Fantasy News & Analysis

2019 fantasy football cheat sheet

Welcome to PFF Fantasy's 2019 fantasy football cheat sheet, your one-stop-shop for all things fantasy football as you prepare for this year's drafts.

One of the popular refrains in fantasy football analysis in the last half-decade is that the sleeper is dead. After all, with 24/7/365 analysis and research going on in all corners of the internet and everything hitting Twitter within minutes, the idea that some unknown quantity in fantasy is just going to slip through the cracks and win you your league is hard to envision.

What that means is that it’s hard to get an edge in fantasy these days. What it does not mean is that it’s impossible to get that edge. Maybe some people in your home league have been researching and studying all offseason, but they haven’t all been doing it. Do you know who has? We have.

So I’m helpful! Below you can find all the key pieces we’ve had on our site this season. Bookmark this page and stay on top of your league. It will be regularly updated until the start of the season.

The PFF Fantasy Playbook is live!

Our 2019 draft guide is up now! It will be regularly updated between now and the start of the season, but you can already use it to research history, see key stats, and read player blurbs. This is a must-read. Check out the top takeaways for quarterbacks and running backs, and the top takeaways for wide receivers and tight ends.

Primary pages for EDGE subscribers

PFF Fantasy staff rankings
Fantasy stats
PFF DraftMaster
Fantasy projections

Primary pages for ELITE subscribers

Premium stats
PFF Greenline

Audio/video content

PFF podcasts
PFF YouTube channel

Offseason series

We’ve had some key series this offseason that will get you set up for success.

Fantasy rankings tiers

Director of PFF Fantasy Jeff Ratcliffe breaks down his rankings tiers at each position, helping you separate players into groups that can be a handier way of looking at things than a simple rankings list.

100 Questions

What do we need to know for each team for fantasy purposes in 2019? PFF Fantasy editor Daniel Kelley asks 3-4 questions about each team in the buildup to training camp and offers up his best answers to each.

Expected fantasy points

PFF Fantasy senior analyst Scott Barrett’s own metric breaks down fantasy players by workload in the ways that matter most for fantasy and analyzes who does the most and least with what work they get. There’s no better look at fantasy efficiency.

PFF Fantasy breaks down all the key offseason moves for fantasy

From the start of the offseason through free agency and trades, the PFF Fantasy team broke down the key offseason moves from a fantasy perspective to help figure out what each move means.

The Decider

Daniel Kelley’s offseason series pits players in a one-on-one battle among options who are close to one another in drafts to look at the decision on a micro level and decide which makes the better pick for 2019

Rankings

Need a deep dive into rankings? Jeff Ratcliffe has offered a full look at his rankings for the rookies, PPR leagues, 0.5 PPR leagues, dynasty leagues, IDP leagues, and keepers.

The staff rankers debated the players they are farthest apart on in our grades.

General content

96 stats

It might be the longest piece you'll read all draft season, but it'll also be the most informative. Scott Barrett finds three fantasy facts (really more than three) for each team around the league.

The Blueprint

Jeff Ratcliffe's ultimate draft board puts his entire 2019 drafting strategy in one place.

Draft strategy

After plenty of drafts this season already, Jeff Ratcliffe offers up his best tips for fantasy drafts in 2019.

Bold predictions

Daniel Kelley offers up 12 of his boldest predictions for 2019.

Team names!

Check out the best of the fantasy football team names, pulled directly from PFF DraftMaster.

Sleepers and busts

Over the last week of July and the first week of August, check out the breakdown of players capable of rising a tier above where they're going in drafts: QB, RB, WR, TE

And the breakdown of players liable to drop a tier below where they're going in drafts: QB, RB, WR, TE

Position battles to watch in training camp

Which position battles could matter the most for the 2019 fantasy season? Check out the look at running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends.

Fantasy strength of schedule

Jeff Ratcliffe dives in on the schedule outlooks at each position: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. Daniel Kelley piggybacked on that to look at the best and worst early-season schedules.

ADP values

Scott Barrett investigates whether the most buzzed-about players of the offseason are worth their lofty ADP slots: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. Daniel Kelley uses PFF Fantasy rankings and ADP to find players going too early or too late in drafts.

Offensive playcaller notes

Scott Barrett investigates the tendencies and trends from the offensive playcallers around the league. AFC and NFC.

Power rankings

Over the last week of July and first week of August, Scott Barrett sorts the teams out 1-32 in an effort to highlight the rosters that offer the most and least fantasy potential in 2019:

