Fantasy football guides
Written by the Parlae desk on the same board the tools run on. Free, no account, no paywall.
Week 8 Waiver Wire: Allen, Pollard and Concepcion Lead
Week 8 waiver claims ranked by Week 7 carry and target share. Braelon Allen drew 89% of the Jets' carries with Breece Hall out. Caleb Douglas: wait.
· 6 min read
Week 7 fantasy matchups: who to trust
Brock Purdy leads the Week 7 QB board. The top 12 at QB, RB, WR and TE with matchups, plus the team ratings that moved.
· 5 min read
Week 7 Waiver Wire: Bernard, Allen and Mayer Lead
Week 7 waiver claims ranked by Week 6 target and carry share. Germie Bernard drew 27% of Pittsburgh's targets; Omar Cooper, the top add, is one game.
· 6 min read
Week 6 Start or Sit: The Most-Asked Calls, Answered
Five of Week 6's most-opened start/sit pairs name a player on bye. Which calls are moot, and real verdicts with usage shares for the ones that aren't.
· 5 min read
Week 6 waiver wire targets ranked by Week 5 usage: Dameon Pierce and Woody Marks lead, and the adds to skip
Week 6 waiver claims ranked by the share of targets and carries each player drew in Week 5, with Sleeper's 48 hour add counts. Dameon Pierce and Woody Marks took 69% and 71% of their teams' carries, while Darius Cooper, added 921,886 times, drew 3 targets.
· 6 min read
Week 5 injury report fallout: who's out, who's in, and who to start instead
Week 5 fantasy injuries: Lamar Jackson, Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, Breece Hall and Stefon Diggs are out. Who replaces each one, his Week 5 projection, and the defense he faces.
· 6 min read
Week 5 start em sit em: the calls Week 4 workloads back up, and the injuries still open
Start em sit em Week 5: Javonte Williams over Bucky Irving, Emanuel Wilson over Bhayshul Tuten, George Kittle over Dalton Kincaid, plus Lamar Jackson, Saquon Barkley and the Bengals receivers.
· 6 min read
Week 4 by the numbers: the top PPR scorers and the biggest target and carry shares
Tetairoa McMillan's 45.2 PPR points led Week 4, CeeDee Lamb drew 50% of Dallas's targets, and three backs took every one of their team's carries. The week's leaders, computed from the box score.
· 5 min read
Week 4 fantasy football takeaways: the usage and role changes that matter for Week 5
Emanuel Wilson took 70% of Seattle's carries, CeeDee Lamb drew half of Dallas's targets, and Kyren Williams did both jobs for the Rams. The Week 4 roles worth carrying into Week 5.
· 6 min read
Week 4 injury report: Barkley, Chase, Lamar Jackson and the replacements to know for Week 5
What was reported on every major Week 4 injury, from Saquon Barkley's hamstring to Ja'Marr Chase's concussion, and who is next on each depth chart. No severity guesses.
· 6 min read
Week 5 waiver wire targets ranked by Week 4 usage: Emanuel Wilson leads, and the adds to skip
Week 5 waiver claims ranked by the share of targets and carries each player drew in Week 4, with Sleeper's 48 hour add counts. Emanuel Wilson tops the list; two of the most added players drew three targets or fewer.
· 6 min read
Week 4 WR rankings: tiers, targets and injuries
Week 4 WR rankings in tiers from market-based projections. Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads at 20.1 PPR points, with Week 3 target shares and injury news by tier.
· 10 min read
Start em sit em Week 4 calls by position: what the market projects and what the injuries change
Start em sit em Week 4: Josh Allen and Jahmyr Gibbs lead the market-based board, Nico Collins is the open injury call, and every call is graded in public.
· 7 min read
Week 4 waiver wire pickups ranked by workload: Ollie Gordon leads after the Achane injury
Week 4 waiver wire claims ranked by snaps, targets and carries. Ollie Gordon had 77% of Miami's carries in Week 3, and De'Von Achane is out for the season.
