PFF grades are an authoritative method of comparing and ranking players and teams. They’re produced by Pro Football Focus, one of the country’s most reputable football analysis firms. DFS Hub is proud to be one of the only providers of PFF grades in an NFL lineup research tool.
Unlike traditional fantasy football stats that don’t take context into account, PFF grades are a qualitative ranking. They measure performance in ways that stats like yards after catch or QB rating cannot.
Transcript
Maximizing your odds in daily fantasy football demands that you exploit every practical advantage. PFF grades provide just such an advantage, helping you spot undervalued players based on their true performance performance that regular stats simply cannot measure. In the next few minutes, we’ll talk about how PFF player and team grades make fantasy lineups stronger. But first, let’s explain how PFF grades work. Pro Football Focus and its team of analysts assesses each player’s performance on every play of every game. Plays are scored on a scale of negative two to plus two in half point increments, where zero represents the average or expected performance on a play. A play that earns a player a plus two, for example, is a rare showing of skill and timeliness, like a heroic catch when the game is on the line. Vice versa. For negative scores, a negative two might be a horrible throw with 1 minute left. That results in a pick six and the QB’s team losing the game. PFF’s grading system is a regimented and controlled system with numerous checks and balances to prevent bias. In fact, PFF has a 350 plus page training manual that outlines every potential scenario that can be graded, and graders are routinely audited to ensure quality and consistency. PFF takes all of a player’s play by play scoring, compiles it into one single grade, and then normalizes those grades on a scale of zero to 100. This makes it easy to compare players of the same position. The PFF rating system works like this 100 to 90 is elite 89 to 85 as a pro bowler, 84 to 70 is a starter, 69 to 60 is a backup, and 59 down to zero is replaceable. The power of PFF grades comes from their ability to account for context. For that reason, they’re a much truer measure of performance. Here’s what that means. Suppose the receiver makes a seven yard catch on fourth and six, then gets his team a first down. PFF would score that catch higher than if it were a seven yard catch on second and ten. Here’s another example. Suppose a quarterback throws an interception because his wide receiver tipped the ball into the hands of the defense. In that case, it’s not the QB’s fault, so PFF would not give him a negative score on that play. On the other hand, if a QB throws an ill advised would-be pick in the end zone and it’s dropped by the defender, the QB still gets a negative grade. In this case, PFF penalizes the QB even though there was no interception, the reason being, there should have been an interception had the defender held on. One final example would be a running back that fumbles the ball in the fourth quarter of a tight game. His grade will take a bigger hit than if the fumble occurred early in the game with a huge lead on his opponent. PFF grades measure pure performances on the field. If you have two players with the same salary. PFF grades provide a great tiebreaker. Other things equal a higher grade at a given offensive skill position implies a higher potential for scoring more points. In fact, PFF grades have proven to be predictive when assessing player and team matchups. DFS Hub is the only comprehensive NFL DFS lineup builder to incorporate PFF grades. Check out the link in our description to see which grades are most helpful when building a lineup on our platform. And if you’re not a pro member already, outclass your opponents by joining DFS Hub today. Thanks for watching.
How PFF grades work
Professional PFF analysts grade players and teams on their production, using a scale of +2 to -2, in half-point increments. Every player’s and team’s performance, on every play, of every game, is tracked throughout the entire NFL season.
PFF then compiles these individual grades into a single 0 to 100 scale for easy comparison. The grades you see in DFS Hub fields are cumulative season-to-date grades.
The PFF rating system works like this:
- 100-90 Elite
- 89-85 Pro Bowler
- 84-70 Starter
- 69-60 Backup
- 59-0 Replaceable
“Season-level grades aren’t simply an average of every game-grade a player compiles over a season,” PFF explains. Instead, “the season grade credits the entire body of work” that season. The grade you see is based on a PFF algorithm that computes all sorts of factors, including the player’s percentage of team snaps, their consistency and so on.
For example, if a player earns an 80.0 game grade, that is not even close to one of the best games of all time.
But, if a player earns a grade of 80.0 over 17 games, that is an outstanding season of consistency—and likely one of the better seasons in history.
A simpler example is a three-touchdown game from a quarterback. There have been countless three-touchdown performances in a single game. But if that same QB tallied three TDs in all 17 games that would be one of the best seasons of all-time.
Based on PFF’s algorithm, it is entirely possible that a player will have a season grade higher than any individual single-game grade he achieved. That’s because playing well for an extended period of time is harder to do than for a short period. Good, solid consistency is rewarded.
For details on how PFF grades individual positions, click here.
Why PFF Rankings Matter
PFF grades can be used to rank players and teams. In doing so, they help quantify skill so you can compare one player or team to another.
PFF rankings take factors into account that you’d never get from a cold hard stat. Consider a quarterback who makes an amazing throw, for example. If that pass was easily catchable but is inexplicably dropped by the receiver, PFF still gives the QB credit for making a great play. A pass completion statistic, however, would never convey this valuable information to you.
Given two NFL players of equal salary, equal opponent and equal expected opportunities, the player with the higher PFF grade should outperform — more often than not. That can help you spot player value and the potential for higher fantasy point production. And these grades become all the more useful as the season progresses and the sample size grows.
Questions of PFF Grade Bias and Sample Size
Because human beings assign PFF grades, there is always the potential for some degree of bias. That said, PFF watches for this carefully and has quality assurance systems to control for subjectivity.
NFL coaches have validated PFFs’ approach, suggesting the bias is statistically insignificant. Any bias also tends to work itself out over the long run as sample size builds.
You can see a list of all Pro Football Focus grades and stats in our DFS field dictionary. They all start with “PFF.”
For more on PFF grading, see the company’s own explanation.
How to use PFF Grade for DFS
When sifting through the many statistics and factors that go into deciding who you want to start in your DraftKings lineup, narrowing down what really matters can help make your decisions easier. Using PFF Grades to build DFS lineups can give you an edge over opponents, and knowing how to properly use those grades is the best way to get that advantage.
For an explanation of which PFF Grades to use when determining your lineups as well as how to best use them to build your lineups, check out our DFS Hub page on Using PFF Grades to Build DFS Lineups.
