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175 Interesting Facts from the 2019 Fantasy Football Season

175 Interesting Facts from the 2019 Fantasy Football Season

One of my absolute favorite things to do when the NFL season comes to an end is to sit down and sift through countless statistics. Why? Well, I suppose it’s just in my blood. You see, my dad would have this party trick where he’d call me over at any point there was a gathering of sports fans and ask me a random question about stats. Whether it be a Frank Thomas’ batting average, Steve Young’s touchdown to interception ratio, or how many blocks per game Alonzo Mourning was averaging, he knew that I’d have the answer.

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Before the Internet was a thing, I’d wait for the newspaper to arrive on our doorstep so that I could go through the box scores and create my own unique charts (my version of Excel on college ruled paper). I craved information and was proud at what I was able to retain. That’s never left me. I even used to collect stats from playing Madden franchise mode, year over year. I don’t mind staring at numbers for hours and trying to find the most obscure stats for everyone else to enjoy. That’s why I did this article the last two years and why I’ll do it again in 2021. Once you read them all, come on over to Twitter (@MikeTagliereNFL) and let me know which is your favorite.

1. Lamar Jackson threw a touchdown on 9.0 percent of his passes in 2019, the fourth-highest mark of all-time. Here’s the list of quarterbacks who’ve posted at least an 8.5 percent touchdown rate, along with their rate the following season: Peyton Manning (9.9 to 6.2), Ken Stabler (9.3 to 6.8), Deshaun Watson (9.3 to 5.1), Aaron Rodgers (9.0 to 7.1), Tom Brady (8.7 to 5.0), Mark Rypien (8.7 to 4.6), Patrick Mahomes (8.6 to 5.4), Nick Foles (8.5 to 4.2), John Hadl (8.5 to 2.7), and Dan Marino (8.5 to 5.3).

2. Austin Ekeler scored 193.3 half-PPR points through the air alone, which is the most ever for a running back. Christian McCaffrey scored 182.5 points himself, which ranks No. 3 all-time.

3. Michael Thomas may have finished as the top fantasy wide receiver by a massive 67.0 points in half-PPR leagues, but he had just one of the top-40 wide receiver single-game performances in 2019.

4. Of the top 30 fantasy seasons by running backs over the last 10 years, there are just two who made that list with fewer than 300 touches. Alvin Kamara (275) in 2018 and Aaron Jones (285) in 2019.

5. 2019 was the first time since 2014 where Julio Jones didn’t lead the league in yards per route run. He didn’t average fewer than 2.93 yards per route run in any season from 2015-2018 but dipped to 2.44 in 2019. Michael Thomas‘ league-leading 2.88 yards per route run in 2019 ranks seventh over the last five years.

6. Christian McCaffrey‘s 471.2 PPR points were the second-most all-time by a running back, falling 9.9 points short of LaDainian Tomlinson‘s record that was set in 2006. McCaffrey and David Johnson (2016) are the only two running backs to reach 400 PPR points since 2006.

7. Of the top-12 tight end single game performances in half-PPR formats this year, not one single tight end was on the list twice. Oddly enough, Travis Kelce wasn’t among them. His season-high was 20.2 half-PPR points, which ranked 23rd on the season.

8. There have been 44 wide receivers who’ve seen at least 158 targets in a season over the last 10 years. Just one of those came from 2019 (Michael Thomas).

9. The Patriots D/ST was responsible for five of the top-17 single-game performances by a defense in 2019.

10. These rookie wide receivers all scored more touchdowns than Julio Jones, Keenan Allen, Courtland Sutton, Julian Edelman, and Stefon Diggs: A.J. Brown, Darius Slayton, Terry McLaurin, D.K. Metcalf, and Marquise Brown.

11. There was one tight end who totaled at least 7.0 PPR points in all 16 games. His name was Darren Waller.

12. There have been just 10 running backs who’ve rushed for at least 15 touchdowns over the last 10 years. Three of them came in 2019, as Derrick Henry, Aaron Jones, and Christian McCaffrey all hit that mark.

13. Todd Gurley averaged 1.36 yards per route run in 2018. That number dipped all the way down to 0.53 yards per route run in 2019, which ranked fourth-worst among the 64 running backs who ran at least 100 routes.

14. There were nine wide receivers who scored at least three touchdowns in a game this year. Oddly enough, none of them finished as a top-10 fantasy option at season’s end.

