Fantasy football is a volatile game.
Sometimes, a shoelace tackle is the difference between a 10-yard catch and a 70-yard touchdown, and sometimes goal-line carries go to backup players.
It happens. A lot.
And, don't get me wrong -- median projections are quite valuable and capture the most likely scenario. Setting your lineups based on 90th-percentile projections isn't the right way to handle things for a head-to-head lineup, but if you want to figure out which players can bust a slate open, then you'll have to embrace some risk.
That's why I've started simulating NFL weeks and seeing what happens when the slate is played out 1,000 times. Here are some things that popped at each position this week, based on my simulations, which factor in numberFire's projections and my own tweaks, including dynamic variance based on underlying passing, rushing, and receiving data.
Table Terms
FanDuel Salary (Sal): A player's main slate salary on FanDuel.
Average FDP (FDP): A player's average FanDuel projection across the 1,000 slate simulations.
Value (Val): Projected average FanDuel points per $1,000 in salary. All quarterbacks generally have a 2.00 FanDuel-point-per-$1,000 rate at the low end, which implies a 2-times value, or 2x value. On a full slate of 13 games, roughly 13 running backs tend to have a 2x value projection. On a full slate of 13 games, a small handful of receivers may get to a 2x median projection, and just more than 30 will be at 1.5x. On a full slate of 13 games, few tight ends will get to a 2x average value, and anything above 1.5x is generally a top-six projection. It's important to understand the different value expectations across positions.
25th Percentile (25 Pct): The player's 25th-percentile FanDuel point projection, meant to show a low-end (or floor) outcome. Every player's true floor is zero.
75th Percentile (75 Pct): The player's 75th-percentile FanDuel point projection, meant to show a somewhat attainable/projectable high-end (or ceiling) outcome without simply looking at true outlier performances.
FDP% (x+ %): The frequency with which a player surpassed a certain raw projection threshold, meant to show a raw ceiling outcome. This doesn't adjust for salary and is a different value for each position.
Boom/Bust Ratio (Boom/Bust): The frequency with which a player had a "boom" game compared to a "bust" game based on historical, position-based value outcomes. For quarterbacks, this measures games with 3x value versus games with worse than 2x value. For running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends, it's 2.25x versus less than 1.25x. Think of it as a simple floor-versus-ceiling rating. Higher is better, and they should be compared only within the same position.
