If you're being optimistic in FanDuel, you're looking for 200 points. In basically every tournament I've played, 200 points locks you down for at least good money, and in some cases, really doggone good money.
Fantasy football advice Week 15: Thresholds for FanDuel glory
What does it take to get to the point where you can make real money in FanDuel? Let’s look at it.Click here to use FanDuel promo code SBNATION9, get 100% deposit bonus
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I’ve been tracking the roster breakdowns of the most successful FanDuel rosters all season in hopes of gleaning some insight into what it takes to win super-bunches of money. Ultimately, the answer is, “be smart and get lucky,” which ... I could have told you six months ago.
Still, I have some thoughts. Through 14 weeks, 140 rosters, the quarterback, top running back and top wide receiver all use basically the same amount of money ($8,300 for QB and WR; $8,200 for RB). It goes down from there, bottoming out (obviously) at kicker and defense. If you take those salaries and convert them to percentages of salary, then you can turn that into rough amount of points needed from each position to reach that magic 200-point milestone.
So I’ve tried that. Using the average salary at each position of the top rosters, I’ve looked at how many points you need from each slot to get to 200 points. (For giggles, I’ve also includes the numbers needed to reach 150 points, which will usually be good enough to get you a small payday at the least.)
| Position | Percentage of salary cap | Points needed to reach 150 | Points needed to reach 200 |
| QB | 13.87% | 20.8 | 27.7 |
| RB | 13.66% | 20.5 | 27.3 |
| RB | 10.66% | 16 | 21.3 |
| WR | 13.87% | 20.8 | 27.7 |
| WR | 11.32% | 17 | 22.6 |
| WR | 9.61% | 14.4 | 19.2 |
| TE | 10.66% | 16 | 21.3 |
| K | 8.10% | 12.1 | 16.2 |
| DEF | 8.26% | 12.4 | 16.5 |
When you’re selecting your FanDuel roster, one of the little helpful bits the site offers you is the average fantasy points per game of each player. More or less, those scores align with a player’s salary -- the more points per game, the higher the salary -- but it’s by no means universal, so, even if you are completely opposed to research, you can at least scroll through to find players whose points per game don’t align with their salaries.
There are some obvious snafus to that plan -- no kicker or defense in the game is averaging 16 points a game, or even 12. Frankly, guys aren’t really averaging any of those point totals. If they were, this game would be a lot easier.
But it’s a framework. You know what you’re looking for. If you’re eying a No. 2 running back just because he might fall into the end zone, well, that’s all well and good. But a guy who runs for 45 yards and scores a touchdown is getting you 10.5 points. Even if you get him at a steep discount, 10.5 points is a point total that means you have to make up that difference elsewhere.
Which doesn’t mean you can’t use a guy who only scores 10.5. Obviously, you can. But it helps to know what that situation might mean.
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