Sad about fantasy football coming to an end? Well, cheer up! Get ahold of your four fantasy football diehard friends/relatives and start an NFL Playoff fantasy football league.
Just like in your season-long formats, set the scoring beforehand and have your teams play a cumulative league where whoever has the most points at the end of the Super Bowl wins. I use a PPR-format, too.
Lineups and rosters are all customizable, but here is a template I use…
Starting lineup – QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 flex (RB/WR/TE), 1 K, and 1 D/ST
Roster (20 spots) – 2 QBs, 6 RBs, 6 WRs, 2 TEs, 2 Ks, and 2 D/STs
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NFL Playoff Seeding
AFC
1. Kansas City Chiefs
2. New England Patriots
3. Houston Texans
4. Baltimore Ravens
5. Los Angeles Chargers
6. Indianapolis Colts
NFC
1. New Orleans Saints
2. Los Angeles Rams
3. Chicago Bears
4. Dallas Cowboys
5. Seattle Seahawks
6. Philadelphia Eagles
Now, on to the rankings…
Quarterbacks
1. Patrick Mahomes, KC
2. Drew Brees, NO
3. Tom Brady, NE
4. Mitchell Trubisky, CHI
5. Andrew Luck, IND
6. Dak Prescott, DAL
7. Russell Wilson, SEA
8. Jared Goff, LAR
9. Philip Rivers, LAC
10. Deshaun Watson, HOU
11. Lamar Jackson, BAL
12. Nick Foles, PHI
The best way to rank your players is to project the results, up to the conference championship games. The more games they have, the more potential to score points. For my rankings, I have the Patriots facing the Chiefs in the AFC and the Bears traveling to play the Saints in the NFC. Hence, the quarterbacks from those four teams make up my top-four QB rankings.
I would have way more faith in Kansas City if Kareem Hunt were still in the picture, but the Chiefs will have to move on from him. Since their Week 12 bye (Hunt was dismissed before their Week 13 game), they’ve run for an average of 116.2 yards per game. However, two of those contests were against the Raiders (30th in rushing yards allowed). Remove those two games and the Chiefs average 102.7 rushing yards per game against three playoff teams (Ravens, Chargers, and Seahawks). On the bright side, Mahomes averaged 297.7 passing yards and compiled a 7-to-1 TD-INT ratio against those three teams. That’s why he’s the frontrunner for the NFL’s MVP and why he’s my No. 1 QB in the fantasy postseason.
Brees was producing MVP-type numbers and then finished the season with three combined touchdown passes in the final four games. Granted, the Saints won three of those four, but Brees only threw for over 205 yards once. Also, from my projections, New Orleans will host Chicago. The Bears defense allowed an average of 17.7 points per game and only 219.7 passing yards per contest. For these reasons, Brees is slated for the No. 2 spot, and not the top position.
If you’re looking for a team in the Wild Card Round to make a run to the final game, I already suggested the Bears from the NFC, but let’s look at the Colts in the AFC. Luck finished the regular season strong in a play-in game against the Titans. He threw for 285 yards and three TDs. The Colts will face Houston for the third time this season. In the previous two meetings, Luck threw for 464 yards (four TDs) in Week 4 and 399 yards (two TDs) in Week 14.
If the Colts are fortunate enough to win the first game, they’ll get Kansas City in Round 2. The Chiefs allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.
Running Backs
1. Alvin Kamara, NO
2. Todd Gurley, LAR
3. Mark Ingram, NO
4. Jordan Howard, CHI
5. Damien Williams, KC
6. Ezekiel Elliott, DAL
7. Sony Michel, NE
8. James White, NE
9. Chris Carson, SEA
10. Melvin Gordon, LAC
11. Marlon Mack, IND
12. Tarik Cohen, CHI
13. Lamar Miller, HOU
14. Gus Edwards, BAL
15. Rex Burkhead, NE
16. Nyheim Hines, IND
17. Austin Ekeler, LAC
18. Kenneth Dixon, BAL
19. Mike Davis, SEA
20. C.J. Anderson, LAR
21. Wendell Smallwood, PHI
22. Josh Adams, PHI
23. Spencer Ware, KC
24. Darrel Williams, KC
25. John Kelly, LAR
26. Darren Sproles, PHI
27. Cordarrelle Patterson, NE
28. Rod Smith, DAL
29. D’Onta Foreman, HOU
30. Rashaad Penny, SEA
No surprises here. Well, maybe a couple, but I’ll address that in the next paragraph. Kamara and Gurley are No. 1 and No. 2 on my list.
Kamara was a killer, especially during the absence of Ingram. If you also decide on a PPR-format, take into consideration that Kamara caught at least five passes in three of his last four games. He also scored three TDs during that span.
Now, for those “surprises” I alluded to prior. Yes, I have the NFL rushing leader sixth in my rankings. Remember, this is a cumulative league where you can only draft six RBs and start only three (two, plus the potential flex). Right now, Elliott is in a coin-flip matchup against Seattle in the Wild Card Round. If you think Elliott and the Cowboys can defeat Seattle (Dallas is currently a two-point favorite), then take him higher.