32-29, 28-25, 24-21, 20-17, 16-13, 12-9, 8-5, 4-1

Mock drafts: A rookie mock coming out of the draft
Mock drafts: A 12-team PPR in mid-May
Mock drafts: A 12-team PPR in mid-July
Mock drafts: Building a roster out of players 30-plus
Mock drafts: RB-heavy vs. WR-heavy
Mock drafts: Drafting for 2019, ignoring 2018
Mock drafts: Jeff Ratcliffe's ideal draft
The Love List: Jeff Ratcliffe's favorite picks
My Guys: Scott Barrett's favorite picks of the year
What we learned in the preseason: AFC
What we learned in the preseason: NFC
Buyer Beware: The riskiest picks of 2019
Late-round targets
Last-round targets
Fades: Players to avoid
Deep breakouts
Contrarian picks for 2019
Sleepers on each AFC roster
Sleepers on each NFC roster
18 sleepers for 2019
9 busts for 2019
Dart throws: The deepest sleepers
Early-season streaming options at QB/TE
The most overvalued fantasy players by round
The most undervalued fantasy players by round
The most overvalued fantasy players on each team
The most undervalued fantasy players on each team
ADP movers and shakers: The draft positions that have moved the most
Stock risers: Players with ADPs above their 2018 finish
Stock droppers: Players with ADPs below their 2018 finish
How to draft and stream a defense
10 to avoid in the first 5 rounds
Deep keeper options
High draft picks who aren't worth it
14 boring-but-worth-it draft picks
Under-the-radar injury discounts
Post-hype sleepers of 2019
The most problematic bye weeks of 2019
Early prop bets to consider
More prop bets to consider
The most and least gamescript-dependent players
The 8 most helpful offseason moves
The 7 least helpful offseason moves
The biggest rises in ADP from 2018 to 2019
The biggest falls in ADP from 2018 to 2019
Offensive playcaller notes: AFC
Offensive playcaller notes: NFC
5 teams set to increase their fantasy production in 2019
5 teams set to decrease their fantasy production in 2019
Players with better grades than fantasy outlooks
Players with worse grades than fantasy outlooks
Roller-coaster players
Streaming a DST without knowing anything about football
Strategies for identifying keepers
The players most helped by their division
The players most hurt by their division
How to exploit the gaps in PFF grade and fantasy ADP
Tips for IDP leagues
5 rookies to buy, 5 to sell
Using PFF rankings to exploit ESPN ADP
Using PFF rankings to exploit Yahoo ADP
Using PFF rankings to exploit NFL.com ADP

Position looks

We’ve had plenty of pieces that have looked at each position. Check it out, position-by-position.

Quarterback

Position looks:

Who is the No. 2 quarterback?
Late-round QBs to target
2019 sleepers
2019 busts
Target tendencies: Scott Barrett has evaluated which positions the various quarterbacks target most often, and then which quarterbacks fare the best when targeting each position.
2018 leaders in points per dropback
The best quarterbacks to pair in drafts
The ever-increasing importance of rushing QBs
The QBs with the most rushing potential
The candidates to be 2019’s QB1
Year-to-year repeatability among the top QBs
Deep QBs to stash in dynasty
How the quarterbacks put together their point totals
Depth-adjusted completion percentage
3 QBs overrated by traditional numbers
3 QBs underrated by traditional numbers
The outlook for the most pressured QBs
Adjusting for leagues with six-point passing TDs
QB consistency

Individual players:

What the loss of Rob Gronkowski means for Tom Brady
How to handle the Andrew Luck situation
The impact of Andrew Luck's retirement

Running back

Position looks:

10 running backs to target if you go WR early
Ranking the handcuff situations
2019 sleepers
2019 busts
The bell cow report: The RBs with the biggest workloads
Who should be the No. 1 back?
Breakout running backs
Different ways to look at yards per carry
Looking at RBs through the lens of elusive rating
Premium handcuffs
Overvalued running backs
Can any running back put up a 1,000/1,000 season?
Fantasy pre-mortem: If any of the top six picks fail, here’s how it’ll happen
Rookie running backs: Actions vs. words
The candidates to be 2019’s RB1
Year-to-year repeatability among the top RBs
Deep RBs to stash in dynasty
RBs most helped by their offensive lines
RBs least helped by their offensive lines
Running backs who might be miscast in their roles
Weighted opportunity
Takeaways from preseason RB usage
RB consistency

Individual players:

Could Alvin Kamara be underrated?
The case for Ezekiel Elliott as the No. 2 back
How to approach Melvin Gordon in drafts
What should we do with Todd Gurley?
Will David Johnson have a bounceback year?
Is there room for two fantasy-relevant backs in Chicago?
Dalvin Cook and Leonard Fournette: Whose stock is higher?
Darrell Henderson’s long-term fantasy stock
James Conner: The new Le’Veon Bell?
The case for Damien Williams as a fantasy starter
Searching for fantasy draft value in Miami
Lamar Miller's value with D'Onta Foreman gone
How to handle the Kenyan Drake/Kalen Ballage situation
The fallout of Duke Johnson being traded to Houston
How to value Kerryon Johnson
How to handle the Ezekiel Elliott/Melvin Gordon holdouts
How to value the Ronald Jones/Peyton Barber backfield
Why we need to take Tony Pollard seriously

Wide receiver

Position looks:

10 wide receivers to target if you go RB early
2019 sleepers
2019 busts
The fantasy value of yards per route run
Using YPRR to project fantasy performance: WRs who beat or fell short of expectations
Breakout receivers
Value receiver picks
Late-round dart throws to target
Teammates who could both be WR1s
Using college aDOT to project pro fantasy performance
WR handcuffs: No. 3 receivers who could have value
The candidates to be 2019’s WR1
Year-to-year repeatability among the top WRs
Deep WRs to stash in dynasty
Capitalizing on deep ball success

Individual players:

Is there room for even more fantasy growth from JuJu Smith-Schuster?
How to value Keke Coutee
Will Tyler Lockett’s target load increase?
The risks of Chris Godwin
What do we do with A.J. Green?
Is D.K. Metcalf a breakout candidate?
What Josh Gordon's application for reinstatement means
What Josh Gordon's actual reinstatement means

Tight end

Position looks:

2019 sleepers
2019 busts
Should you draft one of the top 3 TEs?
The candidates to be 2019’s TE1
Year-to-year repeatability among the top TEs
Deep TEs to stash in dynasty

Individual players:

Dallas Goedert: Breakout candidate?
Should Travis Kelce be a first-rounder?
George Kittle: No. 2 in dynasty?
Mark Andrews, sleeper tight end

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