Fantasy Football Projections: Key to Accurate Rankings
If detailed fantasy football projections aren’t part of your rankings process, you’re doing it wrong.
Fantasy football, after all, is a game based purely on statistical production.
Creating projections assigns statistical values to every player, rather than just ranking guys based on gut feel.
That includes:
These projections fuel our fantasy football rankings – which, by the way, have been the most accurate in the industry for three years running.
The 2024 fantasy football projections and rankings are available right now. We'll constantly tweak and update them throughout the offseason right up until the season opener.
As I worked through the projections, I jotted down interesting, noteworthy, or surprising tidbits I dug up. You'll find 132 of them below.
Enjoy!
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1. Kyler Murray’s ranks among QBs from Week 10 on:
2. Among 49 RBs with 90+ carries last year, James Conner ranked:
All five marks were career bests.
3. Michael Wilson’s 1.36 yards per route run last year ranked just 55th among 80 WRs with 50+ targets. But it was better than teammates Marquise Brown (1.25), Greg Dortch (1.15), and Rondale Moore (0.73).
4. Trey McBride’s 2.03 yards per route run last year ranked second to only George Kittle (2.22) among 33 TEs with 40+ targets. McBride’s YPRR jumped to 2.16 in eight games with QB Kyler Murray.
5. Among 49 RBs with 90+ carries last season, Bijan Robinson ranked:
6. Drake London has scored 6 TDs on 13.0 expected TDs over the past two seasons. No WR has a bigger gap between actual and expected TDs during that span.
7. After averaging 9.3 yards per target and 2.02 YPRR as a rookie, Kyle Pitts has averaged 6.9 yards per target and 1.51 yards per route over the last two years.
8. Lamar Jackson set career highs last year in:
9. Jackson’s designed carries per game by season:
10. Zay Flowers averaged 6.4 targets per game on a 22.1% share in nine games with a healthy Mark Andrews vs. 7.1 targets per game on a 24.5% share in seven games without Andrews.
11. Mark Andrews’ 1.96 yards per route run last year ranked third among 33 TEs with 40+ targets. He has now ranked top 6 in YPRR at his position in all six of his NFL seasons.
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12. The Bills in the first 10 games of the season under OC Ken Dorsey:
Over the final seven games under OC Joe Brady:
13. Josh Allen averaged 6.0 designed carries per game and 9.0 total carries per game under Brady – way up from his 2.0 designed carries per game and 4.8 total carries per game under Dorsey.
14. James Cook’s per-game splits with Dorsey vs. Brady:
15. Stefon Diggs averaged 8.6 yards per target and 2.45 yards per route run over the first nine games. Those averages plummeted to 5.5 and 1.38 over the final seven games. Those latter marks ranked 75th and 49th, respectively, among 79 qualifying WRs.
16. Dalton Kincaid averaged 7.4 targets on a 19.8% share in five games without Dawson Knox vs. 4.9 targets on a 14.9% share in 11 games with Knox.
17. There have been 26 rookie QBs to attempt 300+ passes over the last 10 seasons. Bryce Young’s ranks among them:
18. Adam Thielen’s numbers in his first seven games vs. final 10 games last year:
First 7 games | Final 10 games | |
Targets Per Game | 10.0 | 6.7 |
Target Share | 25.7% | 21.3% |
Yards Per Route | 1.71 | 1.33 |
Pro Football Focus Receiving Grade | 77.5 | 63.8 |
PPR Points Per Game | 20.0 | 8.9 |
19. Among 80 WRs with 50+ targets last season, Jonathan Mingo ranked:
20. Khalil Herbert has 11 career games with more than 12 carries. In those games, he has averaged:
21. D.J. Moore averaged 2.31 yards per route run last year. All other Bears WRs combined to average 0.70.
22. Cole Kmet has improved his YPRR and PFF receiving grade each season. He ranked seventh in both metrics last year among 45 qualifying TEs.
23. Joe Mixon led all RBs with 12.6 expected rushing TDs last year.
24. Mixon’s carries per game climbed from 14.6 over the first 11 games to 16.0 over the final six. But his carry share sunk from 73.2% to 58.9%.
25. Chase Brown claimed 7.0 carries per game on a 25.8% carry share over those final six.
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26. The Browns ran 50 more plays than any other team last season. That was bigger than the gap from the No. 2 team to the No. 13 team in plays.
27. Among 45 QBs with 150+ pass attempts last year, Deshaun Watson ranked:
28. Amari Cooper averaged a career-best 2.31 yards per route run last year, 14th among 80 qualifying WRs.
29. Elijah Moore ranked 64th among those 80 WRs with 1.14 yards per route. That followed an 80th-place finish among 80 qualifiers in 2022.
