Numbers matter in fantasy football. There’s no denying that. Passing yards are measured in numbers. Receiving TDs are measured in numbers. Rushing yards, receptions, interceptions, rushing TDs – that’s right, all numbers. The most critical fantasy number is points scored. Score more than your opponent, and you win. Score even a fraction of a point fewer, and you lose.
In the world of fantasy football, numbers are everything. Fantasy owners can read the box score of each game every week, but that doesn’t always tell the whole story. Numbers without context are meaningless. Some numbers matter more than others, some are good predictors of future behavior, some are fluky and hard to consistently forecast, and others merely reinforce what our eyes already tell us about a particular player.
We’ve now reached the final week of the 2018 fantasy season in what has been an extremely unpredictable year. In this final edition, I’m going to look at one notable stat for each NFL team through 14 games. Thanks for reading! Once again, let’s go “By the Numbers.”
Import your team to My Playbook for instant Lineup advice 
Arizona Cardinals
4.5 – David Johnson’s yards per touch this season
DJ is having a huge down year after a hyped preseason. He’s averaging only 4.5 yards per touch compared to 5.7 in his enormous 2016 campaign. Furthermore, Johnson is averaging nearly four fewer touches per game and has scored only nine TDs compared to 20 in 2016. This year has been a disaster for the Cardinals, but the team should be better next season, and DJ will be in a better spot to produce.
Atlanta Falcons
1,400 – Julio Jones‘ fifth straight 1,400-yard season
At 1,511 yards already, Jones has surpassed the 1,400-yard mark for an NFL-record fifth straight season. His great 2018 breaks a tie with Marvin Harrison, who had four straight 1,400 yard seasons (1999 – 2002). Jones continues to amaze with his consistency. He has a couple more years of elite-level play still left.
Baltimore Ravens
566 – Lamar Jackson’s rushing yards this season
Jackson already ranks second among Ravens’ QBs in career rushing yards with 566, trailing only Joe Flacco’s 811. Jackson has tallied his rushing yards in 14 games, while Flacco accumulated his in 163. He broke the Ravens’ single-game QB rushing record with 117 in his first start earlier this year. Jackson is dynamic and Baltimore’s future QB. He’s still raw in his passing, but the rushing yards will make him a valuable fantasy QB for the foreseeable future.
Buffalo Bills
506 – Josh Allen’s rushing yards this season
Speaking of mobile QBs, Allen has looked great as of late, and he’s made an impact with his legs. Allen actually leads the Bills in rushing — as a QB. This team has been a mess offensively, and Allen looks to be the only safe bet moving forward outside of high-upside WR Robert Foster.
Carolina Panthers
1,797 – Christian McCaffrey scrimmage yards this season
He broke DeAngelo Williams record of 1,636 scrimmage yards set 10 years ago, piling up 170 yards on MNF. With two games to go and Cam Newton playing like trash, he could very well eclipse the 2,000-yard mark.
Chicago Bears
176.0 – Points scored by Chicago’s D/ST this season
The Bears rank over 20 points better than the second-place Texans at 176.0. The “Sacksonville” Jags of 2017 ranked number one in D/ST scoring with 109 total in 14 games. Chicago should break that number over the last two games.
Cincinnati Bengals
4.8 – Joe Mixon’s YPC this season
Mixon has put together a nice season in the midst of Cincinnati’s dumpster fire season. Even without Andy Dalton or A.J. Green, he’s racked up 1,279 scrimmage yards and nine TDs. He’s much improved his 3.5 YPC line from just a year ago.
Cleveland Browns
6 – Baker Mayfield’s wins this season
At 6-7-1, Mayfield has led the Browns to their best season since they won seven games in 2014. The Browns last winning season came in 2007 when the team won 10 games. With two winnable matchups against Cincinnati and Baltimore in the next two weeks, the Browns could have their first winning season in 11 years.
Dallas Cowboys
96.3 – Amari Cooper’s receiving yards per game in Dallas this season
Cooper has exploded since joining the Cowboys, amassing an incredible 44-674-6 line through seven games, good for 96.3 yards per game. To put into perspective how much he’s thriving in Dallas, Cooper averaged 61.2 YPG during his Oakland tenure and 46.7 this season before being traded. He’s young and set to sign an extension before next season, making him a prime WR1-2 for years to come.
