Numbers tell at least part of the story in any sport. It's not always the most obvious way to evaluate players in football, but in fantasy football the numbers do matter, a lot. Ray Flowers is here to break down that aspect of the game. In his Numbers to Know piece each week he'll attempt to do just that. Oh, in case you were wondering what loves #1 and #2 are... my family/friends and, what else, the magnificence of a beautiful woman.
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THROWERS
Drew Brees hasn't quite been himself this season. Showed it in Week 3 did he. He was accurate on 92.3 percent of the passes he threw when there was no pressure, but that mark was just 55.9 percent when he was pressured.
Kirk Cousins killed it in Week 3. He was particularly adept at the deep ball completing 4-of-6 pass of more than 20 yards downfield. The four completions went for 184 yards. As great as his day was, he threw for 427 yards and three scores, that effort included five dropped passes by his receivers.
Complain if you want about Ryan Fitzpatrick but he leads the way win an average of 13.2 yards per completion. I know, who knew? The yards per attempt leader is Matt Ryan (8.7).
Nick Foles has benefited more than any other signal caller in football from his receivers. Eagles pass catchers lead the way with 533 yards after the catch. Aaron Rodgers has received just 333 yards and Peyton Manning 321. Run Eagles, run.
Colin Kaepernick completed 29 passes in Week 3. They averaged five yards beyond the line of scrimmage. For all the fastball he can bring there isn't a player on the Niners that can stretch a defense if Vernon Davis isn't on the field.
Should Jake Locker still be starting for the Titans? If he is defenses need to dial up the blitz. On 11 such plays in Week 3 he had a QB Rating of 0.5. That's hide the women and children, baton down the hitches, hide the booze and lock yourself in the closet with a vat of Whoppers and a blindfold bad.
Andrew Luck completed six of seven passes of more than 20 yards for a total of 158 passing yards in Week 3. He leads all signal callers in fantasy points this season thanks to nine scores through the air, one on the ground and 912 yards passing.
Philip Rivers threw away three passes in Week 3. He was therefore accurate on 18-of-22 passes that he tried to complete. On the year he's completed 68.4 percent of his passes. That's an elite number and comes on the heels of his career best 69.5 percent rate last season.
Ben Roethlisberger can extend plays with his legs and he did that very well against the Panthers. He posted a QB Rating of 151.5 when the play last longer than 2.5 seconds in Week 3.
Russell Wilson has had more time to throw a pass than any other quarterback in the league. Only he and Geno Smith have had more than three second to throw per drop back. At the other end of the spectrum is Peyton Manning who gets rid of the ball in 2.12 seconds per throw. That's planned of course. Manning hasn't scrambled once in three games.
The top-3 passers in football inside the red zone by QB Rating: Matt Ryan (134.7), Russell Wilson (132.6) and Brian Hoyer (126.3).
RUNNERS
is tied for the Bengals lead with 15 receptions. He’s also produced 333 yards from scrimmage, the 7th best mark in football.
Le'Veon Bell sure seems like he is wearing down the opponent. He's carried the ball 23 times in the second half and has run for 166 yards.
We may not care in the fantasy game cause he ran for 132 yards in Week 3, but Knile Davis was a mess from a football perspective. He fumbled twice, dropped a pass and missed blocking assignments that led to two sacks. Really, he had a poor football game.
Marshawn Lynch leads all back with a 0.57 fantasy point per opportunity mark (Pro Football Focus) which is determined by carries and pass routes in a non PPR setup. The only other back over half a point is Ahmad Bradshaw (0.52). In PPR setups the leader is Bradshaw (0.66) with Lynch (0.65) just behind.
LeSean McCoy had the worst game of his career in Week 3. He failed to break a tackle. He averaged 0.5 yards per touch after contact. Overall he had 19 touches for 22 yards. You cannot get any worse than that if you possess as much talent as LeSean does. Maybe he wasn't right after taking that big hit? After that catastrophic effort McCoy has become the only runner in football with more than eight runs classified as “stuffs.” He now has 14 such runs. Compare that to DeMarco Murray (seven) who has only 50 percent as many runs this season. The leader at the other end, the back with the most carries who hasn't been stuffed, is Lamar Miller who has run 37 times without one.
