Sleeper Watch

There are many ways to win a fantasy league. Some leagues are won through draft preparation, others by savvy trading, still others through precient lineup decisions. Yet a surprising number of leagues are won not by the owners with the most accurate projections or the deepest sleepers, but by those who take the time to read their league’s rules.

Perhaps the best example of this is leagues in which return yards are equal in value to rushing or receiving yards. In an astonishing number of these leagues, the demand for elite receivers such as Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, and Randy Moss is as strong as ever, while top return men can be found in abundance on the waiver wire.

This, needless to say, makes no sense.

Take, for example, a format that awards one point per 10 all-purpose yards (rushing, receiving, and return yards) and six for a touchdown. In such a scoring system, Harrison was a standout wide receiver last season with a whopping 201.3 fantasy points thanks to his 1113 yards and 15 touchdowns. However, you would have been even better off starting Dante Hall, whose 1718 kick return yard, 232 yards off punt returns, and two touchdowns were worth a total of 207 points (and that’s not even factoring in Hall’s 230 receiving yards). Likewise, BJ Sams (194.6) outscored star WR Chad Johnson (181.4), while Wesley Welker (193.9) was every bit as valuable as Reggie Wayne (193).

If you’re in a league with returner-friendly scoring, special teams can truly be special, yet year after year, in many such leagues the names of returners such as Hall, Sams, and Walker are not called on draft day. Don’t make that mistake. Know your league’s rules, and use them to your advantage.