The CoreFootball Index (CFI) brings position-specific performance signals together into a 0–100 score. It helps answer one question: how well is a player performing compared with qualified players at the same position?
A starting point for better football questions
Raw totals show production, but opportunity and efficiency help explain it. CFI combines relevant measures, compares them with same-position peers, and weights those comparisons into one score. Open the supporting evidence to see what drove the result.
Higher means stronger performance within that position and sample. A score of 80 is not an 80% success rate, an exact 80th-percentile finish, or a prediction of fantasy points. The score is a weighted composite; rank shows the player’s place among qualified peers. An 80 at quarterback and an 80 at guard do not measure interchangeable performance.
CFI is not a film grade or a replacement for individual statistics. Where qualified coverage permits, charted inputs contribute alongside public production, play-by-play, usage, and Next Gen Stats. The evidence identifies the inputs and sources used. Small samples and changes in the comparison group can move a score.
Season, weekly, and predictive CFI
Season CFI · the season so far
The current-season model combines qualified weekly performances, weighted by relevant playing volume. QBs need at least two qualified weekly grades for a season CFI rank. Once Week 2 is complete, RBs, WRs, and TEs also need at least two qualified games; a one-game grade remains on the weekly board. Trench players use snap-weighted weekly grades. For quarterbacks, an eligible big-time-throw signal can contribute a small adjustment after at least four graded games. Earlier seasons may use stored season-model scores, so a historical season score need not equal an average of the weekly grades shown. Completed quarterback seasons also require at least 100 graded dropbacks to receive a season rank.
Weekly CFI · one week of performance
Weekly CFI compares a player’s qualifying performance with a locked trailing same-position benchmark of at least ten qualified performances. Minimum playing volume is required. Running backs also need at least 80% of the intended model inputs for an official grade. Lower-coverage RB estimates remain provisional, keep unpublished inputs neutral, and do not enter ranks or season CFI. A great game can stand well above a player’s season score; an ungraded week is excluded rather than counted as zero.
For WR and TE, Next Gen Stats YAC over expected is used when published. If it is missing, a separately labeled play-by-play YAC-versus-expected measure can fill the input for completed catches. Each measure is ranked only against peers from the same source; neither is treated as the other’s raw value. A game without a usable source value leaves the input out of the grade.
TE weekly CFI also includes a run-block grade when charting covers at least 10 run-block snaps. It carries 15% of the intended TE model and is compared with other TEs’ qualifying run-block games. Because prior-season TE run-block charting is unavailable, Week 1 of 2026 uses that week’s TE group for this component; later weeks use prior current-season games. When the charting or snap minimum is missing, the component is left out and the available inputs are reweighted.
Predictive CFI · a next-game estimate
For supported QB, RB, WR, and TE players, the projection starts with qualified current-season grades from the four calendar weeks before the upcoming game. Earlier weeks are never used to fill a missed or ungraded week. It applies opponent and game-environment adjustments, with an additional eligible quarterback signal. Availability, depth-chart eligibility, and a published upcoming game determine whether a projection can be shown.
Predictive CFI estimates performance on the CFI scale, not a point total or win probability. Confidence labels and displayed ranges are model heuristics, not calibrated statistical intervals. Position-specific predictive CFI is not currently available for OL or defensive players.
Different positions need different evidence
The skill-position models emphasize efficiency and the quality of a player’s opportunities. Available inputs and documented fallbacks can vary by source coverage.
- Quarterbacks · QB
- EPA per play, success rate, completion percentage over expected, turnover avoidance, and sack avoidance. Qualified charting can refine turnover-worthy-play and pressure-to-sack measures.
- Running backs · RB
- EPA per touch 30%, success rate 25%, rushing yards over expected 20%, contact creation 15%, and target share 10%. At least six carries plus targets and 80% input coverage are required for an official weekly grade. Performances below 12 opportunities receive modest reliability regression toward 50.
- Receivers and tight ends · WR / TE
- Receiving efficiency, weighted opportunity, first-down production, and yards after catch over expected. Route-based inputs are used when available; TE also includes route participation.
Offensive line and defensive line
Trench CFI supports offensive tackles (OT), guards (OG), centers (C), edge defenders (EDGE), and defensive tackles (DT). These models use position-relevant charting rather than fantasy production. Defensive model roles are determined by qualifying alignment and snap evidence; a roster label alone does not establish eligibility.
| Position | Primary pillar | Run pillar | Other pillar |
|---|---|---|---|
| OT | Pass protection 60% | Run blocking 35% | Discipline 5% |
| OG | Pass protection 50% | Run blocking 45% | Discipline 5% |
| C | Pass protection 45% | Run blocking 50% | Discipline 5% |
| EDGE | Pass rush 60% | Run defense 30% | Tackling 10% |
| DT | Pass rush 45% | Run defense 45% | Tackling 10% |
Pass protection combines pass-blocking grade and pressure-allowed rate. Pass rush combines win rate, pressure rate, and pass-rush grade. Run pillars use blocking or defensive grades, with run-stop rate for defenders. Discipline measures penalties relative to blocking volume; tackling accounts for missed tackles and sample reliability.
