Well, here we are. The NFL’s “Big Game” is less than 2 weeks away. Spoiler Alert: The QBs in the NFL’s final game were among the top of the league when it came to fantasy football consistency rating. The Fantasy Football season is probably way back in your rearview mirror at this point. And for good reason. The Fantasy Football season ended almost a month ago, yet if you’re reading this, you’re probably already looking ahead to the 2023 season. Which I respect. You may have already started scouting the incoming rookies or pondering who should be the 1.01 in your redraft leagues this summer. That’s dedication!
Or maybe you just want the truth about how a player’s season actually went, which is the main purpose this article will try to serve. Maybe certain players were more boom/bust than you thought. Perhaps they were one of the most consistent players in the league, and you didn’t even notice it. There are four months of data we have at our disposal for this reason. And luckily for you, I had been tracking each player’s performance on a weekly basis for the whole season. I had been tweeting out the link to the Google Doc as well as some high level observations weekly. But this article will take a deeper dive into the year-end results and try to quantify the numbers.
Explanation of Consistency Ratings
In a follow up post, I’ll go into some more detail on player consistency ratings and what a “QB1-6” or “RB3” game actually means from a PPG perspective. I hope to apply this method next year on a player-by-player basis that will be updated throughout the 2023 season. Because as we know, there are “down” weeks in scoring throughout the season. An RB1 score in Week 3 might have been a low-end RB2 score in Week 5, for example. That more in-depth post will hopefully connect the dots so we can assign a points per game number to what a makes a season “Great”, “Good”, and “Bad” consistency-wise. Because at the end of the day, we want all “Great” players, but we’re going to wind up with a Hodgepodge of all three types of players. That’s just the reality – nobody has the “perfect” team.
For now though, the Consistency Rating is meant to serve as a comparison for how your players performed relative to the rest of your league mates’ players. Because in a “down” scoring week for the whole league, your low-scoring WR1 probably went up against your opponent’s low-scoring WR1. It’s all relative.
Consistency Rating Benchmarks
The trick for us is to identify which players to target both in-season and during the draft process. Situations change during the offseason, so by no means is a player with a “Great” consistency rating going to repeat next year. On the other hand, just because a player had a “Bad” consistency rating in 2022, that doesn’t mean you should avoid them in 2023 drafts. As we know here at the Fantasy Injury Team, injuries during the season can drastically affect fantasy football. Situations change. Furthermore, this is just one season of data, so by no means is this the be-all end-all when it comes to player consistency, especially when it comes time for the PPG article later in the offseason.
Below are the consistency rating benchmarks I have defined as “Great”, “Good”, and “Bad” seasons by each fantasy football position. This is for 0.5 PPR, 4 PT per Passing TD scoring. Sorry, no kickers in this article.
| Position | Great | Good | Bad |
| QB | Top 12 QB in 75+% of Games Played | Top 12 QB in 50-74% of Games Played | Top 12 QB in <50% of Games Played |
| RB | Top 24 RB in 70+% of Games Played | Top 24 RB in 50-69% of Games Played | Top 24 RB in <50% of Games Played |
| WR | Top 24 WR in 70+% of Games Played | Top 24 WR in 50-69% of Games Played | Top 24 WR in <50% of Games Played |
| TE | Top 12 TE in 70+% of Games Played | Top 12 TE in 50-69% of Games Played | Top 12 TE in <50% of Games Played |
| D/ST* | Top 12 D/ST in 55+% of Games Played | Top 12 D/ST in 40-54% of Games Played | Top 12 D/ST in <50% of Games Played |
Quaterback Consistency Ratings
Before we move on, I must note that the baseline Consistency Rating is out of a possible 16 games. This means through Week 17 only, since that is when most leagues held their Championship matchup. So Week 18 data is not included. The last week in the regular season is wonky enough as it is, we don’t want that interfering with our sample size. It also doesn’t matter to 90% of fantasy football players. For comparison sake, this also means that Bengals and Bills players will only have a maximum of a 15 game sample size, due to their Week 17 game being cancelled.
The criteria for making the “Great” tier at QB had a higher threshold than other positions due to the nature of fantasy football. We only start 1 QB per week, so they better be consistently scoring near the top of the position in order to make a real difference for your team.
