Know who's next
Every QB, RB and TE you draft starts the season second string or lower, and every WR starts third string or lower. If he climbs the depth chart, he stays eligible.
Fantasy football for your depth chart
Draft the backups.Crown a king.
Anyone can win with the stars. Prove you can win without them.
Free to play and opening soon. Get on the list and we'll tell you when leagues open.
9Lineup spots
6Bench spots
100Waiver budget for the season
01 / HOW IT WORKS
Out-scout your league.
It's regular fantasy football, except you can't draft a team's top stars. Your kicker and defense? Gone. Here, your punter and special teams put up the points.
- 01
Draft from the depth chart
Skip the big names and draft the guys behind them.
- 02
Catch the breakout first
Your guys already see the field, and one injury or benching can hand them the whole job. Be the one who saw it coming.
- 03
Make the smart pickup
Set your lineup each week and use your 100-point waiver budget to grab the next breakout before anyone else does.
02 / THE OPENING DEPTH CHART
When he breaks out, he still counts.
Who you can draft is set by each team's depth chart at the start of the season. If your guy climbs to the top, he stays eligible all year.
See how Pauper worksTHE OPENING DEPTH CHARTQB
01
The starter
INELIGIBLE02
Second string
ELIGIBLE 03+
Third string and lower
ELIGIBLE*Starters who open the season hurt or suspended still can't be drafted. You can only draft WR3 or later in this format.
What if my guy moves up?
He stays eligible all season. Who you can draft is locked to each team's opening depth chart. See how eligibility works.
YOUR LINEUP
Nine lineup spots. Every one can score.
Fill nine lineup spots and six bench spots. Instead of a kicker and a defense, you play a punter and a special-teams unit.
See the Pauper rulesTap a position to see who you can draft.
YOUR LINEUP09 / POSITIONS
THE BENCHSix spots to stash your sleepers.
Want the details? Eligibility and scoring are in the rulebook.
04 / WHY PAUPER
Same player pool. Better scouting wins.
Nobody in your league gets the usual stars. Everyone drafts from the same pool.
Special teams pay off
Your special-teams unit scores 2 points for a blocked kick or punt and 6 for a special-teams touchdown.
Spend it right
Every team gets 100 waiver points for the season, and nobody can buy more.
MORE WAYS TO PLAY
Two more ways to play are on the way.
Traditional
The classic game, from draft day through the playoffs.
What to expectFantasy Football Replay
Take your picks back to 2025 and see how they would have played out.
What to expectTHE FOUNDER
Founded by a former producer of the Pokémon TCG Online.
THE WAITLIST
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