Reading the order
How to read a weekly rankings board
A Decide Football weekly rankings board is one position, stacked. The rows sort on the mean. Listed status, floor, and ceiling sit on the same row. The rank is that order. It is not a start/sit verdict, not an official list, and not a free-agent claim.
This page is how to read that stack. How the numbers are built is the methodology. How a pairwise card uses the same mean, with a certainty grade, is the start/sit guide. What the product is, and is not, is the about page.
One position, ordered by the mean
Each board is a single position: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, or tight end. Kicker and team defense are not on this desk. The rows sort by the mean, high to low. That mean is the same ranking number start/sit sorts on. If two means match, the higher ceiling ranks first.
The board is for one scoring format at a time. The sample pages stamp the default format as provisional. That stamp is an open input. It is not a published choice of format, and it is not a reason to treat the order as official.
Treat the rank as the mean order for that position and that week. A name at 4 sits above a name at 5 because the mean says so, or because the means tied and the ceiling broke the tie. The integer is not a separate scouting grade.
Status, floor, and ceiling on the row
The table prints rank, player, status, mean, floor, and ceiling. Read the status before you use the rank. The designation is an input someone listed. The order does not vote a new one into existence.
OUT, IR, and INACTIVE force the estimate to zero: mean, floor, and ceiling. Those rows sort with the other zeros. They are not starts, and a rank among zeros is not a return date. The model does not invent one. Questionable and doubtful apply a discount. They are not a cleared player, and they are not a ruled-out player. What each designation means is the listed status guide.
Floor and ceiling are the model range around the 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. On this board, use the range to see how much room the model left around a rank you are about to trust. Weighing the floor against the ceiling for a week you are ahead or behind is the start/sit guide. The rankings row shows the range. It does not turn that range into a lineup call.
Certainty is a different card
The positional board does not print a certainty score. Certainty — thin, lean, clear, or strong — is the start/sit desk grade of how hard a pairwise call can lean on the math. It is not the probability of winning the fantasy week. The start/sit guide is where that grade is taught.
A higher rank is not that grade. When two neighbors sit close, the start/sit desk draws a toss-up line at 1.5 estimated points and keeps certainty thin inside it. Take the pair to the comparison card. The list already told you the mean order. It did not tell you the call is settled.
A rank is not a free-agent claim
The board does not know your league. It does not know your roster, your waiver order, or who is sitting free on Yahoo, ESPN, Sleeper, or any other host. A name near the top can already be rostered everywhere. A name near the bottom can be the best add in a thin league. Chase urgency is a different tag — hot, rising, stash, or fade — on the waiver board. How to read that tag is the waiver radar guide. The rank does not replace it.
What this is not
- Not a start/sit verdict. Pairwise comparison and the certainty grade are a different card.
- Not a free-agent list, and not a claim that any name is available on a host platform.
- Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the NFL or its member clubs. Names are identification for fantasy analysis only.
- Not an official ranking, club report, or injury wire.
- 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 boards are
The rankings desk is on the site so the product can be used and reviewed. Each position also has a week board. Those URLs 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 fixture boards live on the rankings path and on week paths. This guide lives under /guide/, and it does not put those boards into search.
The public description of the board is this guide, the methodology, the start/sit guide, the listed status guide, the waiver radar guide, and the about page.
Questions
What does the weekly board sort on?
The board is one position: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, or tight end. Rows sort on the mean, high to low. The mean is the ranking number. If two means match, the higher ceiling ranks first. Kicker and team defense are not on this board. The order is an estimate stack for that week and that scoring format. It is not an official NFL list, and the rank integer is not a separate scouting grade.
How do floor, ceiling, and listed status change a row that already has a rank?
The rank is the mean order. 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. They are not a promise of points. Read the status column before you treat the rank as usable. OUT, IR, and INACTIVE force mean, floor, and ceiling to zero, so that row sorts with the other zeros. It is not a start, and a rank among zeros is not a return date. Questionable and doubtful leave a discounted estimate. The rank does not clear the label.
Why is certainty not a column on the rankings board?
Certainty is a start/sit desk grade: thin, lean, clear, or strong. It says how hard a pairwise call can lean on the math. It is not the probability of winning the fantasy week. The positional board does not print it. A rank is an order, not that grade. When two neighbors are close, under 1.5 estimated points the start/sit desk treats the pair as a toss-up and keeps certainty thin. Take that pair to the start/sit card. The higher rank is not the verdict.
Does a higher rank mean the player is a free agent, or a must-start?
No. The board does not know your league, your roster, or who is available on Yahoo, ESPN, Sleeper, or any other host. A high rank is not a free-agent claim. Waiver urgency — hot, rising, stash, and fade — is a different board. A rank is also not a start/sit verdict by itself. Pairwise comparison, with the certainty grade, is the start/sit card. The higher mean on a list is the order this desk printed.
Why do the sample rankings URLs stay out of search?
The rankings desk and the week-by-position boards 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. This guide does not promise those URLs will be indexed, and it does not give a date. This page lives at /guide/rankings/. That path is a reading guide. It is not the fixture board at /rankings/, and it does not match that blocked path.