· 6 min read
Start or sit accuracy, explained: what the number means and how to check anyone's
Start or sit accuracy is how often the player you started outscored the one you sat. What it has to beat, and our record: 46.9 percent in Week 1.
· 6 min read
Week 3 waiver wire: which Week 2 breakouts came with volume and which came with touchdowns
The most added players after Week 2, sorted by targets and carries instead of points. Adonai Mitchell saw a third of the Jets' targets; Darren Waller scored 18.3 on three.
· 6 min read
Your star is questionable and plays Monday night: how to decide before Sunday's locks
A questionable star's market projection assumes he plays; you supply the chance he does. Break-even math on Puka Nacua in Week 2, plus the Monday fallback.
· 5 min read
Thursday night lineup locks: handling TNF players and early locks in Week 2
Detroit at Buffalo locks Thursday at 8:15 PM ET with Week 2's highest projected total. Where to slot its players, when news lands, and the close call rule.
· 5 min read
FAAB after Week 1: sizing waiver bids from real add rates
Sleeper's add counts tell you how crowded a claim is, not what the player is worth. How to read speed, drops and work together, with Tuesday's numbers.
· 6 min read
Defense versus position after one week: why the early tables mislead
Carolina gave up 52.8 PPR points to running backs and Pittsburgh held receivers to 9.9. What those Week 1 numbers measured, and how to use matchups early.
· 6 min read
Reading Week 1 without overreacting: snaps, targets and air yards before points
One game is one game. The usage numbers that carry into Week 2 better than the box score, read through real Week 1 lines from Jalen Coker to Ja'Marr Chase.
· 6 min read
Week 2 waiver wire: sorting the most added players into roles and one week spikes
Sleeper's most added players after Week 1, sorted by usage instead of points, with a FAAB price for each. Devaughn Vele led the list; the best role on it was added a tenth as often.
· 6 min read
When your quarterback gets hurt: backups, streaming and what happens to his receivers
Three teams lost or were missing their starting quarterback in Week 1. What their backups scored, what happened to the receivers, and a plan for your own roster.
· 6 min read
A FAAB budget for the whole season: a spend plan by week
A reserve curve for a $100 FAAB budget, week by week, so the money is there in October and not gone on a September guess.
· 6 min read
Bye weeks in the draft: when they matter and when to ignore them
Six teams sit out Week 11 and none sit out Week 12. When a shared bye should change a pick on today's board, and when it should not.
· 6 min read
Common draft mistakes the market data exposes
Seven draft mistakes you can see in the ADP data itself: the format column, the tier gap, the stale price, the thin sample, and the bye cluster.
· 6 min read
Draft day checklist: twelve things to do before your first pick
Twelve checks for the hour before a draft, each with the number on the board that makes it worth doing.
· 5 min read
Drafting from the turn: a board based plan for picks 1 and 12
Twenty two picks pass between your turns at slots 1 and 12. Which tier is waiting at each of your turns on today's board, and what to take in pairs.
· 6 min read
Dynasty versus redraft ADP: the players whose price changes most between formats
The board carries 7,848 redraft drafts and 109 dynasty drafts. Which players move most between the two prices, and how much of it to trust.
· 5 min read
Fantasy scoring formats explained: PPR, half PPR, standard, superflex, TE premium
What each scoring format changes, with the ADP for the same players across formats so you can see how much a reception is worth.
· 5 min read
Half PPR versus full PPR versus standard: which players change tiers
Three scoring formats, three separate draft samples. The players whose price moves a round or more between them, with this week's board numbers.
· 5 min read
Handcuffs and insurance: pricing backup running backs with ADP
The backup to a second round running back costs a 13th round pick. How to price the insurance, and when a handcuff is really a committee.
· 5 min read
How fantasy ADP is built and why 8,007 drafts beat one expert
Where the pick numbers on a fantasy board come from, what the sample looks like today, and why a crowd's price is a better draft guide than one list.
· 6 min read
How to read a start or sit call that carries a number
What the score, the basis label and the gap on a Parlae start or sit call mean, and when a call is close enough to ignore.
· 5 min read
Judging a fantasy trade with ADP: a method that takes five minutes
Convert every player in a trade to his draft price, compare the best player on each side first, then check tiers, format and byes.
