Now that the\u00a0NFL season has ended, it\u2019s time to look into next year’s Fantasy Football notebook. The draft targets for the 2017 season will be determined using a combination of data and gut instinct. In that vein, and with a bit of a twist,\u00a0here is the first installment of “100 Fantasy Football Facts.”<\/p>\n
Here\u00a0are 100\u00a0completely true fantasy statistics that will surprise and confuse fantasy football fanatics. The facts may or may not lead to the obvious conclusion, but the goal is to keep the\u00a0fantasy football mind racing.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s one thing to have a grasp of analytics, but it\u2019s another thing entirely to use those numbers as building blocks to some higher truth.<\/p>\n
The debate will remain: does the data lead to the proper conclusion?<\/p>\n
Here are 100 facts to give the dedicated fantasy football junkies something to chew over in the off-season.<\/p>\n
(All statistical information was taken from PlayerProfiler.com<\/span><\/a>.)<\/p>\n 8. There are only two NFL running backs to average over 50 red zone carries over the last two seasons. Both played in the Super Bowl LI.<\/p>\n 9.\u00a0 Player A had 103 red zone carries over the last two seasons, Player B had 102 red zone carries over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n 10.\u00a0 Player A averaged 4.0 yards per carry against Base Front defenses. Player B averaged 4.9 yards per carry against Base Front defenses.<\/p>\n 11. Player A had 220 total fantasy points, but only seven receptions. Player B had 218 fantasy points with\u00a054 receptions.<\/p>\n 12.\u00a0 Player A tied for seventh with 11 runs of 15 yards or more. Player B was fifth with 14 runs of 15 yards or more.<\/p>\n 13.\u00a0 Player A will be 31 years old next year. Player B will be 25 years old.<\/p>\n 14.\u00a0 Player A had an ADP of 113.7. \u00a0Player B had an ADP of 19.2. Both<\/em>\u00a0are being underdrafted.<\/p>\n 15. Player A is LeGarrette Blount<\/a>.<\/strong> Player B is Devonta Freeman<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n 16. \u00a0Production Premium compares the outcome of all pass attempts, carries, and targets to league-average outcomes in those same game situations by yard line, down, and distance. (PlayerProfiler.com<\/a>). \u00a0In 2015, the top rated qualified running backs in Production Premium were: Dion Lewis<\/a><\/strong>, James White<\/a><\/strong>, David Johnson<\/a><\/strong>, and Theo Riddick<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n 17. \u00a0Last season, the top rated qualified running backs in Production Premium were: \u00a0Tevin Coleman<\/a><\/strong>, James White<\/a>, Jalen Richard<\/a>,<\/strong> and LeSean McCoy<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n 18. \u00a0The respective average draft position of each of those running backs in 2016: \u00a0122.9, 119.4, undrafted, and 29.0.<\/p>\n 19. \u00a0Out of the top 20 running backs by ADP, exactly ten finished outside the top 20 in terms of season long fantasy points.<\/p>\n 20. \u00a0LeGarrette Blount<\/a> finished sixth (ADP 113.7), Melvin Gordon<\/a><\/strong> finished eighth (71.4), Jordan Howard<\/a><\/strong> finished ninth (193.5), Jay Ajayi<\/a><\/strong> was 11th (115.3), Frank Gore<\/a><\/strong> was 12th (77.0), Isaiah Crowell<\/a><\/strong> was 15th (114.9), Spencer Ware<\/a><\/strong> was 16th (148.2), and Tevin Coleman<\/a> was 18th (122.9).<\/p>\n 21. \u00a0Unless you can get David Johnson<\/a>, Ezekiel Elliott<\/a>,<\/strong> or Le’Veon Bell<\/a><\/strong> in redraft leagues next season,\u00a0it is best to wait to draft fantasy football running backs.<\/p>\n 22. \u00a0Le’Veon Bell<\/a> (8.4), David Johnson<\/a> (6.2), Ezekiel Elliott<\/a> (5.9), and Carlos Hyde<\/a><\/strong> (5.5) were the top three running backs in Evaded Tackles Per Game. Number five? \u00a0Eddie Lacy<\/a> <\/strong>(5.4). \u00a0He was higher than LeSean McCoy<\/a> (5.3).