One of the best parts of the NFL season is fantasy football. If you are playing for the first time or getting back into it, you might need a refresher on some of the terms. Here’s a look at a glossary of fantasy football terms.
New to Fantasy? How to Play Fantasy Football
Glossary of Fantasy Football League Terms
Here are some of the common terms, concepts, phrases, and more you will hear when playing in your fantasy league. Get to know these important terms so you can have the best season and a great fantasy team.
Draft Terms
ADP: Stands for average draft position. It’s a ranking compiled from real and mock fantasy drafts to determine where a player is getting drafted on average.
Auction Draft: A draft format where the owners are given a specific budget to build their fantasy football team. Each player is assigned a monetary value and is purchased to join a team.
Boom-or-Bust: The type of player who will either have a great season or a terrible one. They are an inconsistent player who might score many fantasy points one week and be nonexistent the next week.
Cheat Sheet: A tool that managers use during a fantasy football draft. It ranks players in different tiers based on projected point total and the type of player.
Handcuff: When a fantasy owner drafts a stud’s backup just in case the starter goes down. Usually happens with running backs because they can get a lot of reps if the starter goes down. Otherwise, they are just a backup.
Snake Draft: A draft format where the order reverses each round until everyone completes their fantasy roster. If you select last in the first round, you will select first in the second round.
Lineup Terms
Bench Player: Players on your team who do not start. In many leagues, you have seven players on your bench. You don’t receive points for these players unless you are in a best ball league.
Bust: A player on your team who does not live up to expectations. It could be because of on-the-field performance, injuries, suspensions, etc.
DNP: An abbreviation that stands for did not practice. An indicator of whether one of your players participated in any team drills on a specific day.
Doubtful (D): Listed next to an injured player when they are unlikely to play.
Flex: A spot in your starting lineup where you can use any position player you want. It is mostly filled with wide receivers and running backs. Some owners might opt for a quarterback or tight end in that spot, depending on the league type.
IDP: Stands for individual defensive player. In some leagues, you can draft individual players on defense, and they can earn points for sacks, interceptions, tackles, and more.
IR: Stands for injured reserve. In some leagues, you can place a player on injured reserve, and they don’t count toward your roster, so you can add another player to your team to fill in.
Out (O): Listed next to an injured player who will not be playing during the current week.
Probable (P): Listed next to an injured player when they are most likely going to play, compared to doubtful or questionable.
Questionable (Q): Listed next to an injured player when they are about 50-50 on whether or not they will play.
Starters: Your starting lineup or players that will be earning you fantasy points for the week. The number of players in most fantasy leagues in a starting lineup is nine.
Streaming: When a fantasy manager spends the fantasy season picking up a different starter week to week for a specific position. For example, using the waiver wire to get a new kicker each week.
Team Defense: Most leagues have you select an entire team’s defense to earn defensive points. You earn or lose points based on the performance of the entire defense.
League Terms
Best Ball League: In this type of league, the fantasy player with the best points at each position counts towards your total regardless of whether they are in your starting lineup.
Dynasty League: In this type of fantasy league, you keep your team throughout several seasons. Similar to a real GM of an NFL team and you don’t re-draft an entire new team each year.
Keeper League: In this type of league, you are allowed to keep a few players each year, and then you re-draft the rest of your team.
PPR: Stands for points per reception. In this scoring format, players can earn one point for each reception during a game.
Re-Draft League: In a re-draft league, you select an entirely new team each season. This is one of the most common types of fantasy football.
Standard Scoring: A scoring system where you earn points when players gain yards and score touchdowns.
Transaction Terms
Cut, Drop, Release: This is how you remove a player from your roster.
Free Agent: A player who has cleared waivers and can be signed by your team.
Trade: An exchange of players between fantasy owners. Sometimes it has to be approved by the league commissioner.
Transaction Fee: Some leagues might have a transaction fee for dropping players and making trades.
Waiver Wire: Where players who are dropped go before they become free agents. They have to clear waivers before anyone can sign them during the fantasy football season. This gives all owners a chance to see players after they have been dropped.
Waiver Priority: A specific order of who gets a player signed off waivers if they are claimed by more than one fantasy owner. It’s established before the season.
More Fantasy Football Terms and Information
As you can see, there are a lot of commonly used terms in fantasy football. Spend some time learning fantasy football scoring systems, fantasy platforms, and more. If you are new to fantasy football, we have some other guides that can help you out as you get started. Check these out if you are a new or novice fantasy football player.
Read More: How to Join a Fantasy Football League and Types of Leagues
*This article was originally written in July 2024, it was revised and updated on August 5, 2025.
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