I know it's barely impossible to believe, but Trent Richardson is 4th in the NFL in Elusive Rating according to Pro Football Focus. I know right? Maybe he's not been as bad as we've thought?
Darren Sproles leads all player, regardless of position, with 199 yards after the catch. In fact, the top-3 players in the category are all runners: Giovani Bernard (168) and Le'Veon Bell (147).
Zac Stacy had only 12 carries but he took that limited work to the opposition producing 67 yards. Forty-four of those yards came after contact and Stacy, not often called shifty, made four tacklers miss. He also hauled in five of six targets, they all went for a first down, picking up another 54 yards. Sooner or later people are going to admit what is obvious – Stacy is someone you should be buying, not selling, in the fantasy game.
If you don't love South Park, there is something wrong with you. Parental discretion is advised.
RECEIVERS
Kelvin Benjamin has 53.3 points in a traditional PPR setup. Larry Fitzgerald (18.7) and T.Y. Hilton (34.6) have combined for 53.3 points.
Martellus Bennett has 161 receiving yards. That's five yards less than Travis Kelce. Still, it's one yard more than Julius Thomas. No on cares with Bennett though as he's caught 20 passes for four scores through three games. No one else likely cares with Thomas either as his five receiving scores lead the way. I'll ask. Why am I the only one with some concern with Thomas? The scores are great, and he's got 17 in his last 17 games since the start of last season, but the guy is also averaging 55.8 yards a game as a pass catcher in that time. If he doesn't get into the end zone how much value will he have? Jared Cook is averaging 59 yards a week as a pass catcher this year.
Victor Cruz and Demaryius Thomas lead wideouts with four drops. One other man has four drops and that's the injured Kyle Rudolph.
Michael Floyd leads all receivers (minimum 10 receptions) with an average of 22.9 yards per catch. A.J. Green is second at 19.4 while the third spot is held by Jeremy Maclin (18.5). Speaking of Maclin he is one of three pass catchers who have failed to haul in 15 passes thrown their way. The other two are Vincent Jackson and Calvin Johnson. The leader at hauling in his targets, amongst receivers with at least 15 targets, is Percy Harvin. He's caught 15 of 17 for an 88.2 completion rate.
The Raiders keep giving Denarius Moore looks, and he's just not getting it done. He caught three of seven passes in Week 3 including two drops. His second drop turned into an interception that lost the game for the Raiders.
Jordy Nelson leads the NFL with 37 targets, three more than Calvin Johnson. Check out two of the guys tied for 5th – neither is tall enough to ride a roller coaster: Steve Smith and Andrew Hawkins have 32 targets a piece. The leading tight end is no surprise. It's Jimmy Graham with 31.
Eddie Royal, and I wrote about this in the Waive Flavor piece on Monday... hell, I'll just quote myself (such a narcissist). “Last season Royal scored five times in Weeks 1-2 of the season... . Add in the two scores he had in Week 3 this year and Royal has scored 35 percent of his receiving scores in three of 85 career games.” Royal does lead the NFL with a 10.1 YAC mark (minimum 10 receptions). Of course, that number is totally out of whack for a guy who has a career mark of 5.4. Pretty impressive though considering that his longest catch of the year has been 23 yards. Finding the seams has he.
Emmanuel Sanders has 334 receiving yards, the third most in football. He also had 25 receptions which leads the way. Even though he hasn't scored he's still the 6th most productive PPR asset at the wide receiver position with 59.3 fantasy points. Don't expect him to maintain that pace unless he starts getting into the end zone. He's the only wideout with at least 45.5 points who hasn't recorded a score (there are 17 pass catchers in that group).
Demaryius Thomas has scored once in three weeks and has 141 yards. Huge disappointment no doubt. Still, have patience. He leads all pass catchers with seven targets in the red zone. Julian Edelman, Ahmad Bradshaw, Julius Thomas, Antonio Brown, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Smith have six red zone targets. Bradshaw actually leads the way with four receptions inside the 10-yard line, tied with Randall Cobb. By the way, Edelman only has one catch inside the ten.
Sammy Watkins is long on talent, but that doesn't always translate to consistent production. He only caught two of eight balls in Week 3 and appeared to be out of sorts on more than one route.
Listen to Ray Flowers' show Monday through Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear me hosting my own show Sunday nights, 7-10 PM EDT.