Denver Broncos
991 – Phillip Lindsay’s rushing yards this season
His 991 rushing yards rank second only to Saquon Barkley among rookie RBs, and he’s more than 200 yards ahead of the third leading rookie, Sony Michel, in that category. He became the first UDFA rookie RB to make a Pro Bowl in NFL history. Not bad!
Detroit Lions
1,005 – Kenny Golladay’s receiving yards this season
Golladay played well even before Golden Tate got traded, but with Tate gone and Marvin Jones injured, Golladay stepped into the WR1 role in Detroit admirably. He has topped 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his two-year career and looks to have a promising future with the Lions.
Green Bay Packers
11 – Jimmy Graham’s TE ranking this season
He’s up to a meager 49-581-2 line through 14 games. As predicted, Graham was a bust this season, especially at his lofty TE5 price tag. No matter the talent level, Aaron Rodgers doesn’t utilize his TEs very much, making them risky options for fantasy. In what has been a horrendous year for the TE position, Graham barely cracks the top 12.
Houston Texans
507 – DeAndre Hopkins‘ career receptions
Hopkins became the second-youngest player with 500 career receptions in Saturday’s win over the Jets. Only Larry Fitzgerald accomplished the feat faster. Hop continues to dominate the target share in Houston and will be a top-five play for years to come.
Indianapolis Colts
2.3 – Andrew Luck’s TDs per game in his last four seasons
Luck has been brilliant when healthy, and this year he’s been nothing short of remarkable. He has no receiving threats outside of T.Y. Hilton and no consistent running game to rely on. He’s put the Colts on his back once again, already tossing 34 TDs this year while putting up the best QB rating of his career at 98.4. Excluding his first two seasons in the league, Luck averages 2.3 TDs per game — nearly 37 per season at a 16-game pace.
Jacksonville Jaguars
16.1 – Jaguars’ PPG this season
After ranking sixth in the NFL last year at 25.9 PPG, the Jags are nearly 10 points worse at 16.1 PPG this year, the third-lowest scoring team in 2018. They scored one TD or fewer in five games this year, and the defense fell back to earth making for a terrible season. Outside of Leonard Fournette, this is a fantasy wasteland, much like the Bills.
Kansas City Chiefs
1,308 – Tyreek Hill’s receiving yards this season
Hill continued to ascend this year, hitting his first 1,000-yard receiving season in his three-year career. Currently, he ranks fifth in the NFL in receiving yards and fourth in TDs (11). The sky is the limit.
Los Angeles Chargers
11 – Chargers wins this season
Philip Rivers has led his team to the playoffs this season. With 11 wins in 14 games, the Chargers have their most wins since 2009 and their first playoff appearance since 2013. Rivers has passed for 3,951 yards to go with a 31-8 TD-INT ratio, and he could certainly get some MVP votes if LAC wins the AFC West.
Los Angeles Rams
11 – Robert Woods‘ WR ranking this season
Woods has been one of the most boringly consistent fantasy players this season, turning in a 78-1,106-5 line through 14 games. He doesn’t flash big-play abilities like Brandin Cooks, but he’s been as steady as they come all season long with little to no ebbs and flows. Aside from Week 1, he’s put up at least 12 PPR points in every game this year, scoring five times in the process. He’s the WR11 at this point in the year, and he should finish the season as such. Expect him to regress a bit next year with a fully healthy Cooper Kupp, but Woods will remain a high-end option in this Rams’ passing attack.
Miami Dolphins
100.6 – Ryan Tannehill’s passer rating this season
Tannehill has one of the best passer ratings in the NFL this year, but that rating is misleading. He has thrown for 187.3 yards per game (lowest of his career) to go with a 16-6 TD-INT ratio in nine games. He is the same player he’s always been. He’ll be a solid fantasy option for a game or two, but ultimately, he’s unreliable and turnover-prone.
Minnesota Vikings
2,219 – combined receiving yards for Thielen and Diggs
Minnesota’s dynamic duo has been great this season, totaling 276 targets, 197 receptions, 2,219 yards, and 16 TDs. Both should finish with over 100 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards. The future is bright for both heading into next season, although it looks like Diggs is trending up while Thielen is trending down as the season draws to a close.
New England Patriots
59.8 – Rob Gronkowski’s yards per game this season
Gronk’s 59.8 YPG is the worst mark of his career in that category. It’s been a down year for the former All-Pro after he flirted with retirement this past offseason. He’s played in 11 of 14 games, totaling a 45-658-3 line, good for the TE8 rank right now. He’s been a huge letdown this season and if he comes back next year, expectations should be tempered.
