Fantasy Scoring Averages
3-year weekly and season-long averages for QBs, RBs, WRs, TEs
Stripping away names and focusing on weekly finishes can help provide a check against our various biases, rooting interests, petty grievances, gut hunches.
Below you'll find four weekly and season-long charts that illustrate FantasyPros data across the big four positions: QB, RB, WR, TE.
FantasyPros uses Half-PPR scoring but the data can be used for PPR and standard leagues as well. Research has shown that there isn't much of a difference in how players stack up across the three scoring formats.
You'll also find some written analysis in the weekly (QB, WR) and season-long sections (QB, RB, WR).
Weekly Averages
Area Charts
How to Read Area Charts: The top layer is shaded blue and represents the top scoring options at the position on a weekly basis.
The thin blue line represents the No. 1 scoring player that week, on average, during the 2022-24 fantasy seasons. The second layer is shaded green, followed by purple, yellow, and orange layers.
Quarterback
Top 12 quarterbacks score more than 20 fantasy points a week.
That's with 4 points per passing touchdown and 6 points per rushing touchdown, which tends to elevate dual-threat quarterbacks in the rankings.
Quarterbacks get 1 point per 25 passing yards and 1 point per 10 rushing yards. Top 12 QBs average roughly 5 carries for 25 yards per week or 2.5 fantasy points on the ground.
Top 12 QBs have scored 228 rushing touchdowns since 2022 (across 576 fantasy performances) or about once every three contests. Over the course of the season, Top 12 QBs average 4.5 points per game with their legs.
Running Back
Wide Receiver
The key number for bankable production is 12 targets in a game.
The majority of Top 25 WRs see a dozen targets in at least one game during the fantasy season. It's essentially a prerequisite to finishing in the Top 12.
Extreme efficiency is required to buck the trend, as Brandon Aiyuk did in 2023.
Brad Beatson
Through two weeks, 10 WRs have met the 12-target mark in a game:
- Brian Thomas Jr.
- CeeDee Lamb
- Chris Olave
- Davante Adams
- Drake London
- Hollywood Brown
- Ja'Marr Chase
- Jakobi Meyers
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba
- Malik Nabers (twice)
Tight End
Season Averages
Stacked Bar Charts
- How to Read Stacked Bar Charts: The number atop each column is the average season-long total for the top player in each tier.
The number centered in the bottom layer is the average total of the last player in the tier. In the Top 5 QB column, the QB5 averaged 325.9 fantasy points from 2022-24.
Quarterback
While there isn't much of a difference between the QB5 and QB10 on a season-long basis (2.5 points per week), things get dicey toward the middle of the pack — when the QB carousel enters the picture.
Total QBs to make 2+ starts in the regular season:
- 48 quarterbacks in 2024
- 55 quarterbacks in 2023
- 60 quarterbacks in 2022
- 49 quarterbacks in 2021
- 46 quarterbacks in 2020
Seasonal Ingredients for Top 10 Quarterbacks:
In a 16-game fantasy season, Top 10 QBs have:
- EITHER 60+ Rushing attempts
(3.75 per game)
The fewest rushing attempts among the Top 5 were Joe Burrow (41), Jordan Love (47), Baker Mayfield (51), Dak Prescott (55), Patrick Mahomes (58) - OR 500+ Passing attempts
(31.25 per game)
The fewest passing attempts in the Top 10 were: Justin Fields (318), Jalen Hurts (361; 425), Lamar Jackson (442; 457), Brock Purdy (444), Jayden Daniels (468), Daniel Jones (472), Josh Allen (483) - 40 (or Fewer) sacks
(2.5 per game)
Quarterbacks who exceeded 40 sacks but finished in the Top 10: Geno Smith (43), Jayden Daniels (43), Joe Burrow (44) Daniel Jones (44), Kirk Cousins (46), Sam Darnold (46), Justin Fields (55) - 65% Completion Rate
Quarterbacks who missed the mark but finished in the Top 10: Justin Fields (60.4%), Jordan Love (63.1%), Josh Allen (63.3%; 63.6%), Baker Mayfield (64.4%), Jared Goff (64.9%)
Running Back
It's absurd how dominant the No. 1 running back has been the past three seasons. It's enough to make you throw your hands up and say "screw it" if you weren't lucky enough to roster him.
Instead, let's focus on the RBs 11-20 who have scored between 209 and 174 points the past three seasons, a difference of just 2 fantasy points per week.
