Scoring seems to be down across the board, but just how bad is scoring down right now?
Quarterbacks:
Starting at the Quarterback position, it's no secret that scoring is down. Over the past few years, the agenda that you did not need a top QB to succeed seemed to be very true. You were only sacrificing a few points per game dropping from a top 3 QB to a top 12 QB for most years, so the heavy investment early in drafts did not feel like it was viable. However, that same thinking this year may hurt you more than ever.
This season, Geno Smith is currently QB7 with 112.6 points through 6 games. Geno is having a breakout year, but compared to last year, these are relatively average fantasy numbers. Through 6 weeks last season, 112.6 points would have been good for QB15, behind struggling guys this year such as Aaron Rodgers and Matt Stafford, and only 4 points ahead of Daniel Jones. To go one step further, this 112.6 would not have cracked the Top 10 QBs until going back to 2017! The elite QBs have continued to play well, but with Russell Wilson and Tom Brady continuing to struggle, quarterback scoring is down across the board. If you are struggling with who to start at QB on a weekly basis, you are not alone!
Running Backs:
Running Backs have historically been inconsistent year over year due to the nature of the position. Carrying the ball 200+ times means getting tackled 200+ times over the course of the season, way more than any other position. Injuries and inconsistent offensive lines can cause running backs to go from hero to zero in the blink of an eye. Just look at Jonathan Taylor, a unanimous top 2 pick in fantasy drafts has struggled when he's been on the field this season and additionally has been dealing with an injury for the past couple weeks.
However, despite the regular inconsistency, scoring is still down here also. Breece Hall is RB6 with 101.9 points, the cutoff for the 100 point threshold through 6 weeks. Through 6 weeks last year, 10 RBs had 100 points. In 2019, it was 12. In fact, the last time again was 2017, when the cutoff for the 100 point threshold was 6 running backs. Even in 2017, the top 5 RBs all had 124+ points, so there was an elite tier of running backs at that time. There are only 2 running backs this season with 124+ points which are Austin Ekeler and Saquon Barkley. So again, RB depth is important, but maybe also not important! Considering everyone is struggling with their running backs, you may not be alone here either.
Wide Receivers & Tight Ends:
With Quarterback scoring down across the board, you would assume Wide Receiver scoring would be down also, and that assumption would be correct. Wide receiver tends to be the deeper position in fantasy football as well, with so many teams having elite #1 wide receivers and some having rock solid #2 options, it's no wonder this position is typically deep. However, this year has been different for them as well.
Going back to the same numbers from weeks 1-6, there are currently 10 wide receivers who have at least 90 points this season, with Deebo Samuel slotted in at #10 with 91.8. How many wide receivers had at least 90 points through 6 weeks last year? 15? 18? Try 23. More than double this current season. Again, you would have to go back to the 2017 season to find the last time wide receivers were scoring less than this season. Scoring is down across the board after we've seen steady increases through the 2021 season.
Tight ends may be one of the most inconsistent positions in fantasy football. There is typically an elite tier of 3-5 guys who are relatively consistent, then a drop off into a pool of 8-10 guys who are all interchangeable week in and week out. Half of starting caliber tight ends are touchdown dependent and do not hold a ton of target share in their offenses. We've seen Kelce and Mark Andrews dominate the past few seasons with Kittle, Ertz, and Waller also hovering around the same tier. However, even here at this wild position, Tight end scoring is somehow down also.
The top 3 tight ends currently sit at 78+ points, with #4 being Dallas Goedert with a whopping 67.7 points. Looking back at the past few seasons, the top half of this tight end tier was definitely deeper. Since 2017, there were at least 4 tight ends with 70+ points, including 8 tight ends in 2019 and 2021 respectively. Scoring is down across all positions and if you do not have a handful of these elite guys right now, this may be crushing your fantasy football spirit. However, you are not alone. Across all positions in fantasy, scoring is down which means across all leagues in fantasy, scoring is down. So if you win 95-93 or 88-85, still feel good about that win, because you are not the only team out there winning ugly. Let's hope for some higher scoring football games for the remainder of the season to get these numbers back up!