30. David Njoku drew a 15.6% target share in Deshaun Watson’s five healthy games vs. a 22.5% share in Njoku's 11 other games.
31. In six games prior to their bye week last year, the Cowboys registered a:
Over their final 11 games, those marks jumped to:
32. CeeDee Lamb’s target shares by season:
33. Lamb has also improved his PFF receiving grade and yards per route run each season. He ranked third in PFF grade and fifth in YPRR among 80 qualifying WRs last year.
34. Jake Ferguson’s seven expected receiving TDs tied Travis Kelce for most among TEs. He tied for third at the position with 24 red-zone targets and tied for second with nine end-zone targets. (Ferguson’s 5 TDs tied for just seventh among TEs.)
35. Javonte Williams’ carry share climbed from 44.9% over his first five games of last season to 52.5% over his final 11. His target share sunk, though, from 16.5% to 13.1%.
36. Broncos RBs accounted for 29.2% of the team’s targets last year, well above the league-average RB target share of 17.8%.
37. Courtland Sutton scored 14 TDs on 239 catches (5.9%) across his first five NFL seasons. He scored 10 times on 59 catches (16.9%) last year.
38. The Lions led the NFL in total yards per game (387) and ranked fourth in points per game (26.9) over the last two seasons under OC Ben Johnson.
39. Carry shares in their first seven healthy games together last year:
Final eight games:
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See where Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery sit in our fantasy football RB rankings.
40. Amon-Ra St. Brown has improved in each season in:
41. Jameson Williams averaged 5.0 yards per target over his first 11 career games. He has averaged 10.1 over his last 10.
42. Sam LaPorta’s ranks among all rookie TE seasons since 2000:
43. LaPorta led all TEs last year with 10 TDs but ranked just fourth with 6.8 expected TDs.
44. Jordan Love’s ranks over the final eight games of 2023:
45. Here's how the Packers' top four WRs ranked in yards per route in 2023 (including playoffs):
46. And here’s how they ranked in targets per route:
47. Luke Musgrave beat Tucker Kraft last year in targets per route (0.18 to 0.14), yards per route (1.41 to 1.13), and PFF receiving grade (69.6 to 65.1).
48. C.J. Stroud’s 8.2 yards per pass attempt last year ranked third among 30 qualifying QBs and first among 51 seasons of 300+ pass attempts by rookie QBs since 2000.
49. Among 49 RBs with 90+ carries last year, Dameon Pierce ranked:
50. Nico Collins and Tank Dell played 50+% of snaps together in seven games last season. Production in those games:
Nico Collins | TANK DELL | |
Targets | 52 | 59 |
Catches | 37 | 36 |
Receiving Yards | 601 | 568 |
Receiving TDs | 5 | 6 |
51. Collins became just the fifth WR over the past 10 seasons to average 3+ YPRR on 50+ targets. (The others: Julio Jones, Cooper Kupp, Tyreek Hill, and Brandon Aiyuk.)
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52. Anthony Richardson totaled 20 carries and 13 designed carries in his two full games last year. That’s a full-season pace of 170 carries, which would have led all QBs, and 111 designed carries, which would have tied Jalen Hurts for tops at the position.
53. After ranking top-7 among RBs in PFF rushing grade in each of his first two NFL seasons, Jonathan Taylor ranked 34th among 42 qualifiers in 2022 and 29th out of 49 last year.
54. Michael Pittman averaged 10.1 targets on a 29.7% target share in his 15 healthy games, both top-8 marks among WRs.
55. Trevor Lawrence’s 3.7% passing TD rate last year ranked 21st among 31 qualifiers. His 3.3% TD rate over the last three seasons ranks 27th out of 30 qualifiers.
56. Travis Etienne’s yards per carry plummeted from 5.1 in 2022 to 3.8 last year. The biggest culprit was a lack of long runs. Just 3.7% of his carries went for 15+ yards last year, way down from 7.3% in 2022.
57. Christian Kirk drew 22.3% of Jaguars targets in 2022 … and 22.3% of targets in his 11 healthy games last year.
58. In eight games with a snap rate north of 60% last year, Zay Jones averaged 7.4 targets on an 18.5% share.
59. Evan Engram’s 114 catches last year were the second most by a TE in NFL history, behind only Zach Ertz’s 116 in 2018. Both guys had Doug Pederson has their HC.
60. Chiefs pass rates in Patrick Mahomes’ six starting seasons:
61. Mahomes’ intended air yards per pass attempt has declined each season. Last year’s 6.5-yard average ranked 30th among 32 qualifiers.
