Jeff Ratcliffe's Articles

Week 1 fantasy football is finally here, and that’s certainly exciting. But it’s important to not get too excited by what we see this week. Remember, it’s only Week 1. Hey, it’s easy to overreact at this time of year. We’re all starved for football after weathering the last seven months of this brutal offseason. […]

Fantasy football is all about the matchups, especially when it comes to WR vs. CB. Remember when fantasy matchup analysis used to be “Team A gives up the most fantasy points to wide receivers”? Well, we’ve moved from analog to digital and now look at matchups on an individual level.  Each week, I dig through […]

It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time to break out the flex fantasy football rankings for Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season. If you’re new to the concept of flex rankings, these are simply the combined overall rankings for running back, wide receiver, and tight end for each week during the fantasy football season. […]

Fantasy football draft season is here with the NFL beginning on Thursday. There are just a few days left to draft your fantasy football teams, so it’s time to get prepared with your fantasy football cheat sheets for 2021. Whether you are playing in PPR leagues, non-PPR leagues, superflex, 2QB, half PPR or another variation, […]

The best fantasy football draft strategy is a flexible approach. Going into a draft with just one strategy in mind isn’t going to provide you with long-term success. In the early rounds, you really need to take what the board is giving you.  Sometimes, that will mean a balanced roster in the early rounds where […]

The best fantasy football draft strategy is a flexible approach. Going into a draft with just one strategy in mind isn’t going to provide you with long-term success. In the early rounds, you really need to take what the board is giving you.  Sometimes, that will mean a balanced roster in the early rounds where […]

There is one final stretch of fantasy football drafts until the 2021 fantasy football season. To get you prepared for your 2021 fantasy football drafts, I put together a set of top-100 fantasy football rankings for 0.5 PPR scoring. Want to go deeper than 100? We have you covered. Our 2021 fantasy football rankings have […]

Before I started working in the fantasy industry, I was a good fantasy player. Good, but not great. Sure, I did all the research before my drafts and stayed on top of news – which was no small feat back in the late-90s and early-2000s – but there was something missing. Something wrong. Something off. […]

Tight end tiers are an important weapon in your fantasy football arsenal. Instead of the rigid approach of fantasy football rankings, tiers allow you more flexibility on draft day, which is key to dominating your opponents. With a tier-based approach, you can see how each player stacks up at his respective position.  Tight end is […]

One of the best-kept secrets in 2021 fantasy football drafts is that you can use site ADP to your advantage on your commissioner platform. Invariably, those who do not prepare in your leagues will lean heavily on the site ADP to make their selections. So if you know where the value gaps lie in that […]

Fantasy football draft season is here, so it’s time to roll up your sleeves and finalize your prep. One of the most useful weapons to have in your draft day arsenal is fantasy football tiers. With a tier-based approach, you can see how each player stacks up at his respective position. Tiers are slightly different […]

Running back fantasy football tiers are an important weapon in your arsenal. Instead of the rigid approach of fantasy football rankings, tiers allow you more flexibility on draft day, which is key to dominating your opponents. With a tier-based approach, you can see how each player stacks up at his respective position.  To help you […]

There may not be a more important set of players to your fantasy teams than at wide receiver. WR tiers are an important weapon in your fantasy football arsenal. Instead of the rigid approach of fantasy football rankings, tiers allow you more flexibility on draft day, which is key to dominating your opponents. With a […]

Dwight Schrute said it best: “Keep it simple, stupid.” That’s a mantra for fantasy football drafting. Instead of developing an overly elaborate plan for your drafts, making things as a simple as possible is other the path to success. On draft day, we don’t want to overthink. We want to react to what the board […]

Fantasy football keeper leagues are a fun hybrid of the traditional redraft and dynasty formats where you get to carry over players from one season to the next. While these leagues come in all shapes and sizes, the decision on which player to keep can often be a tricky one. If you’re faced with fantasy […]

It is always fantasy football season, which means it is never too early to rank, and update your rankings throughout the year. When it comes to fantasy football, the most important part of preparation is projections or rankings. For me, rankings helps prepare for fantasy football drafts like no other as it is what we […]