Seasonal Ingredients for RB2s:
- 180+ Rushing Attempts
(11.75 per game)
Only Rachaad White saw fewer than 180 attempts, tallying 144 in 15 games for an RB20 finish last season - Fewer Than 20 Attempts Per Game
Jonathan Taylor finished last season as the RB14 in just 13 games but averaged 20.7 attempts per game. Next highest among RBs 11-20 was Joe Mixon who averaged 18.5 per game - 40+ Targets
(2.5 per game)
Kenneth Walker is the only running back to finish as an RB2 who scored fewer than 10 rushing touchdowns and garnered fewer than 40 targets — and he's done that twice in the past three seasons (2022, 2023). Gus Edwards, Ezekiel Elliott, David Montgomery (twice), Miles Sanders, and Jonathan Taylor all saw fewer than 40 targets but scored 10+ rushing TDs. - 3+ Explosive Runs of 20+ Yards
(.1875 per game)
This one requires further digging, but just five running backs had fewer than three explosive runs in this range: Alvin Kamara (0; 2), David Montgomery (1), Najee Harris (1), Leonard Fournette (1), Rachaad White (2)
Ball security is perhaps the most impactful factor when widening the group to the Top 120 running backs in each of the past three seasons.
Two (2) Fumbles Lost — MAX
- 346/360 running backs (96.1%) over the past three fantasy seasons lost two or fewer fumbles. No running back lost more than four (Alvin Kamara in 2022; Austin Ekeler in 2023). Eleven running backs lost three, including Rachaad White in 2022 and 2024.
But Really, You Just Get One
- 310/360 running backs (86.1%) over the past three seasons lost one or fewer fumbles
- 234/360 running backs (65%) didn't lose a fumble.
RBs who have already lost a fumble in 2025: Derrick Henry, Tony Pollard, Miles Sanders, D'Andre Swift
Wide Receiver
Let's focus on FLEX territory, or wide receivers who weren't drafted as Top 25 WRs and played at least half of the fantasy season (8 games).
Seasonal Ingredients for FLEX WRs
- 15%+ Explosive Target Rate
(Min. 10 Explosive Gains — Recs. of 20+ yds)
DK Metcalf, Drake London, George Pickens (twice) and Justin Jefferson (injury-shortened 2023 season) qualify as players who were drafted to be WR1s or WR2s in most fantasy leagues.
Outside of them, the recipe for explosive FLEX WRs appears to be roughly 4 targets a game and 15+ yards per reception, tallying an explosive 20+ yard reception in nearly every game they play.
Recent standouts include:
- Darnell Mooney (1.31 explosives / game)
- Josh Reynolds (1.13 expl/gm)
- Courtland Sutton (0.93 expl/gm)
- Keon Coleman (0.91 expl/gm)
- Christian Watson (0.86 expl/gm)
Sutton had an explosive target rate of 16.3% in 2023, calculated by dividing his 20+ yard receptions by his total targets. Next was Mooney at 19.8%, while Coleman, Watson, and Reynolds each eclipsed 23%.
24% of Sutton's receptions went for explosive gains, followed by Mooney (33%), Coleman (41%), Watson (41%), and Reynolds (49%).
Courtland Sutton signed an extension before the season that should keep him with the Broncos through 2026. He remains one of the better floor-ceiling WR options.
If you're looking for consistency to round out your lineup, receivers who get six or more targets a game can be found outside the Top 25 drafted wideouts.
- 🎯 Target Barons
~100> Targets, ~5%> Explosive Tgt/Rec Diff.
Cooper Kupp and Deebo Samuel qualify as players who were drafted to be WR1s or WR2s in most fantasy leagues — although each played just 12 games during their qualifying season.
It's helpful to look at these types of receivers as the Modern RB2 — the chain-moving "between the 20s" grinders who get the volume that used to be reserved for change-of-pace running backs circa Y2K.
They don't often make explosive plays but are buoyed by opportunity.
Recent standouts include:
- Khalil Shakir (2.84% explosive differential)
- Joshua Palmer (3.36% expld)
- Jakobi Meyers (3.36% expld)
- Adam Thielen (3.56% expld)
- Josh Downs (5.49% expld)
Shakir had a 9% explosive target rate and an 11.8% explosive reception rate. Palmer, Meyers, and Thielen were all around 6.9% and 10.3%; Downs was at 9.5% and 13.8%.
Receivers who fit the profile continue producing as they age but are often discounted when they change teams. Veterans like Keenan Allen and Hunter Renfrow can help limit weekly variance and win fantasy matchups.
Tight End