Initially, top end Quarterbacks were setting the Fantasy Football world on fire at the beginning of the season. Then their scoring game back to Earth a little bit. Below is a breakdown of “Great” Consistency Quarterbacks during the 2022 season:
| Player | % Games Played as a Top 12 QB |
| Patrick Mahomes | 93.75% |
| Jalen Hurts (14 games) | 92.86% |
| Josh Allen (15 games) | 86.67% |
Next up we have the “Good” consistency level of QBs, where a larger number of signal callers fell:
| Player | % Games Played as a Top 12 QB |
| Joe Burrow (15 games) | 66.67% |
| Kyler Murray (11 games) | 63.64% |
| Trevor Lawrence | 62.5% |
| Geno Smith | 62.5% |
| Kirk Cousins | 62.5% |
| Justin Fields (15 games) | 60% |
| Justin Herbert | 56.25% |
| Daniel Jones | 50% |
| Lamar Jackson (12 games) | 50% |
That leaves the rest of the league as “Bad” consistency QBs. That may seem harsh, but anything less than 50% as a Top 12 QB is not helping your team. There are only 12 teams in your league, and the guy you’re playing isn’t within that starting threshold at least half of the time? Do better.
And you could do better scouring the waiver wire each week instead of drafting and starting the guys in this tier. I won’t list them all, but below are some notable players that fell into this tier:
| Player | % Games Played as a Top 12 QB |
| Derek Carr (15 games) | 46.67% |
| Tua Tagovailoa (13 games) | 46.15% |
| Dak Prescott (11 games) | 45.45% |
| Jared Goff | 43.75% |
| Brock Purdy (5 games) | 40% |
| Aaron Rodgers | 31.25% |
| Tom Brady | 25% |
| Russell Wilson (14 games) | 21.43% |
| Kenny Pickett (12 games) | 0% |
The data above shows us there were just 3 “Great” consistency Quarterback seasons, and 9 “Good” consistency seasons, which equals 1 QB per roster. Interesting.
Running Back Consistency Ratings
There were quite a few RBs who fell into the “Great” consistency tier this year. Additionally, all players listed played in 16 games unless otherwise noted:
| Player | % Games Played as a Top 24 RB |
| Christian McCaffrey | 87.5% |
| Austin Ekeler | 87.5% |
| Saquon Barkley | 81.25% |
| Josh Jacobs | 81.25% |
| Nick Chubb | 75% |
| Derrick Henry (15 games) | 73.33% |
| Ezekiel Elliott (14 games) | 71.43% |
Accordingly, “Good” Consistency Tier RBs were more abundant, which is logical. Here they are:
| Player | % Games Played as a Top 24 RB |
| Dameon Pierce (13 games) | 69.23% |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | 68.75% |
| Tony Pollard (15 games) | 66.67% |
| Kenneth Walker III (14 games) | 64.29% |
| James Conner (14 games) | 64.29% |
| Jonathan Taylor (11 games) | 63.64% |
| Joe Mixon (13 games) | 61.54% |
| Leonard Fournette (15 games) | 60% |
| Alvin Kamara (14 games) | 57.14% |
| Najee Harris | 56.25% |
| Miles Sanders | 56.25% |
| Aaron Jones | 56.25% |
| Dalvin Cook | 56.25% |
| David Montgomery (15 games) | 53.33% |
| Travis Etienne Jr | 50% |
| Jamaal Williams | 50% |
J.K. Dobbins finished as a Top 24 RB in 4 out of 8 games in 2022
Finally, the “Bad” consistency Tier had many, many names on it, but below were the notable ones:
| Player | % Games Played as a Top 24 RB |
| D’Andre Swift (13 games) | 46.15% |
| Cordarrelle Patterson (12 games) | 41.67% |
| Tyler Allgeier (15 games) | 40% |
| Isiah Pacheco | 37.5% |
| Devin Singletary | 37.5% |
| AJ Dillon | 37.5% |
| Cam Akers (14 games) | 35.71% |
| Kareem Hunt | 12.5% |
Altogether, the above data shows we had 7 “Great” consistency running back seasons and 16 “Good” consistency running back seasons in 2022. That basically equates to ~2 running backs per roster in a 12 team league.
