Consistent Greatness Mid-Season Review: RBs and WRs

James Simpson

jones

Most of the season has already been and gone. How have your players performed from week-to-week? How have the players not on your team performed? While dynasty teams are built over many years, the amount of points your players score each week ultimately determine if you win or lose. The second half of that statement may be one of the most obvious sentences you read all day, but it’s the reason I play fantasy football: to win. For that to happen, I want to know how players score their points. Is it in bunches, or consistently over time? Can I rely on a solid floor? Who has the most upside? This study, looking at weekly scoring, helps answer those questions.

Method

Just like in part one, the aim was to look at how often players ended in the top 12, 24 and 36 in any game up to week nine. Our Scott Fish created a tool to determine the score required to end in each of those positions, and below I have tallied how many times each player hit each threshold this season. Throughout the article, the following applies:

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  • GP = Games Played
  • RB (/WR)1 = Number of times the player hit the top 12 threshold
  • RB2 = Number of times they placed between the 13-24 scorers
  • RB1/2 = Number of times they hit the top 24 threshold
  • % = Percentage of games they hit that threshold

Running Backs

rb1

  • Although Devonta Freeman has blown everyone away with his huge weeks, Mark Ingram has had an equally consistent floor so far this year
  • Lamar Miller and Adrian Peterson were scoring twins through nine weeks of the season
  • Note Matt Forte’s 100% top 24 placement. I’d expect him to be straight back in there as soon as he is healthy
  • Frank Gore is, and always has been, the ultimate ‘RB2’. We can’t expect huge yardage or touchdown numbers, but he has scored double digit fantasy points in every game since week two

rb2

  • Interestingly, the top two in this group are probably the top two dynasty backs right now. Todd Gurley has burst onto the scene, and didn’t finish below RB24 in his first six games
  • Jamaal Charles’ 80% RB1 number leads all backs. He’s one of the all-time greats, and I still think he has more in him
  • Those are some awfully Giovani Bernard-like numbers from Duke Johnson. Can he be a three-down back? Will the Browns’ coaching staff allow him to be?

rb3

  • T.J. Yeldon has started his professional career with a solid fantasy floor, and I expect him to keep it. Although, I’m not too sure about how much upside he can offer
  • LeSean McCoy’s 100% top 36 rate stands out, and he’s just starting to hit form. He could provide an opportunity for some big weeks to close out the season
  • I was so sad to lose Arian Foster, yet again. He was a RB1 in three of the four games he played, and has been doing it forever.

Wide Receivers

wr1

wr2

wr3

  • Jordan Matthews’ 25% WR1 number is exactly the same as it was in his rookie year. What is his ceiling?
  • After a hot start, Donte Moncrief has had under 100 yards in seven straight games. I wouldn’t expect that to change until Andrew Luck is back and fully healthy
  • Look at Alshon Jeffery’s WR1% – that is a number that stands out. He should make up ground on the pack ahead of him as the season rolls on

Conclusion

A summary of weekly scoring over a year, three year period or career will offer the best insight into a player’s lifetime fantasy value, but reacting to what is happening right now will win Championships. Identifying players whose year-long totals don’t add up with their weekly percentage can be helpful in deciding who to acquire and who to avoid.

I’d love to hear who you think stands out in the study, and if there is other information you feel would be helpful moving forward. Thanks for reading, and I hope you take something from it.

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james simpson