Fantasy Football: How to Win Your League With Waiver Claims

Aug 22, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver

(11) catches a pass as Carolina Panthers safety

(32) defends on the play during the third quarter at Gillette Stadium. New England Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers 30-7. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

4) REMEMBER LEAGUE SCORING RULES

Ok. Player X has just put up a big game. Should I grab him?

Once we deal with the league claim rules, evaluate his opportunity, and remember to throw out my roster needs, we need to consider league scoring rules.

Low profile players can take on more value depending on how your league awards points.

You need to consider how your league deals with  1) passing vs. 2) rushing production. One of the typical thing to look for are points per reception leagues. These scoring systems can turn some pretty pedestrian producers into league stars if they catch the ball a lot—no matter their yards per reception.

Points per reception can make a huge impact on running backs on teams that throw a lot of short passes like the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Running backs and TEs will typically put up less yards per catch than wide receivers. But, if they’re getting a point per catch, that can go a long way toward closing the gap between some relatively unheralded players and their premium counterparts

If a guy is getting a point per catch, that can go a long way toward closing the gap between some relatively unheralded players and their premium counterparts

A wide receiver that fit this profile last-season was Julian Edelman. While his 1056 yards and 6 TDs were nice, they’re hardly the stuff of fantasy trophies—until you add his 105 catches in a point-per-reception league. Edelman was largely unknown coming into the season, with the smart money expecting Rob Gronkowki to do the heavy lifting for Tom Brady. When Gronkowski missed most of the season with injuries, Edelman became the guy. He went undrafted in a lot of leagues.

Combine knowing league rules with a bad team that lacks established players at the skill position, and you can sometimes mine players that score far better than the “splash” they make on Sports Center. Nor will they really “jump out” at you when perusing the box scores on Sunday night.

However, players like that can win the league for you.