WHAT ARE “NAPKINS”?

Napkins = Awards or superlatives you can earn in your fantasy football league. Excellence should be rewarded, not just at the finish line, but all along the way. Seasonal awards recognize the juggernauts: the team with the most wins and the team with the highest total points scored across the season. Weekly awards spotlight the boom weeks: The single highest point total in any given week, and the team currently leading the league in total points (a.k.a. the “leader in the clubhouse”). Whether you’re sprinting for the week or pacing for the season, there’s always a napkin — or a bragging right — on the line.

🧾 WEEKLY HI SCORE

Score the most points in any single week, and you should earn a custom digital Trading Card with your score, roster, and personalized art. If that isn’t the case, consult your nearest Commish.

Strategy Notes:

Bully RB builds (3 early RBs) have worked consistently year over year
QB stacks on a spike week provide massive ceiling (see “Most Wins” below)
TE-in-the-flex won 3 times in 2024 (👀) Bye Week Trend Alert!

Bully RB Targets:

Round 1: Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffery
Round 2: De’Von Achane, Derrick Henry, Jonathan Taylor
Round 3: Chase Brown and Josh Jacobs
Round 4: James Cook and TreVeyon Henderson
Round 5: Alvin Kamara, Chuba Hubbard, James Conner

L⭐I⭐T⭐C⭐H

The L⭐I⭐T⭐C⭐H is the “Leader In The Club House”. This is the team that has scored the most total points to date in the season. Like the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, winning this Napkin designates the overall leader for the current week.

Strategy Notes:

This is from “How to Win at Best Ball” but it is directly applicable to being your league of record’s L⭐I⭐T⭐C⭐H since it is the same goal, score the most points, just in the regular season.

::How to Win at Best Ball::

Historically, 2 RBs ≈ 3 WRs in PPR fantasy output. For example:

RB8 = 247.1 points
WR12 = 247.8 points

This 2:3 RB-to-WR ratio provides a benchmark during your draft. If wide receivers are coming off the board earlier than expected relative to running backs, there may be value in pivoting to RB—and vice versa. It’s a simple way to identify inefficiencies in the draft and exploit them. Do it!

Player Targets:

This is going to be totally dependent on your draft room. However, according to the early ADP, running back value in round 5 is a +6 pick differential. That +6 meaning you are getting about a half-round of “additional” draft value by going RB there.

🧾 MOST WINS

I hope this one is self-explanatory. You want to have more wins than your league mates for those sweet playoff byes or to control seeding.

Strategy Notes:

One of the most effective strategies is stacking a QB1 with his top two pass-catchers (assuming 3 WR slots).

You’ll need a PASSING QB with high yardage AND touchdown potential
Target teams with a consolidated target share where the top two are getting 20%+ target share

It’s a high-risk, high-reward strategy, but if you do pick the top trio correctly, you’re going to win a lot of games. This strategy also provides injury insurance. If one WR goes down, the other usually sees a bump in targets, so your stack doesn’t break; it adapts and keeps scoring.

Stack Targets:

The obvious one: Joe Burrow with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins
My pick: Dak Prescott with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens
Blast from the past: Tua Tagovailoa with Tyreek Hill and Jayden Waddle
New hotness: Brock Purdy with Ricky Pearsall and Juaun Jennings

🏆 LEAGUE CHAMPION

Once you are this deep in the season, winning “The” Napkin takes a lot of luck. I know what you’re thinking, “That’s the advice? Get lucky?”, and for the most part, you would not be wrong. I DO think you need to get lucky.

I also think you can manufacture your own luck. Do this by drafting for upside, then aggressively churning your roster

Strategy Notes:

Max out your potential points in the draft AND throughout your season
Spend your FAAB/use your waiver priority
League champions often spend 70% of their FAAB by week 8

The first two weeks of waivers are the largest trove of potential league winners that went undrafted. Enter your season expecting to spend early, identify those early waiver adds, and keep a small nest egg to cover for inevitable injuries replacements.

Player Watchlist:

Backup RBs: Will Shipley and Rico Dowdle
Rookie RBs: Tahj Brooks, Kyle Manangai, DJ Giddens, Brashard Smith
Rookie WRs: Donte Thornton, Jaylin Noel, Jalen Royals, Isaac Teslaa
Guys I’ll watch for: Jacory Croskey-Merritt*, Jarquez Hunter, Dontayvion Wicks

*Too late, secret’s out on Bill

#NAPKIN25

Want to win “The” NAPKIN? Join #NAPKIN25 Here’s how:

Donate $5 to Mission 22: #NAPKIN25 Mission 22 Donation Page
Receive your league invite.
Implement the strategies in this article.

Draft Smart. Win Napkins. Become a Legend.

Content

Tools

Connect

Donte Thornton

The Press Box

Napkin League 101