62. Among 49 RBs with 90+ carries last season, Isiah Pacheco ranked:
63. Rashee Rice registered a 68+% route rate in each of his final six regular-season games. His averages in those games:
64. Travis Kelce’s 14.8 PPR points per game last year were his fewest since 2016 … but still led all TEs.
65. Zamir White beat Josh Jacobs last year in:
66. Davante Adams has ranked second league-wide in targets each of the last three seasons (169, 180, 175 targets).
67. Adams finished last year with his lowest YPRR and PFF receiving grade since 2017. His 6.5 yards per target was his worst since 2015.
68. Jakobi Meyers scored on 1.2% of his catches over his first three NFL seasons. He has scored on 10.1% of his catches over the last two, including 11.3% last year.
69. 49ers ranks in plays per game under new Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh:
70. Justin Herbert’s 6.8 yards per pass attempt over the past two seasons ranked 22nd among 32 qualifying QBs. (He averaged 7.4 yards per attempt over his first two seasons.)
71. Keenan Allen averaged 8.3 catches per game last year, giving him 6+ catches per game in nine straight seasons.
72. Among 80 WRs with 50+ targets last season, Quentin Johnston ranked:
TIP
Justin Herbert has plenty of question marks for 2024, but that's been baked into his ADP. Make sure you consider a player's market valuation when deciding whether you want to draft him.
73. Matthew Stafford earned a career-best 83.8 PFF passing grade in 2023. That ranked seventh among 30 qualifying QBs.
74. Among 49 RBs with 90+ carries last year, Kyren Williams ranked:
75. Williams ranked second to Christian McCaffrey with 1.0 rushing TDs per game and led the league with 0.89 expected rushing TDs per game.
76. Among 96 rookie WRs with 50+ targets over the past 10 seasons, Puka Nacua ranked seventh in PFF receiving grade and fourth in yards per route. (The guys with more yards per route: Odell Beckham Jr., A.J. Brown, and Justin Jefferson.)
77. In 11 healthy regular-season games together, Nacua out-targeted Cooper Kupp just 95 to 94.
78. Tua Tagovailoa in 29 healthy games over the last two seasons ...
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Weekly volatility is factored into every player's spot in the Best Ball Rankings.
79. Opportunities in eight healthy games together last year:
80. Tyreek Hill drew 30.9% of Dolphins targets in Tua Tagovailoa’s 12 healthy games in 2022. He got 31.7% in his 16 games this past season.
81. Jaylen Waddle saw 22.3% of Dolphins targets in Tua Tagovailoa’s 12 healthy games in 2022. Waddle’s share climbed slightly to 22.9% in his 13 healthy games last year.
82. Justin Jefferson set career highs last year with:
83. Jordan Addison averaged 4.9 targets on a 14.6% share in seven healthy games with Jefferson last year. He averaged 7.0 targets on a 19.9% share in eight games without Jefferson.
84. T.J. Hockenson averaged 7.6 targets on a 19.9% share in five full games with Jefferson last year vs. 9.6 targets on a 27.4% share in eight games without Jefferson.
85. Rhamondre Stevenson averaged 2.8 yards per carry and 1.8 yards after contact per carry over his first five games of last season vs. 4.9 yards per carry and 3.6 yards after contact per carry over his final seven. (He averaged 5.0 yards per carry and 3.8 yards after contact per carry in 2022.)
86. In eight games with a snap rate of 60+% last year, Demario Douglas averaged:
87. Among 93 WRs with 40+ targets last season, JuJu Smith-Schuster ranked:
88. Alvin Kamara’s 0.12 missed tackles forced per attempt and 2.51 yards after contact per attempt last year were both career lows.
89. Kamara’s target shares in healthy games the last three seasons:
90. Among 49 RBs with 90+ carries last year, Jamaal Williams ranked:
91. Over the last two seasons, Chris Olave ranks:
92. Rashid Shaheed drew 12.1% of Saints targets in nine games with a healthy Michael Thomas last year vs. a 16.0% share in his other six.
93. The 2023 Giants offensive line ranked:
94. Daniel Jones’ 2.6% passing TD rate over the last four seasons ranked dead last among 27 qualifiers. No other QB was lower than 3.3%.
95. In eight games with a route rate of 70+% last year, Darren Waller averaged 6.9 targets, 4.9 catches, 53 yards, and 0.13 TDs per game. His 11.0 PPR points per game in those outings would have ranked ninth among TEs on the season.
