Fantasy football is a game of numbers. The goal is to outscore your opponent every week. The game film tells one story, but innovative statistics and analytics tell another. Have you ever wondered what stats you should review to understand how productive certain players can truly be?
What impact would that have on your fantasy football team? In essence that is the goal of this column. This article will provide you a line of sight regarding noteworthy stats and trends you should be aware of to dominate your league.
Past performance is not indicative of future production in fantasy football, but it can provide you a line of sight of what stats to pay attention to. This week I will highlight five intriguing statistics from Week 12 you should know about.
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JULIO JONES LED ALL WIDE RECEIVERS IN AIR YARDS WITH 256
Top 10 Players in Receiving Yards (2017)
1) Antonio Brown – 1,195
2) Julio Jones – 1,039
3) Adam Thielen – 1,005
4) DeAndre Hopkins – 1,004
5) Keenan Allen – 927
6) Brandin Cooks – 869
7) AJ Green – 809
8) Michael Thomas – 805
9) Larry Fitzgerald – 780
10) Travis Kelce – 777— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) November 29, 2017
Jones caught 12 of 15 targets for 253 receiving yards and two touchdowns against the Buccaneers. He led all wide receivers with 7.67 yards per route run according to Pro Football Focus. Receiver Air Yards are the total number of yards thrown toward a receiver on a play in which he is targeted, both complete and incomplete.
Jones’ 253 receiving yards were the most by any player in a game since Week 4, 2016 when he had 300 yards against the Panthers according to NFL Research. The statistical signs were there before his Week 12 eruption. Jones had accumulated 36 targets and 589 Air Yards from Week 8 to 11. He remains an elite WR1 and has two games against the Saints depleted secondary in the fantasy football playoffs.
ALVIN KAMARA AVERAGED 17.1 YARDS PER TOUCH
Alvin Kamara has 546 rushing yards & 548 receiving yards in just 11 games.
Only 2 rookies in NFL history have ever recorded 600+ rushing yards & 600+ receiving yards (over a FULL season):
Charley Taylor, 1964
Billy Sims, 1980 pic.twitter.com/lclcjJn3QH— Randall Liu (@RLiuNFL) November 29, 2017
Kamara accumulated 87 rushing yards and a touchdown on five carries. He also caught six of six targets for 101 receiving yards and a touchdown. Kamara is averaging 8.1 yards per touch on 123 touches this season.
Did you know no NFL running back over the last 25 seasons have averaged eight or more yards per play on 100 or more touches, according to Pro-Football-Reference? Kamara is the first Saints player to score a touchdown in five straight games since tight end Jimmy Graham in 2011 (including playoffs) according to NFL Research.
He is also the first Saints rookie to score a touchdown in five straight games. Kamara remains a high-end RB1 in all formats given his unique set of skills.
KEENAN ALLEN PRODUCED 5.38 YARDS PER ROUTE RUN VIA PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS
Oh no he didn't …
HE DID! @Keenan13Allen put the juke on, TWICE!#LACvsDAL pic.twitter.com/Q0YKpp1QNM
— NFL (@NFL) November 23, 2017
Allen eviscerated the Cowboys on Thanksgiving day by catching 11 of 14 targets for a career-high 172 receiving yards and a touchdown. His previous career-high was 166 receiving yards against the Detroit Lions in Week 1 of the 2015 season according to NFL Research. It is the most receiving yards allowed by the Cowboys defense to a single player since Calvin Johnson had 329 receiving yards in Week 8 of the 2013 season.
Allen had the third highest Weighted Opportunity Rating or WOPR among wide receivers. WOPR is a weighted combination of the share of team targets a player receives and the share of team air yards.
ROBBY ANDERSON PRODUCED 4.06 YARDS PER ROUTE RUN VIA PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS
Double coverage won't stop @youngamazing9. #CARvsNYJ pic.twitter.com/YXYFvOVRD8
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 26, 2017
Did you know Anderson is tied for the third most touchdowns in the NFL with seven alongside DeAndre Hopkins and Marvin Jones? The only wide receiver with more Air Yards in Week 12 was Julio Jones. Anderson is averaging seven targets per game over the last four and has emerged as Jets quarterback Josh McCown’s No. 1 receiver.
He has also led the team in Air Yards over that time frame with 501. Anderson’s statistical production has propelled him to weekly WR2 status.
JOE MIXON TOTALS 165 YARDS FROM SCRIMMAGE
Joe Mixon was a difference maker for the Bengals today pic.twitter.com/3BvBW67wUb
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) November 26, 2017
This was the type of performance those who have Mixon on their fantasy football teams have been waiting for. He rushed 23 times for 114 yards and a touchdown. Mixon also had three receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown. He forced four missed tackles and had two runs of 15 or more yards according to Pro Football Focus.
This was the third time this season he accumulated 100 or more total yards. This was the second game in a row Mixon has been given 20 or more carries. He remains a weekly RB2.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
The purpose of this column is to make you a more informed fantasy player and put you in the best possible position to harness this intellectual capital into a league-winning team. What statistics stood out to you? Please leave a comment below or reach out to me on Twitter.
You can find me @EricNMoody, and I am always open to answering questions or discussing football. Please be on the lookout for this column every Wednesday during the regular season. Until next time!
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Eric Moody is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Eric, check out his archive and follow him @EricNMoody.
