NFL

Fantasy Football: Who Were the Most Consistent Players in 2016?

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Quarterbacks

Quarterback is the most consistent position in fantasy on a week-to-week basis.

This chart shows us the five quarterbacks with the lowest coefficient of variations derived from their weekly outputs as well as their average fantasy point total and the times they finished a week as a top-10 passer in terms of fantasy points.

Player CV Average Top 10
Andy Dalton 0.25 16.75 5
Matt Ryan 0.28 21.20 11
Philip Rivers 0.29 16.27 3
Aaron Rodgers 0.31 23.05 12
Kirk Cousins 0.32 19.25 10


Andy Dalton was the most consistent quarterback in 2016. He was just consistently mediocre, as his fantasy points per game average ranked 17th out of the 25 quarterbacks examined in this study. Dalton's stellar coefficient of variation shows us that we cannot just look for how consistent players are. We have to take into consideration how many actual points players are putting up as well.

Matt Ryan only failed to reach starting value (top 10) in five of the games he played, which was second to only Aaron Rodgers. It is not a difficult task to have a low coefficient of variation when your average output is low, but when your average is the best in the league and you rank in the top five in consistency, now we are reaching rarefied air.

The problem for next year is that Rodgers and Ryan will come at a premium in 2017 drafts. Fantasy Football Calculator has Rodgers being taken in the early third round while Ryan is being taken in the fifth round.

Kirk Cousins, on the other hand, is being drafted in the eighth round, per Fantasy Football Calculator, therefore providing a much more affordable value. Captain Kirk, unlike Dalton and Philip Rivers, had the sixth-highest fantasy points per game output.

Cousins also only finished outside the top 20 quarterbacks three weeks in 2016. This can assure you, as a fantasy owner, that he will most likely not be the reason that you lose a week. Cousins was the ideal quarterback for consistent, high production at a value price.

The most important thing to learn from this article is that even the most inconsistent quarterbacks are more consistent than the top tier receivers. Take this example: Ryan Tannehill ranked 20th among quarterbacks with a 0.47 coefficient of variation. Demaryius Thomas ranked second in consistency among wide receivers and finished with a 0.50 coefficient of variation.