Home Field Advantage (1 Viewer)

[Boccioni]

Has anyone examined the average fantasy impact of an NFL player having home field advantage in a given week?

Instinctively, I think most of us will favor a player with a home game in a given week if given a choice, holding everything else constant, but I am wondering if the impact of playing at home in a given week has ever been quantified.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Since the home team advantage is usually seen as about 3 points a game, and that there are significant variations week by week by individual players based on a whole lot of different factors, it does not seem that a statistical analysis would yield much meat. If you are hesitating between two players of equal ability, it is probably much better to look at the competition they will face that weekend, rather than a home team advantage.

 

[Chase Stuart]

Home field advantage, proximity of the rivals, history with a stadium, surface conditions and weather all can play role a role in a player's fantasy production. On average, the effects are small, but it's better to have your players at home than on the road.

 

[CalBear]

A quick review of recent league totals shows that QBs score 5.1% more at home, WRs 9.6%, and RBs 9.8%. That's for all players. When you look at players who look like starters (at least 500 total pass attempts, 300 rushes, 100 receptions since 2002), the effect is smaller in the receiving game (3.8% for QBs, 3.2% for WRs) but larger in the running game (12.2% for RBs).

One other notable effect: In the latter sample, there are more qualifying WRs (79 vs 72) on the road, and more qualifying RBs (62 vs 57) at home. The number of qualifying QBs is the same both at home and on the road. So your bell cow RB at home is a solid play, whereas your WR2 is probably just as good a play on the road as at home.