Identifying 3 of this season's secret fantasy football stars
The following is an excerpt from the latest edition of Yahoo's fantasy football newsletter, Get to the Points! If you like what you see, you can subscribe for free here.
Among the most important habits we can cultivate as fantasy football managers is a willingness to dive into advanced data in an effort to better understand the player pool. We do this, obviously, because traditional surface-level stats almost never tell a full story.
Only a moderate amount of digging is required to identify players who are actually performing at elite levels, despite their year-to-date fantasy numbers. This is how we find the best buy-low candidates in the game. Of course it’s also how we flag great players doomed by team context, so please exercise caution with the names below.
Here’s a look at three low-key stars of the 2024 season — one at each of the key positions — with underlying data that reveals just how good these guys have been:
Jared Goff, QB, Detroit Lions
Goff is currently the QB18 in fantasy in terms of total points, and he’s barely clinging to the top-12 at his position in per-game scoring. However, it is undeniably true that Goff has been dealing.
He leads the NFL in yards per attempt (8.9)
Is third in completion percentage (71.1)
Is averaging 7.3 yards after catch per completion — easily the best of his career and a terrific indicator of accuracy
Goff doesn’t offer rushing upside, but he’s playing at a silly level and directing one of the NFL's best offenses. Huge fantasy days are ahead.
Tony Pollard, RB, Tennessee Titans
Pollard absolutely jumps off the screen this season, looking suspiciously like the pre-injury version of himself. He’s only barely inside the top-20 in the league in rushing yards (339) and he’s averaging a shrug-worthy 4.3 YPC, but many of those 4-yard gains have been gems.
He's averaging an outrageous 4.02 yards after contact per attempt according to PFF, the best rate among players with 50 or more carries
He's forced 18 missed tackles on his rush attempts, one of the highest totals in the league
His team’s offense is dreadful and routinely undermined by its QB, but Pollard has been a significant success story en route to averaging 13.6 fantasy points per game.
More Fantasy Football analysis
Khalil Shakir, WR, Buffalo Bills
Shakir returned from his ankle injury with a quiet game on Monday night, but let’s not overlook just how near-perfect his season has otherwise been.
He's hauled in 20 of his 21 targets, which gives him the highest catch-rate (95.2%) of any receiver who’s seen at least 20 opportunities
Is second at his position in passer-rating when targeted (147.8)
Is among the leaders in yards per route run (2.39) and yards after catch per reception (7.5)
Is getting 4.4 yards of separation on his targets according to Next Gen, which, yet again, is one of the best rates in the NFL
As Shakir, who is averaging 9.4 fantasy points per game, gets healthier and the schedule friendlier, he’s a lock to produce several notable performances. He isn't competing with new arrival Amari Cooper, either; these two will complement each other, operating in different areas of the field.
