New to fantasy football and just getting started? If so, the abbreviations and terminology you see can be overwhelming. No sweat — we've got you. Whether you're about to draft your first team or just dig into fantasy football stats, understanding the fantasy football terminology is key.
From league formats to stats, this beginner's guide will break down fantasy football terminology you need to know to win your league.
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Fantasy Football League Scoring Abbreviations
Below you'll find the fantasy football abbreviations for different league types.
PPR
PPR stands for Points Per Reception. That means a player will receive a full fantasy point for each reception that they make. This format makes wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs who catch passes out of the backfield more valuable.
PrizePicks uses PPR scoring for the NFL fantasy scoring category.
0.5 PPR
0.5 PPR means that a player receives 0.5 fantasy points per reception made. While this format still favors wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs who catch passes, it doesn’t shift their value as much as full PPR leagues do.
IDP
IDP stands for Individual Defensive Players leagues. In addition to drafting offensive players, these leagues require fantasy managers to also draft individual defensive players, instead of a team defense/special teams like in standard leagues. Defensive players can receive fantasy points for stats including tackles, sacks, and interceptions.
Important Fantasy Football Stats Abbreviations
There are key stats you'll see while playing fantasy football, including in league standings, and when looking at analysis when setting your lineup weekly.
PF
PF means Points For — the amount of points a fantasy football team has scored in a season. You'll see this stat listed in your league standings. Points For is often a key tiebreaker in fantasy football leagues when teams are tied in record. You'll also see PF in some NFL standings, indicating how many points an NFL team scored.
PA
PF means Points Against — the amount of points scored against a fantasy football team in all games this season. You'll see this stat listed in your league standings. You'll also see PA in some NFL standings, indicating how many points have been scored against an individual team across all games.
YPA
YPA is Yards per Pass Attempt. This is a key stat for quarterbacks because quarterbacks who attempt longer passes have more fantasy upside. Among the leaders in YPA last season were Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (9.34) and Lions QB Jared Goff (8.95). Bears QB Caleb Williams, who didn’t have an impactful fantasy rookie season, had a YPA of 6.22.
aDOT
aDOT is Average Depth of Target. Wide receivers and tight ends who are targeted deeper down the field come with more fantasy upside as they have increased potential to rack up receiving yards. Colts WR Alec Pierce only caught 37 passes last season, but with an aDOT of 21.4 yards, he finished with 824 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
Y/R
Y/R is Yards Per Reception. Players who have a higher Y/R often have more fantasy upside. Giants WR Wan’Dale Robinson received 140 targets and finished with 93 receptions last season. However, he only averaged 7.5 yards per reception, leaving him with a modest 699 receiving yards.
YAC
YAC is Yards After the Catch. Bills WR Khalil Shakir only had an aDOT of 5.4 yards last season, but he averaged 7.9 yards after the catch. That helped him record a 10.8 Y/R.
YPC
YPC stands for Yards Per Carry. This is an important stat for running backs. Ravens RB Derrick Henry had one of the best fantasy campaigns at the running back position in 2024, thanks in large part to him having a YPC of 5.9 yards. It was the third time in his career that he averaged at least 5.1 yards per carry for a season.
DVOA
DVOA is Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. Per FTN Fantasy, DVOA measures a team’s efficiency by comparing success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent. This is important when looking at the defensive matchups that an offensive player is facing. If a defense has a negative DVOA against a position, it means they are better than league average against it.
DVOA also applies to individual offensive players. If a running back has a DVOA of -10.0%, it means that they are 10% worse than the average running back.
Fantasy Football Injury Designations
When looking at your fantasy football team, you may see red letters next to their name. These indicate that your player is injured. A P or Q may not be too concerning, but a D, O, IR, or PUP mean that player should not be in your lineup.
Here's a full explanation of each NFL injury designation and what they mean for fantasy football.
P - Probable
P is a Probable injury designation for a player. While the player is dealing with some sort of injury, a probable designation means that they are expected — and even very likely — to play, though they may not be 100 percent.
Q - Questionable
Q is a Questionable injury designation. This basically means that a player has closer to a 50-50 chance of playing that week — sometimes lower sometimes higher. This injury designation is important to monitor for updates leading up to kickoff, especially on Sunday morning when many games are set to kick-off.
D - Doubtful
D is a Doubtful injury designation. This means that the player hasn’t officially been ruled out yet, but they are not expected to play that week. It is highly unlikely a player with a doubtful tag will play. Remove players with D tags from your lineup.
O - Out
O stands for Out, meaning the player has been ruled out for that week’s game. There should never be a player with an O in your lineup.
IR
IR stands for Injured Reserve. If a player is placed on the NFL IR during the season, it means that they will miss a minimum of four games. For leagues that have IR spots, a fantasy manager can place an injured player with this designation in the spot, creating an open roster space for them to add a replacement.
Make Fantasy Football Picks on PrizePicks
There are many key abbreviations and acronyms to know for fantasy football, especially if you're just getting started. From league settings, to player stats, to injury designations, knowing them can be the difference to winning a championship in your league.
While drafting your fantasy football squads, remember that there are a bevy of NFLSZN projections on PrizePicks to consider to get real money action with your season-long predictions.
Just pick More or Less for at least two NFLSZN player stat projections to build your Lineup on PrizePicks — like rushing yards or passing touchdowns — and win real money if your picks are correct.
