In the immortal words of Marcus Peters, “I think we ain’t done yet.”

The NFL is Thanos. It’s inevitable. You thought Week 17 signaled the end of your fantasy season. Nope. Congrats to all the champs out there, but there’s always another way to keep us thinking about the league. You’re going to be watching all of the playoff action anyway. Let’s up the ante with some skin in the game. Luckily, our good friends over at RealTime Fantasy Sports put together the ideal contest to close out the 2024 season: the Fantasy Life Postseason Shooutout!

Even so, I can’t let you stroll into the RTFS lobbies without some help. We’ve got rankings and utilization analysis to help you hone in on the winning lineup. So, let’s dive into the format and see what draft approaches will set us up to take down the big prize.

What is the Fantasy Life Postseason Shootout?

It’s simple (on the surface).

First, head over to RealTime Fantasy Sports to sign up for the tournament. Next, assemble your squad. Finally, wait to collect your prize.

OK, that last part comes with a slight (read: major) caveat. Notice how I didn’t mention swapping any players out as their team gets eliminated. There was no talk of picking up guys after their first-round bye, either. In this total-points format, you ride with the team you draft. The goal is to have the squad that generates the most points throughout the playoffs without making any changes. And with rosters locking by the kickoff of the first playoff game, we not only have to be competitive now but also line our rosters with participants in this year’s Super Bowl.

Contest Setup and Duration

The FantasyLife Postseason Shootout takes place over the next four rounds of the playoffs:

• Round 1 – Wild Card Rund (January 11th and 12)
• Round 2 – Divisional Rund (January 18th and 19th)
• Round 3 – Conference Championships (January 26th)
• Round 4 – Super Bowl (February 9th)

Each player’s score gets tallied after each game. Players on teams with a bye or after elimination get a zero. Your score increases as your players show out on the field. Everything ends after the conclusion of the Super Bowl. 

Roster Requirements

Rosters are limited to ten players, but the shootout format considers every player a starter. Simply put, there’s no weekly management required. Like in best-ball leagues, your score will continue to tick up, and you can follow along as the games unfold. 

Each full roster will consist of:

• 10 Total Players
• 2 Quarterbacks
• 2 Running Backs
• 2 Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
• 2 Flex - RB/WR/TE
• 1 Defense/Special Teams (Sacks, fumbles, and points allowed matter)
• 1 Kicker

Note: A maximum of two players are allowed from any one NFL team.

How to Win the Fantasy Life Postseason Shooutout

Like I said, it’s simple. 

Just draft 10 guys. You don’t even have to agonize over start-sit decisions. 

But then I got to thinking. 

Four sets of games are a lot to assess. The diminishing player pool after each week is another factor. We need players who can help us start fast and others who will (most likely) be traveling to New Orleans in a few weeks. Normally, we have to balance variance outcomes like floor and ceiling results. Now, the present (Wild Card) and future (every subsequent matchup) are part of the equation.

Does anyone have a time machine handy?

Nevertheless, we can build a strong roster that values both extremes. But instead of trying to tackle the lineup all at once. Let’s break it down into a few parts and find optimal approaches to wind up with the winner.

The Onesies

The restriction to two QBs should already have you focusing on the longevity element of the contest. But don’t let vibes be your only guide to which franchise will be playing the most games in January and February. Using consensus odds, we can start to narrow our list of viable passers for one of our draft slots.

• Lions: +123 (odds to win the NFC)
• Chiefs: +144 (odds to win the AFC)
• Bills: +283 (odds to win the AFC)
• Ravens: +288 (odds to win the AFC)
• Eagles: +321 (odds to win the NFC)

I’m highlighting these five as no other team has an implied probability greater than 20.0% to win their conference championship. But I’ll take this one step further. The scoring system is similar to most standard leagues with 4-point passing touchdowns. In other words, mobile QBs still have an edge. And we already know from the regular season which passers are likeliest to put on their Superman cape and put the game on their shoulders (or legs, in this case).