New Orleans Saints
74.9 – Drew Brees‘ completion percentage this season
If Brees finishes with that percentage, he will shatter his previous record of 72.0% set last season. Brees is enjoying his most efficient year to date, and while his current pace for passing yards will be his lowest since 2005, his 31-5 TD-INT ratio makes him an elite QB in the real game and in fantasy.
New York Giants
1,809 – Saquon Barkley’s scrimmage yards this season
Barkley has been the focal point of the Giants in a stellar rookie year flashing his speed and playmaking ability that made him the number two pick in the draft. He ranks first by a wide margin among rookies in yards from scrimmage and third overall in the NFL. He has 13 combined TDs. He could certainly top 2,000 yards, but he won’t best Eric Dickerson’s rookie record 2,212 yards from scrimmage. Barkley should be a top-three pick next season with many more highlights to come.
New York Jets
588 – Robby Anderson’s receiving yards this season
Anderson leads the Jets in receiving, and the next closest receiver is more than 100 yards off. The Jets’ offense has been terrible this year, and Anderson’s meager output highlights that.
Oakland Raiders
5 – Jared Cook’s TE ranking this season
Cook is enjoying the best statistical season of his career in year 10 with a 63-846-6 line. The receptions, receiving yards, and TDs are all career highs. He’s been Oakland’s most reliable receiver, and if the Raiders don’t bring in some more talent next season, Cook could be in for a second straight TE1 finish. He ranks fifth at the position so far this year.
Philadelphia Eagles
101 – Zach Ertz’s receptions this season
Ertz has two games to break Jason Witten’s single-season record for receptions by a TE (110), and he should certainly do it with the way he’s been playing this year. This season, Ertz became the first player in Eagles history with a 100-catch season, and he went over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career. He’s been the only consistent force on an offense that has often looked lost this year.
Pittsburgh Steelers
1,274 – JuJu Smith-Schuster’s receiving yards this season
The heir apparent? Smith-Schuster has put together an incredible sophomore season already, sitting at 95-1,274-6. All-Pro Antonio Brown has a 90-1,112-13 line, and while the latter leads the league in TD receptions, the youngster has looked like the better receiver this season. Pittsburgh has found its wideout of the future, but the future looks like it’s already here.
San Francisco 49ers
1,154 – George Kittle’s receiving yards this season
He’s second in the league among TEs in receiving yards. He’s surprisingly the first 49ers TE to eclipse 1,000 yards in a season in the team’s storied history. Kittle has emerged as San Fran’s premier threat in the receiving game making him a top-five play next season.
Seattle Seahawks
31 – Russell Wilson’s TDs this season
After a slow start, Wilson has been on a roll recently, and he currently sits with 31-6 TD-INT ratio with two games to go. What’s amazing is that Wilson continues to do so much with so little. He’s been down Doug Baldwin for large stretches of the season, there is no good TE play, and the running game has featured a misfit cast who have worked in and out of the lineup. This is his third 30+ TD outing in his last four seasons. Wilson continues to get it done.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
334 passing yards per game most in NFL
The Bucs flip-flopped between Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jameis Winston early in the year before finally settling with Winston to close out the season. Between the two of them, they’re the NFL’s most prolific passer for 2018, averaging 334 passing yards per game -5,344 full season pace. If Winston returns to Tampa Bay next year, he should be a value pick at QB in fantasy drafts.
Tennessee Titans
882 – Derrick Henry’s rushing yards in 2018
Henry entered Week 13 with 474 rushing yards and five rushing TDs on the season. In his last two games, he’s amassed 408 rushing yards and six rushing TDs meaning that nearly half of his total production this season has come in Weeks 14 and 15 alone. It remains to be seen if Henry can produce on a consistent basis — something he’s not done in his NFL career thus far.
Washington Redskins
923 – Adrian Peterson’s rushing yards in 2018
Peterson has looked like a new man for much of this season after looking sluggish and worn out the last two years. He currently sits at 923 yards rushing, and he will he leaned on in the final two weeks of the season with journeyman Josh Johnson starting at QB. If he gets 77 more yards, Peterson will hit 1,000 yards for the first time since 2015 and the eighth time in his career.
View your league’s top available players with My Playbook
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | TuneIn | RSS
Zachary Hanshew is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Zachary, check out his archive and follow him @zakthemonster.
