Contents
PRK is an acronym for “Position Rank.”
Position Rank shows how a player stacks up against other players at his position.
A PRK of 1 is best. [1]
In ESPN fantasy football leagues, PRK (annual) shows how many points a player has scored relative to his position.
If Patrick Mahomes leads all QBs with 450 points, and Jalen Hurts is 2nd with 449, Patrick’s PRK will be 1, and Jalen’s will be 2.
PRK is used in many applications.
PRK can be calculated in the preseason for the upcoming season and used to guide your draft process.
It can be calculated seasonally (see Mahomes and Hurts example above).
It can also be used weekly as a predictive tool.
For example, “This week, Mahomes is QB1 and should outscore all others at the QB position.”
Lastly, it can be applied as a reviewing tool for the past week’s performances.
For example, “Hurts only produced 15.5 fantasy points this past week, resulting in a PRK of 16.”
I’m Tracy, and I’ve been an NFL and fantasy football student for years. So I know the rules and available options regarding ESPN fantasy football and position ranks.
In this post, I’ll explain the purpose behind position ranks and how they are calculated. I’ll also examine how PRK can be a misleading metric and should never be the sole reason for drafting or sitting a player in fantasy football.
It’s time to acquire a PRK of 1 in fantasy football!
The only way to improve is with knowledge.
Let’s get smarter!
Key Takeaways
- PRK is an acronym for “Position Rank.”
- Position Rank shows how a player stacks up against other players at his position.
- Position Ranks may be highly misleading and should never be the sole basis of any decisions you make.
Positional Ranks Are Misleading
You would be well-served to use player positional ranks as just one of many tools that influence your fantasy football draft or your weekly starting lineups.
PRKs are helpful but certainly not the be-all-end-all tool you base your decisions on.
There are many reasons why I offer you this word of caution; however, I will only address the most significant. [2]
They Are Based on Past Performance
Rankings almost center entirely around past performance.
A player with an injury history may arrive at training camp in the best shape of his career, primed for an enormous season.
However, due to missed playing time, the rankings assign him a PRK that is far lower than it should be.
They Are Specific to League Settings
A generic player ranking system can only assign accurate rankings if they account for your league’s settings.
For instance, according to ESPN’s 2022 final PRK for running backs, the Las Vegas Raiders Josh Jacobs emerged as the top-ranked running back in non-PPR leagues.
However, Jacobs was ranked third in PPR leagues, nearly fifty points behind the leader.
And, if you use any non-standard scoring settings in your league (e.g., PPR or bonus points for RBs), then these rankings are even less relevant.
Furthermore, rankings suffer from an even more significant problem. [3]
Rankings Don’t Tell You How Much Players Are Better Than Each Other:
Above are ESPN fantasy football scores among TEs for the 2022 season.
Travis Kelce owns a PRK of 1, while TJ Hockenson owns a PRK of 2.
Imagine that it is the third round of your draft.
You own the following selection, while an opponent owns the two choices after yours.
Neither of you has selected a Tight End.
You are mulling whether to select Travis Kelce or your fourth wide receiver with your upcoming pick.
After all, the best three receivers available to draft own PRKs of 7, 10, and 17.
If you don’t select the wideout with the PRK of 7, you’ll be stuck with the wideout ranked 17, 10 spots below in PRK.
If you select the wideout with a PRK of 7, you likely will not be able to choose Travis Kelce (PRK of 1), but you can easily grab TJ Hockenson (PRK of 2)!
You would only drop one spot in TE PRK while saving 10 spots in WR PRK.
The correct response is obvious: take the wideout.
STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP!
This is precisely why rankings fail.
While Kelce and Hockenson are only separated by a single PRK, the production drop-off is enormous.
Kelce outscored Hockenson and every other tight end in the NFL by more than 100 points.
The gap between the wide receivers with PRKs of 7 and 17 is a mere 12 points!
If you know this “hidden” information, the clear choice is Kelce!
What is the moral of the story?
PRK is not a fail-safe method. [4]
Read more:
- CAN YOU DO ESPN FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT ON IPHONE AND HOW?
- DOES OVERTIME COUNT FOR ESPN FANTASY FOOTBALL?
- HOW DO PLAYOFFS WORK IN FANTASY FOOTBALL ESPN?
Closing Thoughts
PRK or position ranks in fantasy football are valuable for your fantasy football endeavors.
However, I must reemphasize that they are only a tiny part of your recipe for a successfully managed fantasy football team.
Let me know your thoughts regarding your reliance on PRK for drafting or making weekly decisions regarding your fantasy football team.
Is it a big part, a small part, or no part?
What are your reasons for assigning it to the level of influence that you did?
I look forward to all your responses!
References
- https://fantasy.espn.com/football/fantasycast
- https://fantasyfootballanalytics.net/2014/08/use-projections-not-rankings.html
- https://fantasyfootballanalytics.net/2014/08/use-projections-not-rankings.html
- https://bleacherreport.com/articles/440902-10-steps-to-avoid-disaster-in-your-first-fantasy-football-draft