· 6 min read
Late round quarterbacks: what the ADP gap from QB1 to QB12 tells you
Josh Allen goes at 33.5. The twelfth quarterback goes at 102.4. What 69 picks of gap means for when to take your starter in a one quarterback league.
· 5 min read
Middle round wide receivers: where the board prices depth cheapest
Round eight has seven starting calibre receivers inside ten picks and round seven has two running backs. Where receiver depth costs least.
· 5 min read
Reading a draft board like a market: the tier gaps that matter
A draft board is a price list. How to read the gaps, the spread and the volume the way a market reader reads a price, with the shelves on today's board.
· 6 min read
Reading ADP movement: what a 20 pick drop in a week actually means
Josh Jacobs fell 23.8 picks in a day. How a rolling ADP window turns news into a lagging average, and how to tell a real move from a twitch.
· 6 min read
Start or sit without vibes: the four numbers we check every Thursday
The four inputs behind every Parlae start or sit call: the market projection, how complete it is, the ADP percentile, and the availability gate.
· 6 min read
Superflex and 2QB drafting: why quarterbacks move 40 picks
In a superflex room the quarterback price rewrites the first three rounds. The exact moves from this week's board, and how to plan a draft around them
· 5 min read
Syncing a Sleeper league with Parlae: what it reads and what it never touches
A Sleeper sync needs a username, no password. Here is every endpoint Parlae reads, where it keeps the result, and the writes it never makes.
· 5 min read
The draft grader explained: what a grade means and what it cannot see
The exact arithmetic behind a Parlae draft grade, the published letter scale, a worked example, and the list of things a grade does not know.
· 6 min read
The first three rounds: how tier gaps decide your draft
The first 36 picks fall into four groups split by three gaps. Which group your slot lands in, and why round three is where the room stops agreeing.
· 5 min read
The hour before kickoff: injury news, inactives, and what to change
Inactives land 90 minutes before kickoff. Here is the order to check them in Week 1, including the Wednesday and Thursday early locks.
· 5 min read
The Parlae board versus expert consensus rankings: where they differ and why
The board is a price from 7,848 drafts; ECR is an average of 115 experts. Here are the players they disagree on and what the gap means.
· 6 min read
Tight end scarcity: how far the board drops after the top tier
Two tight ends go before pick 35. The third goes at 55. What the gaps from TE1 to TE12 say about when to pay for the position and when to wait.
· 5 min read
Value versus need in a live draft: when to take the best player and when to fill the hole
Value and need are not rivals. How the live draft assistant weighs them, the exact multipliers it uses, and the shelf rule that settles a coin flip.
· 6 min read
Waiver bids: how to price a FAAB bid from ADP movement and snap counts
A FAAB bid is a price. Here is the ladder we bid from, the two signals that set the rung, and a live example from this week's board.
· 6 min read
Waiver wire before Week 1: how to rank claims before anyone has played
No snaps yet, so rank preseason waiver claims by openings, price moves and add spikes, in that order, and keep every bid small.
· 6 min read
What "graded in public" means: how we score every call and publish the misses
The rules a Parlae call is graded under, where the fantasy record stands before Week 1, and what public grading can and cannot prove.
· 5 min read
Why Sleeper's own rankings are not enough: what a second, market-priced board adds
Sleeper runs the draft. It should not be the only board in the room. What its list and ADP can and cannot tell you, and what a second board adds.
· 5 min read
Zero RB, Hero RB, robust RB: how each plan looks on a market-projected board
Round seven has two running backs on the board and round nine has one. What that does to each running back plan, with the picks each one buys.
· 6 min read
Fantasy basketball guides
Draft-season guides for NBA fantasy, built on the fantasy basketball rankings.
Fantasy basketball schedule, Nov 2 to Nov 8: most games
10 teams play 4 games from Nov 2 to Nov 8. The busiest and lightest schedules, plus the power risers to stream.
· 3 min read
Fantasy basketball schedule, Oct 29 to Nov 1: most games
10 teams play 2 games from Oct 29 to Nov 1. The busiest and lightest schedules, plus the power risers to stream.
