1of 5

An overview on fantasy football terminology

by Benjamin Lomax

There are a lot of terms utilized in Fantasy Football that you will need to know to be able to communicate with other fantasy football owners. Nothing shows off a fantasy football rookie owner more than inability to speak the language. With that in mind, here are some of the more common phrases utilized in normal fantasy football interactions.

ADP (Average Draft Position): This is a ranking, often within certain positions, providing a ranking for each player based on many mock or real drafts averaged out. This is a useful tool for information prior to your own draft.

Auction (Draft): This is a fantasy football league where each owner is allocated a certain amount of fantasy cash. Each player costs a certain amount of that case. Either the owners can compete for players or more frequently a player can be on more than one team.

Basic Scoring: Fantasy points are the results of scores only: touchdowns, field goals, and extra points.

Bench Players: Players on a fantasy roster who are not starting that week.

Bust: A fantasy player who does not fulfill expectations, typically drafted in the higher rounds. This can be because of injury or just generally under-performing.

By Week: The one week out of 17 where each team does not play. Obviously fantasy players from that team should not be played on that week.

Cheat Sheet: A “quick and dirty” draft guide that many fantasy owners use. Based on projected draft rankings from other venues, it is not detailed, but nonetheless useful.

Commissioner: The one running the league, reporting the results, conducting the draft, and collecting the fees as well as paying them out (if the league prize is monetary).

Deep League: A fantasy league with many (more than 12 typically) owners. This typically necessitates drafting more players, so the teams are deeper also.

Depth Chart: Listing of NFL teams with their starters, 2nd, and 3rd string players.

Draft: The make or break session where owners gather before the season starts to pick their respective line-ups. Possible techniques are serpentine or auction drafts.

Drop/Cut: To simply remove a player from your roster without compensation.

Dynasty League: A keeper league where the owner retains their entire team every year except for a supplemental draft at the start of each season (mostly rookies).

Fantasy Football (or FFB): A gathering of football fans attempting to replicate real owners, choosing players in a draft, then choosing who to start. Those players who perform highest earn their “owners” more points. The owner whose fantasy team performs the best over the season wins the championship, usually involving a financial payout.

Flex: Line-up spots where more than one position (WR, RB, or TE) can be started.

Flyer: Taking a chance on a risky or inconsistent player “taking a flier”.

Free Agent: An available player not currently on any fantasy roster in your league.

Gamble: Akin to Flyer, this is a high-potential high-risk player, either because of injuries, inconsistency, or off-the-field problems.

Ghost (or Ghostship): A team without an active fantasy owner.

Handcuffing: Drafting a player on the same team and same position as another player, typically done in case of injury.

Individual Defensive Player (or IDP): A league that utilizes statistics for individual fantasy defensive players, rather than the traditional team defense.

Injured Reserve (or IR): Similar to the NLF option, keeping a player on your roster but making him unavailable for a set number of weeks, freeing a roster spot.

Keeper League: A fantasy league where a certain number of players are retained year to year by the owners, leaving a smaller portion to draft each new season.

League: Group of fantasy owners playing against each other, also used to define the type of scoring, drafting, etc.

Mock Draft: A rehearsal draft, typically utilized to give owners an idea where players might be drafted. This is rarely done in a league, very often done online or in advertisements for fantasy football as an informational tool for owners.

Owner/General Manager: These are the actual people participating in the league, those in charge of drafting and choosing their starting line-ups each week.

Performance Scoring: Fantasy football scoring where yardage is considered for points in addition to points for actual scores on the field.

Pick-up: Adding a player to your roster through free-agency, waiver, or trade.

Points Per Reception (or PPR): Fantasy scoring where owners receive points for each reception their starting player has that week.

Projections: A Cheat Sheet with statistics, this is longer but much more useful. Projections include not only the player rank, but also includes their statistics.

Quarterback by Committee (or QBBC): Drafting multiple low ranked quarterbacks in low rounds, taking a chance that between them you will have one performing well each week.

Running Back by Committee (or RBBC): Drafting multiple running backs for situational starts, typically a distance runner for yards and a power back for short touchdowns.

Scoring: TD = touchdown, FG=Field Goal, XP=Extra Point, INT=Interception.

Serpentine or Snake Draft: The owners choose from first to last, then in the second round they choose last to first, enabling owners to make up for not getting early first rounders.

Sleeper: Fantasy player who is ranked or projected low but who has an unexpected outstanding breakout year. Typically late round picks. See also Flier and Gamble.

Starting Lineup, Starters, or Lineup: The actual fantasy players chosen to start on each team each week, eligible to score points, typically one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker, and a team defense.

Stats: Fantasy players numerical accomplishments either for the week or the season.

Stud: Excellent fantasy performer consistently at the top of his position.

Team/Roster: Every player on a fantasy owner’s team.

Team Defense: Drafting an entire team defense and recording their statistics each week, often including special teams statistics.

Team Position (or Team QB): An unconventional system where a whole team’s performance at a position is recorded each week, for example all the players at quarterback statistics for Dallas.

Third Year WR Rule: The common belief that NFL wide receivers do not have breakout years until their third year in the league.

Trade: Fantasy owners swapping players, can include multiple players, but not cash!

Transaction: Any change (see Drop, Pick-up, or Trade) to a fantasy roster, some incurring fees.

Waiver: An increasingly popular complexity where each player dropped by a team goes into this status for a certain period of time (usually one or more days). All interested owners can attempt to claim, usually preference goes to the lowest ranked owner.

An exhaustive list, but if you understand each of these terms, you will fit right in during the next fantasy draft.