<\/p>\n 23. \u00a0Before his injury in Week Two, Ameer Abdullah<\/a> <\/strong>was averaging 6.9 yards per carry against base defensive fronts.<\/p>\n 24. Despite Jacksonville only ranking 22nd in the NFL in rushing yards per game (101.9), Chris Ivory<\/a><\/strong> averaged 6.2 yards per carry against base defensive fronts. Right behind him at 6.1 yards per carry? Again, Eddie Lacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n 25. \u00a0Ty Montgomery<\/a>‘s<\/strong> yards per carry against base defenses? 0.8 yards per carry.<\/p>\n 26. \u00a0Ty Montgomery<\/a>‘s yards per carry against light front defenses? 6.6 yards per carry. \u00a0Lacy averaged 4.2 yards per carry in the same situations.<\/p>\n 27. \u00a0Against a stacked defensive front, both DeAndre Washington<\/a> <\/strong>(6.3) and Jalen Richard<\/a> (6.0) averaged over 6.0 yards per carry.<\/p>\n 28. \u00a0Latavius Murray<\/a><\/strong> averaged 4.2 yards per carry against stacked defensive fronts and 3.7 yards per carry against base defensive fronts.<\/p>\n 29. \u00a0Washington (5.6) and Richard (5.8) both averaged over 5.0 yards per carry against base defensive fronts.<\/p>\n 30. \u00a0Latavius Murray<\/a> is a free agent. \u00a0Why should the Oakland Raiders resign him?<\/p>\n 31. \u00a0Last year’s\u00a0top nine\u00a0running backs in Yards After Contact are not surprises: \u00a0Bell, Johnson, Ajayi, Elliott, Howard, McCoy, Hyde, Freeman, and Murray. Ranked tenth, however? Isaiah Crowell<\/a> of the Cleveland Browns.<\/p>\n 35. Crowell ran behind the 17th best offensive line per run blocking efficiency and is only 24 years old.<\/p>\n 36. There is a starting NFL running back that ranked 65th in Yards Per Carry against stacked defensive fronts, 44th in Yards Per Carry against a base front, and 64th in Yards Per Carry against light defensive fronts.<\/p>\n 37. This same running back ranked sixth among all running backs in total carries with 268.<\/p>\n 38.\u00a0 In addition, that same running back has a 96th percentile 40 yard dash time (4.40), a 97th percentile Speed Score (116.3), and an 84th percentile Agility Score (11.02).<\/p>\n 39. Yet this same running back ranked 57th among all running backs with only 4.3 Yards Per Touch, and 25th with only six total touchdowns.<\/p>\n 40. Despite all of these negative statistics, this running back had a 2016 ADP of 11.5. Does this make any sense?<\/p>\n 41.\u00a0 That running back is Houston Texans running back Lamar Miller<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n 42. \u00a0Seattle Seahawks running back Thomas Rawls<\/a><\/strong> averaged 3.6 Yards Per Touch last season (78th among all running backs.)<\/p>\n 43. \u00a0Seattle Seahawks running back C.J. Prosise<\/a><\/strong> averaged 8.1 Yards Per Touch last season (1st among all running backs).<\/p>\n 44. \u00a0Juke Rate measures a running back’s evaded tackles per touch. Thomas Rawls<\/a>‘ Juke Rate was 19.7 percent (50th among RBs). \u00a0C.J. Prosise<\/a>‘s Juke Rate was 29.8 percent (12th among RBs).<\/p>\n 45. Thomas Rawls<\/a>‘ Production Premium was -16.2 (66th among RBs).<\/p>\n 46. C.J. Prosise<\/a>‘s Production Premium? +37.1 (4th among RBs).<\/p>\n 47. Thomas Rawls<\/a> had 13 receptions on 17 targets for 96 receiving yards.<\/p>\n 48. C.J. Prosise<\/a> had 17 receptions on 19 targets for 208 receiving yards.<\/p>\n 49. \u00a0Thomas Rawls averaged 8.4 fantasy points per game in PPR formats.<\/p>\n 50. C.J. Prosise averaged 10.2 fantasy points per game in PPR formats.<\/p>\n 51. \u00a0Thomas Rawls ADP last season was 47.3. \u00a0C.J. Prosise’s ADP last season was 180.1. What will their ADP’s be in 2017?<\/p>\n 52. The best offensive lines according to pass blocking efficiency were: Oakland (137.3), Pittsburgh (120.6), New York Giants (112.0), New Orleans (111.6), and Washington (100).<\/p>\n 53. Their respective starting quarterbacks rankings in fantasy points per game were: 14th (Derek Carr<\/a><\/strong>), 7th (Ben Roethlisberger<\/a><\/strong>), 25th (Eli Manning<\/a><\/strong>), 2nd (Drew Brees<\/a><\/strong>), and 6th (Kirk Cousins<\/a><\/strong>).