Fantasy Football has had many scoring tweaks along the way, but none are quite as controversial as the point per reception, or "PPR". The motivation of adding PPR to many leagues, including many higher stakes leagues, is rather simple - it boosts the scores of both wide receivers and tight ends to be more in line with running backs. What's the point? Well, running backs score the most in fantasy football, with the possible exclusion of quarterback. However, since quarterbacks have their own scoring categories (passing touchdowns, interceptions, passing yardage), many leagues can adjust QB totals lower to be closer to that of a good running back.

So why bother? What is the importance of getting all the various positions about equal? Well, this scoring normalization allows for a few things. First, your team is no longer dependent solely upon one player. If Peyton Manning will likely score 400 points in your league but LaDainian Tomlinson or Larry Johnson is projected for 200, the league is dependent upon quarterbacks. You have to get an elite QB just to compete, as having two of the top three running backs barely gets you the same point total as Manning. Now, if they are closer together, there becomes a point where there is a competitive balance amongst positions. It is OK for a quarterback to be the highest scoring position in your league, but the relative value cannot be out of whack. Otherwise there is too much pressure on having a key quarterback and minimization of the remaining positions.

How about wide receivers and tight ends? Well, this is where PPR really comes in. As David Shick points out in his article, "PPR Myths and Reality", wide receivers and tight ends are elevated to closer valuations of running backs in fantasy leagues with PPR scoring. It is also becoming more standard, as is adding a third wide receiver. Both maneuvers increase the relative value of both wide receivers and tight ends in one fell swoop.

Point Per Deception

The "fantasy purists", if there is such a thing, argue against PPR. Footballguys does not use PPR in their baseline standard scoring, nor do many older and established leagues. The argument against is that awarding a point for something as innocuous as a catch is WAY too generous. How many of us have seen a receiver catch a one yard screen? How can this be equal to a hard-earned 11 yard run? Also, many running backs wind up with 30 or more receptions each season, often on screens or short dump-off passes from a quarterback under duress. These "one point plays" may gain little or no yardage, yet they count the same as 10 yards in many leagues. In fact, this flies in the face of the reason for having PPR - it was supposed to help wide receiver and tight end scoring, not over-inflate running back scores. How can this be a good thing?

Finding the Happy Medium

On the surface, I really like the concept of PPR. It makes for more strategy and brings more players into the mix as possibilities for a starting lineup. I do, however, understand the arguments against PPR, and the inequalities of awarding the equivalent of 10 yards for what can sometimes be a meaningless reception. So what can be done?

Well, I decided to go back to the basics. Fantasy football is supposed to be a microcosm of the game itself. Points are awarded to offensive players for scoring, the main objective of the game, and advancing the ball, which gets the team in a position to score. There has to be something else to consider rewarding, but what?

First downs. It seems so simple. The goal of the offense is to move the chains and get points. If they succeed, they should be rewarded accordingly. Giving a player a point for a first down, rather than just a reception, seems to be more aligned with the game itself. So how does that look?

Unfortunately, running backs get lots of first downs, so generally awarding a point for ANY first down blows the scoring out of the water. Most of the top running backs get five or six first downs a game, if not more, which skews the numbers even further to their favor. So this was the first thing I had to abandon - but I'm not done yet.

Continuing with the idea, I decided to look at awarding one point per first down reception, or PPFDR. Let us take a look at how this works on a high level.

Table 1: Percentage of Receptions for First Downs (Fantasy Starters)

In Table 1, I have the percentage of catches for a first down by the Top 24 RBs, Top 12 TEs, and Top 36 WRs for the last three seasons. We can see that wide receivers and tight ends get more first down catches than running backs, so that's a good sign. Also notice that the numbers are very consistent year over year, so that's also a good indication of a trend.

Digging deeper, I looked at the scoring on a per-game basis for the past three years for the Fantasy Starters (24 RBs, 12 TEs, 36 WRs, and 12 QBs), assuming a standardized three wide receiver starting lineup.

Table 2: Fantasy Starting Quarterbacks 2003-2005

Nothing really surprising for quarterbacks - this is really just for a frame of reference. 27-23 points on average for a QB per game for a starter appears normal.

Table 3: Fantasy Starting Running Backs 2003-2005

Figure 1: Fantasy Starting Running Backs 2003-2005

PPFDR puts the running backs just above where they typically are in FBG scoring, but not as elevated as when PPR is used. The range increases from 9-22 up to 10-23 in PPFDR, and slightly higher in full blown PPR (10-25) on a points per game basis.

Table 4: Fantasy Starting Wide Receivers 2003-2005

Figure 2: Fantasy Starting Wide Receivers 2003-2005

PPFDR has a big impact on wide receivers, as expected. Over two-thirds of all receiver catches are for first downs, so the result should approach the PPR scoring standard. The non-PPR scoring range grows from 6-16 points per game up to 9-20, almost as high as the 10-22 points per game in PPR.

Table 5: Fantasy Starting Tight Ends 2003-2005

Figure 3: Fantasy Starting Tight Ends 2003-2005

PPFDR increases scoring for tight ends about as much as it does for the wide receivers.
The standard range of 5-10 points increases to 7-14, closer to the PPR result of 8-15 points per game.

Conclusions

In conclusion, Table 6 shows the results as a percentage of increase in fantasy scoring, on average, per position under both PPR and PPFDR.

Table 6: PPFDR and PPR Increases in Starter Production

Points per first down reception (PPFDR) presents a happy middle ground for fantasy football players who like PPR, but do not respect the results. By correlating a productive event, gaining a first down, with the awarding of a point for fantasy purposes allows for many owners to agree that the point was earned. The scoring result improves the production of wide receivers slightly more than tight ends, and both are markedly higher than for running backs.