15. Ryan Tannehill‘s 117.5 QB Rating in 2019 ranks as the fourth-best all-time behind only Aaron Rodgers (2011), Peyton Manning (2004), and Nick Foles (2013).

16. There were nine games where a quarterback threw four-plus interceptions in 2019. Jameis Winston accounted for three of them.

17. A league-high 19.6 percent of Matthew Stafford‘s pass attempts went at least 20 yards in the air. No other quarterback had a percentage higher than 16.5 percent.

18. If you were to combine every quarterback that played in 2019, they’d have a 90.37 QB Rating, which would rank as the 18th-highest career QB Rating all-time. It’s a higher career mark than Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford, Dan Marino, Brett Favre, and Troy Aikman. It’s a passing league, my friends.

19. Among the top-50 wide receiver performances on a points-per-game basis over the last 10 years in half-PPR formats, Michael Thomas and Julio Jones are the only ones included from 2019.

20. A.J. Brown averaged 8.8 yards after the catch in 2019, which led the league. According to NFL’s NextGenStats, he should’ve averaged just 4.0 yards after the catch based on where he caught the ball and who was around him. That 4.9-yard difference was easily the most in the NFL, as no other receiver had a difference of more than 2.6 yards. Sadly, regression is in order.

21. Aaron Jones and Christian McCaffrey tied for the league-lead with 19 total touchdowns. Oddly enough, that doesn’t rank in the top-five since 2010.

22. There were 64 running backs who ran at least 100 routes in 2019. The top five in yards per route run were: Austin Ekeler, DeAndre Washington, Dalvin Cook, James White, and… Ronald Jones.

23. Since they started tracking targets in 1992, there is just one tight end who’s averaged more than 10.0 yards per target in their career (minimum 100 targets). That player is O.J. Howard (10.4). The closest are Rob Gronkowski (9.9), Mark Andrews (9.5), and George Kittle (9.4).

24. There have been 372 running backs who’ve totaled at least 150 touches over the last 10 years. There are just 14 who scored at a worse rate than Leonard Fournette did in 2019, as he scored just three touchdowns on 341 touches, or once every 113.7 touches.

25. After being a non-factor in his career heading into 2019, Darren Waller‘s 90 receptions in 2019 were the 19th-most all-time among tight ends.

26. Among wide receivers who’ve seen at least 30 targets, Mecole Hardman‘s 13.1 yards per target ranks as the third-highest mark among wide receivers over the last 10 years. A.J. Brown wasn’t far behind, as his 12.5 yards per target was the sixth-highest mark. The rookie wide receiver class was good.

27. After totaling 97 receptions in 2019, Travis Kelce now holds two of the top-10 all-time seasons in receptions by a tight end. The only other player who can say that is Tony Gonzalez.

28. Alex Erickson saw 78 targets without scoring a single touchdown. That’s just the third time over the last 10 years where a receiver failed to score a touchdown with more than 63 targets.

29. All six of Stefon Diggs‘ touchdowns came on passes that traveled at least 20 yards in the air.

30. Jameis Winston led the league in deep ball (20-plus yards in the air) attempts, completions, and yards, but finished seventh in touchdowns.

31. Among 157 wide receivers with at least 100 targets over the last five years, Curtis Samuel‘s 0.96 yards per route run in 2019 was the worst.

32. Among running backs with at least 50 carries, Boston Scott led the league in touchdowns per attempt, scoring once every 12.2 carries, which ranks fifth over the last 10 years. Even more shocking is the fact that the Carolina Panthers allowed a running back touchdown once every 14.0 carries in 2019.

33. Austin Ekeler‘s 993 receiving yards in 2019 ranks as the fourth-most all-time, and that’s despite his 108 targets ranking 22nd.

34. Kenny Golladay led all wide receivers with 11 touchdowns. That tied the lowest mark ever for a league-leader. The last time someone failed to hit 12 touchdowns was way back in 1975.

35. Based on where this targets were thrown and how tight the coverage was, Ryan Tannehill completed 8.1 percent more passes than he was expected to, which led the league. On the flip side, Gardner Minshew completed 5.2 percent fewer passes than he was expected to, which was the worst in the league.