<\/p>\n 54. The Deep Ball Completion Percentage of those quarterbacks were: 41 percent (Carr), 39.3 percent (Roethlisberger), \u00a028.2 percent (Manning), 51.4 percent (Brees), and 45.7 percent (Cousins).<\/p>\n 55. Eli Manning<\/a> averaged 0.41 Fantasy Points per Pass Attempt. That ranks 25th among NFL starting quarterbacks. It was less than Sam Bradford<\/a><\/strong> (0.42), Carson Palmer<\/a> <\/strong>(0.43), and Blake Bortles<\/a><\/strong> (0.46).<\/p>\n 56. All of this while Manning was seventh among all starting quarterbacks in Pass Attempts (599).<\/p>\n 57. \u00a0In short, nobody did less with more at the fantasy quarterback position than Eli Manning<\/a>.<\/p>\n 58. \u00a0The sixth best Deep Ball Completion Percentage belongs to? \u00a0Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford<\/a> (44.4 percent).<\/p>\n 59. \u00a0Bradford played behind the 20th ranked offensive line for Pass Blocking Efficiency (57.8 rating)<\/p>\n 60. \u00a0Red Zone Completion Percentage leaders: \u00a0Tom Brady<\/a><\/strong> 69.2 percent, 68.8 percent, Sam Bradford<\/a> 67.5 percent. This was ahead of Andrew Luck<\/a><\/strong> (66.2 percent), Matt Ryan<\/a><\/strong> (65.6 percent), and Aaron Rodgers<\/a><\/strong> (63.5 percent).<\/p>\n 61. \u00a0Sam Bradford had the highest completion percentage of any starting NFL quarterback (71.6 percent).<\/p>\n 62. \u00a0Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith<\/a><\/strong> had seven games of 18 or more fantasy points in 2015. He had six such games last season.<\/p>\n 63. \u00a0Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill<\/a><\/strong> had five games of 18 or more fantasy points in 2015 and 2016.<\/p>\n 64. \u00a0Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton<\/a><\/strong> has seven games of 18 or more fantasy points in 2015. He had seven such games last season.<\/p>\n 64. \u00a0The respective ADPs from last season: \u00a0Alex Smith<\/a> 177.7, Ryan Tannehill<\/a> 157.4, Andy Dalton<\/a> 147.4.<\/p>\n 65. \u00a0Sam Bradford had five games of 18 or more fantasy points last season. His ADP was 207.8.<\/p>\n 66. \u00a0If the Minnesota Vikings improve their offensive line, Sam Bradford could be as good if not better than Alex Smith<\/a>, Ryan Tannehill<\/a>, or Andy Dalton<\/a>.<\/p>\n 67. \u00a0If you choose to wait on drafting a quarterback in redraft leagues, wait until the end of the draft. Don’t waste a mid-round pick on a quarterback.<\/p>\n 68. \u00a0Rob Gronkowski<\/a><\/strong> (13.5) and Jordan Reed<\/a> <\/strong>(36.1) had the top two ADPs for tight ends last season.<\/p>\n 69. \u00a0Gronkowski finished 20th in total fantasy points and Reed finished 8th.<\/p>\n 70. \u00a0Jimmy Graham<\/a>‘s<\/strong> ADP last season was 140.0 and Kyle Rudolph<\/a>‘s<\/strong> ADP last season was 185.3.<\/p>\n 71. \u00a0Graham finished second overall in total fantasy points among tight ends, and Rudolph finished fourth overall.<\/p>\n 72. \u00a0Tight End Julius Thomas<\/a><\/strong> possesses incredible Workout Metrics. \u00a0He has an 82nd percentile Agility Score and Catch Radius.<\/p>\n 73. \u00a0Thomas has produced impressive Hog Rates in consecutive seasons. \u00a0Hog Rate measures the percent of targets per snap. Thomas’ Hog Rates the last two season were: 11.3 percent in 2016\u00a0and 15.7 percent in 2015.<\/p>\n 74. \u00a0Thomas has been traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Miami Dolphins.<\/p>\n 75. \u00a0Last season, Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles<\/a><\/strong> ranked 14th among all starting quarterbacks with a 58.3 Red Zone completion percentage.<\/p>\n 76. \u00a0Last season, Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill ranked fourth among all starting quarterbacks with a 67.4 percent Red Zone completion percentage.<\/p>\n 77. \u00a0Thomas produced a 57.1 percent Red Zone Catch Rate last season. This was higher than Rob Gronkowski<\/a> (50.0 percent), Delanie Walker<\/a><\/strong> (52.9 percent), and Travis Kelce<\/a><\/strong> (50.0 percent).