Fantasy football sleepers aren’t what they used to be. Fantasy players in 2021 are significantly more informed than they were 20 years ago. So we don’t have a lot of draftable players who only a select few in our leagues will know about on draft day. However, we can still take advantage of the common […]

Auction drafts aren’t as common as their snake draft counterparts in fantasy football, but it’s an exciting format that every fantasy football player should try. Where snake drafts are checkers, auction drafts are chess. Auctions have a much more nuanced strategy and give you the possibility for a wider set of outcomes for your rosters.  […]

Every year, we see rookies make their mark on the fantasy football landscape. Often, these guys are some of the bigger names of their respective classes, like Jonathan Taylor last season. This year, the fantasy playing public has high expectations for the likes of Najee Harris, Kyle Pitts and Ja’Marr Chase.  But we also see […]

Fantasy football draft strategy doesn’t need to be complex. The goal on draft day is pretty simple: Out-draft your opponents and put together the best team possible. While there’s certainly a lot to think about in a fantasy draft, there are a few key things to keep in mind as we head into the heart […]

Training camps are in full swing around the NFL and football is on the horizon. With that in mind, I wanted to take a detailed look at all of the cornerback units around the NFL. Cornerback play is something we pay close attention to in fantasy football and DFS, as knowing the intricacies of these […]

Training camp is underway for some teams in the NFL, and by this time next week, every team will be in camp. The good news is there’s still plenty of time to get some player prop futures wagers in play. With the most recent betting markets available, here are four NFL player prop futures bets […]

Injuries are the worst part of football. We were reminded of this fact on Tuesday morning when news broke that Rams RB Cam Akers suffered a torn Achilles and will almost certainly be out for the season. While losing your lead running back isn’t exactly a death knell for the Rams 2021 outlook, this is […]

Fantasy football tiers are an extremely useful weapon in your draft day arsenal. But you may have noticed that there’s one big flaw with the tiers that you find throughout the fantasy industry: they’re often only based on individual positions. It’s very useful to see how players stack up against others at their position, but […]

July is here, which means things are heating up in the NFL. We have just under two weeks until the start of training camp, but we still have plenty of opportunities to get some futures wagers in play. In terms of the current betting markets over at Tipico Sportsbook, here of some of the top […]

July is almost upon us, which means things are going to start heating up for the NFL. With just over two months from the start of the season, we still have plenty of opportunities to get some futures wagers in play. In terms of the current betting markets over at Tipico Sportsbook, here of some […]

Last year, the Cleveland Browns were a quintessential post-hype sleeper. After being one of the “it” teams in fantasy football in 2019, expectations were much lower for Baker Mayfield and company, but the Browns delivered an impressive year under new head coach Kevin Stefanski. Heading into his second year, this is one of the league’s […]

The 153rd running of the Belmont States takes place Saturday. Under last year’s race, which was the first leg of the Triple Crown due to the coronavirus-adjusted schedule, we’re back to the Belmont as the final leg. There will be no Triple Crown winner this year, and as of this writing the Kentucky Derby winner […]

It’s been a rough stretch for the Cincinnati Bengals over the last two seasons, but exciting times are brewing for the franchise. The team has exciting young quarterback Joe Burrow returning from injury, and he’ll now be paired up with his former LSU teammate in Ja'Marr Chase. Of course, a big part of the problem […]

Following an impressive start to the Matt Nagy era in 2018, the Chicago Bears have taken a bit of a step back over the last two seasons. Inconsistencies at quarterback and all-around lackluster play didn’t lead to a ton of fantasy production from this squad. Should we expect more of the same heading into 2021? […]

We’re inching our way toward the 2021 NFL season, but there’s still plenty of time to get some futures action in play. At this time of year, we have a sizeable number of markets to choose from including the Super Bowl winner, team win totals, odds to make the playoffs and league awards. Here are […]

The Carolina Panthers head into Year 2 of the Matt Rhule regime with a new look at quarterback with Sam Darnold taking over for Teddy Bridgewater, who is now in Denver. With Bridgewater at the helm, the offense wasn’t able to fully actualize offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s playbook. Whether Darnold can do so remains to […]