Labar: Our Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet (with help from PFF)

By Abby Labar
Sportmoney Columnist

Over the years I have dabbled here and there in fantasy football. But last season I really dove into that world when I was hired to create fantasy and betting content. I’ll tell you what, I learned a TON. I actually ordered the book Fantasy Football for Dummies and I have zero shame admitting it.

The one thing that really intrigued me about fantasy is how you look at the game and the players through a different lens. A popular player that is productive and helps the team win on a weekly basis might not necessarily be somebody you want on your fantasy team. Data, analytics, statistics, the numbers are so important in deciphering the difference between a good player and a good fantasy player – and then there are the matchups, which make each week an entirely different ballgame (pun intended). 

With draft parties still in full force and less than a week from kickoff, I thought it’d be fun to give you guys a little Week 1 cheat sheet with help from my friends over at Pro Football Focus. The data at PFF is unmatched, and they continue to grow their database year in and year out, providing more and more readily available statistics and information.

As a reporter, from my personal experience using PFF, it’s been integral so I thought it’d be cool to share their resources with you all. They’ve got a fantasy mock draft simulator that you can actually sync to your league, as well as weekly player rankings available for PFF+ subscribers. Look, anything that can prevent you from having to do naked laps or buying expensive plane tickets as a punishment for losing your league is worth it in my opinion. So let’s dive in. 

Running Backs

• Christian McCaffrey

  • Ranked 1st among RB’s with a 90.3 PFF Grade in 2023

  • Led the NFL with 44 rushes gaining 10+ yards (next most was 33)

  • Ranked 2nd among RB’s with 564 receiving yards and 1st in first downs gained in the receiving game (31)

• Bijan Robinson

  • Ranked T-8th among RB’s with 52 missed tackles forced on runs in ‘23

  • Ranked 5th among RB’s with 526 yards after the catch

• Breece Hall

  • Among RB’s in 2023:

    • 90 targets (1st)

    • 76 catches (1st) for 591 yards (1st)

    • 31 missed tackles forced on RECs (1st)

• Sleeper Pick

  • De’Von Achane: Was one of 3 players in the NFL (Barkley and Hall) with 5 rushes gaining 30+ yards in 2023.

Wide Recievers

• Justin Jefferson

  • Justin Jefferson receiving yards by year/rank among NFL players:

    • 2023 - 1,074 (19th)

    • 2022 - 1,809 (1st)

    • 2021 - 1,616 (2nd)

    • 2020 - 1,400 (4th)

• Tyreek Hill

  • On throws 20+ yards in 2023:

    • 21 catches (1st)

    • 795 yards (1st)

    • 8 REC TDs (1st)

• CeeDee Lamb

  • Lamb in 2023:

    • Led the NFL in catches (69) and yards (907) while lined up in the slot

    • Had 7 games with double digit catches in 2023 (no other player had more than 4 games)

• Sleeper Pick

  • Amari Cooper in ’23:

    • 1,250 yards (10th)

    • 15 contested catches (T-4th)

Tight Ends

• Travis Kelce

  • Kelce’s 83.2 PFF Grade in 2023 ranked 2nd among TE’s

  • Kelce’s 37 games with 100+ REC YDS leads all TE’s in NFL History

• Mark Andrews

  • Ranked 2nd among TE’s with 6 red-zone REC TDs in 2023

• Sam LaPorta

  • Led all TE’s with 13 contested catches in 2023

  • Led all TE’s with 8 red-zone REC TDs in 2023

• Sleeper Picks

  • Evan Engram:

    • Led all TE’s with 5 games recording 8+ catches in 2023

  • David Njoku:

    • Led all TE’s with 608 yards after the catch in 2023

    • Only Kittle (26) had more catches gaining 15+ yards (22) among TE’s in 2023

Quarterbacks

• Josh Allen

  • Ranked T-2nd in the NFL and T-1st among QB’s with Jalen Hurts by recording 15 red-zone RUSH TDs in 2023. Raheem Mostert led the NFL w/ 16.

  • PFF’s highest-graded QB (92.5) in 2023

• Jalen Hurts

  • Recorded 4 games with 2+ RUSH TDs in 2023

• Lamar Jackson

  • Led all QB’s with 29 rushes gaining 10+ yards in 2023

• Sleeper Pick

  • Dak Prescott:

    • Led all QB’s with 6 games recording 3+ PASS TDs in 2023

    • 35 completions on throws 20+ yards (deep throws) in 2023, most among QB’s

    • Led the NFL with 24 PASS TDs on throws 10+ yards downfield in 2023

    • Led the NFL with 28 red-zone PASS TDs in 2023

Defense/Special Teams

• Seahawks

  • New HC Mike MacDonald is one of brightest defensive minds in the sport of football, at any level.

    • Ravens (MacDonald was their DC in ’23) ranked 2nd in EPA Per Play Against in 2023

    • Ravens led the NFL with 398 total pressures in 2023

    • Ravens allowed the fewest offensive TDs (24) in 2023

    • Ravens allowed the fewest RUSH TDs (6) in 2023

• Cowboys

  • Ranked 4th in the NFL with 361 total pressures in 2023

  • Will loss of Dan Quinn be impactful on star-studded defense?

• Chiefs

  • Ranked 2nd in the NFL with 29 offensive TDs allowed in 2023

  • Ranked 4th in NFL allowing 3,410 passing yards in 2023

  • Ranked T-1st in the NFL by only allowing 39 completions gaining 20+ yards in 2023

Kicker

• Justin Tucker

  • Struggled from 50+ yards last season (⅕). Due for bounceback?

• Harrison Butker

  • Was 12/12 on FG’s of 40+ yards in 2023

  • Did not miss a single XP (38/38) in the reg. season in 2023

• Jake Elliott

  • Ranked 6th among qualified kickers with a 93.8 success rate in 2023

  • Was 14/15 from 40+ yards in 2023

• A bonus hot topic: Jake Bates

  • All that needs to be said (tweet); was abysmal weather this night. 

Shameless plug (and I promise you, this is not a formal partnership or anything, this is simply me loving the resources and the site): If you liked where all this data came from, you can check out PFF for yourself and get PLENTY more. It can seem overwhelming, but they do a great job at organizing all of the data, and you’ll be the smartest football fan in your household. HAPPY FOOTBALL SEASON!