What’s up Fantasy Guru fam! It’s Wednesday morning and I have my Cuban coffee in hand, ready for another edition of the league formats series. Last week I discussed my approach for a super flex league and this week I’ll be discussing my thoughts on how I approach a good old fashioned PPR format. For those of you who are not aware of what PPR stands for, it is point per reception, which is self-explanatory, you get one point per every reception out of your players. This format has become the standard for some time now, as it is not too common to see non-ppr leagues like we used to. It only makes sense considering how the league has changed over the years.
This type of format levels the playing field for running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends. You see in non-PPR formats, the receiver and tight end position are devalued a bit because they are not receiving points for each catch, therefore the running back position is the most valuable in these formats. I’ll be going over a non-PPR format at another time, but wanted to point out that piece of information.
For the purpose of this article here is the roster breakdown: 1-QB, 2-RB, 3-WR, 1-TE, 1-Flex, Defense, and Kicker. The scoring is as follows for receiving and rushing:
| OFFENSIVE PLAYERS | Scoring |
| Passing Yards | 1 point per 25 yards |
| Passing Touchdowns | 4 points |
| Passing Interceptions | -2 points |
| Rushing Yards | 0.1 point per 1 yard |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 6 points |
| Receptions | 1 point |
| Receiving Yards | 0.1 point per 1 yard |
| Receiving Touchdowns | 6 points |
| 2-Point Conversions | 2 points |
| Fumbles Lost | -2 points |
| Fumble Recovered for a Touchdown | 6 points |
RUNNING BACKS
This format adds value to pass catching backs due to the point for every reception. Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey are running backs that are taken in the top four picks in just about every format, but running backs such as Tarik Cohen, James White, Theo Riddick, Nyheim Hines, and Duke Johnson gain a ton of value in PPR formats and are the type of backs I am targeting in the mid to late rounds. For the most part, not all of these backs are consistently producing quality numbers on a weekly basis, but their involvement in the passing game gives them a pretty solid floor and all but locks up at least a couple of fantasy points each week. For instance, some of these backs might finish with four catches for 35 yards on any given Sunday and that will be good for 7.5 fantasy points in this type of format versus just 3.5 points in a non-PPR league. I could certainly live with that as a bye week fill-in or if I am in a bind and need to start one of these types of backs. Running backs like Jordan Howard truly lose value in this format, since they are not really involved in the passing game. Below is a chart displaying the top 25 targeted running backs for the last three seasons.
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | ||||||
| Player | Targets | Receptions | Player | Targets | Receptions | Player | Targets | Receptions |
