Reading the pair
How to read an add/drop card
A Decide Football add/drop card is a roster-churn comparison. It asks which name to keep by adding one over the name you would drop. It is not a start/sit lineup call, and it is not a claim that either player is free on ESPN, Yahoo, Sleeper, or any other host.
This page is how to read that card. How the numbers are built is the methodology. How the same mean, floor, ceiling, and toss-up line work on a lineup card is the start/sit guide. What the product is, and is not, is the about page.
A roster-churn comparison
The card prints one label. When the mean gap clears the line, the label names the add and the name it replaces: Add one player over the other. When the gap is inside the line, the label is a toss-up: no add/drop edge on mean alone.
That is a keep-or-replace call. Start/sit asks which of two rostered names to put in the lineup. This card does not make that call. Waiver urgency — hot, rising, stash, and fade — asks how hard this desk would chase a name. How to read that tag is the waiver radar guide. The add/drop label does not replace it, and the tag does not replace this pair.
The same estimate stack
Read listed status before any number. OUT, IR, and INACTIVE force that side to zero. The model does not invent a return date. Questionable and doubtful leave a discounted estimate. What each designation means is the listed status guide. If the status and the mean disagree, believe the status.
The mean is the ranking number, the same estimate start/sit and the weekly board sort on. Floor and ceiling are the model range around that mean, a low end and a high end. A wider range means a thinner sample or a dirtier listed status. The range is not a promise of points and not an official projection. How a positional list uses that mean is the rankings guide.
Mean delta is the left mean minus the right mean, printed to one decimal. The card shows that gap next to the label. It does not print the start/sit certainty bands — thin, lean, clear, or strong. Those bands grade how hard a lineup call can lean on the math. This card uses the shared toss-up line instead.
The 1.5-point line
The desk draws the same toss-up line as start/sit: 1.5 estimated points. Inside that gap the card says to lean neither side on mean alone. At 1.5 points or beyond, the higher mean is the add and the other name is the drop. Role and listed status still matter. A tenth of a point is not a verdict.
The line is softness in the estimate. It is not a spread, a moneyline, a win probability, or a FAAB bid. Nothing on this desk is a gambling product.
One canonical pair
Each comparison has one URL. Order is ascending player id, the same rule as start/sit. Alphabetical slug order is a different sort, and this desk does not use it. Left and right on the card follow that id order. The mean delta follows them: left minus right.
The swapped URL is not a second comparison. It redirects to the canonical pair. This desk calls that the reverse-pair 301, the same family as start/sit. Search is pointed at one card.
What this is not
- Not a start/sit lineup call among players already on the roster.
- Not a claim that either name is available on Yahoo, ESPN, Sleeper, or any other host.
- Not a waiver claim, a waiver-priority order, or FAAB advice.
- Not an official projection, club report, or injury wire.
- Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the NFL or its member clubs. Names are identification for fantasy analysis only.
- Not gambling advice, odds, or a sportsbook.
- Not a backtest. The method is methodology v0, subject to change. No accuracy rate is published here, and none should be inferred.
Where the sample cards are
Comparison tools are at the add/drop desk so the product can be used and reviewed. Those URLs, including each pair card, use sample data. They stay out of search until licensed GREEN sports data is in place. This page does not set a date for that, and it does not promise those URLs will enter a search index.
The sample desk lives on the add/drop path. This guide lives at /guide/add-drop/. That path is a reading guide. It does not match the blocked add/drop prefix, and it does not put the sample cards into search.
The public description of the card is this guide, the methodology, the start/sit guide, the waiver radar guide, the rankings guide, and the about page.
Questions
What is an add/drop card, and how is it different from start/sit?
An add/drop card is a roster-churn comparison. It asks which of two names to keep by adding one over the name you would drop. The label is Add A over B, or a toss-up when the means are too close. It is not a start/sit lineup call among players already on the roster. It is not a claim that either name is free on ESPN, Yahoo, Sleeper, or any other host.
What do mean, floor, ceiling, and mean delta mean on this card?
Read listed status first. OUT, IR, and INACTIVE force that side to zero. The mean is the ranking number, the same estimate start/sit sorts on. Floor and ceiling are the model range around that mean, a low end and a high end. Mean delta is the left mean minus the right mean, printed to one decimal. The card does not print the start/sit certainty bands. Those bands live on the start/sit card. This card prints the delta and the toss-up line.
When is the pair a toss-up?
The line is the same as start/sit. Under 1.5 estimated points the desk treats the pair as a toss-up and prints that there is no add/drop edge on mean alone. The higher mean is not a verdict inside that gap. At 1.5 points or more, the label names the higher side as the add and the other side as the drop. Role and listed status still matter. The line is softness in the estimate. It is not odds, a FAAB bid, or gambling advice.
Why is there one URL for a pair, and what happens to the reverse order?
Canonical order is ascending player id, the same rule as start/sit. Alphabetical slug order is not the rule. The swapped URL is not a second card. It redirects to the canonical pair. This desk calls that the reverse-pair 301, the same family as start/sit. Search is pointed at one comparison.
Does the card mean either player is a free agent, or tell me what to bid?
No. The card does not know your league, your roster, your waiver order, or your FAAB balance. It does not know who is available on Yahoo, ESPN, Sleeper, or any other host. It is not a waiver claim and not a bid. Hot, rising, stash, and fade are a different board. This comparison only says which name the mean prefers if you are choosing one over the other.
Why do the sample add/drop URLs stay out of search while this guide does not?
The add/drop desk and the pair cards are on the site so the product can be reviewed, and they use sample data. They stay out of search until licensed GREEN sports data is in place. Crawlers are told to skip the add/drop prefix. This guide does not promise those URLs will be indexed, and it does not give a date. This page lives at /guide/add-drop/. That path is a reading guide. It is not the fixture desk at /add-drop/, and it does not match that blocked path.