You MUST know your league's scoring system before you start drafting players.

Imagine playing Monopoly without knowing that you can only make $250 per hotel stop on Mediterranean versus $2,000 per hotel stop on Boardwalk. Imagine playing Poker without knowing that an Ace was the high card, and imagine playing chess without knowing that you are trying to capture the King and not the Queen.

In order to succeed at any game, you have to know the rules. Fantasy Football is no different.

Too many people, especially beginners, assume that all scoring systems are the same. There are many different scoring systems in fantasy football. Some leagues reward points for touchdowns only. Some leagues give some points for yards but gear the scoring toward rewarding touchdowns the most. Other leagues give so many points for yardage and points per reception (PPR Leagues) that high touchdown scorers are not as valuable. Some give higher penalties for quarterbacks that throw interceptions or offensive players that fumble the football.

Let us illustrate how this can make a difference. In 2009, wide receivers Wes Welker and DeSean Jackson had the following seasons:

Welker: 123 receptions for 1,348 yards and four touchdown receptions. Five rushes for 36 yards.

Jackson: 63 receptions for 1,167 yards and 11 touchdowns.  He also had 137 yards rushing and one touchdown.

If this were a league that awarded six points for every touchdown scored, 10 points for every rushing or receiving yard gained, and no points for a reception, Welker has only 162 points, whereas Jackson has 202 points. In that scenario, Jackson is clearly the superior player and to be drafted in a much higher round.

However, if your league rewards 0.5 points per reception, Welker’s total increases to 223 points, whereas Jackson only goes up to 234 points. In that scoring system, they are, basically, the same player. That is going to affect your decision-making on draft day.

If you are playing in ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS or another fantasy league, the scoring system is clearly laid out on your league page.  My recommendation is whether you join a public league for fun or a private league with a payout, print out the scoring system and study it before referring to any ranking sheets. Most websites rank players for one point for every 10 yards receiving and six points per receiving touchdown, which is for standard scoring leagues. The more your scoring system deviates from a standard scoring league, the more you have to adjust your rankings for the statistics that are most heavily rewarded.

It is something that is very straightforward and is common sense, but too many people miss this small detail, especially people playing fantasy football for the first time. They think every fantasy league is the same, and they blindly follow ranking sheets. The more you study the scoring system, the better chance you will have to put together a team that can score the most possible points, and the better chance you will have to win your league.