Quarterback
| Player | Sal | FDP | Val | 25 Pct | 75 Pct | 25+ % | Boom/ Bust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Allen | $9,200 | 24.9 | 2.75 | 19.3 | 30.8 | 51.3% | 1.68 |
| Jalen Hurts | $8,800 | 23.8 | 2.75 | 18.3 | 30.3 | 47.0% | 1.77 |
| Lamar Jackson | $8,400 | 23.6 | 2.86 | 18.3 | 30.3 | 46.5% | 2.35 |
| Justin Fields | $8,700 | 20.7 | 2.39 | 15.0 | 26.3 | 30.9% | 0.77 |
| Dak Prescott | $7,500 | 18.6 | 2.46 | 13.5 | 23.5 | 19.8% | 0.90 |
| Marcus Mariota | $7,200 | 17.8 | 2.47 | 12.6 | 22.5 | 17.2% | 0.87 |
| Kirk Cousins | $7,600 | 17.1 | 2.29 | 12.1 | 22.3 | 13.5% | 0.56 |
| Joe Burrow | $8,300 | 17.1 | 2.12 | 12.4 | 22.2 | 14.3% | 0.33 |
| Daniel Jones | $7,800 | 17.0 | 2.15 | 11.5 | 22.0 | 15.6% | 0.45 |
| Russell Wilson | $6,900 | 16.3 | 2.40 | 11.4 | 21.7 | 13.2% | 0.84 |
| Taylor Heinicke | $6,800 | 15.9 | 2.39 | 11.6 | 20.9 | 9.9% | 0.76 |
| Kenny Pickett | $6,900 | 15.3 | 2.21 | 10.3 | 19.8 | 9.8% | 0.49 |
| Jacoby Brissett | $6,700 | 15.0 | 2.22 | 10.1 | 19.9 | 9.6% | 0.59 |
| Jared Goff | $6,800 | 14.6 | 2.13 | 9.7 | 19.6 | 6.7% | 0.47 |
| Derek Carr | $7,000 | 14.2 | 1.99 | 9.1 | 18.8 | 6.1% | 0.31 |
| Mac Jones | $6,500 | 14.1 | 2.17 | 9.3 | 19.0 | 6.2% | 0.52 |
| Davis Mills | $6,500 | 14.0 | 2.15 | 9.0 | 18.6 | 6.6% | 0.47 |
| Andy Dalton | $6,600 | 13.5 | 2.05 | 8.8 | 18.7 | 5.4% | 0.38 |
| Matt Ryan | $7,100 | 13.4 | 1.87 | 9.0 | 18.1 | 4.3% | 0.23 |
| Matthew Stafford | $6,700 | 13.3 | 1.97 | 9.0 | 17.6 | 3.3% | 0.28 |
| Zach Wilson | $6,700 | 12.7 | 1.93 | 8.1 | 18.3 | 5.6% | 0.33 |
| Baker Mayfield | $6,400 | 10.9 | 1.66 | 6.4 | 14.9 | 1.3% | 0.13 |
Running Back
| Player | Sal | FDP | Val | 25 Pct | 75 Pct | 20+ % | Boom/ Bust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saquon Barkley | $9,700 | 18.6 | 1.89 | 12.6 | 23.9 | 41.1% | 1.51 |
| Joe Mixon | $9,000 | 16.9 | 1.82 | 11.4 | 22.1 | 34.2% | 1.37 |
| Josh Jacobs | $8,500 | 16.6 | 1.96 | 11.8 | 22.0 | 33.0% | 1.98 |
| Jonathan Taylor | $8,700 | 16.2 | 1.91 | 10.7 | 21.8 | 32.9% | 1.38 |
| Alvin Kamara | $7,500 | 16.0 | 2.12 | 10.9 | 21.3 | 30.1% | 2.35 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | $8,100 | 15.1 | 1.83 | 10.2 | 19.9 | 24.2% | 1.38 |
| Dameon Pierce | $7,600 | 15.1 | 2.01 | 9.4 | 20.5 | 27.7% | 1.60 |
| Dalvin Cook | $8,300 | 14.9 | 1.79 | 9.9 | 20.1 | 25.2% | 1.16 |
| Nick Chubb | $8,400 | 14.1 | 1.62 | 8.9 | 18.8 | 20.7% | 0.76 |
| David Montgomery | $6,200 | 12.4 | 1.98 | 7.1 | 17.3 | 14.2% | 1.45 |