| Christian McCaffrey | 122 | 108 | Christian McCaffrey | 106 | 80 | David Johnson | 107 | 80 |
| James White | 116 | 87 | Le’Veon Bell | 103 | 85 | Le’Veon Bell | 89 | 75 |
| Saquon Barkley | 114 | 91 | Alvin Kamara | 96 | 81 | James White | 76 | 60 |
| Alvin Kamara | 98 | 81 | Duke Johnson Jr. | 90 | 74 | Bilal Powell | 69 | 58 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | 91 | 77 | Carlos Hyde | 83 | 59 | Duke Johnson Jr. | 68 | 53 |
| Tarik Cohen | 87 | 71 | Todd Gurley II | 76 | 64 | DeMarco Murray | 64 | 53 |
| Nyheim Hines | 78 | 63 | Melvin Gordon III | 73 | 58 | Darren Sproles | 63 | 52 |
| Jalen Richard | 77 | 68 | LeSean McCoy | 72 | 59 | Theo Riddick | 62 | 53 |
| Todd Gurley II | 76 | 59 | Theo Riddick | 68 | 53 | Devonta Freeman | 61 | 54 |
| Theo Riddick | 74 | 61 | James White | 68 | 56 | T.J. Yeldon | 60 | 50 |
| David Johnson | 70 | 50 | Mark Ingram II | 65 | 58 | Chris Thompson | 59 | 49 |
| T.J. Yeldon | 70 | 55 | Tarik Cohen | 65 | 53 | Todd Gurley II | 55 | 43 |
| James Conner | 67 | 55 | Kareem Hunt | 62 | 53 | LeSean McCoy | 54 | 50 |
| Dion Lewis | 67 | 59 | Jerick McKinnon | 61 | 51 | Melvin Gordon III | 53 | 41 |
| Kenyan Drake | 66 | 53 | Andre Ellington | 56 | 39 | Mark Ingram II | 52 | 46 |
| Melvin Gordon III | 61 | 50 | Javorius Allen | 55 | 46 | Jerick McKinnon | 51 | 43 |
| Duke Johnson Jr. | 61 | 47 | Giovani Bernard | 53 | 43 | Travaris Cadet | 50 | 40 |
| Joe Mixon | 54 | 43 | Shane Vereen | 52 | 44 | Ty Montgomery | 49 | 44 |
| Chris Thompson | 52 | 41 | Chris Thompson | 51 | 39 | Giovani Bernard | 48 | 39 |
| Dalvin Cook | 48 | 40 | Charles Sims | 45 | 35 | Isaiah Crowell | 47 | 40 |
| Devontae Booker | 48 | 38 | DeMarco Murray | 44 | 39 | Jordan Howard | 46 | 29 |
| Austin Ekeler | 47 | 39 | Matt Forte | 44 | 37 | Frank Gore | 44 | 38 |
| Phillip Lindsay | 44 | 35 | J.D. McKissic | 44 | 34 | Spencer Ware | 42 | 33 |
| Jacquizz Rodgers | 43 | 38 | Leonard Fournette | 43 | 36 | Kyle Juszczyk | 42 | 37 |
| Mike Davis | 42 | 34 | Kenyan Drake | 43 | 32 | Rashad Jennings | 41 | 35 |
WIDE RECEIVERS
Receivers get a significant boost in this format as they are receiving points for each catch. The elite receivers will always be valuable, but a lot of the high-volume wide outs gain a ton of value in this format as well. For example, receivers like Jarvis Landry, Cooper Kupp, Julian Edelman, Golden Tate, Adam Humphries, and Jamison Crowder see a boost. Some of these wide outs may not score 8+ touchdowns and/or even eclipse 1,000 yards, but they do have plenty of games where they catch 4-to-6 passes for anywhere between 40-60 yards, and score double-digit fantasy points because of it. These are the type of receivers I am targeting once the cream of the crop and the consistent producing receivers are off the board. I am often more interested in these types of wide outs in this format than I am in receivers such as Sammy Watkins and DeSean Jackson who are more known for their big play ability rather than volume. Below is a chart of the top 30 targeted wide outs over the last three seasons.
