Fantasy Football: Who Were the Most Consistent Players in 2016?
Wide Receivers
The wide receiver position is even harder to predict on a weekly basis, as you'll see below.
To help account for the bigger number of receivers who are factors each week, we'll expand the table to the top 25 rather than the top 20.
| Player | CV | Average | Top 25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alshon Jeffrey | 0.41 | 8.46 | 4 |
| Demaryius Thomas | 0.5 | 8.77 | 7 |
| Jordy Nelson | 0.5 | 13.4 | 11 |
| Pierre Garcon | 0.53 | 7.5 | 4 |
| Mike Evans | 0.55 | 13.04 | 10 |
Jordy Nelson and Mike Evans were the two best examples of consistency and upside in 2016. Nelson's production was surprising given the fact that he is 31 years old and coming off a torn ACL sustained in 2015. Evans finished the season as the second-highest scorer in standard scoring formats and reached starting value 10 out of the 15 games we tracked for our data.
Of course. the 6'5", 231-pound receiver is unbelievably talented, but a lot of his production can be explained by his ridiculous 172 targets he received in 2016. Nonetheless, both receivers are in a position to produce again in 2017. They're being drafted as top-six options, per Fantasy Football Calculator.
Demaryius Thomas finished the season 19th among receivers in points scored in standard scoring. He was a solid starter in most lineups every week as he rarely put up a complete dud. Thomas was not a guy who won fantasy owners many games, but he certainly was not the reason they lost.
This makes him a valuable asset because it eliminates the choices that owners have to make. Currently being drafted in the fifth round, per Fantasy Football Calculator, makes Thomas a decent value in 2017.
It's important not to get caught up in simple fantasy points per game to determine who played well last season. Combining season-long production and weekly consistency is a better way to determine which players provide real value to our teams.
After all, Brandin Cooks finished 10th in points per game among receivers but was as consistent (55th in the receiver group) on a weekly basis as guys like Tavon Austin and Dontrelle Inman.
