The Complete Guide to Fantasy Football for Beginners Part 2: Scoring Systems

Scoring in fantasy football varies and the way leagues choose to tally points is different wherever you look. However, for simplicity, there are 3 main systems: Standard, Half-PPR, and PPR. All 3 systems award points for touchdowns and yardage. Each system has their own pros and cons, which we will get into right now. 

Standard scoring is the most traditional format, where players are awarded fantasy points for yards and touchdowns but not receptions. The reason for this is the longevity of fantasy football: 20 years ago, the league was dominated by star running backs and NFL teams could wear down and destroy defenses solely with a talented, athletic rusher. Standard scoring set the baseline for leagues since being introduced, and it continues to be used today. It goes as follows:

• 4 points per passing touchdown

• -2 points for each interception thrown

• -2 points for each fumble

• 6 points per rushing touchdown

• 6 points per receiving touchdown

• 6 points for a kick/punt return touchdown

• 6 points for a defensive touchdown

• 2 points per rushing/receiving two-point conversion

• 2 points per passing two-point conversion

• 0.1 points per rushing/receiving yard

• 0.04 points per passing yard

Practically every league today follows the standard system with maybe slight tweaks, and PPR and Half-PPR developed from this format.  

However, as the NFL grew in popularity, teams started to make more changes over the years. Offenses developed elite passing systems that relied more on pass-catchers and star quarterbacks than consistent workhorse backs, and we started to see offenses dominate without superstar running backs. Despite this offensive shift, running backs continued to dominate scoring in the standard system, because they had much smaller competition for carries than receivers did for targets. A star RB would almost always outperform a star WR in fantasy, even if the WR had a better season in real life. This spawned the growth of PPR and half-PPR. 

PPR stands for “point per reception”. It matches the standard system almost entirely except for one thing. Can you guess?

If you read the definition of PPR I just provided, the change is pretty obvious. Receivers would now receive an extra point for each time they caught the ball on top of their yardage and touchdowns. For example, catching two passes for 20 yards and catching one pass for 30 yards are both worth four fantasy points. PPR is the most popular format currently, but half-PPR is growing.

Half-PPR, as the name suggests, is half-point per reception. It’s a balance of standard and PPR and was created when some felt that wide receivers needed a fair advantage, but also believed a full point per reception would completely diminish the value of running backs. 

I personally play in PPR, because I feel it’s a more fun version of standard scoring and matches up well with the dynamic offenses we see nowadays, but whatever format you play in is completely up to you. 

Now, outside of the offensive players, most fantasy football teams field a kicker and a defense. I don’t mean simply a defensive player, most leagues have each team start a full team’s defense each week, such as the Patriots Defense or the Chief’s Defense(Some leagues do draft defensive players, but it’s uncommon). Defensive scoring can be complex, so I won’t get into all the rules, but all the leagues I’ve played in have the defense receive points for allowing less than a certain number of points and a certain number of yards. For example, if a team allows less than 200 total yards, they may receive 6 points, but if they allow more than 400 total yards, they may receive -1 points. It’s complicated and varies, but just know defenses will receive points for interceptions/fumbles and defensive touchdowns, and will lose points if they allow too many points or too many yards. For the kicker, the scoring can be different depending on where you look as well. In my leagues, the kicker will receive points for each field goal, and will receive more points depending on how long the field goal is. A kicker may receive five fantasy points for a 50 yard field goal but only three fantasy points for a 30 yard field goal. 

Kickers and defense both get taken at the very end of each round, so you shouldn’t worry about them. Don’t pay too much attention to which kickers or defenses are the best, because both positions rely heavily on who they play in the NFL. If you end up with a bad defense or bad kicker, just sign a new one in free agency. 

If that was a lot for you to take in, don’t worry, because scoring is by far the most complicated part of fantasy. The rest of this guide will be more about strategies and ideas. No matter which format your league settles on for scoring, they are all exciting and provide different pros and cons. Just make sure you know how your league works before you enter your draft.