Fantasy scoring is mostly a function of opportunity. Touches, targets, minutes, innings, ice time — those come from a team's pecking order, not from a scouting grade. The depth chart is opportunity, written down.

On draft day

Rankings are a conclusion; the chart is the evidence. When a player is going two rounds above consensus, there's usually something on his team's chart driving it — a vacated role, a committee about to break, a rookie who climbed in camp. Check the chart before you reach.

On the waiver wire

The waiver wire is won by whoever reads the chart first. The backup to a fragile starter is worth a claim before the injury, not after — by then you're bidding against the whole league.

On start/sit

Two players with similar season stats can have completely different weeks if one just moved up a slot and the other just got a new man in front of him. Set lineups off this week's chart, not last month's rankings.

The handcuff question

If your season depends on one workhorse, the player behind him is insurance you can buy cheap. That's a pure depth-chart decision and it's the difference between an injury being an inconvenience and it being the end of your year.