2012 Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule (By Position)
There are many factors that determine which players will have the most productive season from a fantasy perspective.
To name a few, the player's natural ability, their opportunity (playing time, depth chart, etc.), play-calling or offensive scheme, supporting cast, etc. all contribute to the player's production.
Another factor is the opponent a team faces on a week-by-week basis.
Over the course of a full season, teams will face some teams that are generous, others that are stingy and plenty in the middle when it comes to the fantasy points they allow to the opposition. In other words, the advantage to exploit (or disadvantage to avoid) is certainly much more pronounced in any given individual week than it the cumulative totals will be over the course of a 16-game season.
Bear in mind, however, that a favorable schedule does not automatically make a player on that team a better option to draft than one that plays on a team with a much less favorable schedule.
For example, the team with the most favorable schedule for wide receivers in leagues that use standard scoring is the Seattle Seahawks. The team with the least favorable schedule for receivers is the Cincinnati Bengals. That does NOT mean that I would prefer Sidney Rice over A.J. Green.
Instead, if a decision comes to two players for whom you have comparable expectations with all other things considered, then this is simply another tool that could be useful in tweaking your personal rankings.
Based on position, below you will find the teams with the most and least favorable strength of schedule for fantasy football in 2012 and links to the full rankings:
Quarterbacks:
- Most Fantasy-Friendly Schedule: Atlanta Falcons
- Least Fantasy-Friendly Schedule: New England Patriots
- Full Rankings
Running Backs:
- Most Fantasy-Friendly Schedule (Standard Scoring): Atlanta Falcons
- Most Fantasy-Friendly Schedule (PPR Scoring): Atlanta Falcons
- Least Fantasy-Friendly Schedule (Standard Scoring): Green Bay Packers
- Least Fantasy-Friendly Schedule (PPR Scoring): Cincinnati Bengals
- Full Rankings, PPR Rankings
Wide Receivers:
- Most Fantasy-Friendly Schedule (Standard Scoring): Seattle Seahawks
- Most Fantasy-Friendly Schedule (PPR Scoring): Seattle Seahawks
- Least Fantasy-Friendly Schedule (Standard Scoring): Cincinnati Bengals
- Least Fantasy-Friendly Schedule (PPR Scoring): Cincinnati Bengals
- Full Rankings, PPR Rankings
Tight Ends:
- Most Fantasy-Friendly Schedule (Standard Scoring): Indianapolis Colts
- Most Fantasy-Friendly Schedule (PPR Scoring): Houston Texans
- Least Fantasy-Friendly Schedule (Standard Scoring): Buffalo Bills
- Least Fantasy-Friendly Schedule (PPR Scoring): Denver Broncos
- Full Rankings, PPR Rankings
* Note: Although teams have modified their rosters, I used last year's production as the baseline for determining how tough an opponent will be this year (without tweaking the numbers).