| Miles Sanders | $7,300 | 12.1 | 1.65 | 7.4 | 16.7 | 12.3% | 0.80 |
| Antonio Gibson | $6,600 | 11.2 | 1.64 | 6.2 | 16.0 | 9.5% | 0.89 |
| Devin Singletary | $6,400 | 11.1 | 1.76 | 6.4 | 16.0 | 9.8% | 1.00 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson | $6,700 | 11.0 | 1.63 | 6.3 | 15.4 | 9.5% | 0.77 |
| Tony Pollard | $8,000 | 10.8 | 1.35 | 6.0 | 15.5 | 7.7% | 0.34 |
| Jamaal Williams | $7,000 | 10.8 | 1.54 | 6.3 | 15.4 | 8.8% | 0.59 |
| Brian Robinson | $6,600 | 10.7 | 1.59 | 5.9 | 15.6 | 9.1% | 0.77 |
| Kenyan Drake | $6,800 | 10.3 | 1.47 | 5.0 | 14.6 | 7.9% | 0.50 |
| Najee Harris | $6,500 | 10.1 | 1.53 | 5.3 | 14.7 | 6.4% | 0.63 |
| Michael Carter | $6,300 | 9.7 | 1.49 | 5.6 | 14.1 | 5.7% | 0.62 |
| D'Onta Foreman | $7,100 | 9.7 | 1.39 | 5.5 | 14.2 | 6.0% | 0.41 |
| Melvin Gordon | $5,900 | 9.6 | 1.61 | 5.4 | 13.9 | 4.4% | 0.77 |
| D'Andre Swift | $6,700 | 9.4 | 1.36 | 5.3 | 13.2 | 4.1% | 0.41 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | $7,000 | 9.1 | 1.29 | 4.6 | 12.9 | 3.3% | 0.27 |
| Latavius Murray | $5,600 | 8.3 | 1.45 | 4.0 | 12.4 | 3.0% | 0.57 |
| Darrell Henderson | $6,100 | 8.1 | 1.31 | 4.3 | 12.1 | 2.7% | 0.37 |
| Kareem Hunt | $5,800 | 7.5 | 1.35 | 3.4 | 11.8 | 3.0% | 0.44 |
| James Robinson | $6,300 | 7.1 | 1.15 | 3.7 | 11.2 | 1.6% | 0.24 |
| Damien Harris | $6,300 | 7.1 | 1.14 | 2.9 | 11.3 | 1.4% | 0.22 |
| Tyler Allgeier | $6,000 | 6.4 | 1.04 | 2.2 | 10.6 | 1.3% | 0.25 |
| Jaylen Warren | $5,700 | 6.1 | 1.10 | 2.6 | 10.1 | 1.1% | 0.22 |
| Chuba Hubbard | $5,600 | 5.1 | 0.88 | 1.6 | 8.3 | 0.0% | 0.11 |
| Chase Edmonds | $5,100 | 4.8 | 0.91 | 1.0 | 8.1 | 0.1% | 0.16 |
| Cam Akers | $5,400 | 4.7 | 0.90 | 1.0 | 8.7 | 0.3% | 0.17 |
| Kyren Williams | $4,900 | 4.7 | 0.97 | 1.0 | 8.3 | 0.1% | 0.20 |
| Samaje Perine | $5,200 | 4.4 | 0.84 | 1.0 | 8.1 | 0.1% | 0.14 |
| Alexander Mattison | $5,100 | 4.1 | 0.73 | 0.0 | 7.9 | 0.2% | 0.14 |
| Jordan Wilkins | $4,600 | 4.0 | 0.90 | 0.3 | 7.5 | 0.2% | 0.20 |
Wide Receiver
| Player | Sal | FDP | Val | 25 Pct | 75 Pct | 17.5+ % | Boom/ Bust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stefon Diggs | $9,400 | 17.1 | 1.85 | 11.6 | 23.0 | 49.4% | 1.26 |
| Justin Jefferson | $9,100 | 16.1 | 1.69 | 10.5 | 21.5 | 40.3% | 0.96 |
| CeeDee Lamb | $8,100 | 15.6 | 1.93 | 11.1 | 20.5 | 39.9% | 1.75 |
| Davante Adams | $8,500 | 14.9 | 1.80 | 9.8 | 20.3 | 38.2% | 1.11 |
| A.J. Brown | $8,400 | 14.8 | 1.76 | 8.8 | 20.2 | 36.3% | 0.94 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | $7,800 | 13.3 | 1.71 | 9.0 | 17.5 | 24.9% | 0.85 |
