Standard Format Fantasy Football Rankings

What is Standard, or Non-PPR Scoring?

Standard scoring is the origin of fantasy football. This means that every positional player receives 1 point for every 10 yards of rushing or receiving yards that they gain. They also gain 6 points for each rushing or receiving touchdown. Quarterbacks receive the same points for rushing and receiving totals, but they also generate 1 point for every 25 yards of passing and 4 points for each passing touchdown. This is the general setup for standard leagues. In PPR leagues, players receive half of a point or a full point for each reception they make. Standard scoring leagues do not provide any reception bonuses. Below is a link to an article detailing standard leagues more in-depth. Our 2022 fantasy football standard rankings will ensure you dominate your league.

Difference Between Standard and Other Rankings

If you are looking to join the fantasy football arena, the various scoring formats can easily confuse you. Below is a breakdown between standard and other major scoring formats.

Standard Fantasy Football Rankings vs. Half-PPR Rankings

Incorporating a PPR-scoring element, whether that’s full or half-PPR, is going to impact the rankings for the 2022 season of your particular league. The difference between half-PPR scoring and standard is that in standard there is zero point per reception bonuses. In half-PPR, each player receives half of a point for each reception.

While both formats keep running backs as the highest scoring position, the viability of receivers increases with the inclusion of half-PPR. Running backs who are not only used in the running back role but in the passing game as well will experience a noticeable shift up rankings.

In standard leagues, fantasy managers will want to have multiple high-end running backs because that’s where the value is. In half-PPR, one of the better roster constructions is the hero-RB build. This strategy consists of having one elite running back and then focusing on your receivers, tight end, and quarterback. The second running back spot, because of the PPR component, can be more easily filled by pass-catching running backs such as McKissic or other similar players. It’s also possible to fill that second spot through the waiver wire due to an injury or depth chart change.

Our 2022 PPR and non-PPR fantasy football draft rankings will provide you with expert advice to ensure you're prepared and ready to dominate your 2022 draft.

Standard Fantasy Football Rankings vs. PPR Rankings

PPR scoring and standard scoring will impact our 2022 rankings and our strategy. In full-PPR leagues, players who are projected to have higher target share and catch numbers are likely to receive a boost up the rankings. This includes players such as D’Andre Swift, and Austin Ekeler, and slot receivers typically are more valued in these scoring formats. When we’re talking about slot receivers, we’re talking about guys similar to Julian Edelman. Keenan Allen is a great example of someone in today’s game who gets a boost in full-PPR scoring leagues because although he may not rack up a ton of yardage or score a bunch of touchdowns, he catches 100 passes and that’s extremely valuable.

On the flip side, players who do not catch a lot of passes are going to experience a downgrade in value in full-PPR leagues. This can include players like Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry. Other types of players who fall lower in this scoring format are downfield threats. This would include someone like DeSean Jackson. While he had good yardage numbers, he didn’t catch many passes because he had such a high yard per reception average.

How Does Strategy Change for Standard Leagues?

In standard scoring leagues, fantasy managers will want to focus on running backs. They are the most valuable position in the game and it's important to secure workhorse RBs. In other scoring formats, Zero-RB strategies become more common, but that's extremely difficult in standard because of how valuable they are. Securing a top-12 running back is crucial to the success of your fantasy team.

You should also be focused on identifying players with high touchdown potential. In that sense, you should be chasing players with a heavy workload or who are on a high-scoring offense. A player like Gerald Everett may not have a large target share, but at tight end, playing for the Chargers and catching passes from Justin Herbert, he becomes a decent late-round dart throw at TE, hoping he could cash in on 8-10 touchdowns like Dawson Knox did last year with the Bills or Robert Tonyan did in 2020 with the Packers.

Top Sites to Play Fantasy Football

• CBS – The CBS fantasy football app makes drafting easy and provides a free app for commissioners to customize their fantasy football leagues. There aren’t as many sortable options when it comes to free agents and the waiver wire, which is disappointing.
• Yahoo – This is also a free app for fantasy managers can use to set up their leagues. It provides videos for particular players, projections, and an easy-to-use interface. The one downside is that the app encompasses Yahoo!’s normal, weekly, and daily fantasy sports platform.
• NFL – The app is free and sponsored by the NFL, so it comes with updates, stats, and news for every player. This app is also very easy to use and comes with a plethora of projections and analyses to help you make your draft day and lineup decisions.
• ESPN – The app is free and ready to use. It also comes with ample analysis, projections, and rankings to review. For your basic leagues, there’s really nothing that the ESPN platform doesn’t have. However, their trade generator is grossly inaccurate when creating possible trade offerings.
• MFL – My fantasy league is, without a doubt, the most customizable fantasy football platform available. Because of this, leagues are required to pay for their site. If you’re in a basic league, using this site is not required because it’s not free and is not the most user-friendly site. However, if you’re looking to run a more in-depth keeper league or dynasty league, it’s a solid choice because of the many different options it provides.
• Sleeper – This is one of the newest fantasy football apps and has quickly risen in popularity. It offers commissioners plenty of customizable options. The one downside of sleeper is there are a lot of notifications and messages that come through.

FAQ

Players to Target in Standard Leagues in 2022?

In standard leagues, fantasy managers will want to target players with a high projected number of touches. In standard scoring leagues, volume carries the day. This is why running backs are extremely valuable in this type of scoring format. Guys like Jonathan Taylor, Derrick Henry, Dalvin Cook, and Najee Harris are extremely valuable because of their insane number of touches on a weekly basis.

Touchdowns are also extremely valuable in standard leagues because players only get points from their yards and touchdowns. In that sense, don’t be afraid to target someone like Hunter Henry or Dawson Knox, who may not have the weekly touches we’re typically looking for, but has an extensive role in the red zone. Chasing volume and touchdown potential are two things that should dictate who you target in this type of scoring format.

What is More Common PPR or Standard?

When fantasy football first started, standard scoring was the consensus scoring format. 20 years ago, the NFL was not nearly as focused on the passing game. While running backs will always reign supreme in standard leagues, 20 years ago, almost every team had a workhorse RB, whereas now they’re a dying breed. With the changes in the NFL game, fantasy football has changed too. More and more teams are using a committee backfield, which leaves fewer workhorse running backs available. Teams are focused on the passing game, increasing the value of wide receivers. With these changes, came a shift to PPR scoring. Nowadays, half-PPR and full-PPR scoring are more common.

How to Approach the Flex Spot in Standard Leagues?

Last year, in standard scoring leagues, the RB25 scored 143 points compared to the WR25 who scored 135. Typically, if you’re in a 12-team league that requires 2 starting RBs and 3 starting WRs, the first available flex WR would be WR37, who scored 107. This means you should be targeting a running back with your flex position. We’re still targeting volume and high touchdown potential.

Which is More Valuable, WR or RB in Standard Scoring Formats?

It’s not even close. Running backs blow their receiver counterparts out of the water in standard scoring and should be your priority in your fantasy drafts in standard leagues. Despite Cooper Kupp having arguably the greatest fantasy season of all time for a WR, he scored just 295 points. Jonathan Taylor, the RB1 last season scored 333 points. It wasn’t even close despite Kupp’s otherworldly season. RB12 scored 183 vs WR12 at 167. RBs are extremely more valuable in standard scoring.