Wide Receiver Consistency Ratings
Next up, we have wide receivers. WRs were graded on a similar consistency score as running backs, since we typically start 2 or 3 per week, same as running backs. Of note, Cooper Kupp finished as the WR24 in overall 0.5 PPR scoring, despite only playing in just 9 games. So, yeah, his consistency rating was the highest:
| Player | % Games Played as a Top 24 WR |
| Cooper Kupp (9 games) | 88.89% |
| DeAndre Hopkins (8 games) | 75% |
| Justin Jefferson | 75% |
| Tyreek Hill | 75% |
| Stefon Diggs (15 games) | 71.43% |
Likewise with the running back position, there were a ton of “Good” consistency level wide receivers:
| Player | % Games Played as a Top 24 WR |
| A.J. Brown | 68.75% |
| Keenan Allen (9 games) | 66.67% |
| Tee Higgins (15 games) | 60% |
| Davante Adams | 56.25% |
| D.K. Metcalf | 56.25% |
| CeeDee Lamb | 56.25% |
| DeVonta Smith | 56.25% |
| Ja’Marr Chase (11 games) | 54.55% |
| Christian Kirk | 50% |
| Amari Cooper | 50% |
| Jahan Dotson (12 games) | 50% |
| Jaylen Waddle | 50% |
| Tyler Lockett (14 games) | 50% |
| Mike Williams (12 games) | 50% |
Obviously, the list of “Bad” consistency level wide receivers was even longer than the running back list, but that is to be expected. Teams deploy a lot more wide receivers than running backs over the course of a season. Below are the notable wide outs that were not as consistent as you probably thought in 2022:
| Player | % Games Played as a Top 24 WR |
| Chris Olave (14 games) | 42.86% |
| Jerry Jeudy (14 games) | 42.86% |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown (15 games) | 40% |
| Garret Wilson | 37.5% |
| George Pickens | 37.5% |
| Terry McLaurin | 37.5% |
| Brandon Aiyuk | 37.5% |
| D.J. Moore | 37.5% |
| Chris Godwin | 35.71% |
| Mike Evans (15 games) | 33.33% |
| Michael Pittman (15 games) | 33.33% |
Just a quick note on the above. Obviously, consistency isn’t everything, but it does paint part of the picture. Not many people think that Jerry Jeudy had a better overall season than Amon-Ra St. Brown, but from a consistency standpoint, he was slightly better. Just something to think about.
Meanwhile, there were 24 wide receivers with a consistency rating of “Great” or “Good”, which means in theory there could have been two of each on every roster in a 12 team league.
Tight End Consistency Ratings
Tight end was a waste land in 2022. Evidently, it was Travis Kelce and then everyone else. For this reason, I raised the bar for what a “Great” consistency score was for tight ends. Top 12 at the position isn’t all that impressive. In most cases, one catch for a touchdown will get you in the money at this position on a weekly basis. As you will also notice, the other two tight ends in the “Great” tier not named “Travis Kelce” missed a chunk of the season. This position was so unbelievably unpredictable that having Kelce was the ultimate positional advantage.
Below are the tight ends with “Great” consistency ratings in 2022:
| Player | % Games Played as a Top 12 TE |
| Travis Kelce | 81.25% |
| Dallas Goedert (11 games) | 72.73% |
| Zach Ertz (10 games) | 70% |
Generally, “Good” tight ends were a little easier to come by in 2022:
| Player | % Games Played as a Top 12 TE |
| Greg Dulcich (10 games) | 60% |
| Mark Andrews (15 games) | 60% |
| Taysom Hill (15 games) | 53.33% |
| Pat Freiermuth (15 games) | 53.33% |
| Tyler Higbee | 50% |
| T.J. Hockenson | 50% |
| George Kittle (14 games) | 50% |
| Darren Waller (8 games) | 50% |
Some notable names in the “Bad” consistency tier at tight end include Dalton Schultz (42.86% in 14 games played), David Njoku (38.46% in 13 games played), Evan Engram (37.5% in 16 games played), and Gerald Everett (33.33% in 15 games played). What if I told you those 4 tight ends I mentioned finished the season as TE10, TE13, TE6, and TE15 in overall points respectively? It reveals just another layer of the onion…
Overall, 11 tight ends fell into the “Great” or “Good” consistency area, so once again, about 1 per team. In theory of course.
D/ST
Finally, we get to the defensive units. I will be revamping how I track D/ST consistency next season. This is due to the position being heavily matchup-based. I will provide a table of the “Great” consistency D/STs for your reference, but all of the other data can be found here.
| Team D/ST | % Games Played as a Top 12 D/ST |
| Eagles | 68.75% |
| 49ers | 62.5% |
| Patriots | 62.5% |
| Packers | 56.25% |
| Bills | 56.25% |
| Cowboys | 56.25% |
Conclusion
Well, that’s a wrap! If you’ve made it this far, I want to say “Thank you!” This was a labor of love all season long, and to be able to provide some more context is what I was hoping to do. As I said earlier, I am working on putting even more context behind the consistency ratings in the future. Hopefully, this helped you during the season and will be a reference point with your research as we head into the 2023 draft season.