| Tee Higgins | $7,600 | 12.3 | 1.65 | 7.6 | 17.2 | 24.5% | 0.74 |
| DeVonta Smith | $6,400 | 11.6 | 1.88 | 7.1 | 17.0 | 23.2% | 1.27 |
| Terry McLaurin | $7,300 | 11.6 | 1.64 | 6.7 | 17.2 | 23.5% | 0.79 |
| Gabriel Davis | $7,100 | 11.3 | 1.56 | 5.6 | 16.6 | 22.1% | 0.72 |
| Courtland Sutton | $7,000 | 11.2 | 1.72 | 6.2 | 16.9 | 22.3% | 0.84 |
| Michael Pittman Jr. | $6,700 | 10.8 | 1.56 | 6.5 | 14.9 | 13.7% | 0.67 |
| Tyler Boyd | $6,800 | 10.8 | 1.58 | 6.1 | 14.6 | 12.4% | 0.57 |
| Amari Cooper | $7,200 | 10.5 | 1.47 | 6.3 | 14.9 | 14.2% | 0.49 |
| Chris Olave | $6,900 | 10.2 | 1.43 | 4.9 | 15.0 | 16.3% | 0.54 |
| D.J. Moore | $6,700 | 9.9 | 1.51 | 5.5 | 14.1 | 12.7% | 0.51 |
| Darnell Mooney | $6,000 | 9.6 | 1.61 | 4.7 | 14.4 | 14.0% | 0.75 |
| Jakobi Meyers | $6,500 | 9.4 | 1.42 | 5.2 | 13.4 | 8.2% | 0.46 |
| Drake London | $5,700 | 9.4 | 1.66 | 5.4 | 13.6 | 10.2% | 0.89 |
| Diontae Johnson | $6,300 | 9.3 | 1.42 | 5.0 | 13.0 | 9.1% | 0.46 |
| Brandin Cooks | $6,100 | 9.1 | 1.47 | 4.9 | 13.6 | 8.9% | 0.60 |
| Garrett Wilson | $6,200 | 9.1 | 1.45 | 5.1 | 12.9 | 6.9% | 0.47 |
| Curtis Samuel | $6,100 | 9.0 | 1.49 | 5.6 | 12.3 | 5.0% | 0.46 |
| George Pickens | $6,000 | 9.0 | 1.50 | 4.6 | 13.4 | 8.5% | 0.60 |
| Allen Robinson | $6,600 | 8.6 | 1.30 | 4.5 | 12.4 | 5.8% | 0.30 |
| Adam Thielen | $6,000 | 8.3 | 1.39 | 4.5 | 12.2 | 5.1% | 0.38 |
| Nico Collins | $5,900 | 8.2 | 1.42 | 3.7 | 12.4 | 7.9% | 0.50 |
| Michael Gallup | $5,600 | 8.1 | 1.38 | 3.3 | 12.0 | 5.3% | 0.47 |
| Donovan Peoples-Jones | $5,900 | 8.1 | 1.41 | 4.3 | 12.3 | 6.5% | 0.48 |
| Darius Slayton | $6,300 | 7.7 | 1.23 | 3.1 | 12.0 | 3.8% | 0.27 |
| Parris Campbell | $5,800 | 7.5 | 1.37 | 4.2 | 11.3 | 2.9% | 0.33 |
| Mack Hollins | $5,400 | 7.2 | 1.36 | 3.2 | 11.5 | 5.1% | 0.46 |
| Jarvis Landry | $5,400 | 7.0 | 1.24 | 3.4 | 10.1 | 2.3% | 0.30 |
| Devin Duvernay | $6,000 | 6.9 | 1.20 | 3.5 | 10.4 | 2.2% | 0.19 |
| Isaiah McKenzie | $5,300 | 6.6 | 1.22 | 3.4 | 9.8 | 0.6% | 0.21 |
| K.J. Osborn | $5,300 | 6.4 | 1.25 | 2.8 | 10.1 | 2.0% | 0.29 |
| Van Jefferson | $5,600 | 6.2 | 1.11 | 2.5 | 10.1 | 2.9% | 0.24 |
| Noah Brown | $5,100 | 6.1 | 1.24 | 2.9 | 9.5 | 1.3% | 0.31 |
| Kendall Hinton | $5,200 | 6.0 | 1.15 | 2.5 | 9.1 | 1.2% | 0.24 |
| Demarcus Robinson | $5,800 | 5.9 | 1.01 | 2.0 | 9.5 | 1.7% | 0.15 |
| Ben Skowronek | $5,300 | 5.9 | 1.07 | 2.5 | 8.9 | 1.0% | 0.20 |
| Jahan Dotson | $5,900 | 5.8 | 1.06 | 2.5 | 9.8 | 1.2% | 0.16 |
| Chase Claypool | $5,600 | 5.7 | 1.03 | 1.7 | 9.7 | 2.5% | 0.21 |
| Wan'Dale Robinson | $5,700 | 5.6 | 1.00 | 2.4 | 8.7 | 0.3% | 0.11 |
| Olamide Zaccheaus | $5,200 | 5.5 | 1.01 | 2.0 | 9.1 | 1.3% | 0.20 |
