-PPR league, the points are distributed simply based on a previously determined scoring rubric where an offensive player’s points are accumulated based on statistics involving yardage and touchdowns.  In full PPR leagues, points for offensive players are distributed using both the standard league scoring classifications as well as the added incentive of (as the title indicates) points per reception.

Choosing between these two formats requires considerably different strategic decisions from draft day through the last day of the season.  How you evaluate a player’s value is of utmost importance and what decisions you make on who and where to draft someone, keep or cut a player and how to gauge the usefulness of certain players on the waiver wire will be the difference between a fantasy football championship and the utter humiliation of finishing on the bottom of your league.

So, with the basic understanding of the two scoring structures laid out, it’s now time to pick the players, starting with the draft, and going by individual offensive positions, what are the strategy differences, and what do you see as the format that will make your fantasy football experience the best for you?

The Draft

The Draft is the opening ceremony of a nearly four-month competition to see who the best fantasy football player in your league is.  Coming together to choose what team you intend to go into battle with is a task that should not be taken lightly and requires the person to be armed with the most information needed to construct a roster that will be able to accumulate the most amount of points on a week-to-week basis. Any scoring quirks introduced into the league will always need to be accounted for, and your draft strategy should adjust accordingly.  The differences between a Non-PPR and PPR scoring format is perhaps the biggest scoring adjustment one needs to address during player evaluation.  Questions you might need to ask yourself when you decide what format is best for you and how you plan your draft often include; What are your positional restrictions, and how will they affect who and when you take certain positions?  What valuation do you place on certain positions in terms of overall draft positions? How will you adjust your draft strategy based on the flow of the draft? These are just a few questions you need to address based on the league scoring format.

The QB remains the same

Whatever type of scoring system you choose to employ for your fantasy league, two offensive positions will remain the same, that being the QB and the kicker, for the obvious reason that neither of those two positions catches the ball all that much.  Moving aside the kicker, whom many people disrespect but should not, I contend that even as the value of RBs and WRs continue to rise, the QB is and always will be the most valuable player on the field.  While their average point values are essentially in line with those other position players, they are the only player on the field that touches the ball on every offensive play, providing them with the greatest power in determining the success or failure of virtually every offensive player.  This power can most significantly be derived based on the offensive schemes that a team runs (Base Offense, RPO, West Coast); therefore, it is in their hands to determine the relative value of their RBs and WRs based on how the offense is distributed throughout the game.

Wide Receiver (and Tight End) Your Make-Or-Break Position

Let’s be honest, the wide receiver and tight end position is the main focal point of all decisions made when choosing between a Non-PPR and a PPR league.  The research that goes into selecting a receiver is probably the most extensive.  Areas you need to look at can range from the relationship with the quarterback, opponent’s defense, surrounding talent level, offensive scheme, statistical trends, and even potential weather situations. The difference between the value of a receiver in a Non-PPR league and one in a PPR league can be quite significant.  Let’s take the example of Kansas City Chiefs Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill and put him up against Houston Texans Wide Receiver DeAndre Hopkins.  In 2018 Hopkins finished second in the NFL in total yards, with Hill finishing fourth.  The difference in total yards was pretty close, as Hopkins bested Hill by only 93 yards, but when you put their stats through the lens of a standard vs. PPR examination, you will find the difference to be significant.

According to the scoring system provided by Fantasy Pros (fantasypros.com) in a Non-PPR scoring league, Tyreek Hill was the number one scoring receiver in the NFL, beating out Hopkins, who finished fourth, by 22.5 points.  However, in a PPR scoring format, Hopkins took over the first-place spot beating out Hill, third place, by 5.5 points.  That is a 27-point swing in scoring between the two receivers and more than likely a relatively similar swing in each player’s draft position.

How do you like your Running Back?

The running back position involves the greatest number of avenues through which you can accumulate the most fantasy-relevant stats.  The featured running back will likely score more touchdowns than the Wide Receivers or Tight Ends, he can catch the ball accumulating points for both receiving yards and receptions (in PPR Leagues), and he will be the one that gathers the points on the ground.  Your strategies as to what running backs you feature on your team can be vastly different when it comes to choosing based on your scoring format.

As an example, according to Fantasy Pros, in 2018, Christian McCaffery scored a total of 278.5 fantasy points in a Non-PPR scoring format and 385.5 points in a PPR system, showing a nearly 40% increase in point output.  Take a player like Derrick Henry, who saw only about an 8.5% increase in his point totals.  What this points out is that when determining which league is for you, you must understand what could be a very sizable difference between a running back’s stats between the two formats and know how this will affect how you go about determining what a player’s value is both during the draft and throughout the season as a potential waiver wire pick up.

Now that you have some idea of what statistics should influence your decision on which fantasy league is best for you, it is now up to you to make that all-important choice. 

As with anything in life, research is the key to making the best possible decision.   Hopefully, some of the topics that I have brought up will help you in making your decisions and help you dominate in your fantasy league, whichever scoring format you choose.

For more Strategies and Tips, always head to FantasyInFrames.com for more information!