36. Carlos Hyde ran 211 routes in 2019. They led to 42 yards.

37. Christian McCaffrey‘s 142 targets in 2019 were the most ever to a running back, as were his 116 receptions. It was his own record of 107 receptions that he set just last year. The only record left is for receiving yards, as his 1,005 receiving yards fell just short of Marshall Faulk’s record of 1,048 yards.

38. Among the 400-plus quarterbacks who threw at least 100 pass attempts over the last 10 years, Josh Rosen‘s 5.20 yards per attempt in 2019 ranks as the seventh-lowest mark.

39. Despite running just 37 percent of his routes from the slot, Marquise Brown scored six of his seven touchdowns there.

40. Cole Beasley finished with more fantasy points than Curtis Samuel, Larry Fitzgerald, Mike Williams, Robby Anderson, Christian Kirk, and Dede Westbrook.

41. Dak Prescott‘s pass-catchers dropped 43 passes this year, the most in the league. No other quarterback had more than 34 dropped passes.

42. Dak Prescott lost a league-high 392 passing yards on drops. Carson Wentz was just one yard behind him.

43. There have been just five quarterbacks who’ve thrown at least 400 pass attempts while throwing less than five interceptions in NFL history. Aaron Rodgers has now done that in each of the last two seasons.

44. There have been just six occasions in NFL history where a quarterback has thrown more than 200 passes and finished with a 0.70 or lower interception percentage. Aaron Rodgers has done it in each of the last two seasons, though he’s also finished with the two lowest touchdown percentages of his career.

45. Among the 357 tight ends who’ve seen at least 30 targets over the last 10 years, Ryan Griffin‘s 82.9 percent catch-rate in 2019 was the best. It ranks fifth all-time.

46. Dalvin Cook (21) and Christian McCaffrey (20) ranked No. 1 and No. 2 for carries inside the five-yard-line, while David Montgomery, Ezekiel Elliott, and Joe Mixon tied for No. 3 in that category.

47. Will Fuller dropped six passes that traveled at least 20 yards in the air, which doubled any other wide receiver. He caught nine such passes, so even if the ball was on target, there was just a 60 percent chance he caught it.

48. Daniel Jones had two of the top-10 single game performances by a quarterback in 2019. The only other quarterbacks who can say that are Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson.

49. Darren Fells ranked third in touchdowns (7) among tight ends in 2019. No, I’m not making this up.

50. There were five quarterbacks who threw 10-plus interceptions while not being under any pressure in 2019: Jameis Winston, Baker Mayfield, Philip Rivers, Jared Goff, and Kyle Allen.

51. David Johnson broke just 11 tackles on 130 touches, or one every 11.8 touches. Among running backs with 50-plus touches, only Kalen Ballage and Bo Scarbrough were worse.

52. Dawson Knox led all tight ends with nine drops. No one else had more than six.

53. Deebo Samuel finished with 159 rushing yards in 2019, which ranked as the eighth-most by a wide receiver over the last 10 years while his three rushing touchdowns ranked second.

54. Derek Carr threw into tight coverage (defender within one yard of his target) just 11.7 percent of the time, which was the lowest mark in the league. Patrick Mahomes wasn’t far behind at 12.2 percent.

55. Derrick Henry led the league with 303 carries, which ranks just 21st among running backs since 2010. That was the lowest total for a league-leader since back in 1990 when Earnest Byner was the league-leader with 297 carries.

56. Among the 262 wide receivers who’ve seen at least 110 targets over the last 10 years, there were just 33 of them who didn’t finish as top-30 fantasy receivers. The only one who made that list in 2019 was Jamison Crowder, who finished as the No. 31 wide receiver.

57. Despite finishing with 245 carries (11th in the NFL), Le’Veon Bell broke just two runs of 15-plus yards. Here are a few running backs who had more than him: Peyton Barber, Patrick Laird, Mike Boone, Malcolm Brown, Justin Jackson, Johnathan Williams, Jordan Wilkins, Bo Scarbrough.

58. There were six 100-yard receiving games by running backs in 2019. Austin Ekeler (3) and Christian McCaffrey (2) accounted for five of them.

59. There were three receivers who averaged over 20.0 yards per reception in 2019 (minimum 30 targets): Mecole Hardman (20.7), Mike Williams (20.4), and A.J. Brown (20.2). Those totals ranked No. 5, No. 6, and No. 7 over the last 10 years.

