2023 FFPC NFL Playoff Challenge Draft Strategies

As of today, we don’t know what the fate of legendary head coach Bill Belichick will be. But one thing we do know is that his mantra won’t change - No Days Off. And, at Fantasy Alarm, we treat fantasy football the same way. The regular season is over? No problem. We have the FFPC Playoff Challenge. When that is done, we’ll be right into NFL free agency and best ball. Then the 2024 NFL Draft and dynasty leagues. Before you know it, we’ll be right back into redraft season. If you love fantasy football the way we do, then you need to get involved in playoff fantasy football and the best place to do that is over at the FFPC!

I’ve already written one article on the basic details and general strategy for FFPC playoff contests. Whether it’s your first time playing or not, I suggest going to check that out. And, if it is your first time playing, you can use promo code COOP right now at MyFFPC.com and they will give you $25 in bonus credits when you deposit $35 or more with your first deposit. On top of THAT, we also have an exclusive giveaway for Fantasy Alarm members. The winner gets a free entry into the $200 FFPC Playoff Challenge. All you have to do is go to this link and plug in your name and the email address you use at Fantasy Alarm and you are in. That’s it! And it’s just for the members of the Fantasy Alarm #FAmily. You deserve it!

Now, let’s get to the good stuff. We hit you with the basics already. In this article, now that we have the playoff field set, we are going to get into the specifics. Our strategy for each position with some players we like. Let’s get to it!

**All information on the contest itself is from MyFFPC.com and the data regarding past winners is courtesy of our friends over at FantasyMojo.com**

Position Breakdowns

Quarterback

As we discussed in the previous article, quarterback is special for this contest. You only get one and they are almost always the highest-scoring player. For every other player you pick, it’s not the end of the world if they get eliminated early. In fact, since you pick 12 players and there are 14 teams with six teams eliminated this week, at least two of your flex players WILL be eliminated. Based on the historical info we have on this contest from FantasyMojo, if your QB doesn’t AT LEAST make the NFC or AFC title game, you’re out of the big money. Ideally, your QB makes the Super Bowl (which is double points) but it’s not entirely necessary - almost all the winning teams in 2022 had Josh Allen as QB who actually lost in the AFC Championship. More on that later.

Speaking of Josh Allen, the scoring absolutely favors “renegades” like him. Not only is it four points for passing TDs and six points for rushing TDs which favors mobile QBs but it’s only -1 for turnovers. So interceptions and fumbles really don’t matter. The QBs you need to win the last two years were Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen. Jalen Hurts had a bye week last year and Josh Allen didn’t make the Super Bowl, mind you, so they each played three games. The year before that it was Tom Brady who played in four total playoff games and threw 10 TD passes with one rushing TD. If you believe a QB playing this weekend can make that kind of run surviving solely on passing TDs then go for it (maybe Patrick Mahomes, for instance) but we are leaning into the mobile QBs. 

Top QB Options: Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts

Running Back and Wide Receiver

You might be surprised that we would lump these into one category. But my research of past years honestly has not found massive differences for these positions in terms of “rules” on who to select. You have two RB spots, two WR spots, and four flexes so you have the flexibility to pick whoever you want really. Teams have finished very high while picking only two RBs and teams have finished very high while picking only two wide receivers. In fact, last year in the $35 challenge, the team that won only had two WRs and the team that came in second only had two RBs. So you can get creative. The criteria for who to choose is painfully simple which is what makes this contest so difficult to win. You want superstars.