• Jalen Hurts: 8.6 (Runs per Game), 9.7 (FPPG as a Rusher)
• Lamar Jackson: 7.5, 6.6
• Josh Allen: 5.5, 7.4
• Jared Goff: 1.1, 3.3
• Patrick Mahomes: 2.4, 2.7

But again, we’ve only identified options for a single QB spot on our team. And two of them aren’t playing in the Wild Card round. So, I’ll ignore the Super Bowl for a second. I just want to get through the first round. Coincidentally, our projections highlight two more candidates.

• Lamar Jackson, QB1 (rank), 22.3 (projected points)
• Josh Allen, QB2, 21.4
• Jayden Daniels, QB3, 20.7
• Jalen Hurts, QB4, 19.0
• Baker Mayfield, QB5, 18.7

Five of the seven NFC teams have odds of +700 or longer to be the conference champs. Put another way, there’s even less certainty in who’ll make it. I’d be willing to prioritize the ceiling on a one or two-week wonder in the right scenario. Jayden Daniels gets to face a Bucs defense allowing over 200 yards and at least one passing TD from the likes of Cooper Rush, Bryce Young, and Spencer Rattler. On the flip side, Baker Mayfield has had to throw multiple touchdowns in every game since December as injuries have decimated his defense. In either case, we can see the short-term upside.

So, a Jackson-Daniels or Allen-Mayfield combination would exemplify the two tenets of optimal roster construction. We can harness what we know now and have a hot start. Meanwhile, we’ve used the best information we have indicating who will still be around to accrue points for us later. We can apply the same approach to TEs with a slight adjustment if you want to take shots on the position.

• Mark Andrews, TE1 (rank), 9.4 (projected points)
• T.J. Hockenson, TE2, 8.0
• Tucker Kraft, TE3, 7.6
• Pat Freiermuth, TE4, 7.1
• Zach Ertz, 7.1

I’ll use the Wild Card Round projections as a proxy. In short, we have even fewer options at TE. Pat Freiermuth’s 8 catches in Week 18 are the most he’s had in a single game since Week 12 of last season. Oh, and his team is an 8.5-point dog this weekend. Tucker Kraft hasn’t had more than 4 catches in a game since November. Accordingly, a “star-scrub (on a good team)” will at least account for the volatility at the position instead of taking a zero at your starter spot.

Your Core Players

I refer to the RBs and WRs as your core since they make up most of your team. Here, we need at most six each week (if you skip out on TE). And still, we need guys who will put up modest scores now and deep into the playoffs. However, before diving into the matchups or looking at the last few games, I’ll use our UR Score to emphasize one point.

• RBs w/ a +7.0 UR Score (final eight games): 8
• WRs w/ a +8.0 UR Score: 9

For those unfamiliar with the metric, it’s a weighted value that weaves together a player’s workload with their results (i.e., fantasy points scores) to contrast a player’s results with other guys playing the same position.

Historically, WRs with a UR Score over 8.0 and RBs over 7.0 would be in the top-24 discussion. I only used the last two months to capture any late-season assignment changes. Still, look at how few we have at our disposal. But before loading up on the common playmakers, we can use the Utilization Reports to highlight a couple of under-the-radar plays.

Quentin Johnston’s 14-target, 13-catch regular-season finale might look like an outlier. Well, a 41.0% target share might be. But he’s had a WR1B role in the Chargers’ offense over the last two months. With a +20.0% target share in five of his past eight games and LA as 2.5-point favorites, Johnston can be a differentiator as most will gravitate to Ladd McConkey. But if you’re looking for more upside on a team with a clearer path to the Super Bowl, say no more.

Similar to QJ, Jameson Williams will be the third or fourth Lion on folks' priority list. However, the Detroit speedster not only secured eight looks in three of Detroit’s five contests. He’s also mixed in for three rushing attempts. So, while the focus should be on the top-end touch earners from each offense, placing a lesser-valued asset with a similar ceiling can swing a tournament in your favor.

Enter the Fantasy Life Postseason Shootout and Draft Your Team!