Setting The Bar - Quarterback Edition

"You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been. " - Maya Angelou As it relates to fantasy football, Angelou's famous quote reminds us that it is hard to understand what we need to strive for from each position if we don't know where the bar has been set in previous years or how it was achieved. The first installment of this four-part series will highlight several observations made from analyzing the results of top-12 quarterbacks over the last five seasons - the span during which the NFL has played 17-game seasons.

The first part of this piece will highlight at least one notable observation from reviewing each of the relatively basic counting statistics that are responsible for the overwhelming percentage of fantasy production from quarterbacks. A few of the nuggets at the end of the first section are statements based on what percent of a quarterback's fantasy production came via touchdown, the passing game or the running game. The purpose: to inform readers what they need from the quarterback they draft in order to be competitive at the position.

Not all quarterbacks are created equal, however, so the kind of quarterback (pocket passer, mobile, dual-threat) matters. We will go into more detail on that in the second section. For now, let's focus on some of the more notable findings from my research.

********************************** All observations are from the last five seasons (2021-25). Please click this link to see the numbers that support the statements. For the purposes of this article, we are observing the following scoring rules: One point per 25 yards passing Four points per passing touchdown One point per 10 yards rushing Six points per rushing touchdown Minus-1 (-1) point per interception The lowest fantasy point total for a top-five quarterback over the last five seasons is 331.