Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: 5 Keys To Winning Your PPR League Title

Unlike standard fantasy football leagues, PPR leagues offer a wider variety of quality options for your fantasy league, and it puts more of an emphasis on the passing game, just like the NFL.

A PPR league is a league that offers a point for each reception a player makes, making players that catch a ton of passes each season even more important to your draft.

The rankings are drastically different in a PPR league because of the emphasis on the passing game, but the top players will be the guys you aim for no matter what the format.

If you follow these rules of thumb in your PPR fantasy draft, you will find yourself on the winning end of the most enjoyable formats out there.

Check back for more on the NFL world as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s Football Page to get your fill of the NFL.

Follow @Donald_Wood

5. Pick Kicker and Defense Last 2 Rounds

While a kicker and a team defense are very important to your team’s success, selecting these can wait until the last rounds.

Unless a great defense falls to you in the late rounds you shouldn’t reach, and the difference between the top defenses and the middle of the pack groups aren’t big enough to warrant that high of a pick.

While taking Pittsburgh’s defense in the seventh round seems like a good idea, you can snag a team like Houston’s defense in the last round and receive a relatively close number from both squads.

The same philosophy goes for kickers, so don’t pick New England’s Steve Gostkowski in the eighth round when you can get Atlanta Falcons’ Matt Bryant in the last round and expect the same numbers.

4. Aim for a Top-Tier Tight End

Many fantasy experts have questioned the importance of getting a tight end early, but a consistent pass-catching tight end will separate you from the PPR pack.

Never go too high for any player or position, but you should be looking to take a top-tier tight end in the sixth to eighth round.

While many may question the philosophy, look at the output of guys like Antonio Gates, Jason Witten or Jermichael Finley and tell me that you would be better off with Chris Cooley in the 12th round.

Tight ends catch passes frequently and one of the top payers at that position needs to be on your team.

3. Get a Great Quarterback Early

The idea that you can wait for a quarterback until the mid rounds will not fly in a PPR league, especially if the customary six points per touchdown is honored for quarterbacks as well.

Taking Matt Ryan in the seventh round and hoping to get the same number of points as a player who has Drew Brees as their starting quarterback is silly, and you are dooming yourself to lose right off the bat.

You should select one of the top 6-8 quarterbacks in the league within the first four rounds of the draft, or be doomed to fantasy damnation.

2. Possession Receivers

While players like Wes Welker may not put up the huge yardage or touchdown numbers, the added benefit from the sheer amount of catches will result in plenty of points each week.

Players that perennially catch 100 passes or so each year are bound to be consistent over the season, giving your team the best chance to win every week.

There aren’t as many of these possession receivers in the NFL, but the fact that their yardage totals won’t be as high as some of the top receivers will help them fall into your lap during the mid rounds.

1. Pass-Catching Running Backs

There is no bigger key to your PPR success than finding running backs that both get the majority of carries out of their team’s backfield but also catch plenty of passes.

Running backs like Darren McFadden, Peyton Hillis and Frank Gore are all perfect examples of what you want from a back in a PPR league, racking up 200-plus rushes and close to 50 catches a piece.

While the importance of the running back has fallen off with the fantasy community since the birth of the two-back systems, the PPR league is all about the pass-catching that make these backs the bread and butter of the style.

If you get the right mix of players, taking the PPR fantasy title will be a snap. Good luck!