How we select free agents

We read your league from Sleeper or ESPN to see who’s available, who you already roster and which positions you can start.

Your scoring settings determine what projected stats are worth. Your lineup rules determine where a player can play, including FLEX, superflex and individual defensive positions. We include your bench when comparing a free agent with the options you already have.

We take projected player stats from Sleeper and calculate fantasy points using your league’s scoring rules, or use ESPN’s own projected points for ESPN leagues. Receptions, passing touchdowns and other settings can change how the same players compare.

We use those weekly projections to compare your lineup with and without an available player.

FantasyPros rankings help us assess value beyond an upcoming game. Rest-of-season and dynasty rankings matter when a player’s usefulness extends beyond an immediate start.

Rankings also help separate closely matched candidates. We still compare those players with your roster to see where they could help.

We use the NFL schedule for opponents and bye weeks, along with game-completion data to establish which games are still ahead.

A player you wouldn’t start now might be useful when your regular starter has a bye. The schedule helps us identify that week.

We collect reporting from sources including RotoWire, ESPN and Pro Football Talk, along with player updates from Sleeper.

Those reports can describe a growing role, an injury, a team change or an opening created by a teammate’s absence. We assess them alongside the player’s other recent information.

We collect results from completed games, including fantasy production, carries, targets and passing attempts.

A big fantasy score is worth noticing. Looking at the workload behind it helps us assess whether the player’s opportunity is changing. We compare recent usage with prior completed games to find changes worth examining.

We use Jev, TypeSafe’s decision model, to assess a player’s recent news, workload, status and surrounding circumstances.

We ask specific questions: Is more work likely? Are opportunities shrinking? Does an injury still affect availability? Which reports or stats support that conclusion?

Jev returns structured answers and probabilities. Our code checks those answers against the supporting evidence before using them. Separate calculations produce the projected points and roster comparisons.

As our data sources refresh, these changes can prompt another assessment:

• News: new or revised reports linked to the player, including newly detected Sleeper updates.
• Player status: changes in team, injury designation, roster status or depth-chart position. Team changes also prompt checks of affected teammates.
• Workload: qualifying changes in carries, targets or passing attempts from completed games.
• Corrections: revised statistics, corrected player associations or withdrawn evidence.

An update prompts us to take another look. Whether it changes the recommendation depends on what the assessment finds.

Before we show a trend, we check whether the assessment is confident enough, whether the cited information supports it and whether that information is still current. A positive trend needs supporting evidence beyond our own generated outlook.

When reports conflict or the evidence is too thin, we may have no conclusion to show. Corrections and retractions can also remove support for an earlier assessment.

A player with a supported trend may appear in Worth watching. We evaluate whether they improve your lineup separately.

A strong negative trend, such as a lost role or a sharp drop in workload, can remove a player from your recommendations.

We compare your projected best lineup with and without the available player, using your scoring and lineup rules. Your existing bench options count, including players who can move through FLEX or superflex.

Suppose a free agent projects for 12 points and would replace a player projected for 10. That would improve your lineup by two points.

For a projected roster-fit recommendation, we look for at least one week where the available data supports an improvement of one point or more. We label injury-dependent outcomes so you can see when a possible upgrade depends on someone returning or missing time.

We look for players who strengthen your bench or improve your projected lineup during an upcoming bye, even if you wouldn’t start them now.

Before suggesting bye coverage, we check how your existing backups could fill the lineup that week. That includes moves through FLEX or superflex.

When several available players address the same need, we group them as alternatives so you can compare your options.

We compare available kickers and defenses with your rostered options over a four-week window, giving the nearest week the most weight.

The comparison uses your scoring, projections and availability information. It considers both an immediate upgrade and the weeks that follow. We identify missing projections and injury-dependent outcomes where they affect the comparison.

We use dynasty ranks or tiers to look for available players who compare favorably with your roster. We also look for younger or less-experienced players with evidence of opportunity who may be worth stashing.

A stash might not help your lineup this week. We explain the longer-term reason for considering them separately from any projected help this season.

The page groups players around the decisions you’re making:

• This week’s moves: immediate lineup needs and bye replacements.
• Streamers: kicker and defense swaps projected to help this week.
• Worth watching: players with news, changing roles or recent production worth following.
• Priority pickups: players who meet our criteria for roster improvement or a clear dynasty upgrade.
• Roster depth: useful backups and longer-term stashes.
• Bye week planning: options for specific upcoming bye needs.

For projected roster-fit recommendations within a section, we prioritize the strongest supported weekly improvement, then the number of weeks with a qualifying gain. Longer-term rankings and evidence freshness help separate otherwise similar options.

Each player has one main home on the page. If they help with several needs, those connections point back to the same recommendation.