60. Despite playing just 13 games and receiving the 13th-most carries, Josh Jacobs led the league in broken tackles while carrying the ball.

61. Derrick Henry scored 250.0 fantasy points on the ground alone, which ranked as the fifth-best mark over the last 10 years.

62. Despite sitting out Week 17, the 1,206 rushing yards that Lamar Jackson posted in 2019 was the most all-time, and 167 yards more than Michael Vick’s previous record.

63. Drew Brees failed to break his own record of completion percentage by a measly 0.1 percent. He now owns five of the top six all-time seasons for completion percentage. The only other quarterback who’s completed more than 70.5 percent of passes in a single season (minimum 200 pass attempts) was Sam Bradford in 2016.

64. Even if Christian McCaffrey stopped playing in Week 12, he would’ve been the top fantasy running back by 22.1 PPR points.

65. Of the top five wide receivers in red zone targets, just two of them (Michael Thomas, Davante Adams) were six-feet-tall. Tyler Lockett, Julian Edelman, and Jarvis Landry were each top-five.

66. Gardner Minshew‘s 129.0 QB Rating on passes that traveled at least 20 yards in the air was the best in the NFL, while Patrick Mahomes was the runner-up with a 122.9 QB Rating.

67. A league-high 32.4 percent of Matthew Stafford‘s yards came on throws over 20 yards, while no one else was over 28.7 percent. Meanwhile, just 11.7 percent of Jared Goff‘s yards came on such throws, the lowest mark in the league.

68. George Kittle‘s 79.4 percent catch-rate in 2019 was the third highest mark of all-time among tight end who’ve seen at least 50 targets.

69. After finishing dead-last with 0.50 yards per route run in 2018, John Ross finished 23rd with his 1.94 yards per route run in 2019.

70. Michael Thomas broke the record for most receptions in a single-season, racking up 149 receptions, breaking Marvin Harrison’s record of 143 receptions that was set in 2002. No other receiver has more than 136 receptions in a season. Even more impressive is that Thomas’ 185 targets ranked as just the 13th-most all-time.

71. Travis Kelce and George Kittle tied for the league-lead in half-PPR points per game among tight ends in 2019, but their 12.86 points per game didn’t even rank top-15 over the last 10 years.

72. Greg Olsen was the only tight end who saw at least 75 targets and didn’t finish as a top-12 tight end.

73. Over the last 10 years, there have been 92 tight ends who’ve seen at least 90 targets. 85 of them were able to finish as top-12 tight ends.

74. Jared Cook led all tight ends with 10.8 yards per target in 2019. He’d failed to top 9.4 yards per target in any of his previous 10 seasons. He also scored nine touchdowns in 2019 after not scoring more than six touchdowns in his first 10 seasons. Drew Brees is pretty good, eh?

75. Mark Andrews led all tight ends with 3.69 yards per route run in the slot, while George Kittle ranked second with 3.25 yards per route run in the slot. The big difference? Andrews ran 64 percent of his routes in the slot and saw 66 targets, while Kittle ran just 27 percent of his routes from the slot and saw 33 targets while there.

76. In his time with the Steelers, Donte Moncrief‘s quarterbacks had a 9.8 QB Rating when targeting him. His 15 targets amounted to just 18 yards and an interception.

77. In PPR formats, Michael Thomas‘ 374.6 points ranked as the fifth-most over the last 10 years. No other wide receiver ranked higher than No. 56 in 2019.

78. In standard formats, Christian McCaffrey‘s 22.2 points per game would’ve actually ranked behind Todd Gurley‘s 22.4 points per game in 2018.

79. There were eight games where a quarterback threw for five touchdowns in 2019. Lamar Jackson accounted for three of them while no other quarterback accomplished that more than once.

80. Stefon Diggs became just the ninth wide receiver over the last 10 years to finish as a top-24 receiver with less than 95 targets.

81. There were just two running backs who were asked to stay in and block on more than 94 snaps this season. Harping on a running back’s ability to block continues to be overblown.

82. There were just two top-24 wide receivers who didn’t see at least 110 targets in 2019 (A.J. Brown and Stefon Diggs).

83. Including the playoffs, Derrick Henry had four of the top six rushing performances in 2019.

84. Jameis Winston became just the eighth quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards in a season. Drew Brees is the only one to do it more than once. He’s actually hit that mark five times.

