Recently the NFL announced plans to expand the season, adding one additional regular-season game. This has led to a lot of speculation on how record books will change, and some players, most notably Alvin Kamara, expressed disappointment. With this change, managers and league commissioners will have some adapting to do in the upcoming season, so let’s look at what’s in store.
The Good
More games means more football. Remember, this is a good thing. Everything else will need to play out next season to have a good idea of how it will affect fantasy outlook going forward. The last time the NFL added games to the regular seasons was in 1978, so there isn’t much precedent in terms of a fantasy impact. This was an option that came up in the most recent CBA, so it isn’t shocking to see the NFL going forward as planned. This new game will be an interconference game, so we could see some great matchups in the future.
The Bad
Although it has yet to be announced, the 17th game will likely mean one less preseason game. This means that fantasy managers will have less time to evaluate fringe talent. Dynasty managers may struggle to figure out those end-of-the-bench guys, but with no preseason at all in 2020, we’ve all been prepped to some degree.
More games will likely mean more injuries. That’s just the way things work. The limited preseason could contribute to that to some degree as well. The idea of an additional bye week has been floated, but there are no definitive plans for that as of now.
The hope is that the additional game will create more competitiveness at the end of the season for playoff appearances, but I don’t think that will be the case. In the last two seasons, there have only been four (2020) and five (2019) teams still competing for a spot by Week 16. And remember, the NFL expanded to include a seventh playoff team last season. With only one team earning that coveted first-round bye, this could lead to more teams that have clinched resting in the final two weeks of the season.
The Ugly
The fact of the matter is that there are still a lot of unknowns. Will teams have players on a snap limit to save them for the additional game? Most likely not. Will teams handle injuries differently, erring on the side of holding players out longer, with an extra game? Maybe. We’ll have to wait and see how things play out going forward.
Should you change your playoffs and championship schedule? I’d say no. At the very least, wait a season and see what sort of situation teams are in by weeks 16, 17, and 18. There is a possibility that the league championship could be moved back to Week 17, but I wouldn’t make any hasty decisions in 2021. Depending on what happens with bye weeks, a change may become necessary.
If the additional bye week gets added, be prepared. Your third QB in Superflex leagues will become much more important as they are now starting, at minimum, two games for your team. Managing bye weeks could change things for redraft drafting as well. Usually, I like to completely ignore byes when drafting and just eat the week if a lot of them happen to fall at the same time. This won’t necessarily be an option if there are two bye weeks.
Thanks for reading! If you have a strong opinion about the additional game, let me know on Twitter @fantasyonefive. If your league has a Week 17 championship, please don’t move it back.