· 3 min read
Fantasy basketball schedule, Oct 26 to Nov 1: most games
9 teams play 4 games from Oct 26 to Nov 1. The busiest and lightest schedules, plus the power risers to stream.
· 3 min read
Fantasy basketball category specialists: blocks, steals, 3s
Yves Missi (1.62 blocks), Matisse Thybulle (1.94 steals) and Sam Merrill (3.04 threes) lead the one-category players ranked outside the 9-cat top 100.
· 8 min read
Fantasy basketball week 1: light days, streamers who fit
Week 1 runs Oct 19-25: Philadelphia plays 4 games, five teams play 2, and these waiver adds fit the light and heavy days.
· 5 min read
Fantasy basketball late-round targets by category 2026-27: the best options outside the top 100
Of 67 late-round players on the Parlae board, 2 are above average in points and 62 in turnovers. The best target for each of the nine categories.
· 7 min read
Fantasy basketball opening week 2026-27: games per team, back-to-backs and who plays 4 or 2
Week 1 runs Oct 19 to 25: Philadelphia plays 4 games, five teams play 2, and Nikola Jokić's 2 games equal 3 from the 22nd player on the board.
· 7 min read
Fantasy basketball rookie preseason update 2026-27: minutes and production for the first-year class
Aday Mara scored 38.2 fantasy points a game in three preseason starts and Bennett Stirtz led OKC in minutes. What the 2026 rookies did, and how much it means.
· 7 min read
Head-to-head vs roto fantasy basketball: how the same 9-cat board plays in each format
All 15 of the 9-cat top 60 who played under 55 games fall outside the top 60 when 2025-26 is scored as season totals. What that means for H2H and roto.
· 7 min read
Who to draft first overall in fantasy basketball 2026-27: the case for Jokić, Wembanyama, Gilgeous-Alexander and Dončić
Nikola Jokić led the NBA in total fantasy points three seasons running, 4,040 in 2025-26. The 1.01 case for each top candidate in points and 9-cat.
· 7 min read
Fantasy basketball auction values 2026-27: $200 prices for points and 9-cat leagues
Auction prices for a 12-team, $200 league in points and 9-cat. Nikola Jokić tops both at $59 and $73, and the top 12 take $486 of $2,400 in points.
· 6 min read
Fantasy basketball best values by round: 9-cat and per-minute standouts for 2026-27
Round 1 on the Parlae board averages 49.8 FP/G and round 13 averages 23.9. Here is where each round flattens and the player each round underprices.
· 6 min read
Fantasy basketball draft strategy by pick slot: all 12 spots in points and 9-cat
What each slot in a 12-team snake gets on the Parlae board: slot 1 starts with 178.9 FP/G over four picks, and slots 4 to 12 sit within 3.6 of each other.
· 7 min read
Fantasy basketball injury-risk stars 2026-27: games played for the top 60 and who to discount
Games played over three seasons for the board's top 60. Joel Embiid played 96 of a possible 246 games, Ja Morant 79, and both still rank in the top 45.
· 6 min read
Fantasy basketball points vs categories leagues: why one player gets two ranks
83 of the points top 100 are also top 100 in 9-cat. Who falls furthest between formats, the stat that costs them, and how auction money shifts.
· 6 min read
Fantasy basketball punting categories: which punts the 2026-27 board rewards
Punt FT% in a 9-cat league and Rudy Gobert climbs from 77th to 18th on the Parlae board. Each punt's new top 12, its biggest risers and the arithmetic.
· 6 min read
Fantasy basketball rookies to draft 2026-27: draft slot, depth chart and who blocks minutes
The 2026 first-round rookies by draft slot, age and Sleeper depth chart. Eight of the top 14 picks sit first on their team's depth chart at their spot.
· 7 min read
Fantasy basketball schedule 2026-27: back-to-backs and March games for all 30 teams
Five teams have 16 back-to-backs in 2026-27 and 11 have 13. Every team's count, plus its games in the weeks of Mar 15, 22 and 29 for fantasy playoffs.