| Kalif Raymond | $5,300 | 5.4 | 1.02 | 1.9 | 8.8 | 1.0% | 0.16 |
| Terrace Marshall Jr. | $5,800 | 5.2 | 0.92 | 2.2 | 8.7 | 0.4% | 0.08 |
| D.J. Chark | $5,000 | 5.1 | 1.02 | 0.9 | 9.7 | 3.6% | 0.31 |
| Alec Pierce | $5,400 | 4.7 | 0.88 | 1.1 | 8.2 | 0.3% | 0.12 |
| DeVante Parker | $5,200 | 4.3 | 0.85 | 1.2 | 7.9 | 1.2% | 0.12 |
| Tyquan Thornton | $5,500 | 4.2 | 0.73 | 1.0 | 7.6 | 0.1% | 0.08 |
| Denzel Mims | $5,100 | 4.2 | 0.85 | 1.0 | 8.1 | 0.9% | 0.16 |
| Damiere Byrd | $5,100 | 4.1 | 0.81 | 0.5 | 7.6 | 0.8% | 0.13 |
| Braxton Berrios | $4,900 | 4.0 | 0.83 | 1.3 | 7.0 | 0.0% | 0.07 |
| Byron Pringle | $4,800 | 3.8 | 0.79 | 1.5 | 6.0 | 0.0% | 0.02 |
| Keelan Cole | $4,600 | 3.8 | 0.84 | 0.8 | 6.8 | 0.2% | 0.13 |
| Tom Kennedy | $4,700 | 3.7 | 0.84 | 1.8 | 6.1 | 0.0% | 0.03 |
| Phillip Dorsett | $5,100 | 3.6 | 0.72 | 0.4 | 6.7 | 0.2% | 0.06 |
| DeSean Jackson | $4,700 | 3.6 | 0.79 | 1.0 | 6.2 | 0.0% | 0.05 |
| Richie James | $5,000 | 3.6 | 0.75 | 1.9 | 5.5 | 0.0% | 0.00 |
| Quez Watkins | $5,300 | 3.6 | 0.71 | 0.8 | 7.2 | 0.1% | 0.05 |
Tight End
| Player | Sal | FDP | Val | 25 Pct | 75 Pct | 15+ % | Boom/ Bust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Andrews | $7,700 | 12.9 | 1.66 | 7.7 | 18.3 | 39.0% | 0.86 |
| Kyle Pitts | $5,500 | 10.1 | 1.83 | 4.9 | 14.7 | 23.5% | 1.13 |
| T.J. Hockenson | $6,500 | 8.9 | 1.37 | 4.8 | 12.6 | 14.0% | 0.35 |
| Dalton Schultz | $5,900 | 8.7 | 1.42 | 4.9 | 12.3 | 13.5% | 0.50 |
| Pat Freiermuth | $5,400 | 8.5 | 1.59 | 5.2 | 12.3 | 13.4% | 0.70 |
| Greg Dulcich | $5,500 | 8.5 | 1.54 | 4.1 | 12.9 | 13.8% | 0.68 |
| Tyler Higbee | $6,200 | 7.9 | 1.28 | 4.7 | 11.1 | 6.0% | 0.20 |
| Cole Kmet | $5,700 | 7.3 | 1.33 | 3.3 | 11.7 | 11.8% | 0.40 |
| David Njoku | $5,800 | 7.2 | 1.24 | 3.8 | 11.1 | 7.6% | 0.27 |
| Foster Moreau | $5,600 | 6.8 | 1.24 | 3.5 | 10.5 | 7.6% | 0.29 |
| Hayden Hurst | $5,200 | 6.3 | 1.21 | 2.8 | 10.0 | 3.9% | 0.28 |
| Dawson Knox | $5,100 | 6.3 | 1.19 | 2.0 | 9.9 | 6.9% | 0.34 |
| Tyler Conklin | $5,000 | 6.0 | 1.14 | 2.2 | 9.1 | 4.0% | 0.27 |
| Taysom Hill | $6,000 | 5.9 | 0.99 | 2.4 | 9.2 | 3.8% | 0.11 |
| Logan Thomas | $5,000 | 4.9 | 0.99 | 1.0 | 8.7 | 3.0% | 0.21 |
| Juwan Johnson | $5,100 | 4.8 | 0.96 | 1.2 | 8.5 | 3.1% | 0.17 |
| Hunter Henry | $4,900 | 4.6 | 1.00 | 1.5 | 8.5 | 3.8% | 0.20 |
| Isaiah Likely | $5,400 | 4.3 | 0.81 | 0.9 | 7.9 | 1.9% | 0.11 |
| Kylen Granson | $4,700 | 3.9 | 0.84 | 0.4 | 7.0 | 1.0% | 0.14 |
| Jack Stoll | $4,400 | 3.8 | 0.84 | 0.0 | 7.4 | 2.6% | 0.18 |
| Jordan Akins | $4,700 | 3.5 | 0.75 | 0.4 | 6.2 | 0.7% | 0.09 |