Think Ultimate team/MyTeam meets NFT pack drops meets fantasy football. Interest piqued? UtimateFan may have the game for you.
UltimateFan has created a unique fantasy offering where fantasy managers open packs to determine their squad and build a lineup. When you sign up, you will get a free pack that will include at least one gold card and will give you enough positional variety to fill out a team for your first week of action. To add more players to your team, there are a few options. The standard pack, available free of charge, can be opened once a week on Tuesdays. The silver packs guarantee you at least two silver cards and one gold. The gold packs guarantee two gold and one silver. The packs are not for sale like with Ultimate team or MyTeam but can be had via subscription. The silver package will grant you one silver pack drop per week for a month, while the gold package will grant one gold pack per week.
UltimateFan’s settings are as follows: touchdowns worth four points for QB’s and six for all other positions. It is full-point PPR with bonus points. Quarterbacks get one point at 200+ yards, two points at 300+ yards, and three points at 350+. On the ground, one point is awarded for 40+ yards, one point for 70+, and three for 100+. Through the air, there is one point for 50+ and one point for 100+. Interceptions and fumbles lost cost one point.
For the team cards, you get five points for a win and -1 for a loss. One point for field goals between 40-49 points, and two for 50+. Furthermore, one point is awarded per sack and two per interception. A special teams touchdown nets you six points. And for the D/ST-like scoring, you get eight points for a shutout, two points for allowing 1-13 points, zero for 14-28, and -3 for 28+. This scoring makes your lineup decision at that spot a critical piece of your weekly lineup decisions. The roster spots are QB, RB, WR, WR, TE, Flex, Team.
There are some important changes for Week 12 and beyond at Ultimate Fan. Lineup lock is no longer before Thursday Night Football and is instead prior to kickoff on Sunday afternoon. However, this also means that players in Thursday night and Saturday games are not eligible for lineups. This may change in the coming weeks, but is something to be mindful of while these restrictions exist.
Week 12 Pack Results
Finally, some wideout help. Week 12 pack openings were rock solid. After going for weeks with just Justin Jefferson and Michael Pittman as my only true options at wide receiver, the floodgates opened. I had two gold packs, one gold single card pack, and the free pack. The new additions to my team are CeeDee Lamb, Antonio Brown, A.J. Brown, Corey Davis, Tyler Lockett, Josh Reynolds, Kareem Hunt, Mike Gesicki, O.J. Howard, and Jameis Winston.
This was the first week that I was not inundated with dupes but is also the first week that I had to use the transfer list. I have several duplicates to consider but am holding out for the trading system to be implemented before the season wraps up. The players I chose to release this week are Dwayne Washington, Kahdrel Hodge, and Jalen Guyton.
Week 12 Team-Building Decisions
QB: Justin Herbert, Derek Carr, Russell Wilson, Baker Mayfield, Andy Dalton, Matt Ryan, Jameis Winston
RB: Austin Ekeler, Nick Chubb, Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, Derrick Henry, Kareem Hunt, Benny Snell
WR: Justin Jefferson, Michael Pittman, CeeDee Lamb, Antonio Brown, A.J. Brown, Corey Davis, Tyler Lockett, Marvin Jones, Laviska Shenault, Jarvis Landry, Kenny Golladay, Josh Reynolds, Jalen Guyton, Tyron Johnson, Kahdrel Hodge, Dwayne Eskridge, D.J. Chark
TE: Mark Andrews, Jared Cook, Dawson Knox, Austin Hooper, Ian Thomas, Mike Gesicki, O.J. Howard
Team: Chargers, Ravens, Packers, Broncos, Washington, Titans
My team is loaded at running back and is even better now that I have added a now healthy Kareem Hunt. Alvin Kamara is injured and is not an option for this week, to begin with, due to playing on Thursday. Kareem Hunt is designated to return and is expected to play on Sunday night but has a tough matchup against the Baltimore Ravens that comes with negative gamescript concerns. That leaves me with Christian McCaffrey against Miami and Austin Ekeler against Denver. Both running backs are gamescript proof due to their elite receiving ability and are playing in matchups in which their teams are favored.
At quarterback, I am still in Justin Herbert or bust mode. Russell Wilson has a tasty matchup against a Washington team without Chase Young, but Justin Herbert showed off his wheels in Week 11 and is too hot to sit right now. Herbert was never afraid to scramble at Oregon and could provide a massive boost to an already stellar fantasy game if he continues to use his legs to pick up chunk yardage when the play breaks down.
At wide receiver, CeeDee Lamb is not an option both due to being injured and due to playing on Thursday. Antonio Brown will be sidelined for at least one more week. Corey Davis injured his groin on Wednesday and is a game-time decision for Week 12 against Houston. Marvin Jones, Laviska Shenault, Jarvis Landry, and Kenny Golladay are not quite on the same level as my top receivers and have been eliminated as options for Week 12. That leaves me with Justin Jefferson vs. the 49ers, A.J. Brown vs. the Patriots, Tyler Lockett vs. Washington, and Michael Pittman against Tampa Bay.
All four of these wide receivers are capable of WR1 performances on any given week. San Francisco and New England have been two of the better teams in terms of limiting fantasy point production from the wide receiver position this season, making Tyler Lockett and Michael Pittman look like my best options for Week 12. Sitting Justin Jefferson is problematic given how dominant he has been lately. Tampa Bay has stepped it up against receivers compared to where they were early in the season when the secondary was banged up. I will go with Justin Jefferson and Tyler Lockett for Week 12, but I don’t feel good about it. I guess this is what having more than two WR1 candidates at Ultimate Fan feels like. The decisions will only get tougher when CeeDee Lamb and Antonio Brown become options.
At tight end, it is still a one-man show. Mark Andrews will start unless the Ravens are on bye, he gets hurt, or I land another top-five option to actually push him to start. Andrews remains a focal point of the Ravens offense and should be in line for a big game against a shaky linebacker corps. Dawson Knox has been excellent but played on Thursday, so he is not an option for my Week 12 lineup.
Team is always the toughest ‘position’ to make my choice at but should be supplanted by wide receiver as early as next week. My strategy for team is to look for a winner and then to look for defensive prowess and counting stats. Tennessee faces a New England team that can easily beat them this week, so they are eliminated as an option. Denver is eliminated due to facing Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers, while conversely, the Chargers are an option due to facing Denver. Washington is eliminated due to facing Seattle. Green Bay is eliminated due to facing the Los Angeles Rams. Baltimore should beat a struggling Cleveland team, but as we all know, nothing is guaranteed when it comes to divisional matchups. I am deciding between the Chargers and the Ravens for Week 12. Baltimore is the slightly larger favorite and has the higher win probability. I am starting Baltimore for now but may change my mind before lineups lock on Sunday morning.
Now for the golden helmet and the golden football. The golden football doubles the points of anyone who scores a touchdown, and like last week, I will be keeping it on my QB, Justin Herbert, for at least one more week. Nick Chubb will be a consideration when I am starting him, but since he will be on the bench for Week 12, Herbert gets the football. The golden helmet doubles the points of the player it is assigned to, and for this week, I will be putting it on Christian McCaffrey. The debate here was real with how well Austin Ekeler has played lately, but I will keep the helmet on CMC for at least one more week.
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Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his profile and follow him @FantasyContext.