As we talked about in the previous article, we want our roster to be unique. But that doesn’t mean taking a bunch of deep “sleepers”. The vast majority of high scoring teams had only two types of players. Guys who were the “chalk” as in the best players on their team. Or guys who were capable of MASSIVE single-game performances (e.g. four touchdown games from Gabe Davis in 2021 or Raheem Mostert in 2019). And, honestly, most guys fit within that overlap anyway as the best players usually have more blow up games. Here is the team that won the $200 challenge last year per FFPC and FantasyMojo

QB: Jalen Hurts

RB: Austin Ekeler

RB: Christian McCaffrey

WR: Ja'Marr Chase

WR: Justin Jefferson

TE: Travis Kelce

FLEX: Saquon Barkley

FLEX: CeeDee Lamb

FLEX: Christian Kirk

FLEX: Stefon Diggs

K: Justin Tucker

DST: Miami Defense

Feels chalky? That’s because it is. The two teams he didn’t choose from were the Buccaneers and Seahawks who happened to be two of the lowest-scoring teams that were eliminated in round one. You really just want to focus on superstars that can put up massive games, even if they only play one or two games. Because a lot of your players will be playing one or two games only. You will pick NINE guys that play RB, WR, or TE so it’s more about who you leave out than who you choose as you can only pick ONE player from each team.

Top RB Options: Christian McCaffrey, James Cook, Kyren Williams, Rachaad White

Top WR Options: Ceedee Lamb, AJ Brown, Tyreek Hill, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Stefon Diggs, Mike Evans, Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk

Tight End

Everyone, of course, has to build their own team. In fact, we talked about it in the previous article - you don’t want the same team as me. Or anyone else. There is a big difference between winning $500K by yourself and splitting it in half. Or in three. So you want to do your own thing. For me, the tight end position is where I plan to differentiate myself. Some have referred to me as the Tight End Whisperer, after all. If you want to follow my general plan, this is what I’m leaning into to differentiate myself.

A key caveat of the scoring is that it’s “tight end premium”. That means that for RBs and WRs it is 1 point per reception but, for tight ends, it’s 1.5 points. With so few games, that is a huge difference. Last year in the Wildcard round the Vikings, Buccaneers, and Giants lost. Chris Godwin, T.J. Hockenson, and Isaiah Hodgins all caught a bunch of passes in losing efforts. Here is what the scoring would have looked like in PPR.

And here it is in tight end premium.

Deebo Samuel that week had six catches for 133 yards and a touchdown while also having three carries for 32 yards. Even with all that, he outscored Hock by less than a point. The team that won the $35 contest (and would have won the $200 contest had they submitted their lineup to that one as well) had FOUR tight ends (Travis Kelce, T.J. Hockenson, Evan Engram, and Dalton Schultz). That team that picked Dalton Schultz beat all the similar teams that took Ceedee Lamb. My personal plan this year is to hopefully pick the right QB, go with the chalk at RB/WR, then sneak an extra tight end or two (or three) into the flex. 

Top TE Options: Travis Kelce, Dalton Kincaid, Isaiah Likely, George Kittle, David Njoku

DST and Kicker

This is where your thinking needs to flip. You WILL be picking four players that will be eliminated in the first week. Now, it’s not the end of the world if your kicker of defense survives Wildcard weekend and three of your flexes get the axe. Going through past contests, there were some folks that brought home some decent cash with a kicker or defense that made it through one round. A team actually finished third in the $200 challenge last year with Riley Patterson in there with the Jags winning one game. But teams with a kicker or defense that made the conference championship did not fare well. So yes, the winning team in the $35 challenge had Justin Tucker but that was less about Justin Tucker being a great kicker and more about the Ravens losing in the Wild Card round so those valuable flex players could advance. Even though the 49ers and Ravens have the best DSTs scoring wise, you don’t want to take them if you expect those teams to go deep. On the flip side however, a big upset could work in your favor if you pick it correctly…

Top K and DST Options: Steelers, Packers, Bucs, Texans, Rams

Rankings + Tiers

Good Luck!

If you follow these parameters and get a little bit of good luck, you can take down the $35 contest and win $100K or the $200 contest and win $500K. Hopefully, it’s a #FAmily member that does it! As a reminder, Fantasy Alarm members have exclusive access to a FREE drawing where the winner gets an entry into the $200 contest. All you do is plug in your name and your email address tied to your Fantasy Alarm account at this link. That’s it, you’re in! And for those participating in the contest for the first time, make sure to use promo code COOP at MYFFPC.com and they’ll give you $25 when you deposit $35 or more!