Trench grades require minimum total and phase-specific snaps, complete required inputs, at least ten qualified same-position peers, and sufficiently complete charting across the eligible group. Other defenders can have useful profile statistics without a supported CFI grade.
The supporting indexes
- CoreFantasy Index · CFX
- A separate view of fantasy value based on production and opportunity. Fantasy-focused measures are shown for relevant offensive positions, not OL or defensive players.
- CoreOpportunity Score · OS
- A view of the player’s opportunity and role, using position-relevant workload measures where available. Opportunity describes chances to produce, not a guarantee of production.
- CoreEfficiency Score · ES
- A view of how effectively a player converts opportunities into value, using the supported position model and available inputs.
- CoreClutch Factor · CCF
- A quarterback-only measure of high-leverage performance where qualifying situational data is available. It is not a separate grade for every position.
These are distinct measures, not interchangeable names for CFI. A high opportunity score can coexist with modest efficiency, and strong football performance does not always translate into strong fantasy output.
What the data can—and cannot—tell you
A dash means unavailable, not zero
A player may lack a grade because of insufficient playing time, a small peer group, missing required charting, an unsupported position, or unavailable next-game information. A reported zero is different from an unknown value. Optional missing inputs can use a supported fallback; required missing inputs prevent a grade.
Player profiles now follow the player’s position
OL profiles emphasize blocking workload, sacks and pressures allowed, and available blocking grades. Defensive profiles show measures such as solo and combined tackles, sacks, QB hits, interceptions, forced fumbles, recoveries, and pressure rate where available. Weekly tables, splits, opponent history, and career summaries use relevant statistics. Advanced efficiency appears only when appropriate data exists.
A blocking grade is not a block win rate. Pass-block and run-block win rates require their own source data. They are not inferred from charted grades or filled in when the connected report does not supply them. Rate statistics also depend on the stated denominator; compare like with like.
History extends beyond the selected season
Opponent history aggregates available games across imported seasons. Career summaries combine available historical records with current-season data, while season splits describe the selected season. Career rates are calculated from the underlying opportunities rather than by adding percentages.
Imported public weekly history spans 1999–2025, with snap-count history beginning in 2013. Coverage varies by player and statistic. Earlier OL participation and charted blocking or pressure statistics may be incomplete; a career total represents available records, not a promise of complete charting for every career game. Historical box scores do not imply a historical CFI grade exists.
Age, college, and depth-chart information depend on matched player records and source availability. Depth and availability can change. Current-season imports, charting corrections, and identity updates can also revise the displayed evidence and scores.
Use the score, then inspect the evidence
- Open the CFI leaderboard and select the season, position, and scoring view.
- Use each column’s information button to understand its meaning, eligibility, and limitations.
- Open a player to inspect the qualifying inputs, same-position comparisons, and weekly history. Check the displayed week and sample before drawing conclusions.
- Use the full player profile for position-relevant production, splits, historical opponents, and career context. Compare players at the same position and in the same time window.
Team performance has its own indexes
Core Team Index (CTI) evaluates team performance; Core Power Rank (CPR) estimates team strength for forward-looking comparison. Neither is a player CFI score, and CPR is not itself a point spread or win probability. Both leaderboards now include an information button for every column, including their components and model context.
A quick glossary
- EPA · expected points added
- The change in an offense’s expected points associated with a play. Per-play or per-touch measures put that value in relation to opportunity.
- Success rate
- The share of plays meeting the source’s success definition; the CFI play-by-play inputs use positive EPA.
- CPOE · completion percentage over expected
- Actual completion percentage minus the model’s expected completion percentage for the throws attempted.
- TWP / BTT
- Charted turnover-worthy plays and big-time throws. These are distinct from recorded interceptions and passing yards.
- YPRR · yards per route run
- Receiving yards divided by routes run, including routes on which the player was not targeted.
- RYOE / YACOE
- Rushing yards or yards after catch above the tracking model’s expectation. These compare outcomes with an estimated baseline, not raw yardage alone.
- Target share / weighted opportunity
- Target share is a player’s portion of team targets. Weighted opportunity also incorporates the share of intended air yards.
- Pressure rate
- Pressures relative to relevant pass-rush or pass-blocking opportunities. A defender’s pressure rate and a blocker’s pressure-allowed rate describe different sides of the matchup.
- Percentile / qualified peers
- A percentile describes an input’s standing in a comparison group. Qualified peers are players who meet the position model’s playing-time and data requirements.
CFI is an evolving research model. Read scores alongside their period, position, sample, and supporting evidence; model and data updates can change results.