85. A.J. Brown was just the second wide receiver over the last 10 years to finish as a top-15 fantasy receiver while seeing less than 95 targets. The other was Tyler Lockett in 2018.

86. Aaron Jones had two of the top six running back single-game performances in 2019. No other running back can say that.

87. Among the 80 wide receivers who saw 50-plus targets, the Panthers Jarius Wright had the lowest WR Rating when targeted, as his 58 targets amounted to just 296 yards, no touchdowns, and five interceptions.

88. Despite playing just a few snaps in Week 17, Josh Allen‘s 109 rushing attempts ranked as the 14th-most all-time among quarterbacks. His nine rushing touchdowns in 2019 led the league and ranks as the fifth-most all-time.

89. Jameis Winston may have thrown the fifth-most interceptions all-time, but his 4.8 percent interception rate is just the 243rd worst in NFL history among quarterbacks with at least 200 pass attempts.

90. Among wide receivers who saw at least 10 targets in the slot, Michael Thomas‘ 3.36 yards per route run while in the slot was 19 percent higher than the receiver who came in second (Amari Cooper – 2.72).

91. Austin Ekeler‘s eight receiving touchdowns ranks second all-time behind only Marshall Faulk’s nine receiving touchdowns in 2001.

92. Jameis Winston‘s QB Rating while under pressure was just 44.5, the lowest in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least 100 pass attempts. His QB Rating was 54.1 points higher when he was kept clean in the pocket, which was the biggest gap in the league.

93. There were just three 200-yard games by wide receivers this season (Amari Cooper, Cooper Kupp, Will Fuller).

94. Drew Brees‘ longest completion in the air was 42.8 yards this season. That was the lowest number among all quarterbacks who threw at least 125 pass attempts.

95. Michael Thomas‘ 80.5 percent catch-rate in 2019 ranks 3rd all-time among receivers with at least 50 targets. He also owns the record with his 85.0 percent catch-rate in 2018, while Austin Collie has the No. 2 finish.

96. Jameis Winston‘s seven pick-six interceptions was the most all-time. There’s just one other quarterback who threw more than four in a single season.

97. James White led all running backs with 20 red zone targets, while no other running back had more than 15. There were just six wide receivers (no tight ends) with more red zone targets than White.

98. Gardner Minshew‘s QB Rating was 52.5 points higher while running play-action, which was the highest gap in the league. Naturally, the Jaguars had him run play-action just 14.2 percent of the time, which was a league-low. Jameis Winston‘s QB Rating was 48.1 points higher during play-action as well. The Bucs had him run play-action just 17.7 percent of the time, third-lowest mark in the league.

99. Jared Cook finished as the No. 6 tight end in 2019 on just 65 targets. He was just the third tight end to get into the top-six while seeing less than 75 targets over the last 10 years, joining Antonio Gates and Rob Gronkowski.

100. Christian McCaffrey‘s 403 touches ranks third among running backs over the last 10 years. The running backs ahead of him were Demarco Murray (450) in 2014 and Le’Veon Bell (406) in 2017. The following season, Murray finished as the RB17 while Bell sat the season out.

101. There was just one tight end who averaged more than 2.00 half PPR points per target in 2019: Jared Cook (2.25).

102. There were 132 single-game performances where a quarterback threw for at least 300 yards in 2019. Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston both hit that mark 11 times, while no other quarterback hit it more than eight times.

103. Jimmy Garoppolo threw a touchdown on 22.6 percent of his passes that went over 20 yards in the air, which led the league. Meanwhile, Jared Goff threw a touchdown on just 1.8 percent of his, the lowest in the league.

104. Jimmy Garoppolo threw the ball over 20 yards just 6.5 percent of the time, the lowest mark in the league. He had a 74.2 percent accuracy rate on those passes while no other quarterback had more than 54.1 percent. Hey, Kyle Shanahan, maybe let him take more shots down the field?

105. A league-high 65.8 percent of Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s passing yards came through the air. On the other end, a league-low 45.8 percent of Jimmy Garoppolo‘s passing yards came through the air. This highlights just how good Garoppolo’s receivers were after the catch.

106. Jonnu Smith rushed for 78 yards in 2019, which was the most by a tight end since 1992.

107. Josh Rosen averaged just 0.20 fantasy points per actual pass attempt (no rushing). That ranked as the third-worst mark over the last 10 years, behind only Ryan Lindley and Josh McCown. Even David Blough and Ryan Finley averaged 0.28 points per attempt.