One guy I had trouble ranking in my list was Gordon. Playing in a Wild Card game and having the potential to advance to the Divisional Round, and maybe even the AFC Championship, kept him high in my rankings, but the injury history scares me. As of Thursday night, it sounds like he’ll play. On the downside, he tallied 41 rushing yards on 12 carries against the Ravens in Week 16.
Wide Receivers
1. Michael Thomas, NO
2. Julian Edelman, NE
3. Tyreek Hill, KC
4. Keenan Allen, LAC
5. T.Y. Hilton, IND
6. Allen Robinson, CHI
7. Robert Woods, LAR
8. Brandin Cooks, LAR
9. DeAndre Hopkins, HOU
10. Amari Cooper, DAL
11. Tyler Lockett, SEA
12. Taylor Gabriel, CHI
13. Josh Reynolds, LAR
14. Mike Williams, LAC
15. Doug Baldwin, SEA
16. Chris Hogan, NE
17. Dontrelle Inman, IND
18. Keke Coutee, HOU
19. Alshon Jeffery, PHI
20. Cole Beasley, DAL
21. Nelson Agholor, PHI
22. Michael Gallup, DAL
23. Demarcus Robinson, KC
24. Phillip Dorsett, NE
25. Ted Ginn Jr., NO
26. Michael Crabtree, BAL
27. Anthony Miller, CHI
28. Chester Rogers, IND
29. Kelvin Benjamin, KC
30. Keith Kirkwood, NO
Much like the running back list, there aren’t many surprises for wide receiver rankings. The No. 1 WRs on, arguably, the three best teams in these playoffs are No. 1-2-3 on my list.
After that, I went to the Wild Card Round and aimed for teams who could make a deep run in the postseason. Allen and Hilton are both the No. 1 WRs on their respective teams and could play three games this postseason.
One big reminder for these leagues, don’t be afraid to take the No. 3 or 4 receivers on a really good team. Having someone in the Super Bowl is better than having no one in that final game.
Tight Ends
1. Travis Kelce, KC
2. Rob Gronkowski, NE
3. Eric Ebron, IND
4. Trey Burton, CHI
5. Benjamin Watson, NO
6. Hunter Henry, LAC
7. Gerald Everett, LAR
8. Zach Ertz, PHI
9. Blake Jarwin, DAL
10. Mark Andrews, BAL
11. Hayden Hurst, BAL
12. Adam Shaheen, CHI
13. Antonio Gates, LAC
14. Dallas Goedert, PHI
15. Nick Vannett, SEA
16. Ryan Griffin, HOU
This is where you’ll get value in your NFL playoff fantasy football drafts. Most teams will jump at the chance to select Ertz for their fantasy team. I can’t blame them. He’s a target and touchdown machine. However, if he only plays in one game, it’s more likely that a tight end with less draft excitement surpasses Ertz’s production. Especially, since Ertz has to face Chicago. The Bears haven’t allowed a touchdown to the opposing tight end since Week 8 (five TDs to TEs all season).
Also, don’t be afraid to take Kelce with one of your first couple picks. Look at the drop-off after the Chiefs TE: Gronk (injury concerns), Ebron (could lose in Wild Card), Burton (could lose in Wild Card or Divisional Round), Watson (not a threat to score a bunch of points), etc. Kelce has received at least nine targets in six straight games and scored a total of 10 TDs this season.
Make sure you take a TE in the Wild Card Round. I could make an argument for five Wild Card teams to advance to the AFC/NFC Championship game. Snagging a player with the potential to play in three games is huge and could be the difference between a win and a loss in the end.
Kickers
1. Harrison Butker, KC
2. Will Lutz, NO
3. Stephen Gostkowski, NE
4. Cody Parkey, CHI
5. Greg Zuerlein, LAR
6. Ka’imi Fairbairn, HOU
7. Adam Vinatieri, IND
8. Justin Tucker, BAL
9. Michael Badgley, LAC
10. Brett Maher, DAL
11. Sebastian Janikowski, SEA
12. Jake Elliott, PHI
I’m not going to breakdown kickers. Basically, if you think the team is going to advance to the championship, add that kicker higher on your list. If you’re torn between two, then go with the player who’s kicking indoors.
D/STs
1. Chicago Bears
2. New Orleans Saints
3. Los Angeles Rams
4. Los Angeles Chargers
5. Houston Texans
6. Baltimore Ravens
7. New England Patriots
8. Kansas City Chiefs
9. Indianapolis Colts
10. Dallas Cowboys
11. Seattle Seahawks
12. Philadelphia Eagles
These rankings were simple. It’s Bears or bust. Some may say that having the defense that advances to the Super Bowl is a good thing. Well, it wouldn’t have been good to have the Patriots or Eagles in the final week of your fantasy football league.
The Saints have allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks and the Chiefs have allowed the fourth most. As far as points per game are concerned, the Bears are best with 17.7 points allowed per contest. The Ravens are second on that list with 17.9 points allowed per game. Houston is tied for fourth in the NFL with 19.8 points allowed per game.
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Adam Meyer is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Adam, check out his archive and follow him @CharlieSideHstl.
