| Backfield | This is the skill position area behind the offensive linemen. The backfield always includes the quarterback, and may consist of one or more running backs, depending on the formation. |
| Bye Week | When an NFL team has an open week on its schedule. In fantasy football, you must plan to replace these players with reserves each week one of your starters has a bye week. |
| DTD | Defensive Touchdowns, usually referring to a fantasy defensive unit and regularly includes special teams scores. |
| Fitz | A nickname for Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. |
| Flex player | In many fantasy football leagues, you can start one player from any position at one slot. That player is known as a "flex player", and usually includes running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends, although in less frequent cases, quarterbacks may be eligible as well. |
| Flier | When you gamble on a player in the later rounds of a fantasy football draft, you take a "flier" on him. |
| FL or Fum | Abbreviations commonly used for fumbles lost. |
| FrTD | An abbreviation often used to refer to defensive fumbles returned for a touchdown. |
| Handcuff | A player who you should draft as "insurance" for a starter. For example, if you intend to draft Adrian Peterson of the Vikings in 2008, you should "handcuff" Chester Taylor to him. This refers to picking Taylor in the later rounds in case Peterson gets injured. The term usually refers to running backs, and the handcuff player is the one who is projected to be second on the depth chart or expected to get fewer carries than the player expected to be the better fantasy option. |
| Housh | The generally accepted nickname for Cincinnati wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh. |
| IntTD | An abbreviation often used to refer to interceptions returned for a touchdown. |
| IDP | Individual Defensive Player - In leagues that do not utilize defensive/special teams units, an alternative roster method is to use defensive players, who usually are awarded points for tackles, turnovers forced, and touchdowns. |
| LJ | An abbreviation often used to refer to Kansas City running back Larry Johnson. |
| LT | The abbreviation often used to refer to LaDainian Tomlinson, although some do refer to him as LDT to distinguish between Tomlinson and former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. |
| Madden Jinx | Refers to the maladies that have often plagued players who appear on the cover of the popular NFL video game. Also know as the "Madden Curse." In 2004, Michael Vick suffered a broken leg in the preseason after appearing on the cover of the game. In 2006, following an MVP season, Shaun Alexander appeared on the cover of the game and then suffered a major foot injury during the season. Superstitious fantasy football players are sometimes wary about picking such players, but will have no such concerns in 2008, when the retired Brett Favre will be on the cover of the game. |
| MJD | An abbreviation often used to refer to Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-Drew. |
| PaYd | An abbreviation often used for passing yards |
| Performance Scoring | A fantasy football league in which players receive bonus points for reaching yardage goals. |
| PA | Points Against, referring to defensive units. |
| Playoffs | In standard fantasy football leagues, the final three to four weeks of the schedule usually are reserved for the "playoffs". These "postseason games" occur during the final weeks of the NFL regular season. The fantasy football postseason can begin anywhere from Weeks 13 through 15 on the NFL schedule, and end in either Week 16 or 17 depending on individual league rules. |
| PPR | Point Per reception - A scoring system in which offensive players are awarded one point for every reception. |
| ReYd | An abbreviation often used for receiving yards. |
| Red Zone | When an offense gets inside the opponent's 20-yard line, that area is known as the "Red Zone." |
| RuYd | An abbreviation often used for rushing yards. |
| Sck | An abbreviation often used for defensive sacks. |
| STY | An abbreviation often used for defensive safeties. |
| Strength of Schedule (SOS) | The projected difficulty of a player's fantasy football matchups for the upcoming season based on the defensive performances of his opponents during the previous season. |
| Stud | A player who can anchor your team, usually an elite selection at his position. |
| Fantasy Super Bowl | The championship game in fantasy football, held in Week 16 or 17 in most leagues. Because some playoff-bound players in NFL games often get extra rest in the final week of the season, Week 16 is widely considered the ideal time for a league to have its championship game. |
| Targets | Any time a receiver is thrown the ball by a quarterback, whether he catches the ball or not, he is "targeted." Keeping track of how often a receiver is targeted can often help determine his value, especially in point-per-reception leagues |
| Team QB | In some fantasy football leagues, you can use a "team quarterback" as your starter. For instance, if Matt Hasselbeck is injured in a game and is replaced by Seneca Wallace, you will receive fantasy points from both of the Seattle quarterbacks for that game. |
| Third-Year WR | A theory that refers to the belief that many wide receivers have breakout campaigns in their third NFL seasons. |
| T.O. | The generally accepted abbreviation used to refer to Dallas wide receiver Terrell Owens. |
| Vulture | Refers to a running back who often replaces a regular starter for goal-line carries. The "vulture" steals touchdowns from the regular runner, causing frustration for owners of the primary running back who exits the game in many short-yardage situations. |
| YAC | Yards after catch, a statistic used more often in general NFL references than in fantasy football. |
| YPC | Yards per catch, a category that is often very useful to determine a player's value in Performance Scoring Leagues |
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