The NFL regular season may be coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean fantasy football has to do the same. We have four weeks of postseason action, consisting of 13 total games. Before we endure the long seven-month hiatus from fantasy, why not squeeze in a little bit more action?
Playoff fantasy football certainly pales in comparison to the popularity of the regular season. For those of us who love fantasy, though, it’s a way to continue playing the game we love — albeit in a slightly different format — for just a little bit longer.
There are several formats you can use. Today, we will discuss the full-length playoff format that utilizes a snake draft.
What Is Playoff Fantasy Football?
There are many different formats of playoff fantasy football. Platforms like Underdog offer large-scale best-ball contests, where managers draft their teams and attempt to advance each week. There are full-length playoff contests where managers just pick their players at the start and hope to score the most points. There are one-and-one formats where managers select their players each week, but can only use each player once.
This article will cover the format where fantasy managers get together with six, eight, or 10 buddies and draft a roster the same way as we do in August. Obviously, the nature of how the NFL playoffs work requires some strategic adjustments. Let’s get into those.
Where this format differs from the others is that there is no lineup setting. It’s similar to best ball in that way. But every player on your roster scores you points…at least, for as long as he can.
These formats typically don’t even have roster requirements. Given the limited player pool, it’s a free-for-all. Draft the players you think will score the most points regardless of position.
The reason this works is that, even though we know quarterbacks are the highest scoring position, there are only 14 of them. And the goal isn’t to score the most points in a particular week or matchup. The goal is to score the most total points over the course of four weeks. If you take an elite QB over a middling WR, the middling WR can easily outscore the QB if his team plays more games.
Since this format is an accumulation of total points scored across the entire NFL playoffs, you could theoretically have a bad Divisional Round and overcome it by smashing in the other three rounds. You are trying to score the most total points.
What Is the Optimal Strategy for Playoff Fantasy Football?
As a baseline, so we’re all operating under the same conditions, the format we will focus on is a localized pool with anywhere from 6 to 12 teams. You are not competing against anyone other than the managers you draft with. These drafts are typically 10ish rounds, and your goal is to have the most points after the Super Bowl.
In the NFL playoffs, teams are eliminated every week. That means a large swath of players will stop accumulating points for those who drafted them, leading us to the most important strategic decision of playoff fantasy football: draft players that are likely to play multiple games. More specifically, draft players on the teams you think will meet in the Super Bowl.
MORE: PFSN’s FREE NFL Playoff Predictor
You may think the Super Bowl in 2024 will be the New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles, but if you don’t pick in the right spot, you won’t be able to get Drake Maye or Jalen Hurts. If you can’t get either of them, you’ll have no choice but to pivot to other teams.
Stacking is essential. And I don’t just mean quarterback and wide receiver. You need to stack full teams. In this case, you’re not looking purely for the upside that comes with having a quarterback and his pass-catchers; you are looking for the potential to score points from as many players as possible in the Super Bowl.
You may have no faith in the Houston Texans to make a serious Super Bowl run. But you are better off stacking C.J. Stroud, Nico Collins, and Woody Marks than taking A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and a quarterback that isn’t Jalen Hurts.
If you can’t get the quarterback, you’re better off fading the team entirely and hoping for a lower-probability outcome. There are also benefits to doing so intentionally.
The NFL playoffs are one-and-done. A team can be a two-touchdown favorite and lose. Even the biggest favorites only have an expected win percentage of about 80%. That means 20% of the time, the underdog wins. Anything can happen in one game.
The point is that the best team does not always win. And the two best teams rarely end up meeting in the Super Bowl. Although it did happen last year, that doesn’t mean it will happen again. If anything, it’s more likely that it won’t, especially with this year’s field feeling as wide open as ever.
If you had numerous Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on your playoff best ball roster last season, you were able to rack up the points in the Super Bowl…but so did a bunch of other teams, making winning much more random.
This season, no team ran away with the top seed in either conference. The Denver Broncos are the AFC’s No. 1 seed, but do they feel like juggernauts to you? Meanwhile, the top seed in the NFC wasn’t decided until Saturday of Week 18. Not only is this year wide open, but the top seeds in each conference are not even considered the favorites.
If the Broncos make it to the Super Bowl and you don’t have any Broncos, yeah, you lose. But this year, taking a bunch of Broncos won’t necessarily be chalky. That adds a wrinkle to the strategy.
While you must work from the top down, focusing on having Super Bowl players above all else, you also need to get there. That requires scoring the most points in each of the first three rounds.
This leads to some interesting decisions during your draft. For example, if you’re stacking 49ers, is it worth it to take tertiary players like Kendrick Bourne or Brian Robinson Jr.? Or are you better off taking someone like Tetairoa McMillan or Rico Dowdle, who could smash in the Wild Card Round, but is probably not playing more than one game?
Building a Roster To Win
Ultimately, if you can’t field a full lineup in the Super Bowl, you will lose. So, when you draft, it is paramount to construct a roster that can do just that. There must be a team from which you draft three players and another from which you draft at least two.
Those teams must be in opposite conferences. There needs to be a potential Super Bowl matchup where you would have a full lineup, even if that matchup is not particularly likely.
But remember, the points you score in the first two rounds matter. Your weekly point output will be greater in the Wild Card and Divisional Rounds when everyone has the most available players. Yes, you need as many players as possible in the later rounds, but there is a point at which a very good player on a team likely to lose early is better than a player who will get you 3-4 games.
Let’s say you think the Chargers are going right out. Omarion Hampton is still likely to score more points in one game than someone like Konata Mumphield or Davis Allen. Plus, there’s always the possibility you are wrong, and you get an extra game or two from Hampton.
Do your best to predict how the playoffs will go. You want your players to remain active for as long as possible. That means, ideally, picking players who will not face each other.
This is easier said than done, especially in a draft with 5-11 other people trying to do the same thing.
In general, you have to accept that you are at the mercy of the draft room. You will have plenty of agency regarding your draft strategy. But if you think the Rams are going on a run from a Wild Card spot and someone drafts Puka Nacua and Davante Adams before you pick, don’t take Stafford. Pivot to a different team.
You may not think the Chargers are making the Super Bowl, but you’re still better off having a roster of Justin Herbert, Hampton, and Ladd McConkey than a QB, RB, and WR on three different teams.
Apply these principles to the best of your ability and have fun!
