I consider myself a bit of a point-per-reception (PPR) expert because I refuse to play in standard leagues. Something doesn’t sit right with me when a player gets a reception and receives no fantasy points. I also have some issues with players getting credit for one-yard catches, but that’s a story for another day. I’ve been playing in PPR leagues for nearly 20 years, and it’s incredible how much has changed since then.
The home league I still play in awarded two points for every reception and a point for every completion when we started in 2003! Hahaha! We’ve obviously made some adjustments since then, but it’s helped me understand every facet of PPR formats over the last two decades. With that in mind, let’s look at the running backs who get the most significant bump in PPR leagues.
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Fantasy Football Draft Strategy & Advice: Players Seeing Boost in PPR Leagues
Running Back Boosts
Kamara was featured in our Yahoo value article just last week, but he’s really only a solid bargain in PPR drafts. With Jamaal Williams joining New Orleans, Kamara will lose most of the goal-line touches and early-down work. That’s not too big of a deal for Kamara in PPR leagues, though, because he’s averaging 71.7 receptions and 626 receiving yards per year. He’s also done that damage with 700-800 rushing yards added in, and we still expect him to be a focal point of this offense since he finished top 10 in PPR in five of six seasons since being drafted.
Kansas City loves to ride a running back committee, with McKinnon picking up all the passing downs. He had just 292 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground last year but had 56 receptions for 512 yards and nine touchdowns through the air. McKinnon was one of the key red zone targets through the air for this talented team, and he should keep that role with how much the Chiefs throw the ball. He finished 20th in PPR leagues among running backs last year and 24th in standard.
Wide Receiver Boosts
Kupp is an elite option in either format, but he’s unstoppable in a PPR league. In 2021, Kupp led all receivers with 440 PPR fantasy points. What makes that so crazy is that Davante Adams finished second but had just 344 fantasy points! That’s called lapping the field, but it’s less surprising since Kupp also led all wideouts with 22.4 PPR points game last year before getting injured. The value in PPR comes from his workload, picking up at least seven receptions in all but four games over the last two years. If he falls outside of the top five picks in your PPR league, grab Kupp!
We kad Keenan in the value picks article last week, and he’s a favorite of mine in PPR formats. His consistency is what’s most valuable, averaging 96 catches on 139 targets over the last six years. Only a few players in the NFL can match up with that, and Allen is being drafted 18th at the wide receiver position. That’s a laughable average draft position (ADP) because KA has never finished outside the top 20 in any of those seasons at this position. Only a couple of receivers had more targets and receptions over the last six years, making Allen one of the best options in PPR formats.
Touchdowns held Godwin back last season, but it’s tough to overlook how many receptions he received in his first year off an ACL tear. He had a career-high 104 catches on 142 targets, despite missing three games. He also had at least five catches in his final 15 games last year and was ranked as a top 10 wide receiver in PPR formats. Godwin was also a steady option in the three years prior, but it’s telling in his season finishes. He was the 19th-ranked wideout in PPR formats and 26th in standard leagues.
DJ is a great option in PPR leagues, but he’s almost impossible to draft in standard formats. Amazingly, Johnson finished 28th in PPR leagues last season but 46th in standard! That’s hard to believe, but failing to record a touchdown will do that to you. He had 86 catches for 882 receiving yards, despite going scoreless and is now averaging 94 catches on 153 targets over the last three years. Those are top 10 totals among all wide receivers, and it’s clear Johnson is the primary pass-catcher in this offense despite the lackluster totals in standard leagues. This might be the best value in drafts in PPR formats because nobody wants him, but we can’t forget that he was 12th at the position just one year ago.
Brown was already hounding the targets in Arizona before DeAndre Hopkins was cut, but it’s scary to think how much he’ll be fed with D-Hop out of town. Before sitting most of the finale, Brown averaged 6.1 receptions and 9.4 targets per game last year. That’s one of the largest workloads in the NFL, with Brown posting a team target share above 25% in that span. That would be a top 12 total among all wideouts if he played the whole year, and we believe that’ll be his floor with Hopkins out of the picture. All of that had Brown finishing 28th in PPR leagues last year and 36th in standard formats.
Tight End Boosts
We like Waller no matter what format you’re playing, but he’s an elite option in a PPR league. What makes him so good is his target workload, posting one of the highest target shares before an injury-riddled 2022 season. He was actually second among all tight ends in targets per game in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. That allowed him to finish seventh, second, and fifth in PPR formats in three of the last four years while amassing a 24% team target share in that span. We expect that to duplicate this season because Waller is one of the only reliable pass catchers in this offense.
There’s no bigger boost among tight ends in PPR leagues than Higbee. He was strictly a safety blanket for the Rams all season, posting just 620 receiving yards. What we care about are his catches, picking up 72 receptions on 108 targets. Those were both top-five totals among all tight ends, and we could see him used even more since he’s the second option in this passing game right now. That large workload allowed Higbee to finish sixth in fantasy points in PPR last season, despite ranking 15th in standard formats. We wouldn’t even draft Higbee in a standard league.
Ertz was on his way to a stellar season last year, sitting seventh in points per game before getting injured. What made him so useful was his role, averaging five targets and seven receptions per game. Both of those were top six among all tight ends, but it’s no surprise when looking at his prior seasons. Ertz finished as a top-four tight end every year between 2016 and 2019, with injuries slowing him down the last three years. It’s super risky to gamble on Ertz, but we expect his target share to creep closer to 20-25% since DeAndre Hopkins is out of town.
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