If the NFL regular season didn’t provide much fantasy success for you, there could be a reprieve in the postseason. Here’s how to keep the fantasy season going for a few more weeks.
NFL Playoff Fantasy Leagues: Everything You Need to Know to Dominate and Win
Fantasy football doesn’t need to end in the regular season. Whether you’ve had a brutal season-long run or you’ve won your league championship, the abrupt ending that generally comes after Week 17 might leave you with a feeling of wanting more. There’s an elixir for that, though, and it comes in the form of fantasy leagues specifically designed for the NFL postseason.
What is an NFL Playoff Fantasy League?
An NFL playoff fantasy league is exactly what it sounds like: a fantasy league that runs through the NFL playoffs. Since real teams get eliminated during the playoffs, though, your fantasy team’s setup has to be strategic and only players from the 14 teams participating in the playoffs are available for selection.
In simplest terms, an NFL playoff fantasy league is a way for you, your friends and your leaguemates to continue playing fantasy football for a few more weeks — and with a twist.
How to Set Up an NFL Playoff Fantasy League
Not every platform offers a playoff-specific fantasy league, so you may need to stray from your favorite provider to seek out a playoff format.
Once you do find a host, you’ll set the parameters of your league. As with any fantasy league you enter or create, the scoring and roster settings and league format will determine the players you target and how you’ll obtain them.
While you can opt for a traditional snake draft setup, popular formats for playoff fantasy leagues include other wrinkles such as best ball, one-and-done and player multipliers.
In best ball, you set a lineup once at the start of the playoffs — and that’s it. Often, you’ll only be able to select one player from each NFL team alive, though, so there’s plenty of strategy involved in those you choose.
In one-and-done, each player can only be active in your lineup for one game in the entire postseason, so while the full player pool is available to you, you’ll have to be selective about when and where you deploy the studs.
With player multipliers, it means that for those whose teams keep advancing – if they’re in your lineup the whole time – you are rewarded for the foresight. So if you roster a player in the wild card round, his points will be 2x in the divisional round, 3x in the conference title games and 4x in the Super Bowl, provided his team stays alive. You can replace ousted players with those whose teams are still going, of course, but you won’t get the built-in bonuses.
Top 3 Strategies to Win Your NFL Playoff Fantasy League
1. Target the teams with the best long-term outlook
Everything is going to depend on the formatting of your league, but if it’s a traditional setup, best ball or player multipliers, longevity works to your favor.
The best players from a fantasy perspective could be on the worst teams in the playoff field, meaning their stay could be rather quick. That doesn’t mean those players should be ignored — and if your league is of the one-and-done variety, then perhaps you want to target those players for wild card week. Outside of that format, though, you should be putting a premium and emphasis on those who you expect could be in for a three- or four-game playoff run.
That’s not always a slam-dunk to project, of course, with favorites plenty susceptible to being upset early. But you can hedge and lean toward the top seeds, especially if they appear to be overwhelmingly better than the competition.
2. Stack QBs with their top receivers
Doubling up on touchdown passes is a surefire way to rack up the points, and pairing a quarterback with his top target(s) is a direct way to do just that. Land the tandem that rides all the way to the Super Bowl, and you should be golden, no matter the format.
3. QBs matter more
There’s less variance in the playoffs, and while you may be able to get away with rostering a lesser QB during the regular season, come playoff time it’s a massive benefit to have the top scorers at the position. Especially if your league is not set by a snake draft where the player pool is dispersed, you’re going to want the Josh Allen-types helming your team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a draft for fantasy playoff leagues?
There can be, depending on the format you select. If you opt for a more traditional snake draft, then yes there is. If you opt for a different format that allows every manager to build their squad utilizing the full player pool, then there wouldn’t be.
How is NFL playoff fantasy different from regular season leagues?
Playoff fantasy is a few-week sprint, while regular season leagues are typically a 17-week marathon that allow for a greater margin for error. Playoff fantasy also only includes players from the teams that have made the postseason, while regular season leagues take into account the rosters of all 32 NFL teams.
Beyond that, scoring and standings can be handled differently too, depending on your format of choice.
What weeks are the NFL fantasy playoffs?
NFL fantasy playoffs last from the wild card round through the Super Bowl, giving you an additional rooting interest if you choose to partake.
What sites offer NFL playoff fantasy leagues?
The number of platforms offering NFL playoff fantasy leagues has been dwindling, with the NFL’s own official site cutting off its game in 2023. There are still options out there though, through sites like FanTrax, The Second Season, Apex, Fantasy Postseason and RealTime Fantasy Sports, among others.
There are other ways to stay in the game from a fantasy perspective during the NFL playoffs, such as Sleeper Picks, our DFS game where you select whether you think players will exceed or fall short of their stat projections.
Stay Locked In Through the NFL Playoffs With Sleeper
Whether you play in season-long fantasy football leagues, playoff fantasy leagues or DFS games, Sleeper has something for you. Join Sleeper, either by signing up on the website or downloading the app, and enjoy a user-friendly platform with unique features, news updates, live scores and much more to keep you plugged into all things NFL before, during and after the season.