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | ||||||
| Player | Targets | Receptions | Player | Targets | Receptions | Player | Targets | Receptions |
| Julio Jones | 166 | 113 | DeAndre Hopkins | 164 | 96 | Mike Evans | 168 | 96 |
| Antonio Brown | 164 | 104 | Jarvis Landry | 156 | 112 | Odell Beckham Jr. | 161 | 101 |
| Davante Adams | 162 | 111 | Antonio Brown | 155 | 101 | Antonio Brown | 151 | 106 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | 161 | 111 | Larry Fitzgerald | 153 | 109 | Larry Fitzgerald | 147 | 107 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 159 | 115 | Keenan Allen | 147 | 102 | Jordy Nelson | 146 | 97 |
| Adam Thielen | 149 | 113 | Julio Jones | 143 | 88 | Julian Edelman | 146 | 98 |
| Michael Thomas | 146 | 125 | Michael Thomas | 139 | 104 | Allen Robinson II | 144 | 73 |
| Stefon Diggs | 141 | 102 | Demaryius Thomas | 136 | 83 | T.Y. Hilton | 143 | 91 |
| Jarvis Landry | 137 | 81 | Adam Thielen | 135 | 91 | Michael Crabtree | 142 | 89 |
| Mike Evans | 135 | 86 | A.J. Green | 134 | 75 | Demaryius Thomas | 141 | 90 |
| Tyreek Hill | 129 | 87 | Mike Evans | 132 | 71 | DeAndre Hopkins | 138 | 78 |
| Robert Woods | 127 | 86 | Dez Bryant | 126 | 69 | Terrelle Pryor Sr. | 132 | 77 |
| Keenan Allen | 125 | 97 | Golden Tate | 117 | 92 | Golden Tate | 131 | 91 |
| Odell Beckham Jr. | 119 | 77 | Alshon Jeffery | 113 | 57 | Emmanuel Sanders | 131 | 79 |
| T.Y. Hilton | 116 | 76 | Doug Baldwin | 112 | 75 | Amari Cooper | 127 | 83 |
| Kenny Golladay | 115 | 70 | Robby Anderson | 111 | 63 | Julio Jones | 125 | 83 |
| Brandin Cooks | 110 | 80 | Brandin Cooks | 109 | 65 | Jarvis Landry | 122 | 94 |
| Corey Davis | 108 | 65 | Devin Funchess | 109 | 63 | Brandon Marshall | 121 | 59 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | 107 | 69 | Davante Adams | 108 | 74 | Michael Thomas | 119 | 92 |
| Julian Edelman | 105 | 74 | Marvin Jones Jr. | 105 | 61 | Davante Adams | 118 | 75 |
| Golden Tate | 105 | 74 | Tyreek Hill | 102 | 75 | Doug Baldwin | 117 | 94 |
| Tyler Boyd | 103 | 76 | T.Y. Hilton | 102 | 57 | Brandin Cooks | 113 | 78 |
| Adam Humphries | 103 | 76 | Kenny Stills | 101 | 58 | Kelvin Benjamin | 112 | 63 |
| Amari Cooper | 102 | 75 | Marquise Goodwin | 99 | 56 | Tyrell Williams | 111 | 69 |
| Sterling Shepard | 102 | 66 | Michael Crabtree | 99 | 58 | Pierre Garcon | 110 | 79 |
| Zay Jones | 99 | 56 | Jermaine Kearse | 96 | 65 | Mike Wallace | 109 | 72 |
| Michael Crabtree | 98 | 54 | Jamison Crowder | 96 | 66 | Kenny Britt | 109 | 68 |
| Emmanuel Sanders | 97 | 71 | DeVante Parker | 95 | 57 | Stefon Diggs | 109 | 84 |
| Dede Westbrook | 96 | 66 | Stefon Diggs | 94 | 64 | Jordan Matthews | 109 | 73 |
| Allen Robinson II | 94 | 55 | Mohamed Sanu | 94 | 67 | Jeremy Kerley | 108 | 64 |
TIGHT ENDS
Tight ends see a boost as well in this format, but this is still a position where I am not interested in investing too early in. Being that the production is top heavy at this position, I normally wait and stream tight ends if I do not draft one that I can count on each week. Players like Kyle Rudolph, Vance McDonald (this season), and Delanie Walker might be a bit more reliable in PPR formats than they will be in non-PPR leagues.
QUARTERBACKS
This is the position that isn’t affected much, if at all, in PPR formats. Being that you seldom see a quarterback catch a pass throughout the course of a season, there is no difference in scoring at the end of the year between a quarterback in a PPR league versus a quarterback in a non-PPR league. If there is any difference, it would be so minimal that it does not warrant changing the way you approach this position in this format.
MY THOUGHTS
Now that I have broken down how each position is affected in this format, here is the way I approach these type of leagues. You may have heard of the zero-running back theory in the past. If you have not, let me give you a quick breakdown. This strategy consists of fantasy owners skipping on the running back position in the first 3-to-5 rounds, in some instances even later. I am all about taking a receiver in the first and even second round if that is what the draft is giving me, but I personally do not like to wait all the way to the sixth round to take my first back. Normally I invest in the receiver and running back position in the first seven rounds, forming a nice balanced core between the two positions.