96. Breece Hall’s ranks among RBs from Week 5 on last year:
97. Among 43 RBs with 30+ targets last year, Hall ranked first in PFF receiving grade and second in YPRR.
98. Garrett Wilson averaged 1.55 yards per route run last year. All other Jets WRs combined to average 0.55.
99. Tyler Conklin was one of just seven TEs to draw 80+ targets in each of the last two seasons.
100. All five of new OC Kellen Moore's offenses have ranked top-4 in pace and situation-neutral pace. (The Eagles ranked 18th in neutral pace last year.)
101. Jalen Hurts sunk from 11.0 total carries and 8.2 designed carries per game in 2022 to 9.2 total carries and 6.5 designed carries per game last year.
102. Eleven of Hurts’ 15 rushing TDs last year came from the 1-yard line. (Two others came from the 3.)
103. DeVonta Smith sunk from a 25.4% target share in 2022 to a 21.3% share last year.
104. Dallas Goedert’s 1.35 yards per route run last year was a career low and ranked 17th among 33 qualifying TEs.
105. Among 49 RBs with 90+ carries last year, Jaylen Warren ranked:
106. Diontae Johnson drew 23.7% of Steelers targets in his 12 healthy games last year – down from 27.9% in 2021 and 25.7% in 2022.
107. George Pickens beat Johnson last year in both yards per target (10.8 to 8.2) and yards per route run (2.11 to 1.97).
108. Johnson out-targeted Pickens 81 to 58 in their 12 healthy games together.
109. Pat Freiermuth registered career lows last year with:
110. The 2023 49ers ranked:
111. Brock Purdy’s 9.6 yards per pass attempt led the league by more than a yard and ranked No. 2 among 669 QB seasons of 300+ pass attempts since 2000.
112. Christian McCaffrey set career highs last year with:
113. Targets in 12 healthy games together last season:
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Deebo Samuel checks in ahead of Brandon Aiyuk in our fantasy football WR rankings.
114. Although his fantasy production was down vs. 2022, Geno Smith earned a personal-best PFF passing grade last year and essentially matched his 2022 adjusted completion rate (77.4% vs. 77.8%).
115. In 14 games together last year, Ken Walker averaged 13.8 carries and 2.4 targets per game to Zach Charbonnet’s 5.4 carries and 2.4 targets per game.
116. Seahawks WR targets in their 16 games together last year:
117. Among 49 RBs with 90+ carries last year, Rachaad White ranked:
118. White’s ranks among RBs over the past two seasons:
119. Mike Evans tied for tops among WRs with 13 receiving TDs and ranked third with 10.9 expected receiving TDs. He ranked sixth at his position in red-zone targets and third in end-zone targets.
120. Chris Godwin tied for 73rd among WRs with just two receiving TDs but ranked 27th with 6.2 expected receiving scores.
121. Cade Otton led all TEs with 699 pass routes last year but failed to finish higher than 20th in targets, catches, or receiving yards. He ranked 41st among 45 qualifying TEs in yards per route.
122. Four of new HC Brian Callahan’s five Bengals offenses ranked top-12 in pass rate, including a trio of top-6 finishes. (The Titans never finished higher than 24th in pass rate in six seasons under HC Mike Vrabel.)
123. Will Levis’ 10.6 average air yards per pass attempt easily led all 32 qualifying QBs last year. (C.J. Stroud finished second at 9.0 yards.)
124. Among 49 RBs with 90+ carries last season, Tyjae Spears ranked:
125. Spears’ 52 catches were the 10th-most by a rookie RB over the last 10 seasons.
126. DeAndre Hopkins registered a 27.7% target share in his Titans debut last year. He has now topped a 27% share in six of his last seven seasons (across three different teams).
127. Hopkins recorded his best PFF receiving grade and YPRR last year since 2020. He ranked 18th in both metrics among 80 qualifying WRs.
128. Treylon Burks’ efficiency plummeted from 2022 to 2023:
2022 | 2023 | |
Yards Per Target | 8.2 | 7.4 |
Yards Per Route | 1.75 | 0.83 |
Targets Per Route | 20.9% | 10.9% |
PFF Receiving Grade | 73.9 | 52.6 |
129. Chig Okonkwo sunk from a 26.2% target-per-route rate and 2.61 yards per route run in 2022 to 18.4% and 1.31 last year.
130. New OC Kliff Kingsbury landed three of his four Cardinals offenses inside the top 8 in total offensive snaps.
131. Terry McLaurin finished with career lows last year in:
132. Jahan Dotson ranked 78th in YPRR and 75th in PFF receiving grade among 80 WRs with 50+ targets last year.
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