108. There were just five quarterbacks who had a higher QB Rating when they held onto the ball longer than 2.5 seconds: Jameis Winston, Ryan Tannehill, Jimmy Garoppolo, Deshaun Watson, and Lamar Jackson.

109. Julio Jones has not scored a touchdown in the slot since way back in Week 12 of 2017.

110. Nick Chubb led the league in broken tackles this year, racking up 79 of them.

111. Kareem Hunt broke a tackle every 2.38 touches, the best in the NFL among running backs with 20-plus touches.

112. Of the top 50 fantasy seasons by running backs over the last 10 years, there were just two who made the list with fewer than 270 touches. Alvin Kamara (201) in 2017 and Austin Ekeler (224) in 2019.

113. Dak Prescott‘s pass-catchers dropped a pass every 13.9 attempts in 2019. Among quarterbacks who played the full season, that was the worst luck. Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford‘s pass-catchers dropped the ball just once every 48.5 attempts.

114. Kenny Golladay led the NFL with 37 targets that traveled 20-plus yards in the air. He finished second in both yardage (628) and touchdowns (5) on those throws to Stefon Diggs, who racked up 635 yards and six touchdowns on 29 deep targets.

115. There have been just 22 tight ends over the last 10 years who’ve caught a touchdown at least once every 8.0 targets (minimum 30 targets). Three of them came in 2019 with Darren Fells (6.9), Jared Cook (7.2), and Kyle Rudolph (8.0) all making the list.

116. There was no tight end who saw at least 30 targets in 2019 and didn’t score at least one touchdown. You can say O.J. Howard was the most unlucky while scoring just once on 53 targets.

117. Kyle Rudolph didn’t record a single drop on his 48 targets, something no other tight end with more than 27 targets can say.

118. Lamar Jackson had more total touchdowns (40) than the times the Ravens punted (35).

119. Jameis Winston‘s 30 interceptions ranks as the fifth-most all-time, and it was the most since way back in 1988.

120. Larry Fitzgerald was the only wide receiver who saw more than 54 targets and didn’t have a single drop. He finished the year with 109 targets. So, he had double the targets of the next guy on the no-drop list.

121. Many talked about the offensive line struggles with the Rams and that it was a big part of Jared Goff‘s struggles, but he was sacked just once every 30.1 dropbacks, which was the third least often in the NFL behind only Drew Brees and Patrick Mahomes.

122. Marcus Mariota was sacked every 8.1 dropbacks in 2019, which was more often than any other quarterback. Ryan Tannehill was sacked every 10.8 dropbacks, which ranked as the third most often. On the flipside, Drew Brees was sacked just once every 32.5 dropbacks, the least often in the NFL.

123. Based on where his targets were at on the field, how catchable they were, and how deep they were, Curtis Samuel scored 47.6 fewer fantasy points than he should’ve in 2019, the worst in the league. Instead of finishing as the WR36 (where he did), he would’ve been the WR21 in PPR formats had he been average.

124. Jared Cook led all tight ends with 16.40 yards per reception, while no other tight end averaged more than 14.05 yards per reception.

125. Over the last 10 years, there have been just 19 instances where a quarterback has totaled at least 78 fantasy points on the ground. Four of them came in 2019.

126. Mark Andrews led all tight ends with 10 touchdowns, though that would rank just 14th over the last 10 years.

127. Matt Breida recorded the fastest speed in the NFL this year, as he hit 22.3 MPH on his 83-yard touchdown run in Week 5.

128. Matthew Stafford threw into tight coverage (defender within one yard of his target) 23.4 percent of the time in 2019, which was more than any other quarterback.

129. Mecole Hardman averaged 2.77 PPR points per target in 2019, which ranked as the fourth-best mark among wide receivers over the last 10 years.

130. Michael Gallup led the NFL in dropped passes with 13 of them on 112 targets. There was no other receiver who had more than 10 dropped passes.

131. There were just three running backs who scored more often than every 15 touches in 2019: Darrel Williams, Malcolm Brown, and Chase Edmonds.

132. There were just three wide receivers who accounted for at least 40 percent of their team’s air yards: Courtland Sutton, Michael Thomas, and Stefon Diggs.