Something I also have no issues with doing is jumping on some of the pass catching backs and these high-volume receivers ahead of the suggested ADP, especially ones that could have a bigger role if a player goes down. Last year I was drafting Cooper Kupp a round or two ahead of his ADP and landed Nyheim Hines in a ton of leagues. These were two players I felt strongly about would return value on their ADP because of the roles and production in this type of format.
If we look at this year’s player pool, taking a running back with one of the first five picks seems reasonable, but if I am picking in the sixth hole or later, chances are I’ll be investing in a receiver instead. Over the last three seasons, an average of 17 receivers have been in the top 30 in fantasy points when comparing the two positions. This suggests that more than half of the top 30 in fantasy points between running backs and wide outs will consists of receivers. See chart below.
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |||||||||
| Player | Position | FantasyPts | FPPG | Player | Position | FantasyPts | FPPG | Player | Position | FantasyPts | FPPG |
| Saquon Barkley | RB | 383.8 | 23.99 | Todd Gurley II | RB | 387.3 | 25.82 | David Johnson | RB | 412.2 | 25.76 |
| Christian McCaffrey | RB | 383.2 | 23.95 | Le’Veon Bell | RB | 345.6 | 23.04 | Ezekiel Elliott | RB | 327.4 | 21.83 |
| Todd Gurley II | RB | 368.1 | 26.29 | Alvin Kamara | RB | 314.4 | 19.65 | Le’Veon Bell | RB | 317.4 | 26.45 |
| Alvin Kamara | RB | 348.2 | 23.21 | DeAndre Hopkins | WR | 311.8 | 20.79 | Antonio Brown | WR | 307.3 | 20.49 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | WR | 337.5 | 21.09 | Antonio Brown | WR | 308.3 | 22.02 | Jordy Nelson | WR | 306.7 | 19.17 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | RB | 331.1 | 22.07 | Kareem Hunt | RB | 297.2 | 18.58 | Mike Evans | WR | 300.1 | 18.76 |
| Julio Jones | WR | 329.9 | 20.62 | Melvin Gordon III | RB | 288.1 | 18.01 | Odell Beckham Jr. | WR | 298.6 | 18.66 |
| Tyreek Hill | WR | 328 | 20.50 | Mark Ingram II | RB | 284 | 17.75 | LeSean McCoy | RB | 296.3 | 19.75 |
| Davante Adams | WR | 327.6 | 21.84 | Keenan Allen | WR | 278.2 | 17.39 | DeMarco Murray | RB | 291.4 | 18.21 |
| Antonio Brown | WR | 323.7 | 21.58 | LeSean McCoy | RB | 265.6 | 16.60 | Devonta Freeman | RB | 286.1 | 17.88 |
| Michael Thomas | WR | 319.5 | 19.97 | Jarvis Landry | WR | 264 | 16.50 | T.Y. Hilton | WR | 271.8 | 16.99 |
| Adam Thielen | WR | 307.3 | 19.21 | Larry Fitzgerald | WR | 260.6 | 16.29 | Julio Jones | WR | 259.9 | 18.56 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | WR | 296.9 | 18.56 | Michael Thomas | WR | 258.5 | 16.16 | Michael Thomas | WR | 259.7 | 17.31 |
| Mike Evans | WR | 286.4 | 17.90 | Julio Jones | WR | 251.9 | 15.74 | Melvin Gordon III | RB | 254.6 | 19.58 |
| James Conner | RB | 280 | 21.54 | Adam Thielen | WR | 243.7 | 15.23 | Doug Baldwin | WR | 249 | 15.56 |
| James White | RB | 276.6 | 17.29 | Tyreek Hill | WR | 241.2 | 16.08 | Davante Adams | WR | 246.7 | 15.42 |
