Fantasy Football Facts

Just the facts, ma’am. Just the facts. This phrase was coined by Joe Friday in the TV series Dragnet many moons ago. While the aforementioned show has long since discontinued, the saying still holds some meaning.

Frequently in the realm of fantasy football, we get carried away with a player’s hype, the impact of an injury, or our own intuition — that gut feeling — among many other things. Oftentimes we don’t pay enough attention to the facts. There’s no arguing or debating facts. Of course, some of these facts will be more interesting and helpful than others, but they could give more consideration to players who had been under the radar or swept under the rug. So, in no particular order, here are 50 facts to aid you in your quest for glory.

The fewest targets Matt Forte saw in one game were five. The most targets Alfred Morris saw in one game were five. Matt Asiata finished higher than Morris in point-per-reception (PPR) leagues last year. In standard scoring leagues over the past three years, Morris has finished 5th, 14th and 13th. Fred Jackson was third among running backs in targets (90), receptions (66) and receiving yards (501) in 2014. Julio Jones had 31 plays of 20+ yards in 2014. DeSean Jackson had 13 plays of 40+ yards in 2014. No other wide receiver had more than eight. Jackson’s 13 plays of 40 yards or more were the most since Randy Moss in his rookie season of 1998. DeSean Jackson only caught 56 passes. Ergo, an astonishing 23 percent of Jackson’s receptions went for at least 40 yards. From Week 9 forward, Jeremy Hill averaged 19.1 carries and 103.2 yards per game. Extrapolate those numbers with Hill’s 9 touchdowns into a full 16-game season, and Hill would have finished at RB7 in standard scoring leagues. Despite Hill’s success, Giovani Bernard still finished at RB16 in PPR scoring in 2014. It was the third time in the last four seasons, and second time in as many seasons, that teammate running backs both finished in the top-16 in PPR scoring. Ryan Mathews (7) and Mike Tolbert (16) did it in 2011. Reggie Bush (7) and Joique Bell (14) did it in 2013. Roy Helu was fourth among running backs with 477 receiving yards. Only two running backs with 40+ targets last season caught at least 89 percent of those targets: Roy Helu and DeMarco Murray. Shane Vereen was the only running back last season with fewer than 100 carries and 400 rushing yards to finish in the top 20 in PPR scoring. Delanie Walker was a top-10 tight end in standard scoring leagues last season. He was fifth at the position in targets (106). He was fourth at the position in receiving yards (890). He was one of only five tight ends with at least 100 targets and 800 receiving yards. The other four were Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham, Greg Olsen and Martellus Bennett. Gronkowski and Olsen were the only two tight ends to post 1,000+ yard seasons last year. It was the first year since 2011 in which two tight ends surpassed the 1,000-yard mark, when Gronk and Graham did it. There has not been a back-to-back 1,000+ yard tight end since Jason Witten in 2009, 2010.Speaking of tight ends, since 2004, Jason Witten has finished 3rd, 7th, 8th, 1st, 2nd, 5th, 1st, 5th, 3rd, 6th and 9th in PPR leagues. Speaking of tight ends, since 2004, Witten has finished 3rd, 7th, 8th, 1st, 2nd, 5th, 1st, 5th, 3rd, 6th and 9th in PPR leagues. Witten has never had fewer than 64 receptions and 700 yards in one full season. Philip Rivers has been a top-10 fantasy quarterback in six of his last seven seasons. Michael Floyd managed a meager 52.5 yards per game last season. According to Pro Football Focus, only one percent of running backs who had 2,400+ career touches attained RB1 status the following season. Coincidentally, Frank Gore has more than 2,700 career touches. The same data from PFF shows that only 10 percent of running backs who had 900-1,200 career touches reached RB1 production the following season. Included in that percentage are C.J. Spiller, Alfred Morris, and DeMarco Murray. Take that for what you will. Before suffering a broken fibula in Week 3 of last season, Danny Woodhead was averaging 58 catches, 525.5 receiving yards and 4.5 receiving touchdowns over the previous two seasons. In those seasons, he finished RB24 and RB12 in PPR scoring. Marshawn Lynch has scored double-digit touchdowns in each of the past four years, since he joined the Seattle Seahawks. Arian Foster was the sixth-highest scoring PPR running back in 2014 despite playing in just 13 games. What should be of at least some concern, however, is that Foster has missed nine games over the last two seasons. Lamar Miller was a top-seven running back over the last five weeks of the 2014 season. Miller amassed nearly 1,400 total yards and nine total touchdowns last season. His carries, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, targets, receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns have increased each of the last three seasons. (He wasn’t starter in his rookie season of 2012. Reggie Bush occupied that title.) Unfortunately, so have his fumbles. Cam Newton is averaging 8.25 rushing touchdowns per season since 2011. That’s more than the Jaguars and as many as the Rams over the same period. Over the past four seasons, the Raiders’ rushing touchdowns have been 16, 4, 16 and 4. A coincidence for Latavius Murray? Excluding last year, Adrian Peterson has scored double-digit touchdowns in every season of his career. That’s including 2011 when he played in just 12 games. Running backs under Norv Turner, Minnesota’s current offensive coordinator, have led the NFL in rushing five times.

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