133. Among running backs with at least 50 touches, Austin Ekeler‘s 1.29 PPR points per opportunity (carries and targets) led the league. James White was the runner-up with 1.24 points per opportunity. They ranked just 14th and 21st over the last 10 years, so it was actually a down year for efficiency.

134. Michael Thomas and Davante Adams were targeted on 35.8 and 34.2 percent of their routes in the slot, while no other receiver was more than 29 percent of the time.

135. Mike Gesicki ran a league-high 71.7 percent of his routes from the slot in 2019. The only other full-time tight ends who ran more than 60 percent of their routes from the slot were Jared Cook, Mark Andrews, and Eric Ebron.

136. Mike Williams may have eeked out a 1,000-yard season, but Philip Rivers was intercepted eight times while targeting him, which was tied for the most in the league.

137. Among all the running backs who totaled at least 85 carries, Tevin Coleman saw more eight-plus defenders in the box 40.1 percent of the time, which was more often than any other running back. By comparison, Devin Singletary saw eight-plus defenders in the box on just 5.3 percent of his carries, which was a league-low.

138. There were five wide receivers who scored a touchdown more often than once every 10.0 targets in 2019: Mecole Hardman (6.8), Adam Thielen (8.0), Tajae Sharpe (8.8), Kendrick Bourne (8.8), and Willie Snead (9.0).

139. Despite leading the league in touchdown passes, Lamar Jackson‘s passing accounted for just 61.8 percent of his fantasy points. That was the fourth-lowest percentage over the last 10 years among quarterbacks who threw at least 200 passes. Josh Allen‘s 64.9 percent in 2019 ranks 10th-lowest.

140. Nick Chubb led the league with 20 runs of at least 15 yards, while Derrick Henry came in as the runner-up with 18 of them.

141. Noah Fant averaged a league-low 0.28 yards per route run from the slot among tight ends with at least 40 targets.

142. Not many realize Lamar Jackson led the NFL in passing touchdowns (36) and NOT rushing touchdowns (7).

143. Not only was Lamar Jackson‘s touchdown percentage the fourth-highest mark of all-time, but he averaged just 86.9 passing yards per touchdown, which was the third-lowest number in NFL history among quarterbacks who threw at least 200 attempts. The closest one to him this year was Drew Brees who threw one touchdown every 110.3 yards.

144. Of every running back who’s ever seen 60-plus carries, Kalen Ballage‘s 1.82 yards per carry in 2019 ranks dead last all-time.

145. Among all wide receivers who saw at least 40 targets, Kenny Golladay averaged the least amount of separation when targeted at just 1.9 yards. Teammate Marvin Jones was third-worst while averaging just 2.1 yards of separation.

146. Of the 338 wide receivers who’ve seen at least 100 targets over the last 10 years, 291 of them were able to finish as top-36 fantasy options (WR3 or better territory). That’s an 86.1 percent success-rate. Those who failed to do that in 2019: Dede Westbrook, Christian Kirk, and Larry Fitzgerald.

147. Despite joining the Cowboys for just the final four games of the regular season, Kai Forbath finished with two top-five single-game performances among kickers.

148. There have been just 15 running backs who’ve caught a touchdown more often than every 6.0 targets over the last 10 years. There were two running backs who were in that territory in 2019: Jeffery Wilson (5.0) and Mark Ingram (5.8). Regression alert.

149. Among the 38 quarterbacks who threw at least 150 pass attempts in 2019, Devlin Hodges and David Blough were the only two quarterbacks who threw more interceptions than touchdowns. There was no quarterback who threw the ball at least 200 times who had more interceptions than touchdowns in 2019.

150. Of the 799 wide receivers who’ve seen at least 30 targets over the last 10 years, there are just two players who averaged fewer than 1.00 PPR points per target: Devin Aromashodu in 2011 and Jarius Wright in 2019.

151. On a points per game basis, Lamar Jackson had the best fantasy season of all-time, as his 27.7 points per game easily surpassed Aaron Rodgers‘ 26.5 points per game in 2011 and Patrick Mahomes‘ 26.1 points per game from 2018.

152. Over the last 10 years, there have been 799 wide receivers who’ve seen at least 30 targets. Two of the three worst wide receivers in yards per target came in 2019, as Trey Quinn averaged just 4.21 yards per target, while KeeSean Johnson averaged just 4.45 yards per target.