| Melvin Gordon III | RB | 271.5 | 22.63 | Carlos Hyde | RB | 235.8 | 14.74 | Brandin Cooks | WR | 246.3 | 15.39 |
| Robert Woods | WR | 265.6 | 16.60 | A.J. Green | WR | 230.8 | 14.43 | Larry Fitzgerald | WR | 245.8 | 15.36 |
| Stefon Diggs | WR | 264.3 | 17.62 | Christian McCaffrey | RB | 230.6 | 14.41 | Mark Ingram II | RB | 242.2 | 15.14 |
| Keenan Allen | WR | 260.1 | 16.26 | Leonard Fournette | RB | 230.2 | 17.71 | Michael Crabtree | WR | 237.3 | 14.83 |
| David Johnson | RB | 248.6 | 15.54 | Marvin Jones Jr. | WR | 225.1 | 14.07 | LeGarrette Blount | RB | 234.9 | 14.68 |
| Joe Mixon | RB | 243.7 | 17.41 | Golden Tate | WR | 224.5 | 14.03 | Jarvis Landry | WR | 233.3 | 14.58 |
| Brandin Cooks | WR | 243.2 | 15.20 | Davante Adams | WR | 222.5 | 15.89 | Julian Edelman | WR | 232.3 | 14.52 |
| T.Y. Hilton | WR | 239 | 17.07 | Doug Baldwin | WR | 221.3 | 13.83 | Jordan Howard | RB | 232.1 | 15.47 |
| Tarik Cohen | RB | 235.9 | 14.74 | Duke Johnson Jr. | RB | 220.1 | 13.76 | Amari Cooper | WR | 228.4 | 14.28 |
| Kareem Hunt | RB | 230.2 | 20.93 | Brandin Cooks | WR | 219.2 | 13.70 | Demaryius Thomas | WR | 228.3 | 14.27 |
| Phillip Lindsay | RB | 222.8 | 14.85 | Demaryius Thomas | WR | 207.9 | 12.99 | Golden Tate | WR | 223.1 | 13.94 |
| Tyler Boyd | WR | 221.1 | 15.79 | Ezekiel Elliott | RB | 205.2 | 20.52 | Jay Ajayi | RB | 217.4 | 14.49 |
| Tyler Lockett | WR | 220.4 | 13.78 | Devonta Freeman | RB | 202.2 | 14.44 | Tyrell Williams | WR | 216.9 | 13.56 |
| Odell Beckham Jr. | WR | 220.1 | 18.34 | Jordan Howard | RB | 201.7 | 12.61 | Frank Gore | RB | 216.2 | 13.51 |
Towards the mid-late rounds, I focus a lot of my attention on running backs that are capable of catching passes out of the backfield, such as Nyheim Hines, Austin Ekeler, Theo Riddick, Jaylen Samuels, and Tevin Coleman. These are the type of backs I am looking to target. The receivers such as Dante Pettis, Christian Kirk, Sterling Shepard, Jamison Crowder, and Golden Tate are in my radar. These are just examples of the types of backs and receivers I am targeting later on in these drafts.
In most leagues my goal is the same and that is to create a balanced lineup. In PPR formats, I am more inclined on taking pass catching backs than handcuffing my starter, because unlike a handcuff, a pass catching back will have some type of role in most cases even if the starter is playing. Furthermore, I like drafting for upside, but I am also considering stability and floors, so taking the non-sexy picks later in my drafts is something I embrace because of the week-to-week production I might be getting. Overall, I try to have a good amount of both types of players, but PPR leagues really adds value to players who may not be on your radar in non-PPR formats because of the volume in the passing game and the fact that they are being rewarded for catches.
As always, prepare for your draft, make sure to adjust as your draft goes, and don’t be afraid of taking your guy even if it is a round or two ahead of the suggested ADP. Good luck fam! See you next week.