<\/p>\n 78. \u00a0There is no reason to draft a tight end early. Ever.<\/p>\n 79. \u00a0Cleveland Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor<\/a><\/strong> possesses a 90th percentile 40 yard dash time (4.41) and an insane 99th percentile Height-Adjusted Speed Score (128.3).<\/p>\n 80. \u00a0Pryor ranked 24th among wide receivers in fantasy points per game with 13.2.<\/p>\n 81. \u00a0He was eighth among all wide receivers in Air Yards at 818 yards (5.58 yards per target).<\/p>\n 82. \u00a0Pryor ranked ninth\u00a0among all wide receivers with an amazing 81.8 percent Contested Catch Rate.<\/p>\n 83. \u00a0He accomplished all of this despite playing the season with a combination of Robert Griffin<\/a> III<\/strong> and Cody Kessler<\/a><\/strong> at quarterback.<\/p>\n 84. \u00a0Kessler ranked 31st among starting quarterbacks with a putrid 8.7 fantasy points per game. Griffin ranked 27th at 14.4 fantasy points per game.<\/p>\n 85. \u00a0Terrelle Pryor is an unrestricted free agent this summer.<\/p>\n 86. \u00a0Pryor caught 77 passes for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns in his first full season as a wide receiver. Imagine if he had a good quarterback throwing him the ball?<\/p>\n 87. Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson<\/a><\/strong> had an ADP of 9.5 last season. \u00a0He was one of the biggest busts in fantasy football.<\/p>\n 88. Robinson suffered through poor quarterback play from Blake Bortles<\/a> all season.\u00a0 Bortles’ Completion Percentage was 58.7 percent, second worst among all NFL starting quarterbacks.<\/p>\n 89. \u00a0Allen Robinson<\/a> led all NFL wide receivers with 32 Contested Targets. This was eight more than the Jordy Nelson<\/a><\/strong>, who was second with 24 Contested Targets.<\/p>\n 90. \u00a0With 19 Red Zone targets, Robinson ranked 11th among all wide receivers. This despite the fact the Jaguars scored only 318 points this season (25th in NFL).<\/p>\n 91. \u00a0Blake Bortles Red Zone Completion Percentage? 58.3 percent.<\/p>\n 92. \u00a0Allen Robinson’s Target Share, which is the percentage of all team passing targets, was 24.1 percent. This was higher than Alshon Jeffery<\/a><\/strong> (22.5 percent), Amari Cooper<\/a><\/strong> (22.3 percent), and Golden Tate<\/a><\/strong> (23.3 percent).<\/p>\n 93. \u00a0Jaguars new general manager Tom Coughlin<\/strong> has already stressed the importance of improved quarterback play<\/a> for next season.<\/p>\n 94. \u00a0Allen Robinson is a prime bounce back candidate<\/a> in 2017.<\/p>\n 95. \u00a0Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Donte Moncrief<\/a><\/strong> had an injury-plagued 2016 season. He played in roughly seven complete games.<\/p>\n 96. \u00a0Fellow Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton<\/a><\/strong> played in all 16 games. He enjoyed a career year, finishing first in the league in receiving yards with 1,448.<\/p>\n 97. \u00a0Hilton had eight Red Zone Receptions on 14 targets. \u00a0Moncrief had eight receptions on 10 Red Zone Targets.<\/p>\n 98. \u00a0T.Y. Hilton<\/a> had six total touchdowns. \u00a0Donte Moncrief<\/a> had seven total touchdowns.<\/p>\n 99. \u00a0Again, Moncrief played nine less games than Hilton.<\/p>\n 100. \u00a0T.Y. Hilton’s 2016 ADP? 23.8. \u00a0Donte Moncrief’s ADP? 37.0. \u00a0If Moncrief was healthy all season, how would Hilton’s stats have been affected?<\/p>\n Main Photo:<\/p>\nLooking to 2017: 100 Fantasy Football Facts<\/h2>\n
WR\u00a0Red Zone Thieves<\/h3>\n
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Name that Running Back<\/h3>\n
Zero RB: \u00a0Myth or Reality?<\/h3>\n
Who Would’ve Thought?<\/h3>\n
The Great Seattle Debate<\/h3>\n
Just Say No to Eli<\/h3>\n
Quarterbacks: \u00a0Patience is a Virtue<\/h3>\n
Tight Ends: \u00a0The Later the Better<\/h3>\n
How Good can Terrelle Pryor<\/a> Be?<\/h3>\n
Go Deeper for the Bounce Back<\/h3>\n
Best Colt to Ride?<\/h3>\n