153. Derek Carr‘s QB Rating while under pressure (88.4) was just 16.4 points lower than his QB Rating when kept clean (104.8) in the pocket. That was the smallest gap in the league.

154. Philip Rivers threw a league-high nine interceptions on deep balls, while no other quarterback had more than five.

155. Ryan Tannehill averaged 0.67 fantasy points per actual pass attempt (no rushing). That ranked as the fourth-highest mark over the last 10 years. Lamar Jackson (0.66) wasn’t far behind, finishing with the sixth-highest mark.

156. Aaron Rodgers led the league with 59 throwaways in 2018. He finished second with 39 throwaways in 2019. It’s clear that he’s throwing the ball away rather than putting the ball in a 50/50 situation.

157. T.J. Hockenson‘s 54.2 percent catch-rate in 2019 ranks 331st among 357 tight ends who’ve seen at least 30 targets over the last 10 years.

158. Tarik Cohen had 64 carries without a touchdown in 2019, the most in the NFL.

159. The league leader in drops at the running back position was Dalvin Cook with seven of them. Christian McCaffrey, Tarik Cohen, Ezekiel Elliott, Nyheim Hines, Phillip Lindsay, and Todd Gurley all tied for second-worst with six of them.

160. The only running backs to have more fantasy production on the ground than Lamar Jackson were Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Aaron Jones, Nick Chubb, Ezekiel Elliott, and Dalvin Cook.

161. Based on the number of carries and targets he received, and where they were at on the field, Austin Ekeler scored 69.8 more PPR points than he was expected to, which was the highest mark in the league. If he were average with his touches, he would’ve finished as the RB12 instead of the RB4 that he did.

162. Among the 705 running backs who’ve totaled at least 50 carries over the last 10 years, Jordan Wilkins‘ 6.02 yards per carry in 2019 ranked sixth-best. On the flip side, Kalen Ballage‘s 1.82 yards per carry ranked dead last. Not just that, but the closest running back to him was Deji Karim who averaged 2.10 yards per carry.

163. Despite missing four full games, Davante Adams tied for third with 23 red zone targets, just three shy of Michael Thomas‘ league-leading 26 targets.

164. There have been 36 running backs who’ve tallied at least 65 receptions in a season over the last 10 years, with 14 of them coming over the last two years (39 percent).

165. Among the 80 wide receivers who saw at least 50 targets in 2019, Marquez Valdes-Scantling‘s 46.4 percent catch-rate ranked dead-last. Only him and Jarius Wright finished with lower than a 50 percent catch-rate.

166. Of the 41 tight ends who saw at least 30 targets in 2019, there was just one who failed to average at least 1.40 PPR points per target: T.J. Hockenson (1.37)

167. There have been just three quarterbacks in NFL history who’ve averaged more than Ryan Tannehill‘s 9.59 yards per attempt he had in 2019 while throwing at least 200 passes. Fun fact: Ryan Fitzpatrick is one of them, as he averaged 9.62 yards per attempt in 2018.

168. Three runs accounted for half of Derrius Guice‘s rushing totals this year.

169. Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz, and Tyler Higbee finished in a three-way tie for the league-lead in red zone targets among tight ends with 19 of them.

170. Vance McDonald‘s 4.96 yards per target in 2019 ranked as the eighth-worst among tight ends over the last 10 years.

171. There were eight full-time receivers who ran less than 15 percent of their routes from the slot: Chris Conley, A.J. Brown, Alshon Jeffery, D.K. Metcalf, Calvin Ridley, Diontae Johnson, Michael Gallup, and Amari Cooper. Knowing slot targets are worth more than perimeter targets, these receivers are at a disadvantage.

172. Travis Kelce led all tight ends with 136 targets in 2019. There were three tight ends who eclipsed that mark in 2018.

173. There were four quarterbacks who had less than a 33 percent accuracy rate on their deep passes (over 20 yards): Kyle Allen, Dwayne Haskins, Mason Rudolph, and Josh Allen.

174. When targeting Mecole Hardman, Patrick Mahomes had a 153.9 QB Rating, which was the highest mark among any wide receiver/quarterback duo in the league with at least 20 targets.

175. Despite playing just 13 games, Marvin Jones scored the third-most touchdowns among wide receivers.


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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.

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