We decided to make our site nerdier by acquiring a Pro Football Focus Elite account (H/T JimboSlice’s black card), and it’s safe to say it’s life changing. We are slowly becoming millionaireson DraftKings because of it, and our big brains are getting even bigger.
Here are some of the key stats that we uncovered on Pro Football Focus this week, and if you want more stats like this, you should buy yourself a subscription. It’s worth every penny.
1. Will Fuller is averaging one touchdown catch every 1.86 receptions. The league average (among all instances of a receiver totaling at least seven touchdown catches in a season) is 6.9 receptions for every receiving touchdown. Of more than 1,200 qualifying instances, only Mike Sellers in 2005 was more “efficient” at catching touchdown passes.
This stat is straight up bonkers. If Will Fuller (this was found pre-Watson injury, but decided to post it because it’s nuts) continued the absurd touchdown pace that he’s in the midst of, he would shatter Randy Moss’ touchdown record by five, with 52 fewer receptions. Before the Watson injury, I would tell you to sell high on this touchdown-dependent freak, but you aren’t going to get much for him now. Let’s see how he does with Tom Savage, but he now looks like a ‘Bye Week Hell’ streamer.
2. Marshon Lattimore is going to put the clamps on Mike Evans
After being projected in the top-five, the former Buckeye somehow fell to the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. 10 teams are now wildly disappointed in themselves that they passed on one of the league’s top corners. As seen below, if you just throw the ball in the dirt, that equals a 36.9 passer rating. When quarterbacks target Marshon Lattimore, they’re averaging a 28.8 passer rating. Good luck, Mike.
3. Zach Ertz has at least 80 yards or a touchdown in 12 of his last 13 games. Over his last 16 games, he totals 98 receptions, 1,097 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 267.7 fantasy points.
Rob Gronkowski put up 17.7 points against the league’s best defense against the tight end. Zach Ertz racked up 13.4 points against the 49ers, who let up the third least amount of points to tight ends. For that position, it’s Gronk, Ertz… and everyone else.
4. Cut the ‘Blonde Muskrat’
In what has been one of the more frustrating fantasy seasons of all-time, it’s time to cut ties with Willie Snead. After serving a six-game suspension, Snead has been bothered by a hamstring injury and now it looks like the Saints are rolling with Brandon Coleman as their slot receiver. In Week 8, Coleman played 49-of-61 snaps, compared to just four snaps for Snead. So long, ‘Blonde Muskrat.’
5. After Corey Davis was ranked in the top 10 at his position by Pro Football Focus during his final three seasons at Western Michigan, the Titans selected the receiver No. 5 overall. In his NFL debut, Davis caught six of his ten targets for 69 yards.
As of right now, Corey Davis is available in 59-percent of Yahoo leagues. That means 59-percent of Yahoo leagues are extremely stupid. After a very strong showing in his one and only game of the season (injured Week 2), head coach Mike Mularkey has already named Davis a starter for Week 9 — his first appearance since Week 2. That means he’s starting over “Big Dick” Decker, even though he hasn’t played in seven weeks. As noted above, Davis is an immensely talented receiver and is a bonafide breakout candidate for the stretch run of the fantasy season. If you happen to play in one of the 59-percent, add Davis, now.
