All News & Analysis

Premium Content Sign Up

In the Trenches - Week 9

griffen sackEach week I’ll be using data from PFF and around the web to give some insight into IDP fantasy football, and how using these metrics can lead to finding undervalued players, potential breakouts and sleepers.

Perhaps the most frustrating of IDP positions is defensive end. Without exception, no matter how good a player a pass-rushing end is, there is always the chance they can record a zero. Take for example the position-redefining J.J. Watt who scored zilch in Week 2, or the early season woes of last year’s No.1 fantasy end, Robert Quinn. Clearly, no-one is immune to a poor fantasy day. If you’re uncomfortable with the sometimes rocky ride given by defensive end scoring, even when a premier talent, you might be better served taking a matchup based approach for picking your weekly starters, and waiting on defensive end talent on draft day.

Finding Pressure Points

Studying points against data for your matchups is a well-established fantasy strategy, and it works no differently when playing in IDP leagues. Fantasy sites generally speaking do offer this data, but it can sometimes be hard to find. For those of you playing on MFL (which I highly recommend for the hardcore players among you out there looking for a deep, highly customizable experience) you need to navigate to Reports > League > Points Allowed – By Position, and here you can see this broken down by each position for total points allowed, and average points allowed per game. This data can be invaluable when making a tough call between two similarly ranked players on a late Sunday morning.

Taking a look at this data for the best defensive end matchups in 2014 through the first eight weeks of the season using the PFF IDP scoring system, the data looks as follows:

DOMINATE FANTASY FOOTBALL & BETTING WITH AI-POWERED DATA & TOOLS TRUSTED BY ALL 32

Unlimited Fantasy League Sync
Fantasy Start/Sit Line-Up Optimizer & Waiver Wire
WR-CB & OL-DL Matchups, PFF Player Grades, & Premium Stats 2.0 Tools
Nathan Jahnkes Rankings - #1 Most Accurate Last 70 Weeks
PFF Best Bets, Player Props, & Power Ranking Tools
NFL Mock Draft Sim with Trades & Draft Grades

Already have a subscription? Log In

Ross Miles is a Lead Writer for Pro Football Focus Fantasy. Follow him on Twitter – @RossMilesNFL

Need more specific advice, start/sit help or expert opinions on trades? Let us know on Facebook by joining the conversation

 

All Featured Tools

Subscriptions

Unlock the 2023 Fantasy Draft Kit, with League Sync, Live Draft Assistant, PFF Grades & Data Platform that powers all 32 Pro Teams

$31 Draft Kit Fee + $8.99/mo
OR
$89.88/yr + FREE Draft Kit