· 6 min read
Fantasy basketball sleepers 2026-27: Kel'el Ware leads 20 young players on per-minute output
20 players aged 26 or younger who ranked 61 to 200 on 12 to 28 minutes. At 30 minutes, Kel'el Ware's own rate matches the 42nd player on the board.
· 6 min read
Fantasy basketball streaming strategy: 2026-27 light days and 4-game weeks for all 30 teams
Boston plays 26 games on nights with six or fewer NBA games in 2026-27; Sacramento plays 8. Light days and 4-game weeks for all 30 teams.
· 6 min read
Fantasy hockey guides
In-season guides for NHL fantasy, built on the fantasy hockey rankings.
Fantasy hockey schedule, Oct 28 to Nov 1: most games
5 teams play 3 games from Oct 28 to Nov 1. The busiest and lightest schedules, plus the power risers to stream.
· 3 min read
Fantasy hockey shots on goal risers: October 2026
Brandon Hagel is up 1.54 shots a game on 2025-26 after 9 games. The 20 biggest shot-volume risers, the fallers, and how much 5 to 10 games can say.
· 7 min read
Fantasy hockey goalie starts through week 3: who plays next
13 NHL teams have a goalie taking 80% or more of starts; 11 are near a 50/50 timeshare. Every team's starts so far, and who plays this week.
· 5 min read
Fantasy hockey goalie back-to-backs: who starts the second night
In 2025-26 the same goalie started both nights of a back-to-back 35 times in 430. Every team's split, and how to set goalies in a back-to-back week.
· 5 min read
Fantasy hockey ice-time risers and fallers: October 2026
Denton Mateychuk is up 5:53 a game in ice time on 2025-26 after 4 games. The 20 biggest early risers, the fallers, and what a small sample can say.
· 6 min read
Fantasy hockey points vs categories leagues: one player, two ranks
Mattias Ekholm is 290th in Parlae points and 137th in categories. Who rises on hits, blocks and plus-minus, who falls, and the scoring behind it.
· 5 min read
Fantasy hockey power-play units: what a PP1 role was worth
PP1 skaters averaged 0.84 points a game in 2025-26, PP2 skaters 0.48 and the rest 0.27. The three tiers and the 20 PP1 minute leaders.
· 5 min read
Fantasy hockey schedule 2026-27: light nights and 4-game weeks
Anaheim and Colorado play 34 games on nights with 7 or fewer NHL games in 2026-27; Tampa Bay plays 17. Light nights and 4-game weeks for all 32 teams.
· 6 min read
Fantasy soccer guides
Fantasy Premier League strategy, built on the fantasy soccer projections.
FPL budget picks by position for Gameweek 7: the best cheap keepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards
Cheap FPL picks for Gameweek 7 by position, ranked on projected points over the next five gameweeks: Barry at 5.7m, Thomas at 4.0m, McGinn at 5.4m.
· 5 min read
FPL captain strategy 2026-27: Haaland every week so far, and when the armband should go elsewhere
Haaland has been the most-captained FPL player in all six gameweeks, owned by 8.2 million managers. What he returned, and how to pick a captain each week.
· 4 min read
FPL chip strategy 2026-27: every chip played so far, and what the triple captain rush returned
1,787,071 FPL managers played triple captain in Gameweek 3. Every chip played in Gameweeks 1 to 6, the 2026-27 chip windows, and how to time the rest.
· 4 min read
FPL defensive contribution points: who hits the threshold, match by match, in 2026-27
Kobbie Mainoo reached the 12-action bar in 5 of 6 matches; Bobby Thomas, a 4.0m defender, in 4 of 6. The FPL defensive contribution rule and who earns it.
· 4 min read
FPL wildcard timing 2026-27: when 3 million managers played it, and the fixture swings still ahead
2,979,776 FPL managers played their first wildcard in Gameweeks 2 to 6. When it pays to wait, and the fixture swings from Gameweek 7 to 12.
· 5 min read
By the Parlae deskGuides updated Nov 2, 2026 at 7:00 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number